Matt Sorum rejected Guns N’ Roses offer to make a “guest” appearance at their shows.
The heavy metal group’s former drummer didn’t see any point to him joining Axl Rose and co onstage again if it was only going to be for a couple of songs.
Speaking on the ‘Legends: Podcast’ before the group announced their latest tour on December 9, Matt said when asked if he had seen Axl play with original bassist Duff McKagan and axe-slayer Slash since they reunited in 2015: “No, I haven’t got the invite. ‘Hey, come watch the band.’ I’m, like, ‘Eh, I don’t think so.’ [Laughs].”
He continued: “They invited me to come play [with them as a guest], and I declined. I didn’t think it made sense to go play — what? — two songs and then do what? I mean, I play music. I play with musicians.
“So that’s cool. Whatever they’re doing is cool. I’m still living this vagabond dream of journeyman. I kind of like where I’m at as far as taking twists and turns…”
The musician – who is a member of ZZ Top star Billy Gibbons’ live solo band and has also played in Alice Cooper and Johnny Depp’s supergroup The Hollywood Vampires – insists he is “much more at peace” with no longer being in the ‘Welcome to the Jungle’ group.
He said: “Being in the realm of Billy, I’m, like, I can die and go to heaven. I always look at that, like, well, if I was doing [the Guns N’ Roses reunion], I wouldn’t be able to do this. And this wouldn’t have happened. And this wouldn’t have happened over here. And I wouldn’t have time for my kid. So all those things in my mind are, like, ‘I’m where I’m supposed to be.’ And I say that. People go, ‘It’s bull****. You need to be in the band.’ I’m, like, well, I’ll be honest in the beginning, it was a little weird. I’m, like, ‘Okay, well, it’s a reunion. Okay, well, make it a reunion.’ But it didn’t go that way. So, I’m much more at peace with it than I was in the very beginning. I’ll be honest.”
In 1997, Matt – who replaced ousted drummer Steven Adler in 1990 – was fired from Guns N’ Roses by frontman Axl after an argument over Paul Tobias being in the band.
The Velvet Revolver rocker told the singer that Paul had made mean comments about guitarist Slash on TV, warning Axl “without Slash there is no Guns N’ Roses”. Axl is then believed to have asked Matt when he was going to leave, and after he said he wouldn’t, he fired him anyway.
Guns N’ Roses will embark on a 24-date stadium tour in 2025, including their first-ever show in Saudi Arabia.
The group’s longest serving sticksman, Frank Ferrer, will be behind the drum kit.
They will kick off the jaunt – which follows their 2023 run – at Riyadh’s Kingdom Arena on May 23, and after playing in the Middle East , they will head to Europe and the UK throughout June.
The UK leg includes London’s Wembley Stadium on June 26, their first headline gig there since 1992, and Brimingham’s Villa Park on June 23.
The group – also comprising Duff McKagan, Dizzy Reed, Richard Fortus and Melissa Reese – will also play Turkey, Italy, Spain, Portugal, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Estonia, Lithuania, Poland, Hungary, Serbia, Bulgaria, Austria and Luxembourg.
The run wraps at Germany’s Wacken Festival on July 31.