Velvet Revolver Reunite, Cover Pink Floyd (with Video)

As we reported before, Velvet Revolver reunited Thursday night at the House of Blues in West Hollywood for a one-off, charity performance. The supergroup played together for the first time since singer Scott Weiland left the band in 2008, according to Spin.

The event was organized by VR guitarist Dave Kushner to help the widow of his friend, composer and music supervisor John O’Brien. Slash, Duff McKagan, Matt Sorum, Kushner and Weiland delivered four songs, three Velvet Revolver originals (“Sucker Train Blues,” “She Builds Quick Machines” and “Slither”) and a cover of Pink Floyd’s “Wish You Were Here.”

You can check out a fan-shot video of part of “Wish You Were Here” – including Slash’s bluesy solo – below.

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Velvet Revolver’s Dave Kushner Talks About Reunion Show

Velvet Revolver guitarist Dave Kushner has revealed that the idea for the band’s one-off reunion show, set for next Thursday (January 12) at L.A.’s House of Blues, was triggered by the death of his best friend, musician John O’Brien. In a just-published interview with Rolling Stone, Kushner said all the members of Velvet Revolver readily agreed to do the show – a testament to the great affection his bandmates had for O’Brien.

“We did a benefit show for this thing called ‘Road Recovery’ – me, Duff [McKagan], Slash and Matt [Sorum] – in New York, and that’s when I asked those guys individually if they would agree to do it,” Kushner said. "Once they said [yes], I got in touch with Scott [Weiland], and he agreed.”

In addition to Velvet Revolver, the concert will feature Maroon 5, Sheryl Crow, Tom Morello and other guests. All proceeds will go to O’Brien’s widow and children. Each performer, including Velvet Revolver, will perform a three-song set. Kushner said he realizes that all eyes will be on Velvet Revolver, who will be performing with Weiland for the first time in four years. “I knew from the beginning it would be newsworthy, and that was kind of the plan,” Kushner said. “If you’re gonna do this, and you want to raise some serious money, then you [have to] put all caution aside.”

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Velvet Revolver Reunite!

Slash may be busy on his next “solo” album, but Velvet Revolver are reuniting. It will be a one-off gig this month, with singer Scott Weiland and no other shows are planned.

The occasion is Love You Madly: A Concert For John O’Brien on Thursday, January 12 at the House of Blues in West Hollywood, California. Also scheduled to appear are Adam Levine and James Valentine (Maroon 5), Sheryl Crow, Tom Morello and Stephen Stills.

Of his time in Velvet Revolver, Weiland recently told The Pulse of Radio: “That was right when I was getting off dope and those guys were all sober and clean, and I had a very special kind of kinship because we’d all experienced the same things ... It was a great band to see live, and I think we made two exciting albums.”

Love You Madly: A Concert For John O'Brien pays tribute to award-winning ASCAP composer John O’Brien, who was found dead in his Chicago hotel room in August. He composed the music for Nightwatch, Iron Man and many other movies and TV shows.

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Scott Weiland: At First, Velvet Revolver Sounded Like Bad Company

Rolling Stone magazine has released an excerpt from Scott Weiland’s forthcoming autobiography, Not Dead & Not For Sale. In the passage from the book, the Stone Temple Pilots singer discusses how Velvet Revolver came together.

When Weiland first heard about a group that included Slash, Duff McKagan, Matt Sorum and Dave Kushner, he said: “Sounds like a lot of egos. Sounds like a lot of trouble.” And he wasn’t too impressed when they sent him a demo CD.

“It sounded like Bad Company-styled classic rock,” he wrote. “And I never liked Bad Company. But being a nice guy, I said, ‘There’s some stuff that’s okay, but just send me another disc when you have a few new songs.”

Soon after, another CD arrived with songs that had “STP written all over them” and Weiland became more interested in joining the band. He reluctantly agreed to jam with them, but was glad that he did.

“I was blown away by the powerful chemistry between us. So was everyone else,” he wrote. “These guys attacked rock and roll like a street gang. I liked their ferocity and balls-out commitment. Besides, looking over and seeing Slash playing beside me – Slash, who’d been an idol of mine back in the eighties – was a thrill… Fact is, I had a lot in common with these guys. We’d been down the dark alleys, gotten mugged, stumbled, fell, and got back up.”

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Slash: No Velvet Revolver Plans for 2 Years

Slash has said that he does not see Velvet Revolver working together for at least another couple of years.

The hard rock band have yet to replace singer Scott Weiland, who departed in 2008. Recent rumors that Slipknot’s Corey Taylor might get the gig have been quashed.

Slash told Vorterix.com: “We did work with Corey Taylor, and as soon as that rumor [got around], next thing you know, everybody is saying Corey’s the new singer... All we were doing was just rehearsing with him and trying him out – auditioning him... It just didn’t seem to fit right to me. And he’s great – and I love Corey – but it didn’t seem like the answer to the Velvet Revolver problem.”

As for the future, he said: “Duff’s got his own thing, I’ve got my thing, Matt’s got his thing... Next year I definitely will make another Slash record with Myles Kennedy and go on tour. So at least for the next couple of years, nothing is going to be happening with Velvet Revolver that I can see ’cause I’ll be focused on this. And after that’s over, if something happens... I’m just not really concerning myself with it right now. We had all these different guys try out, all really good singers, but nobody has fit the thing, so, you know, I have to move on.”

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