Joann Butler: Velvet Revolver and The Cult. Matt Sorum: It was lightning in a bottle, as I'd say. Scott was just such a gem of a frontman. An interesting character, difficult at times, but what a great frontman.
Rock and roll is something that I feel needs to happen again. It needs to be a cultural shift. Don't say you're old, because when you do, the universe is listening. I'm 65, feel like I'm 20.
I could kick your ass right now. No. Having my daughter at 60 was the greatest decision I ever made. Joann Butler: Guns N' Roses is on tour right now.
If you were invited back, would you go? Matt Sorum: I don't know, I changed my phone number. Hey, it's Matt Sorum. You might know me from Guns N' Roses, Velvet Revolver, and The Cult.
And you're in studio with me and Joann Butler. Joann Butler: So Sound and Vision, a limited edition all-star double vinyl. Matt Sorum: Well, it's all based around the charity that I formed about 14 years ago, Adopt the Arts. You know, every year we got to raise money, so we throw an event and Sound and Vision I did with Moby and I think Sammy Hagar as this award honoring a great cultural rock and roll music icon.
Done Billy Gibbons, Glenn Hughes, many, many artists. But this year we honored Paul Rodgers from Bad Company and Free and Geezer Butler of Black Sabbath. That was really cool because Paul lives here in the desert in the wintertime and just a huge icon and I'm a massive fan of his voice. He's probably one of the greatest rock singers in history.
But I mean, of course, Black Sabbath. I mean, come on. I grew up, you know, and Geezer and me had a short-lived band called Deadland Ritual. So once I got those guys to say yes, I just started calling all these musicians and in our world of musicians, we all bow down to these guys, right?
I mean, they came before us. Typically, I'm about 10 years behind both those guys. So I grew up with that music, you know? So it's mutual respect.
Not mutual, for the band guys it's mutual, but honoring these guys was a no-brainer. So Nuno Bettencourt came, Steve Stevens, Phil X, Stevie Salas, Robert DeLeo from Stone Temple Pilots, and then the singers Corey Taylor from Slipknot, Lzzy Hale. Amazing, you got to check out, we have two videos up right now: War Pigs, which is at almost two million views, Corey Taylor, Steve Stevens, you know, and Geezer on bass. That's the sound of the record.
So, I'll get into that in a second. So, I recorded this whole thing at the Plaza Theater here and I was just going to kind of have it. And then I listened to it and I was like, "Okay, this is just too good." And I felt it on the night. Everything was like, was just, everything was on, you know, felt magical.
And then I'm like, well, if I put the record together, we could do this double album, one with Geezer and one with Paul. And I have their speeches on there and some other cool stuff. I have a choir called the Changels, 120 kids. And we did a whole opening with them.
And I put that on the record. They do "Changes" and "All Right Now", the kids. So that's on the end of the album. I just like the whole process of putting this vinyl thing together because I hadn't done it in a while.
I hadn't done it since Velvet Revolver, but being able to raise money with it seemed the right thing to do because I have my own vinyl company called ExperienceVinyl.com that's online if, we have, me and my partner Seth, have 40,000 titles. I did that because I just love vinyl and now it's like a, it’s a business. We sell a lot of records. Joann Butler: And I'm so glad it's back, but it never left for me.
But… Matt Sorum: It is, it is to a point where it's… Joann Butler: Right on. Matt Sorum: It's harder to make vinyl because everyone wants it and that's, people, there's always a backlash in music if you ever noticed when people are just like, they’re just getting inundated with digital.
It's just like, ah, if I have to watch one more Instagram post of someone having a fight in a train station, it's ah, so where do I go? Joann Butler: Right, right. Matt Sorum: I go in my room and put on a vinyl record and get a glass of wine and kick back and unwind and disconnect from all the crap. Joann Butler: Hell yeah.
Yep. Matt Sorum: So, that's where we're at with this. You know, it's like making this record was a labor of love, number one. Number two, it's going to raise money, which you get right away.
It's not Spotify, which I don't know when you get the money. I don't know if it ever even comes. I haven't seen any checks, but anyway, we can raise a good chunk of money. It's going to go straight to the charity.
Nobody's making any money on this record except for the kids. So, that's a really good way to do it. And we're doing 2,000 albums that are going to be limited color variants. So, Paul's got a color, Geezer's got a color.
You can go on experiencevinyl.com right now, see what it looks like, pre-order, and it's a feel-good. You know, you're going to get a nice piece of art that I'm going to tell you, I spent six months working on it. So, it’s a labor of love, and then you're going to get a give back, too. You're going to help these kids and this program that I've been running for 14 years.
So, it's great. Joann Butler: Feel good more ways than one. That's for sure. Tell us a little bit about where the proceeds go.
Adopt the Arts Foundation. You're co-founder with Jane Lynch? Matt Sorum: Yeah. 14 years ago I ended up downtown at a rally where they were cutting arts in public schools.
I was like, “What?” I remember going down there and I just felt like such a rebel. I'm like, “I like this activist thing.” I got up there on a podium and told them they couldn't do that. It's sacrilege. This is LA, you know, Hollywood, California, the capital of entertainment.
You're going to cut the arts, really? And then I got called in by the big man, the superintendent at the time, and started my first school. I got grandfathered in by John Deasy, the old superintendent, and started at Rosewood Avenue. I've given that school to John Stamos as mentor because I moved to the desert.
So I have a lot of great people involved in this charity. Ringo, Paul Rodgers, Macy Gray's done stuff. A lot of people. So basically came here to the desert when I married my wife and I realized that Coachella Valley needed my help and I saw the desert community and the public schools.
I've got six schools here now. We have six schools and we serve about 4,000 kids. Joann Butler: It's awesome. Matt Sorum: And the kids here are great.
And the kids in LA, we get them all together, too. Like they'll do events. They'll go, they did a big event for the firefighters and they all came when they had the big fire and they all do events together. So, they all meet up.
And I said to my co-executive, I said, "Let's do this honor choir and they all learn the same songs. So, when they get together, they can sing together." Joann Butler: It's so cool. Matt Sorum: My mother did that when I was a kid. She was a teacher and it's the idea, of we all know the same material.
Joann Butler: Yup. Matt Sorum: So, they all show up and they just performed with Ringo on his birthday. Joann Butler: Oh my gosh. Matt Sorum: Ringo's a supporter now.
Joann Butler: So beautiful. That's so cool. Matt Sorum: It's really cool. Yeah.
Joann Butler: Good for you. Congratulations. Amazing. What's the first album you ever bought?
Matt Sorum: I got A Hard Day's Night. My brother gave it to me though, I didn't buy it, but I remember I got that, it was a 45 record, though. Joann Butler: Oh, 45s are good. Matt Sorum: I had this thing called a Crosley turntable.
You could get it at Sears and Roebuck, and it had the little, you know, thing in the middle because you had to put that... Joann Butler: Yes. I forgot about that little thing in the middle. Matt Sorum: Yeah.
Yeah. Yeah. And then, God, I mean, I used to go to the record store when I was a kid. If I could rub two nickels together to get an album, that was a big deal, you know?
Man, I went through very, a lot of different styles of music in high school and I had a buddy that me and a couple other friends, we were all into like UFO and weird bands. I can't say they were weird, but they were different. They weren't Led Zeppelin. I got into like prog music, you know, progressive stuff.
And I remember going to the record store and there was the import section and you could find weird records that were imported from England or Europe and you'd be like, "Dude, I found this album." It was just such a thing. Joann Butler: Yeah. Matt Sorum: And there's still a lot of collectors out there that I know that are deep into that kind of a thing about collecting very rare, cool albums, you know? So, I just remember that being just such a mainstay in my life as a kid.
And to have that experience now with vinyl again, it brings all that back. Joann Butler: For sure. Yeah. Matt Sorum: It's almost like when people go to see bands that came from years and years ago and they had that experience and that feeling and when they heard that music the first time.
I feel like that's probably why a lot of people are gravitating back to that feeling. They want that… Joann Butler: Oh yeah that experience, that special feeling. Matt Sorum: Times were a little easier maybe.
Joann Butler: Yeah. Matt Sorum: You know, a little more gentle. Joann Butler: Yeah. Well, I'm glad you're bringing it back.
Who were some of your other influences? Matt Sorum: You know, it started with Ringo and then my brother was into the Cream and I remember Ginger Baker and I remember in high school when we went to get my high school photo, I wrote my name as Ginger Baker and it came out in the yearbook that way just because I was trying to be a little trickster and you’d line up, you know, they’d go “Write your name.” And I'm like, I can't believe they missed that. I love The Who, Keith Moon. I idolized Ian Paice from Deep Purple.
So when I get to play with Glenn Hughes, you know, that's just for me. When I play "Burn" or "Highway Star", it's like that's in my DNA. I'm like, I can play that tomorrow without rehearsing it. Like it's part of who I am.
Same with Sabbath. You know, Sabbath is a big thing for me. Joann Butler: Yeah. So cool.
What else are you working on right now? Kings of Chaos, Billy Gibbons. Matt Sorum: I'm actually heading to Japan. I just released six songs with a band called Tak Matsumoto Group in Japan with Eric Martin from Mr.
Big and Jack Blades from Night Ranger. We're playing with the biggest rock star in Japan, Tak Matsumoto from B'z. So, I'm leaving to Japan next week. Joann Butler: Wow.
Matt Sorum: I’ll be there for five weeks. Then I head straight to Sydney where I'm jumping on a boat with Billy Gibbons, Robin Zander, and Richie Sambora. Joann Butler: Oh my God. Talk about eclectic.
Matt Sorum: My wife’s like, "I'm not coming on that one." Joann Butler: I’d go on that one. Why not? Why doesn’t she want to go on that one? Matt Sorum: I’m just kidding.
My wife's coming to join me in Tokyo. She's gonna... Joann Butler: Oh, cool. Matt Sorum: My daughter...
I have a 5-year-old daughter. Joann Butler: I know. Oh, she's on the list. She's coming.
Matt Sorum: She's coming to Tokyo. She's been already. I'm like, my daughter went to Japan when she was three. I did the tour with Tak before.
I said, “I didn't get to go to Japan till I was like 25 years old.” Joann Butler: Hysterical. Matt Sorum: I just want to show, I'm taking her out of school for a couple weeks. But I'm like, look, what kid gets to go to Japan and meet Japanese... Joann Butler: That's right.
Matt Sorum: This is education. Joann Butler: Oh, for sure. For sure. Matt Sorum: I would say my education was traveling the world.
When I traveled the world and went around the world with my bands, which I've been in a bunch. Joann Butler: Yeah. Matt Sorum: I learned more of just meeting people and culture and learning about life. So, I want that for my kid, too.
Joann Butler: Absolutely. How has being a dad changed you? Matt Sorum: Well, when I got up this morning at six o'clock to start doing 15 radio interviews... Joann Butler: Oh, geez.
Matt Sorum: In the old days, I would have told my manager, "No way. I'm not even up till noon. Are you kidding me?" So, my kid was up. My kid gets up every day at six to go to school.
So, I'm like, "Okay. But like, how the heck am I going to do this?” Cuz my kid's there. She's like, "Daddy!” And I was like, I came to my studio. I said, "Honey, I got to go.
Daddy's got to go." I hate when I have to say I have to go to work. Joann Butler: I know. I know. Matt Sorum: The beauty of it is right now I'm running my own show.
I'm a one-man shop here. Joann Butler: That's right. Matt Sorum: And it has to be an offer I can't refuse. And can I bring the kid?
Joann Butler: Yes. I love it. Awesome. Matt Sorum: I think having my daughter at 60 was the greatest decision I ever made because first of all, my health's better than ever.
I'm taking better care of myself based on my daughter. My daughter's inspired me to be better and I know I want to live a longer life because of her. That inspires me. You know, I'm looking at, I just say 100.
I'm going to 100. I don't say, and I say this to anybody that says you're old. I'm 65. Joann Butler: That's unbelievable.
Matt Sorum: I feel like I'm 20. I could kick your ass right now. No, I'm just saying... Joann Butler: You look like it.
You look, you do not look 65. Matt Sorum: So, I'm just saying look, it's all mindset. Joann Butler: Absolutely. Matt Sorum: Don't say you're old because when you do, the universe is listening.
So, and then, oh god, "If I could live to be 80." No, you're going to live to be 100 because I'm telling you, there's stuff coming that's going to allow that. And you will feel good. So, that's what my daughter's done for me. She's brought me back to my youth where the gifts of life are all the things that I get to do with my kid.
I took her to Hawaii this year. I took her to Lake Tahoe. We went to the beach like five times. And back in the day when I was just being me, I'm like, "I don't know, I got to work." You know, so it’s like…
Joann Butler: Now you can actually enjoy her. You're old enough to appreciate it. You know, it’s smart that... Matt Sorum: It's all about the kid, it’s not about me.
Joann Butler: Yeah. Matt Sorum: You wake up, it's like, "Hello, it's on." You know? Do you have kids? Joann Butler: I have two, 21 and 16.
They're older than yours. I had them too young. I was 40 when I had my little one. I thought I was old, but you know, us women just have to whip them out.
But you're lucky, men can have them later. Matt Sorum: My wife's 41, so we had Lou at 37. She was 37. Joann Butler: That's how old I was when I had my first.
Matt Sorum: Oh. Joann Butler: I'm 56. I know, I look younger. Matt Sorum: You do look great.
See, that's why I say... Joann Butler: My uncle was 104. Matt Sorum: There you go. My grandma lived to be 106.
Joann Butler: 106? Matt Sorum: My grandma yeah, My mother's 93. Joann Butler: No wonder why you look so good. You got good genes and...
Matt Sorum: Thanks. Well, like I said, my daughter's really, I've lost a lot of weight and I've gotten in good shape. I haven't drank in 18 years. Joann Butler: Wow.
Awesome. That's awesome. Matt Sorum: Those days are behind me. Joann Butler: Yeah.
Good. Matt Sorum: But they were fun, too. Don't get me wrong. Joann Butler: Well, obviously.
And you've been in at least two of my favorite bands, Velvet Revolver and The Cult. Matt Sorum: I like those two bands, too. Joann Butler: Did you? Yeah.
Did you? How did your drumming style change from one band to the other? Or has it not? Would you say it has?
Matt Sorum: Actually, I would say all three styles are completely different. Joann Butler: Wow. Matt Sorum: And I've had to morph as a musician through life, including the clothing I wore. You know, when I joined The Cult, I remember better wear all black all the time and I had my hair slicked back and it was like a different thing because it was all part of the picture.
And when I joined GNR, we were more like bikers, you know? I had a headband and my hair was like... But it was the 90s, too. Joann Butler: Yeah.
Matt Sorum: Like almost a bad fashion era. Joann Butler: Yes. Matt Sorum: Know what I mean? It was like, what am I wearing?
I look at, what was I thinking? But, what's going on with my hair? Oh my god. Then Velvet Revolver came along and that was more of a modern band.
And we never talked about this kind of stuff. Like Slash, Slash is Slash. He's always going to look like he's got the hat and hair. Joann Butler: Yeah.
Matt Sorum: And I remember me and Scott Weiland, Scott was just such a gem of a frontman. An interesting character. Difficult at times, but what a great frontman, in my opinion. Joann Butler: Yeah, it was a huge loss.
I was devastated when we lost him. Matt Sorum: Yeah and we just immediately, I kinda, people go, "Dude, you’re kind of looking like Scott Weiland." He inspired me to like step it up, like, you know, he loved Bowie and I remember me and him got a couple suits. We started dressing more like Savile Row, like kind of old Rolling Stones kind of look. Joann Butler: Yep, I remember.
Matt Sorum: So, he was inspiring to me in a lot of ways and to try to like just move with the times a little bit but stay true to yourself at the same time. So, I cut my hair off and I just remember that band when we came out, there was a lot of younger bands coming up and we were all listening to Queens of the Stone Age and we had to kind of like just take it all in. It was like what's on the street. It wasn't like we were trying to copy anything of it.
It was like a feeling of what was right. We couldn't make another Guns N' Roses album with Scott Weiland singing on it. So, we said, "Let's make a modern record for ourselves." And we came up with this aggressive record, Contraband. And it felt right for the times.
We came out youthful. We were all fired up. Everyone got cleaned up. And it was a great time.
It was one of the greatest times of my life because we were able to come back. And I remember when the album went number one, we had signed with Clive Davis. We won our Grammy. Clive got us three Grammy nominations.
And it was just epic. I mean, to do it again after GNR was a real feather in my cap. And I remember younger people coming to our shows not knowing Guns N' Roses, you know, and me and Duff came out of the subway one time because here we are, we're going to the gym. We get up and go to the gym.
When did we do that in G&R, never. All right. So, we came out of the subway, we went to some gym in New York, in Manhattan and we came up out of the subway, we heard this kid go, "Hey, you're Duff and Matt from Velvet Revolver." And we looked at each other and we went, "Dude, Velvet Revolver, man." That was a big moment because, you know, after the breakup of that, of GNR and we got this new band together, we really were like off and running. Joann Butler: Yeah.
Matt Sorum: You know, we played sold-out arenas and... Joann Butler: Oh, so good. Matt Sorum: Really good run. And then, you know, the old stuff came back.
The train went off the tracks. But that's a classic rock and roll story. But it was lightning in a bottle, as I say. God bless Scott Weiland because, you know, I really feel that the mold has been broken for great frontmen and I hope I see some young guys come out that can do that kind of s***, I really do.
Joann Butler: Me too. Matt Sorum: Rock and roll is something that I feel needs to happen again. But we have to, it needs to be a cultural shift. It's like when you first saw Nirvana you went, "What's that?" I'm not sure if you remember that cultural shift.
Joann Butler: Of course. Yeah. Yeah. Matt Sorum: But it wasn't something I was like too excited about at first, but I understand the cultural shift, right?
It's like it hits and then boom, all of a sudden it's grunge music. Like wouldn't it be beautiful if something came out that exciting? When YUNGBLUD came out, I mean, I played on the YUNGBLUD stuff with Aerosmith. I gave it hope, but I'm not sure if it hit the mark.
It didn't change the culture. It didn't bring other rock. And to say he’s completely rock would probably not be the right word. But it's hard to say because people were scared to call it that because it's not modern.
What's modern? It's like, Jack White made a lot of records that weren't modern. He's Jack White and he can do whatever he wants. Create your own universe.
Jack White's gonna always be there doing what he wants. And I always say that to young artists, I'm like, "Make the kind of music you want to make first. Quit thinking about what's modern." Joann Butler: Yeah. Matt Sorum: Just make some good, write some good songs.
You know, it's like that's the way I look at when I made this record with these epic guys and I didn’t go, "Well, oh God, you know, this is like classic rock and..." It's great music. It's great songs. They're never going anywhere. Joann Butler: Yeah.
Matt Sorum: Take Lzzy Hale singing, who's a younger representation, maybe, she's a younger singer. Corey's probably, he's younger than me, so he's cool bringing that music forward to a new generation. You know, they're going to discover it. There's so many people out there.
There's a kid right now who's 12 years old listening to Black Sabbath and he's going, "This is, wow, I love this." Joann Butler: Yes. Matt Sorum: They're out there. Joann Butler: Yes. Did you always know you wanted to play drums?
Matt Sorum: Yeah, I did. I saw The Beatles and that kind of was it. It was weird. It was this, this thing, it was like a sign.
It was always said, I had friends of mine, you know, a fire truck would go by: "I want to be a fireman." The train would go by: "I want to be a conductor." And I saw The Beatles. I go, "I want to be that drummer." You know, it's like… Joann Butler: Oh my God. And you did it.
Did you have any formal training or... Matt Sorum: Well, just to backtrack on the charity a little bit, the upbringing I had in public school gave me the tools to be able to become a percussionist, if you will. I played in three band classes in high school, and then my mother was a music teacher, my grandfather was a music teacher. So, I had that sort of education around me.
And then, you know, in the 70s when I put together my first little band, you know, we'd play like all the little parties and the school dances and stuff, I'm like, and then all of a sudden, you know, girls would start looking at me different. I'm like, "Oh, I think I got something here." Because this is like, you know, because you're a young kid, you know, you're like, young boy, and then you’re just trying to find yourself. And I definitely found it. I was like, "This is..." And I started going to Hollywood when I was 14 years old.
As soon as I graduated high school, I got out and went straight to Hollywood. Never came back but... Joann Butler: Wow. What does music do for people?
Matt Sorum: Pretty much everything. I think it's one thing we can all agree on, that we all like music, right? I think it's the place we go when we're having a feeling, whatever feeling that is—up, down, or sideways. You know, it brings you joy when you're feeling low, when you're feeling melancholy, you can go there, listen to some Joni Mitchell, you know…
Joann Butler: That's the one thing I don't... Matt Sorum: You don't like Joni Mitchell? Joann Butler: Nah, I'll do Velvet Revolver. Matt Sorum: Okay, okay.
Let me ask you a question. Where do you go when you're feeling, where do you feel when you’re doing a melancholy? When you're a little… Joann Butler: Where?
Matt Sorum: In retrospect, you're maybe having some love issues, whatever it is, you know, having a bad day and you just want to kind of like sit down and just relax and listen to something cool. What would you go to? Joann Butler: Velvet Revolver. I go…
Matt Sorum: Velvet Revolver? Joann Butler: Yes. It's always on the playlist. Velvet Revolver.
Matt Sorum: Well, there's a song… Joann Butler: The Cult I still listen to. Matt Sorum: So you... Joann Butler: I like old stuff.
Deep Purple, little Black Sabbath. Matt Sorum: Geez. Joann Butler: I like Soundgarden. I like Eleven.
Matt Sorum: Chris Cornell's band. Joann Butler: Actually, Alain Johannes's band that Chris Cornell was in. Matt Sorum: Dude, you are, that is some deep stuff. Joann Butler: Oh, yes.
Matt Sorum: I was on the road with Eleven when Chris Cornell was in the band. Joann Butler: Were you? How did I not know that? Well, I do know, my mind…
Matt Sorum: We were all in Europe together and they were all in the same festivals. Joann Butler: I love Alain. Matt Sorum: I have a picture of me and Chris Cornell and Alain Johannes in his hotel room hanging out in I think Amsterdam or something crazy. And Eleven, Alain Johannes mixed my second solo album.
I made a record called Fierce Joy. It's not a rock album, so don't be bummed out when you hear it. Alain Johannes mixed my second solo album. Joann Butler: He mixed it?
Oh, cool. Oh my gosh. Well, that makes a lot of sense. He's the coolest.
I love him. Matt Sorum: He's great. Joann Butler: What was your favorite band to play in? Do you have one?
Matt Sorum: I would say that The Cult was probably right in my lane as far as kind of how I like to approach the drum kit. Just the grooves of that band, as Billy Duffy would call it, below-the-waist rock and roll. It's got a swagger. It's got a swagger.
You know, it's got a good pocket in the AC/DC sort of just that British thing. And they had me, this California dude, somehow. And it was just my first big band and I still go back, and I just talked to Billy Duffy today and we're going to play some Cult on this cruise that I'm doing. Joann Butler: Oh, cool.
Matt Sorum: And then Velvet was more punky. I was more like, I don't know, I just felt on fire. I felt like when I made that record, I was very, I was hungry again. And that was a nice feeling to have when you're in your 40s.
To be hungry, to have success. When we made that record, it was on fire. I remember when we went in there, we were all fired up. I remember being in the studio going, "This is going to be a kick-ass album." Because we were just in it.
And yeah… Joann Butler: And it was. I have to ask you this. Guns N' Roses is on tour right now.
If you were invited back, would you go? Matt Sorum: I don't know. I changed my phone number. Joann Butler: I don't blame you.
Matt Sorum: They can DM me on Instagram. PayPal me. Just PayPal me. I don't know.
Wait, let me see, Venmo? Joann Butler: Don't get me wrong, I like them, I like them, too. You know, when you're in them. I was standing next to Debbie Harry watching Guns N' Roses at the Felt Forum, I think, opening for Aerosmith.
So, I liked Guns way back in the day, but… Matt Sorum: There you go. Joann Butler: I’ll take my Velvet Revolver, and my Cult. Matt Sorum: I agree.
So, it's all good. Joann Butler: What would your current self tell your younger? Matt Sorum: Oh god. Do it exactly the way you did it, because you're supposed to be here right where you are right now.
Joann Butler: Awesome. I love it. Matt Sorum: Don't change a thing. Except for you were a little crazy in that...
There's a few little things, man, I might, you know, go back and change. Just a few. Not too many, but a couple. Joann Butler: Yeah, I think you did it right.
Matt, thanks so much for talking to us. You're the coolest. Good luck with everything. Matt Sorum: Thanks for having me.
