According to Rolling Stone, former GUNS N’ ROSES drummer Matt Sorum reveals in his new book, “Double Talkin’ Jive: True Rock ‘N’ Roll Stories”, that he learned of the 2016 partial reunion of the band’s classic lineup via the rumor mill even though he was on a South American tour with Slash and Duff McKagan when the Internet chatter first reached him. After he confronted Duff, the bassist told him: “Axl [Rose, GUNS N’ ROSES frontman] wants to use his drummer [Frank Ferrer].” “Go to Axl and tell him you want me on drums,” Sorum responded. “Period. Now’s the time.” “Oh, man,” Duff replied. “I already signed the deal.”
Sorum told Rolling Stone that he has gotten over the fact that he will probably never play with GUNS N’ ROSES again. “I’ve come to terms with the fact that they’re doing their own thing, and I’m doing mine,” he said. “I can’t say that when it went down, I was completely happy with the circumstances. At the same time, I feel really good about my time in the band.”
Asked why he thinks he wasn’t invited on the reunion tour, Matt said: “I think Axl is a loyal guy. He likes his band he’s had for a long time. He didn’t look at it that way. … If anyone in that band is loyal, it’s probably him. He was like, ‘I’m going to bring my guy [Frank Ferrer]. If I get Slash, that’s cool. If I get Duff, that’s cool too. And that’s enough.’ That’s how it went down, and that’s what they’re doing.”
Matt also said that he was invited to appear as a guest on the GUNS N’ ROSES reunion tour but that he didn’t do it because there was no money involved. Asked if he would show up and do it if he was approached about it again, he said: “I guess I’d have to wait until that call comes to make that decision. Right now, I have a baby and I’m nesting. I have a lot of different things going on in my life. I just produced Billy Gibbons‘s new record. I’m about to start my own. I have six startup companies. I’m a busy guy. It’s gotta be what works with my life. I feel really good about my time in the band. And I always thank GUNS N’ ROSES for my legacy going forward.”
GN’R‘s hugely successful reunion features Rose, Slash and McKagan alongside Ferrer, keyboardist Dizzy Reed, guitarist Richard Fortus and second keyboardist Melissa Reese.
Sorum, who replaced Steven Adler in GUNS N’ ROSES, recorded the albums “Use Your Illusion I” and “Use Your Illusion II” (both 1991) and “The Spaghetti Incident” (1994). He also supported the group on the “Use Your Illusion” tour and can be heard on GUNS N’ ROSES‘ “Live Era: ’87-’93” (1999) and “Greatest Hits” (2004).
Matt was among the GUNS N’ ROSES members who were inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame in April 2012. He, Adler, Slash and McKagan attended the ceremony, while Rose and founding guitarist Izzy Stradlin stayed home.
Sorum told The Pulse Of Radio in a 2009 interview that if the classic GUNS N’ ROSES band reunited, they should perform with both him and Adler. “If it’s me on drums or Steven or whatever, if it happened, it’d be great, you know,” he said. “I would actually say to them, ‘Hey, bring both of us back,’ you know. Let me play the other stuff. We’ll have two drum kits. I don’t care. If ‘Appetite [For Destruction]’ [the band’s debut] sounds better with Steven playing it, have both guys up there. They can afford it.”
Back in 2018, Izzy blamed his non-involvement with the GUNS N’ ROSES reunion tour on the fact that he and the other guys in the band were unable “to reach a happy middle ground through the negotiation process.” He also previously claimed that he stepped away from the reunion because the band didn’t want to “split the loot equally.”
“Double Talkin’ Jive: True Rock ‘N’ Roll Stories” came out on September 7 via Rare Bird Books.
