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Post by Üncle Snake on Jun 1, 2004 18:34:27 GMT -5
I just listened to the whole CD and I think it's amazing. One week to go.
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Post by Üncle Snake on Jun 3, 2004 7:56:04 GMT -5
ROLLING STONE REVIEW OF CONTRABAND ****
Before you start cracking wise about out-of-work refugees from multiplatinum bands or rock stars with drug problems and arrest records -- as if we haven't seen a few of them in the last half-century -- consider this: Singer Scott Weiland, late of Stone Temple Pilots, and the ex-Guns n' Roses trio of guitarist Slash, bassist Duff McKagan and drummer Matt Sorum have, with second guitarist Dave Kushner, gotten more done in one year as Velvet Revolver than Axl Rose has achieved with his version of G n' R in the past decade. If nothing else, banging your head to Contraband's snarling update of Eighties Sunset Strip rock classicism is a lot better than laying around waiting for the mythical Chinese Democracy.
Contraband is, in fact, tighter and hotter in construction and attack than we had any right to expect from a band that started out auditioning vocalists while being filmed for a VH1 reality show. Weiland and the emeritus Gunners are not shy about flashing pedigree: "Sucker Train Blues" opens the album with zooming-underwater bass, pneumatic gallop and flying chunks of superfuzz guitar -- Appetite for Destruction in miniature -- while Weiland pulls out his police-bullhorn-style bark from STP's "Sex Type Thing." But the chorus harmonies are closer to dirty Def Leppard, and Weiland's searing, monotonic chant - more evil monk than howling wolf - takes you right to the center of his very public hell: "Brain and body melting while there's roaches multiplying/It's the alien infection, it's the coming of Christ." For a guy routinely lampooned as a walking rehab failure, Weiland nails the sweet selfish oblivion and dumb-ass self-destruction of addiction with explosive clarity and no jive excuses.
The déjèvu keeps on comin' throughout the next twelve tracks: Slash's high, strangled fills in "Do It for the Kids" and his reprise of the soprano-hiccup lick from "Sweet Child o' Mine" in "Fall to Pieces"; the tumbling growl of McKagan's bass and Sorum's hammering pulse in "Big Machine"; the full-on Stone Temple Roses of "Slither." But whereas Axl Rose now runs a G n' R that plays the old numbers like a repertory orchestra - and not enough of Democracy to prove that the album even exists -- Velvet Revolver energize their combined histories with original snort (the skewed skittering riff in "Set Me Free") and punchy vocal choruses. Weiland, in particular, shows that he is far more than the sum of his court appearances and star-crossed years with STP. His grainy yowl -- which, at the height of Seattle rock, earned Weiland a lot of lazy, cruel comparisons to Eddie Vedder -- is actually a precision instrument that cuts through Slash and Kushner's dense crossfire with a steely melodic purpose that, when Weiland piles up the harmonies in the choruses, sounds like sour, seething Queen.
Personally, I don't have a lot of patience for power ballads -- they are invariably more sap than nectar -- and Contraband stumbles when the tempo slows and Weiland switches from buggin' out to soft beggin'. And, yes, if I had my way, we'd be getting a real G n' R follow-up to the Use Your Illusion twins, and STP would now be making good on the interrupted promise of their recent best-of, Thank You. But we have Contraband instead, and it is a rare, fine thing: the sound of the perfect A&R sales pitch turning into a real band. Now we find out if these guys can stay together, and go somewhere new.
DAVID FRICKE
(Posted Jun 24, 2004)
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Post by LotB on Jun 3, 2004 18:25:28 GMT -5
You can't help but wonder what ever happened to Steven Adler.
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Post by Üncle Snake on Jun 3, 2004 19:15:40 GMT -5
He has a band called Adler's Appetite. www.adlersappetite.net/I've never heard them, so I don't know what they sound like. I don't think they've recorded anything yet, but they've been out playing shows for awhile now. |
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Post by muthagoose on Jun 3, 2004 19:46:08 GMT -5
Snake -
I have the entire album. I will burn it for you.
Plus some extra!
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Post by Üncle Snake on Jun 9, 2004 12:26:31 GMT -5
From http://www.blabbermouth.net:
According to Hits Daily Double, early midday (Tuesday) reports from retail have VELVET REVOLVER's "Contraband" exceeding expectations and debuting at No. 1 on next week's The Billboard 200 chart. Reorders from the majors have reportedly been pouring in all day, with the album slated to easily top 200,000 copies.
As previously reported, "(Inside)Out: The Rise of Velvet Revolver", a behind-the-scenes look at how VELVET REVOLVER got constructed, from the songwriting process to the singer search and studio sessions, will premiere on VH1 on Wednesday, June 16 at 10:00 p.m. EST / 9:00 p.m. CST.
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Post by Üncle Snake on Jun 9, 2004 12:30:39 GMT -5
All Music Guide:
It ain't easy being Weiland. The oft-stoned, famously glittering Temple Pilot never got very much respect from the larger rock community. But lost amongst the cackling and grunge whispers was his talent as a vocal stylist, and what counts these days as veteran status.
In 2004 it's Velvet Revolver, and - surprise - Weiland's still getting grief. He's hired on with Slash, Duff, and Matt Sorum, fellow vets on the prod for rock glory in the shifting sands of post-zenith opportunity. Their legacies, however, are inverse. While the relevance of Weiland's CV is constantly in committee, the ex-G N' R'rs are like old hall of famers stopping by a little league game to sign trading cards. Axl's folly hasn't tainted their output - Midwesterners' dreams of California hedonism are still shaped mightily by the decadence and degradation of Appetite for Destruction.
It's the politics of Contraband. Therefore, the hubbub in the run-up to VR's debut has heard more chatter about court dates and drug use both present and past than any speculation about the band's sound. The stomp of Guns N' Roses with Slash's benzene slither, bedazzled with the glam and pike of a premier alt.rock frontman? The project should've been making the heshers' eyeballs pop. And imagine if Izzy had joined! As it is, enthusiasm re: Contraband has been guarded at best. But being unexpected only gets the Revolver down the vein quicker.
The album is modern smoked glass on the front of a rock club, stylized metal serration, old guard swagger piercing through glittery cool lamina. "Went too fast I'm out of luck and I don't even give a f*ck", Weiland spits on "Do It for the Kids", and a peel from Slash's arsenal backs him up. The sexy hard throb of early standout "Big Machine" is equally honest about the VR principals' ravages, timeline, and current intent. "Comic book lives don't really have any real life do they now?" The tracks of first person cynicism are up and down this Contraband, but Weiland and the Gunners are also ready to throw some elbows."You're the cancer/You're the leech…Don't let any of those f*ckers in my headspace".
Sonically, it's a little amazing how Contraband sounds pretty much like what you'd expect of such a collabo. "Sucker Train Blues" and "Spectacle" re-access G N' R's trademark muscularity even as Weiland's sideways mouth tumble and harmonizing preen are unmistakable, while "Headspace" and "Superhuman" switch it up, suggesting an STP pace.
Slash's explosive guitar entrance on "Set Me Free" gets the skin a-tingling like the old days, but he's not running a nostalgia show, so there are new tricks and sounds, too, and spars with second guitarist Dave Kushner. "Slither" is a hard orange gasoline drinker; it's "Big Bang Baby"'s cocaine cousin, the cool one in the family with no need for sleep and exploits you read about.
And yet, there's pain behind the excess. Contraband is constantly fighting and searching for a head-clearing open space. "Dirty Little Thing" finds a niche between excess and hope for something greater, while Contraband's slower detours - "Fall to Pieces", the gorgeous "Loving the Alien" - are painted in dusty reds and browns, like idealized fever dreams of desert escaping to the desert with the one you love.
With Contraband, Velvet Revolver has pulled off something tidy, fashioning music that manages both hedonism and maturity. It upholds legacies while grading a new route; it might even make the haters like Weiland. — Johnny Loftus
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Post by muthagoose on Jun 9, 2004 15:52:51 GMT -5
Here is a great resource (originally discovered by Snake) for Velvet Revolver stuff... www.belowempty.com/vr/downloads.phpDefinitely check out the interview of Velvet Revolver from The Howard Stern Show. A lot of good stuff on the 4 part interview... plus an acoustic version of "Slither". Enjoy! |
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Post by Üncle Snake on Jun 10, 2004 16:40:26 GMT -5
Slither is the no. 1 song this week on Billboard's Mainstream Rock chart.
As I posted earlier, Contraband is expected to sell over 250,000 copies in its first week and debut at no. 1.
It's nice to see people listening to and buying good music for a change.
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Post by muthagoose on Jun 11, 2004 9:56:22 GMT -5
Hey Kids - I just ordered the bootleg of the 930 Club show. It is supposedly a high quality recording. The dude also threw in a disc with the KROQ and Howard Stern Interviews. If it is worth it I will make the disc available ASAP! For pictures from the show... check out muthagoose.textamerica.commuthagoose  |
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Post by muthagoose on Jun 15, 2004 14:37:12 GMT -5
VELVET REVOLVER's "Contraband" entered the Australian album chart at No. 2, right behind Australian country songstress Kasey Chambers, who has managed to maintain her No. 1 spot with "Wayward Angel".
As previously reported, it continues to look like VELVET REVOLVER will debut at No. 1 on The Billboard 200 chart with first-week sales approaching 250,000, putting the album on top by a comfortable margin.
VELVET REVOLVER, who said to be fielding seven-figure offers for their publishing, are the subject of an upcoming VH1 special, "(Inside)Out: The Rise of Velvet Revolver". The program, which is set to air on Wednesday night, June 30 at 12:00 a.m. EST / 11:00 p.m. CST, is described as a behind-the-scenes look at how VELVET REVOLVER got constructed, from the songwriting process to the singer search and studio sessions.
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Post by LotB on Jun 16, 2004 1:41:54 GMT -5
I think Australian country singers are a little underappreciated, myself.
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Post by Üncle Snake on Jun 16, 2004 7:38:47 GMT -5
Contraband sold 256,264 copies in the U.S. during its first week of release to debut at No. 1 on next week's Billboard 200 chart.
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Post by muthagoose on Jun 18, 2004 9:10:21 GMT -5
VELVET REVOLVER's "Contraband" is the first No. 1 album in the United States to be loaded with anticopying protections, marking a clear step into the mainstream for the controversial technology, according to CNET News.
According to figures released by Nielsen SoundScan, VELVET REVOLVER's "Contraband" was the top-selling album in America last week, despite being prominently labeled on its cover as being "protected against unauthorized duplication."
As in earlier tests by BMG and SunnComm, the copy protection on the VELVET REVOLVER disc can be simply disabled by pushing the "Shift" key on a computer while the CD is loading, which blocks the SunnComm software from being installed. The companies say they have long been aware of the work-around but that they were not trying to create an unhackable protection.
According to SunnComm, few purchasers have complained about the anticopying tools, although angry postings on sites such as Amazon.com are common. The sticker on the front of the VELVET REVOLVER CD and a link inside the software that loads automatically on a computer, once a user has given permission, points to SunnComm's web site.
"We hear from less than half of one percent of people who have the VELVET REVOLVER disc," SunnComm CEO Peter Jacobs told CNET News. "Most of those questions are related to getting the songs onto an iPod."
The following are the first-week chart positions for "Contraband" around the world:
Canada: #1 (22,230 sold in week 1)
Australia: #2
Argentina: #2
Norway: #3
Sweden: #3
Spain: #6 int'l chart (22 overall)
Germany: #7
New Zealand: #8
Ireland: #8
Mexico: #8 (mix up retail chart)
Denmark: #9
Japan: #10 (6) second week in Top 10, Slither #7 (airplay)
UK: #11 (23,190 sold in week 1)
Italy: #17
Holland: #20
Switzerland: #22
France: #34 (#16 at Virgin, #18 at FNAC)
Belgium: #36
The second single off "Contraband", "Fall to Pieces", will go for radio adds in August.
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Post by muthagoose on Jun 21, 2004 14:27:13 GMT -5
SLASH's Son To Be Delivered By C-Section - June 21, 2004
VELVET REVOLVER guitarist Slash's second son, Cash Anthony Hudson, will be delivered by cesarean section on Wednesday, June 23, informed sources have told BLABBERMOUTH.NET. VELVET REVOLVER's gig at Roseland in Portland, Oregon Tuesday night (June 22) will proceed as scheduled. Slash (real name: Saul Hudson), 38, and his wife, Perla Hudson, 31, an ex-model, have a two-year-old son, London.
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Post by LotB on Jun 21, 2004 19:02:37 GMT -5
Too bad they won't be auto-installing a damn thing onto my Linux box. Fucking communists.
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Post by Üncle Snake on Jun 21, 2004 21:12:48 GMT -5
Former GUNS N' ROSES/current VELVET REVOLVER bassist Duff McKagan will appear in an upcoming segment of "America's Most Wanted" focusing on the unsolved murder of Lorella Lepper, webmaster for McKagan's previous band, LOADED (LoadedOnline.com). Lepper was stabbed to death in her Los Angeles apartment in November 2002. The show will air on Saturday, June 26.
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Post by Üncle Snake on Jun 23, 2004 16:38:49 GMT -5
from http://www.mtvnews.com:
Velvet Revolver explain Slash's hat trick
IRVINE, California — Like Metallica cutting their hair and Enrique Iglesias removing his mole, Slash losing his signature top hat in the Velvet Revolver publicity shots has hardly gone unnoticed.
The legendary guitarist and his bandmates would like to make it clear, however, that journalists who have noted a total absence are not entirely accurate.
"It makes occasional appearances," drummer Matt Sorum said backstage at the KROQ Weenie Roast.
"Sometimes it's just on the stage in the corner by itself, sometimes it's on me," guitarist Dave Kushner added.
"I just need it," Slash declared with a smile, hiding behind his long locks of hair, which have not changed. "I need it close by for security, in case I get overly shy, so I can pull it over my head."
The hat is traveling with Velvet Revolver on tour, but it's made few appearances, perhaps a sign of how comfortable the guitarist is onstage with his new band. And now that the group's debut album, Contraband, is in stores, Slash only expects to have more fun playing live.
"We started out last month just going out with a bunch of material that no one had ever heard," he explained. "Now that the album's out, we get to watch this whole new plateau of how people react to different songs and what people are into."
"As it is now, when we kick into 'Slither,' it really goes off," Sorum added. "That's really exciting for us."
"Slither," of course, is the first single and video from Contraband and the #1 song on Billboard's Mainstream Rock Tracks chart and #2 on the Modern Rock Tracks chart.
Slash said the song was one of the first pieces of music he, Sorum, Kushner and Duff McKagan wrote before Scott Weiland joined the band.
"It got shelved for a second, then it came back and we gave it to Scott, and Scott came up with the lyrics and all that," Slash said. "And 'Slither' was the working title, so he just made words that went along with 'Slither' and it just became our song. So when it came time to put the record out and pick a single, we didn't know what to pick because there was a lot of cool songs on the record. We said, 'Well, "Slither" is pretty indicative of just the band in general, and it's easy,' so we just put it out there."
Velvet Revolver have yet to select the follow-up to "Slither," but Slash, Sorum and Kushner agree that "Superhuman" is a front-runner.
"It's just got a lot of good texture," Kushner said.
"It reminds me of ... just sweaty, grindy, greasy sex stuff," Slash added.
"It's a bit of a booty-shaker," Sorum said.
Whatever Weiland's thoughts are on the next single, the media will probably never know, as the frontman recently declared on the band's Web site that he's no longer granting interviews in light of issues he had with Maxim and Revolver, which called him "the biggest f----up of them all."
His bandmates are supportive of his decision.
"In this band he's just out there proving himself as someone who is really serious about what it is that he does," Slash said. "And as soon as you get a really negative, opinionated thing from the journalists, it's like, 'You're just not getting it. I don't want to talk to you anymore.' And I totally understand it, because it's like we're out there and he's pulling it off and the last thing he wants to hear about is [what happened] six months ago or two years ago or three years ago. ... The rest of us all have pretty sordid pasts [as well — we] just never got caught."
—Corey Moss
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Post by muthagoose on Jul 2, 2004 9:50:19 GMT -5
SCOTT WEILAND's DUI Trial To Start Today - July 2, 2004
VELVET REVOLVER singer Scott Weiland finally got a start date for his DUI trial in Los Angeles — on Wednesday (June 30), a judge decided that the case should go to trial on Friday (July 2), according to MTV.com.
Last October, Weiland was arrested for driving under the influence of drugs after crashing his BMW into a parked van. (Mav Himself Style)
In other news, VELVET REVOLVER are currently filming a video for the second single off their chart-topping debut, "Contraband". The "Fall to Pieces" clip is reportedly being shot in Los Angeles.
*Muthagoose Note: "Fall To Pieces" is going to be a mega-hit. Mark my words.
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Post by Üncle Snake on Jul 2, 2004 10:46:43 GMT -5
*Muthagoose Note: "Fall To Pieces" is going to be a mega-hit. Mark my words. I agree. It's going to be the new Sweet Child O' Mine. |
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Post by Üncle Snake on Jul 9, 2004 0:47:05 GMT -5
Nearly eight months after his arrest for driving under the influence of drugs, Scott Weiland was sentenced Thursday in a Los Angeles court to three years' probation, during which he'll be treated for his drug problem.
Weiland had pleaded no contest to the misdemeanor charge earlier this week, which stemmed from his arrest on his 36th birthday, October 27th. The Velvet Revolver singer's BMW struck a parked van, and as part of his sentencing, he was ordered to pay restitution to the owner of the parked vehicle, in addition to a $390 fine.
Under the terms of Weiland's latest probation, he'll be required to enroll in a six-month drug-treatment program and attend three Narcotics Anonymous meetings per week for the next three years. Weiland will also be required to submit to regular drug testing, as well as periodic drug testing at the discretion of the police (with or without probable cause), according to the city attorney's office. During this probation, Weiland is prohibited from being in the possession of, or under the influence of, both alcohol and drugs.
A week before this most recent arrest, Weiland had been congratulated for staying clean by a judge overseeing his probation from two felony charges of possession of heroin and cocaine. Upon hearing of the DUI arrest, that judge determined the latest charge was a violation of Weiland's probation and revoked the singer's freedom, ordering him into detox. The lockdown aspect of his rehab was later amended, and he will have completed the terms of his sober-living program under that probation by the end of this month, at which point he was scheduled to have six more months of after-care counseling and testing.
There's no word yet if Weiland's new probation will affect his current one, but the city attorney's office anticipates that they'll run concurrently. That matter will likely be decided at the singer's next probation status report hearing, scheduled for July 30.
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Post by LotB on Jul 9, 2004 2:39:06 GMT -5
Amazing that this guy is still free. We should sit down sometime and compare his record to those of Tommy Lee and Robert Downey Jr., just to see who "wins."
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Post by muthagoose on Jul 12, 2004 8:28:44 GMT -5
VELVET REVOLVER frontman Scott Weiland was photographed leaving Los Angeles Municipal Court, where he pleaded no contest to driving under the influence in Los Angeles, on Thursday (June 8). Check out pictures from Globe Photos.
As previously reported, Weiland was sentenced to a six-month stint in a drug program and was placed on probation and ordered to repay the owner of a parked vehicle he rammed shortly before his October arrest on the misdemeanor DUI charge.
Weiland, 36, previously was placed in a live-in detoxification program after an earlier arrest in May 2003 for heroin possession. In 1999, he served jail time for repeatedly violating his probation on drug charges and for failing to complete drug rehabilitation stints.
In other news, Weiland was recently asked by Stuff magazine what made plunging a needle into his arm seem like a good idea. "I was on medication for manic-depressive disorder," Weiland explained. "It's been an issue for the past 20 years. Part of the problem was, I got off my medication and decided to medicate myself with heroin — which worked for a while, but in the end, it stopped. I fell off the wagon during a time when my wife and I were separated and STONE TEMPLE PILOTS were broken up. I was in a suicidal depression — a narcissistic, obsessive depression. And the only thing I could think about was my own self-centered, dark world. My thoughts today are not on myself."
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Post by muthagoose on Jul 20, 2004 14:46:14 GMT -5
VELVET REVOLVER To Film 'Fall To Pieces' Video This Weekend - July 20, 2004
VELVET REVOLVER are scheduled to film the video for the track "Fall to Pieces" this weekend (July 24-25) in Los Angeles. The concept for the clip is said to be the basic storyline of the song — a drug addict falling in a big, black hole.
(Mg: Real strech there concept wise!)
The setting for the video will reportedly be the old Starwood venue and the surroundings of that area and time.
"Fall to Pieces" is the second single off VELVET REVOLVER's gold-certified debut album, "Contraband", which was released in early June.
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Post by muthagoose on Jul 21, 2004 14:00:10 GMT -5
According to a recent interview with Matt Sorum of Velvet Revolver, the new video for "Fall To Pieces" will be a period piece.
Apparently the video will take place in the 1979. They plan to remake a club that exsisted at the time on Santa Monica Blvd. and Cresent Heights, which was called Starwood. There was also a club next door called Rodney's New Wave Disco.
Apparently, the parking lot of this place was very mixed, from punks, to glam rockers, to drug dealers.
The club was torn down years ago but was formerly owned by a man named Eddie Nash, who was involved with the Laurel Canyon Murders somehow. Those are the murders that John Holmes was implicated in and the movie "Wonderland" was based on.
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