Weiland Ready for Revolver Trek

It looks like Scott Weiland has cleaned himself up and is finally ready to rock.

The oft-troubled singer, whose heroin habit has landed him in trouble with the law in recent years, has finally been given permission by California authorities to hit the road with his new band, Velvet Revolver.

For those rock 'n' roll fans who haven't followed the news, Revolver's the supergroup teaming Weiland with ex-Guns N' Roses members Slash, Duff McKagan and Matt Sorum with Suicidal Tendencies guitarist David Kushner.

The former frontman for Stone Temple Pilots joined the group last year and Revolver recorded their debut album, Contraband. But initial tour plans were derailed when Weiland was arrested for heroin possession last May.

Instead of singing the blues in jail, the 36-year-old crooner pleaded no contest in August and was sentenced to spend several months in a residential rehab facility. But in January, a judge ordered him back into a California live-in detox facility after discovering he had checked out of treatment early.

"Scott actually just got cleared to tour today," former Guns N' Roses guitarist Slash told Billboard. "We've been planning dates this whole time."

Weiland's reps could not be reached for comment.

In its short history, Velvet Revolver (formerly named Reloaded) has played only one well-received live show at the El Rey Theater in Los Angeles last June. But according to Slash, expectations are riding high for the trek, which will hit mostly "medium-sized" venues in advance of the June 8 release of Contraband.

"The first thing we're going to go out and do is establish ourselves as our own band in our own environment," the axe man said. "We're trying to keep it as personal as possible but at the same time, expose ourselves as much as possible. We want to do this on our own terms, as opposed to going out, jumping on the road and opening for somebody or playing a festival bill, but that is coming."

Slash noted that among the numerous originals they plan to debut, the sets will feature classic tunes from both of their former bands, so expect to hear STP's "Plush" possibly mixed in the same set with "Welcome to the Jungle" or "Paradise City," among other gems.

He added, "[It will be] a little bit more Guns and STP than just one song apiece, and a couple of covers. Whatever we can to make a really good, punchy set and express ourselves as openly and as uninhibitedly as possible."

The only thing Revolver had to do was wait until Weiland got his act together, which they were more than willing to do given some of the musicians had similar struggles with substance abuse.

"Simple fact is, we've all been through that tenfold as hard-core as Scott, so, for us, it really wasn't an issue," McKagan recently told Britain's XFM Online in a recent interview.

McKagan added, "He quit Stone Temple Pilots, and he started up a nice little tripping habit. He wanted to stop, and there wasn't a better group of guys for him to be around than us, so it all really helped us bond, and we really became a gang, you know. He's been fine for a long time now. It's just the Johnny Law in the U.S. bringing him down."

Now that they're all purportedly done dancing with Mr. Brownstone and are off drugs, the rockers have loaded themselves up on music.

The public can get its first real taste of the Revolver sound with a sample of the first single, "Slither," which is now available on the band's official Website. It hits radio stations on Monday.

No dates have been announced yet for the upcoming tour, but Revolver is more than primed to bring the noise.

"Everything is great," Slash told Billboard excitedly. "It all seems to be happening for a reason."

In another twist of fate, Contraband's release is another thorn in the side of Axl Rose, whose comeback plans with a new Guns N' Roses lineup remain in limbo, not to mention the unveiling of their long-awaited album Chinese Democracy.

A Revolver tour could steal some of the thunder away from Rose as he finishes up work on that disc.

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