Weiland and Duff respond to Axl Rose

Velvet Revolver bassist Duff McKagan and singer Scott Weiland have responded to a press release issued last week by Guns N' Roses frontman W. Axl Rose. Rose lambasted his former Guns bandmates, McKagan and Velvet Revolver guitarist Slash, claiming that the latter called Weiland a "fraud" and McKagan "spineless" in an early morning meeting at Rose's house last year. Duff told us that he would rather not get involved in the situation at all: [ click here to listen if you have a Backstage Pass] "I think, you know, a lot of it's really unfortunate, very difficult. I've always just wanted to make great music and that's what I plan on doing. As far as a rebuttal to what he said, or what Slash has said, I won't get involved in a war of words, you know. People say all kinds of stuff and I'm not going to be one of them."

Scott Weiland was not as diplomatic. In a posting at Velvet Revolver's official web site, Weiland called Rose a "fat, Botox-faced, wig-wearin' fuck." Weiland wrote that Rose had an "unoriginal, uncreative little mind, the same mind that had to rely on its bandmates to write melodies and lyrics - who's the fraud now?"

The VR singer also slammed Axl for taking more than a decade to make the still-unreleased Guns N' Roses album Chinese Democracy, saying, "How many albums have you put out, man, and how long did it take the current configuration of this so-called 'band' to make (the album)?...We toured our album over a year and a half. How many shows have you played over the last 10 years?" The last GNR tour, in 2002, ended abruptly after just a handful of shows.

The VR singer concluded by calling Axl a "frightened little man who once thought he was king."

A Velvet Revolver spokesperson said that Slash would issue his own response within days.

Axl's initial press release accompanied his countersuit against Slash and McKagan, who have sued Rose over licensing, publishing and royalty issues.

McKagan told us that Velvet Revolver will enter the studio on April 10th to begin recording its sophomore album.
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