One of the biggest targets for rumors now that Axl finally put out Chinese Democracy is to ponder if Velvet Revolver had found a replacement for Scott Weiland. Here are a few reports touching on the subject with the conclusion that the band may hire Adam Lambert to front the group. In March MusicRadar reported: Word spread like wildfire across the Internet today that Velvet Revolver had picked Gord Prior, a singer with a Canadian-based band called Blu Bones, as their new lead singer. Not so, says a spokesperson for Sanctuary Artist Management, which reps Velvet Revolver. "Gord Prior isn't the new guy. In fact, no decision has been made as to who the singer is." more
In April MusicRadar reported: "We need a singer soon," Velvet Revolver drummer Matt Sorum told MusicRadar in an exclusive interview. "We need the right guy in six months. We can't wait another year. Otherwise, it might not matter." Sorum told MusicRadar that the band was recently close to deciding on a singer, whose identity he declined to reveal ("I want to protect him"), but after a few recording sessions, both he and various band members ultimately decided it wasn't the right fit. more
Velvet Revolver found their man. A singer who they felt was the perfect choice to replace Scott Weiland. But the singer turned down the job... twice! Classic Rock magazine broke the story: Country rock star Shooter Jennings has confirmed that he has been offered the job of singer with Velvet Revolver – but has turned the band down TWICE! Shooter, the son of country legend Waylon Jennings, was one of the men Classic Rock tipped as potential VR singers back in April last year.
At that time Duff McKagan admitted that Jennings could make a good replacement: "Shooter's great, actually," he told CR's Scott Rowley. "That's a good idea. He's does a southern rock thing, but his old band was straight up kinda rock. He's a talented guy man, he's pretty awesome. He would be good." In a new interview with Classic Rock, Jennings confirms that he was asked – but turned the band down. And not just once
And finally there is this report which is pretty comical in hindsight: MusicRadar speculated that Velvet Revolver may find their new frontman in the form of an American Idol contestant. Slash appeared on the show to coach contestants for "rock week" and one singer apparently stood out.
Music Radar reports: all performed admirably but nobody seemed to truly hit it out of the ballpark until Adam Lambert, who had been previously coached by Slash to avoid ad-libbing in the upper register, came on and lit into an I'm-going-for-it version of the Led Zeppelin classic Whole Lotta Love. Wonder if Slash asked Lambert to come on down for a Velvet Revolver audition? If he didn't, perhaps Jimmy Page might want to give him a ring. Stranger things have happened.
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