The supergroup Kings of Chaos reach our shores next weekend. Excluding that failure Axl Rose, this is the first time all the members of Guns N’ Roses will be touring together since the Use Your Illusion Tour in 1993. Therese Owen spoke to the genius behind Kings of Chaos, drummer Matt Sorum.
International phone interviews can be a drag, particularly when they are at 10pm and the last of the night shift sub-editors are quietly disappearing back to their dark lives.
So looking around the empty newsroom, I was feeling rather glum when I eventually got hold of Matt Sorum some 20 minutes after the arranged time.
But it took just a minute and I was flying high on musical ecstacy.
A voice on the other end of the phone answered very slowly: “Hellllo, this… is… Matt… Sorum, the dru-mmerrr.”
I started giggling and replied equally as slowly in an American accent: “Helllo, this.. is… Therese… Owen, the journo-lisst.”
We both started laughing as we connected over about seven time zones and 100 000km.
Where are you, Matt?
“We are at the rehearsal studio getting ready for you guys. Right now in the rehearsal room Gilby Clarke, Slash, Duff McKagan and Miles Kennedy are practising.”
Gulp, Guns N’ Roses are practising for me and my people! My head is spinning.
“This is the first time that we as Guns N’ Roses are practising for so many of these songs since the Use Your Illusion Tour in 1993. Some- how I conned these guys into it. We haven’t played together since then.”
In case you have been living under a rock in Mangaung, the guys are part of the Kings of Chaos tour which will take place next month in South Africa.
Originally formed last year as Sorum’s Rock ’n’ Roll All Stars, the group’s name recently changed to Kings of Chaos. The core members are Sorum, Clarke, Duff McKagan and Def Leppard’s Joe Elliot. The group is also joined by musicians from other famous rock bands. The concert then consists of the big hits of Kings of Chaos’ members’ full-time bands’ repertoire being played by the Kings of Chaos members.
For the South African tour, eight original musicians from Guns N’ Roses, Def Leppard, Velvet Revolver, The Cult, Deep Purple, Collective Soul as well as Alter Bridge’s vocalist, Myles Kennedy, will perform.
The shows will take place on June 7 and 8 at GrandWest Casino and on June 15 and 16 at Sun City.
It is also the first time that guitarist Slash will be performing with Kings of Chaos.
About Slash’s appearance, Sorum commented: “Playing Africa was a no-brainer. Slash was like: ‘Yeah, I’m gonna go with my kids and take them on a safari’. That was easy.
“We are offering a smorgasbord of songs, for the love of music. This line-up will never happen again.
“Kings of Chaos is a revolving door in that way. We are only doing four shows and we’re going to South Africa for those shows and then coming home.
“Obviously, many of the songs’ energies will be different because there are different musicians interpreting it. There are actually eight bands represented at the shows, but you get to see them all at the same time. Rap does it all the time and we rock musicians don’t. With this concert we have all the A-grade players.”
But, surely, considering the calibre of artists and how big they are, this is a massive undertaking?
“Yeah, this is not like going to play in the corner garage as a bunch of kids. It takes a lot of time to plan and people want to get paid. In terms of asking musicians, I consider who I want to bring and who will have a good time on stage. If there is an ego clash I get rid of that one and put in another one.
“Pretty much everybody I have asked has been into it. One of the first guys was Duff. Duff and I have played together in bands like The Neurotic Outsiders, Velvet Revolver and, of course, Guns N’ Roses. Out of all the guys I’ve played with, I am closest to Duff. He’s gonna be at my wedding. I was like: ‘Duff, let’s play again’, and he agreed. As a rhythm section, we have played with every major guitarist on this planet.
“Pretty much everybody I have spoken to about the project has been into it. Most of the biggest musicians in the world are my friends. Where the problem lies is with management, but I always cut the crap and the musicians say ‘yes’.
“You gotta remember, however, that a lot of these musicians have to play these territories as other bands.”
It seems complicated, but it all sounds like we South Africans are witnessing the best Kings of Chaos line-up since their inception. This will indeed be a special experience for many rock fans, more so because rock god of rock gods, Slash, is coming too.
As the interview time draws to a close, Sorum ends off with another amusing statement that provides an insight into his headspace: “We are practising next to Paramount Studios in Hollywood. I love the energy of Hollywood. It captures the vibe of rock ’n’ roll. It’s my stomping ground. I am a Hollywood drummer.”
I am left alone in the newsroom, doing a little head banging air guitar leap. I do this because at the same time, somewhere in Hollywood these fine musicians are in a rehearsal room, practising to come to South Africa, nowhere else but here, to perform for us.
Welcome to the jungle, baby.