Guns N' Roses

Background:

American hard rock drummer and percussionist of English and Norwegian extraction Matt Sorum reached the peak of his fame with the multi-million selling group Guns N' Roses, in which he replaced Steven Adler, who was fired due to drug addiction. During his seven-year tenure with the Los Angeles-based hard rock group (1990-1997), he recorded the highly successful albums “Use Your Illusion I” and “Use Your Illusion II”(both 1991), and “The Spaghetti Incident?” (1994), and also supported the group in the Use Your Illusion Tour tour. Besides, Sorum can also be heard in Guns N' Roses' “Live Era: '87-'93 (1999) and “Greatest Hits” (2004). Starting out as a season musician in Los Angeles in the 1980s, Sorum had his first taste with success as a part of The Cult in 1989, and a decade later, after being fired from Guns N' Roses, he reunited with the group and played the drums for their 2001 album, “Beyond Good And Evil.” Currently, Sorum is the drummer of Velvet Revolver, a supergroup he founded in 2002 along with former Guns N' Roses bandmates Slash and Duff McKagan. The group has released two albums, “Contraband” (2004) and “Libertad” (2007). On his own, Sorum released a solo debut in 2003 called “ Hollywood Zen.”

A noted drum player, Sorum has endorsed numerous drum companies, including Yamaha Drums, Drum Workshop and Ludwig. He also became one of the first musicians to back the Easton Ahead sticks, which are now used by such metal drummers as Lars Ulrich of Metallica and Joey Jordison of Slipknot, among others.

Apart from his musical career, Sorum released a clothing line, Sorum & Noce, in 2006. He cites spaghetti as his favorite food and enjoys watching the movie “Cool Hand Luke.” He has a border collie named Flash.

Californian Boy

Childhood and Family:

Matthew William Sorum, who would later be popular as Matt Sorum, was born on November 19, 1960, in Venice Beach, California, to parents who were of English and Norwegian lineage. As a child, Matt was mesmerized by snakes. He started his musical career at age 15.

Matt has divorced wife Kai Sorum. He is a non-practicing Catholic.

Velvet Revolver

Career:

A native of Venice Beach, California, 15-year-old Matt Sorum emerged as a local popular musician with his first band, Prophecy, whose noted member also included lead singer/guitarist Jeff Harris. It was in one of the group's performances that he was spotted by local songwriter Stephen Douglas and subsequently offered a place among other local skilled musicians in a group called Chateau. A rampart-of-sound band with grandiose topics and sounds in their songs, Chateau brought Sorum to Hollywood, but when the music scene transformed from grandiose rock to punk and alternative new wave music, the drummer decided to leave his group and went on to launch his career with Hollywood-based groups like Population Five before touring the country with a blues guitarist and playing bars and nightclubs.

A season man in Los Angeles scene during the 1980s, Sorum was hired by a then nameless Tori Amos to play on the Y Kant Tori Read debut album in 1988. However, he did not earn his first breakthrough until a year later when he joined The Cult as the hard rock group's live drummer for the 1989 Sonic Temple tour. He recalled, “Then I'm with The Cult and for the first show, we opened for Metallica in front of 25,000 people. Cool, now it's true!.”

His impressive performance in the tour caught the attention of Guns N' Roses guitarist Slash (born Saul Hudson), who then offered Sorum a place in group following the departure of drummer Steven Adler, who was fired due to drug abuse. Officially joined Guns N' Roses in 1990, Sorum enjoyed his first success with 1991's “Use Your Illusion I,” a third album released in conjunction with the Use Your Illusion Tour. The album debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard chart and went on to receive 7X platinum. It was soon followed by the more popular “Use Your Illusion II” (also 1991), which became a No. 1 in both The US and the UK. He gained additional fame with performances in the extended Use Your Illusion Tour.

“I got very rich, very quick. A lot of people came around, people who weren't really my friends, and I got caught up in the wild ride....I think I lived the dream of every kid who wants to be a drummer in a rock 'n' roll band.” Matt Sorum

After lending his extraordinary talent for “The Spaghetti Incident?” (1994), an unusual album by Guns N' Roses that comprised entirely of covers versions, Sorum teamed up with Slash and Gilby Clarke, a rhythm guitarist of Guns N' Roses, to form the rock group Slash's Snakepit and played the drums and percussion for the group's first album, “It's Five O'Clock Somewhere,” which was released in February 1995. Also in that same year, Sorum could be heard in the theme song for the motion picture “Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie” and founded the supergroup Neurotic Outsiders, whose members also included Guns N' Rose bassist Duff McKagan, Steve Jones of the Sex Pistols and John Taylor of Duran Duran. The group released a self-titled album in 1996 and briefly embarked on tour throughout North American and Europe before splitting up in the fall of 1996 because of engagements to their original groups.

“I'm making a lot of money, but I'm not being a musician anymore. Somehow I've dug myself into a hole and my life has become more about my lifestyle and the money I'm making and not so much about my drumming.” Matt Sorum

However, when Sorum returned to Guns N' Roses, he no longer found comfort. It culminated when Axl Rose fired him in 1997 after a dispute over Slash's departure. Sorum resurfaced in the following year by releasing drum instructional video that demonstrated his techniques, but it marked his first and only project of that sort. In 1999, he returned to The Cult and was featured in their 2001 album, “Beyond Good And Evil.” He went on to spent the 2001 touring with the group in support of the album.

In 2002, Sorum was reunited with Slash and Duff McKagan for a charity benefit. They responded the meeting by forming a new group together called Velvet Revolver, which also featured STP frontman Scott Weiland and rhythm guitarist Dave Kushner. The hard rock supergroup gained victory with their debut album, “Contraband” (2004), which went on to earn multi-platinum certification internationally. The band supported the album by having a worldwide tour that ended in the late 2005. In August 2005, Sorum suffered a yachting accident that broke his wrist and required him to take break for recovery. Velvet Revolver recruited drummer Mark Schulman to temporarily replaced him during the tour. Meanwhile, outside of Velvet Revolver, Sorum launched a solo debut album, “Hollywood Zen,” in 2003.

In July 2007, Velvet Revolver returned with their second studio album, “Libertad,” which debuted at No. 5 on the Billboard 200. The album spawned the singles “She Builds Quick Machines,” a Top 2 hit on the U.S. Mainstream Rock, “The Last Fight” (both 2007) and “Get Out the Door” (2008). To promote the album, the group toured South America with Aerosmith. In April 2008, vocalist Scott Weiland quit Velvet Revolver to join his STP bandmates.

Awards:
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