Matt Sorum | |
|---|---|
 Sorum withDeadland Ritual in 2019 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Matthew William Sorum |
| Born | (1960-11-19)November 19, 1960 (age 64) Mission Viejo, California, U.S. |
| Genres | |
| Occupation | Drummer |
| Instruments |
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| Years active | 1975–present |
| Member of | Kings of Chaos,Billy Gibbons |
| Formerly of | |
Matthew William Sorum (born November 19, 1960) is an American drummer. He is best known as both a former member of thehard rock bandGuns N' Roses, with whom he recorded three studio albums, and as a member of thesupergroupVelvet Revolver. Sorum is currently[when?] on tour withBilly Gibbons,[citation needed] with whom he also records, is a member of the touring projectKings of Chaos, and is a former member of bothThe Cult andY Kant Tori Read. Sorum was also a member of Guns N' Roses side projects,Slash's Snakepit andNeurotic Outsiders, and has released two solo albums,Hollywood Zen (2004) andStratosphere (2014). He was the touring drummer for the supergroupHollywood Vampires from 2015 to 2017. His latest project isDeadland Ritual, featuring Black Sabbath bassist Geezer Butler, Billy Idol guitarist Steve Stevens, andApocalyptica vocalist Franky Perez.
After performing onTori Amos' first record andsynthpop band Y Kant Tori Read'ssole album, Sorum joined the Cult in 1989 to tour in support of their fourth studio album,Sonic Temple (1989). During the tour, Sorum was spotted by Guns N' Roses guitaristSlash and subsequently replaced their drummerSteven Adler in 1990. Remaining in the band for seven years, Sorum recorded the albumsUse Your Illusion I (1991),Use Your Illusion II (1991), and"The Spaghetti Incident?" (1993), before departing in 1997 following an argument withAxl Rose.
In 1999, Sorum rejoined The Cult to perform on their reunion album,Beyond Good and Evil (2001), and its subsequent 2000/2001 tours, and subsequently co-founded the hard rock supergroup Velvet Revolver, alongside former Guns N' Roses bandmates Slash andDuff McKagan. The band, which included guitaristDave Kushner andStone Temple Pilots frontmanScott Weiland, released two successful studio albums,Contraband (2004) andLibertad (2007), before entering an extended hiatus following Weiland's departure.
Sorum has been a permanent member of hard rockcover bandCamp Freddy since 2003, alongsideJane's Addiction membersDave Navarro andChris Chaney, and assisted in hosting its radio show and podcast onIndie 103.1. In 2012, Sorum founded a touring project, entitled Kings of Chaos, featuring members of Guns N' Roses,Deep Purple,Def Leppard,Aerosmith,ZZ Top,Cheap Trick andSlipknot.
In 2012, Sorum was inducted into theRock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Guns N' Roses.[1]
Sorum was born Matthew William Sorum on November 19, 1960, in an unincorporated area ofOrange County, California, that later became the city ofMission Viejo. He started to play drums after watchingRingo Starr withThe Beatles onThe Ed Sullivan Show in 1964.[citation needed] Later he was mainly influenced byIan Paice,Keith Moon,Neil Peart,Ginger Baker,John Bonham,Roger Taylor,Buddy Rich andBill Ward.[citation needed]
AtMission Viejo High School Sorum was part of the jazz band, marching band, and wind ensemble.[2] According to Sorum, he and his high school band, Prophecy, would play atThe Starwood on amateur nights.[3]
Sorum's work with Chateau produced a four-song set that was covered by local radio stations for a short time, but the music scene changed from grandiose rock topunk and alternativenew wave music. Sorum left and went to Hollywood to play with a series of bands, including Population Five, with bassistPrescott Niles fromThe Knack, and Hawk, replacingScott Travis, who went to play withRacer X and laterJudas Priest.[4] He then left on a tour around the country with ablues guitarist, playingnightclubs and bars.
In 1988, he was recruited to play on thedebut album ofY Kant Tori Read, a band fronted by a then unknownTori Amos. In the wake of that project, he joinedThe Cult as their live drummer for the 1989/1990 tour in support ofSonic Temple.
In 1989,Slash saw Sorum live withThe Cult on the Sonic Temple tour and, shortly after, Sorum joined Guns N' Roses asSteven Adler's replacement.
Sorum with Guns N' Roses can be heard on the 1990cover of theBob Dylan track "Knockin' on Heaven's Door", the albumsUse Your Illusion I,Use Your Illusion II (excluding the track "Civil War"),"The Spaghetti Incident?", the 1994 cover ofThe Rolling Stones track "Sympathy for the Devil" and the majority ofLive Era: '87-'93. Sorum featured fully on the lengthyUse Your Illusion Tour, drumming on all of the 194 shows, 9 legs and to over 7 million fans.
In 1994, Sorum formedSlash's Snakepit withSlash andGilby Clarke and drummed on their debut album,It's Five O'Clock Somewhere. Sorum also lent his drumming skills to thetheme song for the 199520th Century Fox filmMighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie. That same year, Sorum formed the supergroupNeurotic Outsiders, which featured bandmateDuff McKagan. In 1996 they released their only album, the self-titledNeurotic Outsiders.John Taylor (Duran Duran) andSteve Jones (Sex Pistols) also participated on this album, and toured behind it. Early performances featured guest spots bySimon Le Bon (Duran Duran), Slash, andBilly Idol.
In 1997, Sorum was fired from Guns N' Roses byAxl Rose after an argument with Rose over the inclusion ofPaul Tobias in the band.[5] Sorum claimed that Tobias made disparaging remarks about a Slash performance on TV, resulting in him blowing up at Tobias. Slash had recently left the band, and Sorum told Axl “without Slash there is no Guns N’ Roses”, to which Rose asked if he was going to quit the band. Sorum said no, then Rose fired him.[6]
In April 2006, nine years after leaving Guns N' Roses, Sorum re-established his friendship with the band's lead singer Axl Rose.[7]
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In 1998, he released his first and only drum instructional video (Drum Licks and Tricks from the Rock n Roll Jungle) demonstrating his techniques. In 1999, Matt joined The Cult once again and featured on their albumBeyond Good And Evil, which he spent most of 2001 touring in support of.
In 1999, Sorum reunited with Slash and McKagan to promote a concert for the independent filmSoundman (written and directed bySteven Ho) at theSlamdance Film Festival. Sorum had composed the film withLanny Cordola andMichael Stearns.[8][9][10] Realizing that they still had chemistry together, they formed a new band calledVelvet Revolver with formerStone Temple PilotsfrontmanScott Weiland and rhythm guitaristDave Kushner. After the 2004 release of their debut album,Contraband, they embarked on a worldwide tour that continued through December 2005. In August 2005, Sorum broke his wrist in a boating accident, stalling the tour temporarily. While recovering from the wrist injury the drummerBrian Tichy and Mark Schulman filled in for him. In 2005, the band was nominated for three Grammys, Rock Album of the Year, Rock Song, and Hard Rock Performance for theirContraband single "Slither", which won their first and only Grammy.[11]
After taking some time off in 2006, Sorum and the rest of the band returned to the studio in December to recordLibertad, Velvet Revolver's second album, which was released on July 3, 2007. Sorum toured with Velvet Revolver until singer Weiland parted ways with the band on April 1, 2008.
In 1994, Sorum was one of many guest drummers on the albumBurning for Buddy: A Tribute to the Music of Buddy Rich. Playing with the Buddy Rich Big Band, Sorum was able to display his skill and finesse as a jazz drummer.
Sorum released his first solo album,Hollywood Zen, in 2003. Available through his website, it was a musical statement about his life, touring, relationships, etc. In the same year, Sorum began playing with the newly formedCamp Freddy.
Sorum has endorsed Zildjian cymbals, featured in numerous sweepstakes with Zildjian, and lent his talents to Submersible Music'sDrumCore software.
In 2006, Sorum began guest recording in his studio with a new project, calledCircus Diablo. That year, he launched a clothing line, SorumNoce.
On June 4, 2008, Sorum revealedCamp Freddy is working on an album.[12]
Sorum was featured in episode 54 of TV'sLA Ink originally airing on August 27, 2009. In it,Kat Von D. tattoos a portrait of his wife Ace on his leg.
Matt filled in onMotörhead's 2009 US tour, while drummerMikkey Dee took part inKändisdjungeln, a Swedish version ofI'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!. "I can retire now," Sorum joked. "When they let me off in Kansas, I might open my own corn farm and just wear my Motörhead jacket. 'This is it, I'm done!'Axl calls and it's like, 'Aw, fuck that – I played withMotörhead!'"[13]
After performing together at the Giving 2010 benefit event on May 3, 2010,[14] Sorum formed the cover band Carnival of Dogs withTracii Guns (L.A. Guns, formerly ofBrides of Destruction),Franky Perez (Solo,Scars on Broadway,DKFXP) andPhil Soussan (previously played withOzzy Osbourne,Billy Idol andVince Neil).[15]
He made an appearance in an episode ofFSN Sport Science, when a test was undertaken to determine ifa professional basketball point guard had faster hands than a drummer.
In 2010 and 2011 Sorum appeared on the reality showRock 'n Roll Fantasy Camp. He appeared as one of the counselors guiding a new band in a music competition.[16]
In 2012, Matt Sorum and Ace Harper formed the band Diamond Baby and are both featured in the music video "The Last Rockstar" with actressesJane Lynch,Juliette Lewis, and the lateVerne Troyer.[17]" In 2012, Sorum and Jane Lynch created Adopt the Arts to save the arts from being eliminated from Los Angeles elementary schools.[18]
In 2014, he worked withAnimals Asia and adopted a moon bear that had been on a Chinese bear-bile farm, when her bile was extracted for traditional medicine. He hoped to draw attention to the abuse that bears suffer on the farms in China and Vietnam.[19] He has since become an ambassador for the cause.[20]
Sorum is also an auxiliary member of the Cooper-fronted rocksupergroupHollywood Vampires, appearing on the band'seponymous 2015 debut studio album and playing drums at the band's high-profileRock in Rio show on September 24, 2015, as well as preceding warm-up shows atThe Roxy on September 16 and 17.[21] Sorum played with the Hollywood Vampires during their February 2016 Grammy Award Performance.
In 2018, Matt unveiled Artbit, a distributed-ledger platform that enables both artists and fans to share and monetise artistic talent from anywhere across the globe.[22]
On October 12, 2013, Matt married his longtime girlfriend Ace Harper in Palm Springs, California.[23] Their daughter, Lou Ellington Sorum, was born on June 11, 2021.
In a 2014 interview, Sorum stated that he became avegetarian.[24]
Axl were having some differences in the musical direction. In '97 I got into an argument with Axl about the state of the band. He'd brought in another guitar player, Paul Huge, and none of us really wanted to play with him. Axl really wanted him in the band and we didn't really want to play with the guy. Me and Duff were showing up, trying to be professional and get the work done but it just didn't seem to be going anywhere, and obviously it still hasn't
[...] I'm vegetarian now. [...]
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