Velvet Revolver finds identity

Published 3:23 pm Thursday, September 6, 2007

Flipping through discs on record store shelves or browsing through the iTunes Music Store these days, it’s difficult to tell if bands put much effort anymore into naming their albums.

Some album titles have meaning, others seem like misguided attempts at cleverness. But Velvet Revolver, which has sought to establish itself with members that came from the remnants of Guns ‘n’ Roses and Stone Temple Pilots lead singer Scott Weiland, seems to know exactly what it’s saying about the band when naming its albums.

The first, “Contraband,” seemed like just that. The band was something significant, if not dangerous, being slipped past the security gates of rock ‘n’ roll, but no one quite knew what it was. Everyone seemed to know what they expected of Velvet Revolver, but Weiland and his new bandmates, guitarists Slash and Dave Kushner, bassist Duff McKagan and drummer Matt Sorum, weren’t entirely sure of who they were.

The new release is appropriately entitled “Libertad,” which means “liberty” in Spanish, and reflects the sense of freedom the band members are feeling now that one album is in the books and they’ve had a couple of years to find their new identity.

“We had more freedom to explore our musical ideas because we were confident in the chemistry,” Seattle native McKagan says in the band’s press bio. “It wasn’t so much knowing where each other’s musical boundaries are, it was finding out where they aren’t. Sometimes you’re hesitant to break out that part you’ve been playing around with because you think someone on the other side of the room might say, ‘Aw, dude, what is that?’ I don’t care who you talk to, every musician has felt it. We were just more comfortable trying things we might not have tried before.”

While that might sound a little abstract, the band’s sound has clearly taken a turn. It’s no longer about whether it sounds “like Guns ‘n’ Roses” or “like Stone Temple Pilots,” it’s about the fact that it sounds like Weiland, Slash, McKagan, Kushner and Sorum a.k.a. Velvet Revolver.

Velvet Revolver brings its tour to The Gorge on Saturday.

Standout tracks from the new album, including “She Builds Quick Machines” and “Get Out the Door,” demonstrate what is rapidly becoming a signature Velvet Revolver sound, and show off the reason this band full of rockers in their mid-40s is still relevant and debuted at No. 5 on the Billboard 200 album chart.

Joining Velvet Revolver at The Gorge on Saturday is Alice in Chains, another group of rockers experiencing a resurgence of a completely different kind. Singer William DuVall steps in as an admitted understudy to Layne Staley, who died five years ago of a drug overdose, and joins guitarist Jerry Cantrell, bassist Mike Inez and drummer Sean Kinney. The project began with a five-date club tour and some festival shows in Europe, but was successful enough that the band is launching a full U.S. tour this fall.

“We’re not trying to replace Layne,” Kinney recently told Reuters. “We want to play these songs one more time … I don’t know how long it will go or where it will take us. It’s kind of a tribute to Layne and our fans, the people who love these songs.”

Reporter Victor Balta: victor.a.balta@gmail.com.

ABC photo

Singer Scott Weiland of Velvet Revolver.

ABC photo

Guitarist Slash of Velvet Revolver.