I have enough solid information now to write the biography.
Velvet Revolver formed in Rancho Santa Margarita, California, in 2002, born out of a chance reunion. The band began with a spring 2002 jam session that reunited ex-Guns N' Roses bandmates Slash on guitar, Duff McKagan on bass, and Matt Sorum on drums, and discovering their chemistry was still intact, the trio began pushing around new music and auditioning singers. The trio recruited guitarist Dave Kushner, who had previously played with Wasted Youth, Suicidal Tendencies, The Infectious Grooves, and Dave Navarro. After an extensive and highly publicized search that included numerous candidates, they landed on late vocalist Scott Weiland, formerly and subsequently of Stone Temple Pilots , completing a lineup that carried the weight of two of rock's most influential bands into a new, raw hard rock project.
The band's breakthrough came fast and hard with their debut album. Contraband, released on June 8, 2004 by RCA Records, was a commercial success that debuted at number one on the American Billboard 200 chart and was certified double platinum by the RIAA. Notably, this marked the best-ever debut for a new rock artist in the SoundScan era, and the album would later sell over 2.9 million copies in the United States and 4 million worldwide. Singles like "Slither" and "Fall to Pieces" became rock radio staples, with "Slither," released May 24, 2004, topping the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart for nine weeks and reaching number one on the Modern Rock Tracks chart, earning Velvet Revolver a Grammy Award for Best Hard Rock Performance at the 47th Annual Grammy Awards in 2005. The lineup itself was the story: three former Guns N' Roses members joined by a Stone Temple Pilots frontman made this one of the defining supergroups of the 2000s.
The band's career arc continued with a follow-up album and mounting internal tension. The band released Libertad in 2007, driven by the release of the single "She Builds Quick Machines," and embarked on a tour with Alice in Chains. Produced by Brendan O'Brien, the record did not match the sales of the first album but received positive reviews. Behind the scenes, though, friction was building, and in April 2008, Weiland parted ways with Velvet Revolver and has since reunited with Stone Temple Pilots. The band was subsequently released by their record label RCA Records at their request to allow them "complete freedom to go through whatever process it would take to accomplish" replacing Weiland, though a full replacement never materialized and the band drifted into hiatus.
In the years since, Velvet Revolver has remained inactive as a full band, with only sporadic reunions. The band's years active are listed as 2002 to 2008, with one-off reunions in 2010 and 2012. Members scattered into other projects: Slash and Duff famously rejoined Guns N' Roses for a massive reunion tour, with Slash preparing for more global tour dates and Duff McKagan releasing a solo album titled Lighthouse. Weiland's death in 2015 effectively closed the door on any future full reunion. Even so, the band's legacy endures, as their music remains a staple on rock radio stations, and many younger bands cite them as a major influence on their style. For this archive, Velvet Revolver holds a special place among the bands Wayne Dennon captured through his lens. He photographed the group on two separate occasions between 2004 and 2007, right in the heart of their commercial peak, capturing them across two different cities in two states during the Contraband and Libertad eras. Those shows live on through 81 photographs preserved here, images that have drawn 62,686 views from archive visitors who return again and again to relive the raw energy of one of hard rock's great supergroups. In documenting Velvet Revolver at their height, Wayne's camera helped preserve a fleeting but unforgettable chapter of rock history.
