Velvet Revolver consists of Dave Kushner (guitar), Duff "rose" (bass, guitar, vocals), Matt Sorum (drums, percussion), Scott Weiland (lead vocals), , Slash (guitar).
Velvet Revolver is a rock supergroup with three former members of Guns N' Roses-- Slash, Duff McKagan, and Matt Sorum--with Scott Weiland, the lead singer of Stone Temple Pilots, and Dave Kushner of the 80s hardcore punk band Wasted Youth.
Velvet Revolver was formed when three Guns N' Roses alumni-- Slash (guitar), Duff McKagan (bass), and Matt Sorum (drums)--joined to play a benefit concert for fellow musician Randy Castillo in 2002. They then decided to form a new band. When Izzy Stradlin declined an invitation, the band recruited guitarist Dave Kushner, who had previously played with Wasted Youth and Dave Navarro. Kushner had gone to school with Slash and had worked with McKagan in Loaded, the band he'd played with before joining Velvet Revolver. The quartet were referred to under the temporary moniker "The Project" pending the selection of a permanent name.
The quartet then set about recruiting a lead singer with VH1 filming the recruitment process. A number of lead singers auditioned, including the Canadian rock and roll icon Todd Kerns (formerly of Age of Electric), Josh Todd (formerly of Buckcherry), Sebastian Bach of Skid Row, Kelly Shaefer of Atheist/ Neurotica, and Travis Meeks of Days of the New, but were unsuccessful. Scott Weiland had become friends with McKagan and had played on the same bill as Kushner when Stone Temple Pilots were known as Mighty Joe Young and Kushner was in Electric Love Hogs. Weiland heard the material and offered his services as the lead singer and the band clicked. Slash suggested the name "Revolver" for the project and Weiland suggested the addition of "Black Velvet" to the title. Slash thought this sounded too similar to "Stone Temple Pilots," so the name was abbreviated to simply "Velvet Revolver." Many people believe that the name "Velvet Revolver" is a play on words of Slash, McKagan, and Sorum's former band " Guns N' Roses", since the word "Revolver" relates to "Guns", and the material "Velvet" is soft like a "Rose."
