Duff McKagan has discussed how addiction led to the breakup of Velvet Revolver, the band he formed with fellow ex-Guns N’ Roses members Slash and Matt Sorum. McKagan shared his thoughts in comments made via Finding Your Summit podcast.
McKagan explained that Scott Weiland, the band’s singer, stayed sober during the making of their first album and the initial tour, but the situation changed with their second record. He described watching Weiland struggle with addiction and its impact on his family life.
“[When] that first [Velvet Revolver] record was made, [Scott] was sober, and [he stayed clean for] the first tour. And it was great, but you could see it teetering. And the second record, when the wheels came off, was tough,” McKagan said.
McKagan reflected on how success changed the band’s circumstances. “We had a lot of success with that first record. The band grew. It was a big rock band. Suddenly we’re a big rock band. And seeing Scott, the demise and losing his wife. He had two kids, and they just kind of took off. ‘Scott, you’re gonna lose your family, dude. That’s what this is all about.’ And it was quite sad.”
Beyond Weiland’s struggles with drugs, McKagan spoke about the person he knew before addiction took hold. “I know him. I know him — him, not the drug Scott. And what a good guy. What an athlete. Everything. He was] super into football, super into Notre Dame. He knew all the X’s and O’s and all this… You know, there’s a lot of other stuff about Scott that was really cool to be around, really fun. College football Saturdays were great. That was his holiday.”
McKagan concluded by describing the difficult period that followed. “So, yeah, seeing that happen was gnarly, and that was the end of that, really. So we came off tour for that second record, and the wheels were coming off through that whole tour. It was hard to watch.”
These comments reflect on the final years of Velvet Revolver, which disbanded as Weiland’s addiction worsened.
Velvet Revolver was formed in 2002 with McKagan, Slash, Matt Sorum, and Dave Kushner. The band spent nearly two years searching for a singer before inviting the public to send demos and eventually selecting Scott Weiland from Stone Temple Pilots. Their debut album Contraband was released on June 8, 2004, and debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, selling 256,000 copies in its first week, marking the best debut for a new rock artist in the SoundScan era.
The second and final Velvet Revolver studio album, Libertad, came out on July 3, 2007. While McKagan notes in the podcast that Weiland relapsed on drugs and alcohol with the second record, Rolling Stone reported that Libertad was one of only three albums Weiland wrote while sober, along with Stone Temple Pilots’ Core and the self-titled 2010 album. Libertad proved less commercially successful than Contraband, adding tension within the band as turmoil continued.
By 2008, the situation had become critical. Band members were barely talking to each other during a European tour in the spring, and during a March 20 show in Glasgow, Weiland told fans they were watching Velvet Revolver’s last tour. On April 1, 2008, the band confirmed that Weiland was no longer a member. Slash acknowledged that chemical issues affected more than just Weiland, having relapsed on drugs in 2006 during the recording of Libertad, but Weiland’s relapse in 2007 and subsequent rehab in April 2008 led to his departure.
After leaving Velvet Revolver, Weiland reunited with Stone Temple Pilots in 2008. The band briefly reunited for a one-off show with Weiland on January 12, 2012, at a benefit concert, but released no new material after his departure. Weiland died in 2015 of an accidental overdose involving cocaine, ethanol, and methylenedioxyamphetamine while on tour with his band Scott Weiland and the Wildabouts.
