VELVET REVOLVER drummer Matt Sorum has commented on singer Scott Weiland‘s decision to enter a rehab facility last week following the band’s February 6 performance at the Wiltern Theatre in Los Angeles. Sorum told Entertainment Weekly magazine that Scott is “doing okay” in treatment. “He checked himself in to rehab,” the former GUNS N’ ROSES drummer said on Saturday at Clive Davis‘s pre-Grammy party. “Scott took the initiative to get in there. Nobody forced him, and that’s a good thing. You see shows on TV, like ‘Intervention’, but until you’re really ready to get clean and sober, you’re going to do what you’re going to do. It could have gone the other way, but he decided he needed to take care of business so he’s down there taking care of himself.”
Weiland was arrested on November 21, 2007 when he crashed his car while driving on an L.A. highway.
He was charged with driving under the influence of drugs with a prior conviction, and with an allegation that he refused a chemical test as required by law.
According to MTV.com, Weiland has been arrested multiple times over the past decade for a variety of drug offenses in California and New York, and has spent time in jail on several occasions. He was arrested in 2003 in Hollywood after a traffic accident and charged with driving under the influence of drugs and alcohol, though those charges were eventually dismissed after he successfully completed a drug rehab program and submitted to drug tests.
Although he was supposed to perform with VELVET REVOLVER on January 20 at a party in Park City, Utah during the Sundance Film Festival, Weiland was a no-show for the gig. The vocalist’s flight to Utah was diverted because of bad weather. The band carried on with the show, inviting audience members and singer Donovan Leitch to pitch in.
Weiland will reunite with his STONE TEMPLE PILOTS bandmates for the first time at the Rock on the Range festival, to be held May 17-18 at Columbus, Ohio’s Columbus Crew Stadium.