SLASH, MATT SORUM, JERRY CANTRELL, BILLY DUFFY To Perform At 'Gibson Summer Jam '08' - June 17, 2008
Slash (VELVET REVOLVER, GUNS N' ROSES), Jerry Cantrell (ALICE IN CHAINS), Billy Duffy (THE CULT), Matt Sorum (VELVET REVOLVER,GUNS N' ROSES), Chris Chaney (JANE'S ADDICTION), Larry Carlton,Paul Nelson (LIEGE LORD) and Johnny Winter will take part in an all-star jam at The Gibson Custom Shop in Nashville, Tennessee on Friday, June 20 the first night of the Gibson Summer Jam '08.
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Some recent press clips
WEDNESDAY MAY 28, 2008
No Velvet Reality Velvet Revolver is looking for a new singer, but don't expect them to turn their search into a reality series. Drummer Matt Sorum tells Artisan News Service, "We got offered a couple of different television ideas you know. Mark Burnett called us and asked us to do that 'Rock Star' thing and we basically said no to that. We didn't feel it was right for us. No disrespect to him, but it just didn't feel right for what we want to do." Sorum says the band will be revealing their plans in a couple of weeks and he expects it to surprise everyone. "It's exciting. We're moving forward. We're going to keep going and play rock 'n' roll and get a new guy singing, so we did it before and we'll do it again," says the drummer.
May 27 Westwood One THE FAX
ACTIVE ROCK/METAL STORIES Â
Sorum Talks Weiland Exit
Velvet Revolver drummer Matt Sorum is finding plenty to do until his band names a new singer, but the topic of Scott Weiland's exit from the group remains a constant. Sorum tells Artisan News Service that when "Libertad" wasn't as impactful as the band's first release, he felt there were forces dangling STP in front of the vocalist and it created a weird vibe. The drummer says things came to a head when Weiland commented during a March show in Glasgow about this tour being their last. Sorum says he felt bad about the impression it made, and did a blog on his website as damage control. However, much to his surprise, the blog was picked up by many outlets. "I got the wrath of Mr. Scott Weiland  skinny little guy as he is," says Sorum. "He's the kind of guy that would drive by you in a car and shout some s*** to you, and then he's go three buddies in there  and then run. It's like 'F*** you too, pal!' You know? If I saw him right now he'd probably be running down an alley way. He knows I'm twice his size." Â
VH1's THE MORNING FACTS FOR MONDAY, MAY 26TH, 2008
MATT SORUM SAYS NICE THINGS ABOUT AXL AND WEILAND
Matt Sorum is famous for his time spent playing with Guns N' Roses, but also for being a member of Velvet Revolver. Both bands have had trouble with their frontmen, but Matt tells Artisan News that he has buried the hatchet with Axl Rose. "I actually have a newfound liking and love for Axl Rose. You can print that. I've said a couple of bad things about Axl, and I think they've come back to bite me in the ass. The one thing I know about Axl Rose, as much as a d**k as he was at times, the stadium was usually sold out." He also had some kind words for Scott Weiland, "It's over. It's all good. We're moving on. I guess they're doing fine, the STP. That's his original band, and he probably feels more at home there. That's cool."
MusiCares MAP Fund Benefit
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Los Angeles Times - Sorum Noce Article
Dress like a rock star: Velvet Revolver's Matt Sorum launches Sorum Noce The drummer's clothing collection with partner Max Noce debuts at their new Melrose Avenue store. By Emili Vesilind Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
April 20, 2008
MATT SORUM not only learned how to play drums by emulating Keith Moon, the enigmatic drummer for the Who. He also took cues from the dandified madman about how to dress like a rock star.
"I was a kid in the '70s, and I loved the flamboyancy of the era," says Sorum, who's done stints in Guns N' Roses and the Cult and now hard-rock supergroup Velvet Revolver. "When he got successful, Keith Moon rolled down to Savile Row to get a suit, but it was cut differently. It was more fitted, the pants were a little flared. It was that English gent-gone-awry thing."
That edgy mix of gentleman and guttersnipe -- also immortalized by the Rolling Stones and the Kinks and poached by modern bands the Killers and the Strokes -- inspired Sorum to launch his own clothing label, Sorum Noce, with friend and designer Max Noce. The collection, which is surprisingly good, is debuting in a new store on the swanky strip of Melrose Avenue across from the Pacific Design Center in West Hollywood.
The veteran rocker said the idea for the California-meets-Carnaby line, defined by sharp suits and classic leather jackets, came to him after seeing one too many big-name designers copping the rock 'n' roll vibe -- unsuccessfully. "You can't go to Tommy Hilfiger to be a rock 'n' roll guy."
The Sorum Noce boutique, which the drummer designed, is beachy and British Goth at the same time, with white beams on the ceiling, black lacquered rococo-style chairs, silver wall sconces and a patchwork Union Jack rug.
And the collection manages to escape all the cheesy trappings of most rocker-designed clothes (see Mötley Crüe bassist Nikki Sixx's Royal Underground Monarchy and former Blink-182 drummer Travis Barker's Famous Stars and Straps). There are no dagger-and-skull crests, no T-shirts with Celtic crosses or snakes. The leather jackets -- in Mod racing and blazer styles -- are timeless. The suit styles feel like a slightly edgier take on Paul Smith or Thom Browne.
Rocker flash is relegated to the details: a subdued gray tone-on-tone waistcoat has a bright purple silk back; fitted jeans come in blue and black, but also bright red. Prices range from $250 for a slim-cut button-down shirt to around $2,500 for a custom three-piece suit made by Noce, whose uncle designed custom suits at his own shop in Milan. Sorum, who wears his short blond hair spiked and speaks with a laid-back, surfer inflection, got to know Noce in the early '90s, when he went to him for custom leather pants. "He was one of the only guys in town that knew how to make good leather pants back then," Sorum says. "Also, I heard he made really good spaghetti, so I invited him over."
Noce came to the U.S. from Milan in the early '90s after working for Valentino, Ungaro, Karl Lagerfeld and Dolce & Gabbana and is now the technical designer, custom tailor and shop manager for Sorum Noce. The pair want to take the brand global, eventually opening stores in New York, London and Milan. But they aren't out to outfit the world. "We never write a song because we think someone will like it," Sorum says. "This is the same approach on the clothing. We like it. I like it. Maybe other people will like it too."
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