VELVET REVOLVER Drummer Talks Clothing

Rick Florino of ARTISTdirect recently conducted an interview with VELVET REVOLVER/ex-GUNS N' ROSES drummer Matt Sorum. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow:

ARTISTdirect: You really have a great spot for the [Sorum Noce clothing] store, and the line is fantastic.

Matt: Thanks. I'm working with a really cool Italian dude named Max Noce. He used to work with different designers including Dolce & Gabbana. He's up on all of the trends with making fine clothing.

ARTISTdirect: How did the collaboration come about between you two?

Matt: I've been hanging out with him for quite a while. We actually worked on the line for the last couple of years. The original idea was just to go out with a kind of wholesale vibe. We tipped that on a little bit. I've been touring and doing all this other sort of stuff that I do. He opened up this vision of the line and was able to work with that angle. Together, we built it through there. Everybody that has seen it is totally into it, and I've got a lot of friends that want to help — people in the clothing business that I know, as well as rock 'n' rollers, actors and promoters in town. Everybody's willing to help. So it's pretty exciting.

ARTISTdirect: From the looks of who you've gotten to model on your web site, Jerry Cantrell and Slash, it definitely seems like you've got the rock and roll community participating.

Matt: Over the years of playing music, I've lived in Hollywood all this time. So now while being at the store, I see so many people I know walking by. The vibe is really good. Jim Marshall, an old rock 'n' roll photographer, I called him and said, "You know Jim, we'd like to use some of your photography in the store." So he sent me some really great stuff — pictures of THE WHO and JANIS JOPLIN. We're going to have lots of photography and clothing. We're also making furniture, which is high-end, Victorian-Modern as I would call it. That's going to be available for people to buy, too. So that will be exciting.

ARTISTdirect: The whole vibe is really cool. Sorum Noce has got that rock 'n' roll edge, but you have a real sense of refinement. It's really classy at the same time.

Matt: Thanks. We're trying to keep it pretty classic. We don't want to look like some kind of dated, rock n' roll thing. It's more about fine men's clothing with an edge — guys that want to go out on the weekend and wear some leather. We also have fine tailored suits. We've done those in beautiful Italian wool. We're doing knitwear, shirts, ties and slacks. It's all cool. The way we mix it up makes it look really classy with a groove on it.

ARTISTdirect: What was your inspiration for designing clothes? Is it tough to find time while doing VELVET REVOLVER?

Matt: I've been busy on the last album and stuff. I think it's from being in the music for as long as I have. I don't want to call it my day job, but I get it done. I play drums and I make music, and that's killer. I have a really great time doing it. I think I've been pretty successful doing that and have had a great career. Of course I'm going to continue, but I'm looking at this as an outside interest that I've wanted to take on. I've wanted to do it for a while. It's a challenge, and also it's an art. It's fun to create. With my partner, we're just having fun designing the store. We're looking at different colors of wallpapers, and we're buying the chandeliers. It's all creative things. That's what we're into: music, art, photography and whatever else.

Read the entire interview at www.artistdirect.com.