VELVET REVOLVER Interview Page 2
from BW&BK Magazine

"I think we are the same guys," Sorum says about the overall vibe in band these days. "Duff has a family. He's not snorting cocaine or drinking bottles of vodka every day, he's down at the gym kicking his ass. It's not what it's about anymore. When we used to f**kin' party every night and play rock n' roll. In our heads, that's what rock n' roll was to us. What we grew up with. And there will always be that part in us. It's not going to go away. There's always going to be that feeling of when were a kid and that first official reason why we got into playing rock n' roll. We wouldn't be doing this if we didn't feel that way. When we get up on stage we mean business. We throw down and it's the real thing. It's not fabricated or any of that shit."

So is this a substance-free record? "We really don't talk too much about drug-free or not," McKagan steps carefully. "We are all individuals and we all do what's best for our survival. We've learned how to survive whether it's drug free or not. Even when I was drinking two gallons of vodka a day, snorting coke and taking pills, we were still focused on the music. We'd focus when we'd record. We'd focus when we'd write. We'd focus for a gig. My personal excesses got in the way at the end. I don't remember whole legs of a tour. I don't remember gigs and that's probably not the best thing for the music. I probably didn't play great during the end. It was a hinderance. I discovered I didn't need my excesses to let my soul out, let the music out. What we do is what we do. Some of us are good and don't do stuff, some of us do and it doesn't really matter. As long as it doesn't get in the way of the music. We've got each other's back and it's all good."

Velvet Revolver begin a North American tour with ALICE IN CHAINS on August 5 in Baltimore, MD. Dates can be found at www.velvetrevolver.com.