Velvet Revolver Part Ways With Scott Weiland Due to "Erratic Onstage Behavior," "Personal Problems"

According to a press release, Velvet Revolver no longer have a lead singer. "This band is all about its fans and its music and Scott Weiland isn't 100% committed to either," Slash reportedly said (the group's split with Weiland was confirmed by Sanctuary management). "Among other things, his increasingly erratic onstage behavior and personal problems have forced us to move on." Last week, Weiland and drummer Matt Sorum engaged in a war of words via the press and blog posts, and yesterday Billboard reported that Weiland will announce a full set of tour dates with his old band, Stone Temple Pilots, on April 7th.

Last week Weiland told a Glasgow crowd that the band was on its last tour. When Sorum blogged about the incident, Weiland responded angrily via Blabbermouth, lambasting his bandmate while boasting of his own record sales ("35 million copies worldwide") and professionalism "regardless of how many drugs I've ingested into my system." Weiland voluntarily entered rehab in February, which forced the cancellation of some concert dates. Just yesterday Slash was quoted as saying the band will make a third album with or without Weiland, insisting, "We don't know how or when but the core four guys will continue."

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Song Stories

“Smells Like Teen Spirit”

Nirvana | 1991

"Smells Like Teen Spirit," named after a brand of deodorant marketed to girls, was Kurt Cobain's attempt to "write the ultimate pop song," he said, using the soft-loud dynamic of his favorite band, the Pixies. Cobain "had that dichotomy of punk rage and alienation," the song’s producer, Butch Vig, told Rolling Stone, "but also this vulnerable pop sensibility. In 'Teen Spirit,' a lot of that vulnerability is in the tone of his voice." Sadly, by the time of Nirvana's last U.S. tour, in late '93, Cobain was tortured by the obligation to play "Teen Spirit" every night. "There are many other songs that I have written that are as good, if not better," he claimed.

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