Slash...on Velvet Revolver years.

[Sklashboombash]

I know this story broke a couple weeks ago, but I don't recall seeing it discussed here...




Slash has been making the rounds lately, talking about the GNR tour and upcoming Slash/Myles album and had some choice things to say about Velvet Revolver:
"Velvet Revolver was no fun. I have nothing positive to say about that experience except that we did write some cool stuff."


Of course, he lived it, so he can feel how he feels. I wonder how much of it was Scott. I wonder how much of it might have been that they all relapsed during those years. Maybe both. Maybe more.


I remember the late 90's weren't very kind to Slash. I remember when Slash spent a couple years just trying to find a distribution deal for the already completed second Snakepit album, "Ain't Life Grand".  He was yesterday's news. Treated like an after-thought, until Koch Records gave him a chance.


So when "The Project" (VR) was being launched - all those frontmen/prospects they were looking through - I firmly believe that nobody BUT Scott Weiland was going to make that band relevant, despite being 3/5 GNR members. If Sebastian Bach had fronted that band, it would've been just another retread of old 80's dudes trying to recapture past glories.


And allow me to say that I'm a HUGE Guns fan. I think Slash is legendary, but credit where it's due...Scott was the game changer there. Scott was the difference between VR being the success that it was and it being Snakepit Mach III. And VR subsequently helped Slash relaunch his career, in my opinion... And so it kinda bugs me that Scott's name is dragged through the mud with regards to VR. I'm not justifying or excusing any of his behavior, but Slash seems to have forgotten the sequence of events here a bit.


Thoughts?

[seattlesound]

Hey Slash, what did you think you were getting when you guys tapped Weiland to be your singer?!


How about someone ask him that question. Slash seems like a whiner honestly. I mean that with all due respect.

[CoconutBackwards]

Hey Slash, what did you think you were getting when you guys tapped Weiland to be your singer?!


How about someone ask him that question. Slash seems like a whiner honestly. I mean that with all due respect.

Why bother saying that with respect?


I never liked Velvet Revolver nor will I ever, but after everything that happened it's not surprising that he'd rather distance himself from it.

[loungefly90]

I think Slash is on his high-horse right now since he and Axl have reunited. He's making more money than he ever has before, is playing all over the world, and obviously sees his time with Scott as a negative thing from the past. I would expect a bit more of a humbled attitude considering his lifetime of success. However, I wasn't there and it wasn't my experience. But, I think VR deserves more credit than it normally gets.

[NickLorenza]

Dude is right... VR kept Slash relevant during a time where he could have ended up on a reality show with Mr. T. I can completely understand if he has some unresolved negative feelings toward Scott, simply because that's what Scott typically did, burnt bridges. I don't think anyone involved in his public musical life got to make their peace with him. That's just the vibe I get from an objective perspective, and a few years later that's still what I personally find saddest about the whole situation of his passing.


While Slash may look back on the ride with Weiland as a negative thing for whatever reasons, I think he should be thankful for the opportunity to have taken the stage with the last great frontman. He didn't get the Scott who was a shadow of himself. He got to take the stage with the real fuckin' deal, night in, night out. If nothing else, VR served as a place holder, perhaps a stepping stone to what he is fortunate enough to be able to do today.


Bottom line is, while VR isn't necessarily home turf for Slash, they were a pretty good rock n' roll band who in my opinion made two pretty damn good albums. VR was the long road that took him back to where he really wanted to be.

[Chris Pepper]

Dude is right... VR kept Slash relevant during a time where he could have ended up on a reality show with Mr. T. I can completely understand if he has some unresolved negative feelings toward Scott, simply because that's what Scott typically did, burnt bridges. I don't think anyone involved in his public musical life got to make their peace with him. That's just the vibe I get from an objective perspective, and a few years later that's still what I personally find saddest about the whole situation of his passing.


While Slash may look back on the ride with Weiland as a negative thing for whatever reasons, I think he should be thankful for the opportunity to have taken the stage with the last great frontman. He didn't get the Scott who was a shadow of himself. He got to take the stage with the real fuckin' deal, night in, night out. If nothing else, VR served as a place holder, perhaps a stepping stone to what he is fortunate enough to be able to do today.


Bottom line is, while VR isn't necessarily home turf for Slash, they were a pretty good rock n' roll band who in my opinion made two pretty damn good albums. VR was the long road that took him back to where he really wanted to be.

I loved how you put how his musical life never made piece with him.  It really stains his legacy.  There are pockets of respect.  Billy Corgan, David Fricke but most of his biggest collaborators were deeply wounded with their relationships with him and may never carry his flag. 

Question for the board:  Do you think time will heal the wounds or will his legacy always be in this dark cloud?

[seattlesound]

Chris I think it wil always be a stained legacy. Honestly I’ve carried the flag as much as a fan of his work could like many of you, but as I look at all of it in hindsight, the dude seemed to be a real pill for almost anyone he worked with. I’m sure there’s exceptions but none of them really speak up for Weiland, so who knows.


For me it’s all different anymore. The guy was electric for several years on stage... but beyond that... ehhh


The STP legacy has changed for me since they have gone forward. But that’s another topic.

[Sklashboombash]

Question for the board:  Do you think time will heal the wounds or will his legacy always be in this dark cloud?

I’d like to think that in time, his legacy will be regarded in a more positive light. I think about someone like Jim Morrison, who towards the end had very few people in his corner. His own band had pretty much  had their fill of his behavior and antics.

I know they each have their own stories and the eras in which they lived differ greatly, but I can see a scenario in which he gets his due.

[Blue]

Besides Slash, who isn't carrying the flag for Scott? The DeLeos and Kretz have had nothing but kind words to say since his passing, and even made the entire re-issue of Core a tribute to him. Matt, Duff, and Dave have all had kind words and tributes.

Really, I think it's just Slash being stubborn about it. Everyone else seems to have moved on to looking at him in a more positive light... Even Axl goddamn Rose.

[NickLorenza]

As far as his legacy goes.... I agree with Blue in the sense that since his death the STP guys have had lots of good things to say about him. I can't speak much for the VR guys just because I don't remember ever hearing a lot from them about it other than the standard "we're saddened" messages in the immediate aftermath.


However, I still feel like overall in the big picture his passing was just treated like a foot-note. Wasn't seen in the same light as Cornell, Bennington, Lemmy, Prince, or even Glen Frey. Just kind of mentioned and quickly swept under the rug.


I get it, the guy had the whole world and pissed it away; not just effecting him, but also disappointing many close to him in the process. Not just once,but over and over again.... Yes, in time he burned bridges with many, and I'm sure that has a big effect on how his "legacy" is seen right now. People wrote the guy off. He left a bad taste in the mouths of many he came in close contact with, I get it. I do hope that in time people's memories shift more to the good times. The STP guys certainly have mostly followed this suit.


To me personally, what is so sad isn't so much that I'm not getting new music from Scott again. I can live with that. He left us with so many good tunes to celebrate. What saddens me to this day is that Scott was a man who clearly had that final defeating emotional blow years ago that broke his spirit and he just couldn't recover. It changed him to the point where he became a shadow of himself. He distanced himself from those who actually cared about him. The most heartbreaking part to me is that he left people on bad terms. Fighting with the STP guys, fighting with most of the VR guys. How about Doug? He kicked him out of the band, so I bet their relationship had changed. The guy was even feuding with Richard Patrick of all people..... I just wish that if he had to go he could have patched things up with everyone first. Maybe a final phone call to Dean or Robert, or a final chance path crossing in person somewhere. Something to clear the air with everyone. Something where he could have walked away with a hug instead of mutual bad blood. I'd just feel so much better about his passing if I knew he made peace with everyone first.


It's because he didn't make peace with people that his legacy won't be seen in positive light for quite some time in my opinion.

[StoneTempleBrett]

As far as his legacy goes.... I agree with Blue in the sense that since his death the STP guys have had lots of good things to say about him. I can't speak much for the VR guys just because I don't remember ever hearing a lot from them about it other than the standard "we're saddened" messages in the immediate aftermath.


However, I still feel like overall in the big picture his passing was just treated like a foot-note. Wasn't seen in the same light as Cornell, Bennington, Lemmy, Prince, or even Glen Frey. Just kind of mentioned and quickly swept under the rug.


I get it, the guy had the whole world and pissed it away; not just effecting him, but also disappointing many close to him in the process. Not just once,but over and over again.... Yes, in time he burned bridges with many, and I'm sure that has a big effect on how his "legacy" is seen right now. People wrote the guy off. He left a bad taste in the mouths of many he came in close contact with, I get it. I do hope that in time people's memories shift more to the good times. The STP guys certainly have mostly followed this suit.


To me personally, what is so sad isn't so much that I'm not getting new music from Scott again. I can live with that. He left us with so many good tunes to celebrate. What saddens me to this day is that Scott was a man who clearly had that final defeating emotional blow years ago that broke his spirit and he just couldn't recover. It changed him to the point where he became a shadow of himself. He distanced himself from those who actually cared about him. The most heartbreaking part to me is that he left people on bad terms. Fighting with the STP guys, fighting with most of the VR guys. How about Doug? He kicked him out of the band, so I bet their relationship had changed. The guy was even feuding with Richard Patrick of all people..... I just wish that if he had to go he could have patched things up with everyone first. Maybe a final phone call to Dean or Robert, or a final chance path crossing in person somewhere. Something to clear the air with everyone. Something where he could have walked away with a hug instead of mutual bad blood. I'd just feel so much better about his passing if I knew he made peace with everyone first.


It's because he didn't make peace with people that his legacy won't be seen in positive light for quite some time in my opinion.

Scott was in a mindset near the end that if he ran into most of the STP and VR guys, it wouldn't have ended well. From my interview at least, he was in total denial.

I believe the only STP/VR guy he was feuding with that he made up with (he never had issues with Dave Kushner) was Matt Sorum, but I think they buried the hatchet in 2013 or 2014, before Scott's final descent into being a complete broken shell of a man in 2015. Matt talked about it on the radio the day Scott died, that interview with Matt Pinfield I think where he was crying.

[CritterTypeThing]

Wasn't there a TON of nonsense about Slash and his wife at that time?  He could definitely have a lot of that drama mixed into the general "VR memory/emotion" bank too.

After the fact I always had the impression that Slash was just kinda overruled with the group and that he was never really married to the idea of Weiland.  And that after splitting from Scott, that Slash was more or less the one holding up moving forward with any other singers (it had seemed to me like Corey Taylor wasn't too far from getting the gig a few years later).  Maybe I just have that sense of feeling because Slash is the most vocal about it (keeping in mind that he does the most press).

Anyway, kinda sad he can't find anything positive to say about the experience.  They won a grammy and reached platinum sales in the peak of the Napster trend.  The $$$ must've been real good if such a negative experience could last a couple album & touring cycles.

Oh well, I still appreciate and love that project!

[foou33]

After the fact I always had the impression that Slash was just kinda overruled with the group and that he was never really married to the idea of Weiland.  And that after splitting from Scott, that Slash was more or less the one holding up moving forward with any other singers (it had seemed to me like Corey Taylor wasn't too far from getting the gig a few years later).  Maybe I just have that sense of feeling because Slash is the most vocal about it (keeping in mind that he does the most press).

I was under the impression that Corey turned them down.

[Sklashboombash]

After the fact I always had the impression that Slash was just kinda overruled with the group and that he was never really married to the idea of Weiland.  And that after splitting from Scott, that Slash was more or less the one holding up moving forward with any other singers (it had seemed to me like Corey Taylor wasn't too far from getting the gig a few years later).  Maybe I just have that sense of feeling because Slash is the most vocal about it (keeping in mind that he does the most press).

I was under the impression that Corey turned them down.

I remember that Slash didn't like Corey's approach, describing it as "too macho", if I remember correctly.
Makes sense. Scott always had that sexiness to his whole vibe. To have someone come in with a more aggro-style was drastic.