Velvet Revolver was an American hard rock supergroup formed in 2002 in California, bringing together three former members of Guns N'Roses — guitarist Slash, bassist Duff McKagan, and drummer Matt Sorum — with rhythm guitarist Dave Kushner (formerly of Wasted Youth) and vocalist Scott Weiland (formerly of Stone Temple Pilots). The seeds of the collaboration were planted when Slash, McKagan, and Sorum reunited for a benefit concert honoring the memory of Ozzy Osbourne's late drummer Randy Castillo, and found their chemistry immediately intact. Izzy Stradlin briefly attended rehearsals but did not join as a permanent member. The search for a vocalist was extensive — the band heard over 500 demos and held hundreds of auditions — but Weiland, who had auditioned early in the process, ultimately won the role. The name Velvet Revolver was reportedly inspired in part by the Veruca Salt song Seether (which had also given its name to the South African band) and the band's desire for something that conveyed both softness and danger.
Contraband (2004), produced by Josh Abraham and released on RCA Records, debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 in its first week, selling over 250,000 copies and going on to be certified double platinum in the United States and sell over three million copies worldwide. The album produced three rock and alternative hits: Slither, a serpentine blues-rock single that won the 2005 Grammy Award for Best Hard Rock Performance; the power ballad Fall to Pieces; and Dirty Little Thing. Contraband proved that the combination of the GN'R rhythm section, Slash's guitar, and Weiland's voice produced something that stood on its own rather than simply trading on the reputations of its parts. The band was an immediate arena draw.
Libertad (2007), produced by Brendan O'Brien, debuted at number five on the Billboard 200 and produced She Builds Quick Machines, which reached number two on the Mainstream Rock chart. But the tour supporting Libertad exposed the tensions that had been building throughout the band's existence. Weiland's sobriety had been fragile throughout the band's run — his arrest for drug possession had delayed the recording of Contraband — and his onstage behavior became increasingly erratic. On April 1, 2008, Weiland was fired. Slash cited his "increasingly erratic onstage behavior and personal problems" and stated that the band was "all about its fans and its music and Scott Weiland isn't 100% committed to either." Weiland rejoined Stone Temple Pilots, and the remaining members of Velvet Revolver entered an indefinite hiatus while they searched unsuccessfully for a replacement vocalist. The five original members performed together one final time at a benefit show on January 12, 2012. Weiland died on December 3, 2015, of an accidental drug overdose on his tour bus in Bloomington, Minnesota, at age 48, while touring with his band Scott Weiland and the Wildabouts. In 2016, Slash and McKagan rejoined Guns N'Roses for a reunion that Weiland never saw.
Wayne Dennon photographed Velvet Revolver as part of an archive that documents the moments when rock's most talented musicians find each other across different histories and make something larger than any of them could make alone. Velvet Revolver was exactly that — a band whose brief run produced genuinely great music under circumstances that made its existence feel unlikely and its ending feel inevitable.
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