Former Velvet Revolver guitarist Dave Kushner discussed Scott Weiland and Chris Cornell in a new Appetite for Distortion interview last week. Weiland died in December 2015 due to a drug overdose, while Cornell committed suicide by hanging last month. Cornell’s toxicology report revealed that the singer had a significant level of the prescription drug Ativan in his system (200 ng/mL), far above the average dosage (30-50 ng/mL). This interview was conducted before that report was released.
“The demise of [Velvet Revolver] came because people were drinking and doing shit, back to that whole Chris Cornell [thing], drug addiction and alcoholism is like a disease of isolation.”
“[Scott] had his own bus, all of the band would be on one bus and he’d be on a separate bus. He wouldn’t hang out. We would literally see him 5 minutes before the show, and then we’d see him for the show, then he’d leave right after the show.”
He later said Weiland was more social when he was clean and sober, “He isolated himself when he was drinking and doing drugs, he didn’t isolate himself in general as much. He wanted to hang out, he was more social, he was more at ease, he was more a part of the group. When he started drinking and doing more stuff, he started isolating more so he could do it.
We were all aware of it, and we were all aware of each other’s things, and that’s what you do. To a certain extent, even if you’re drinking, you hang out, you want to be social, but if you’re doing anything more than that, you’re starting to hide it, especially if it’s any kind of drugs.”
He also discussed Chris Cornell later on.
“It’s just sad. It’s sad that he was in such a dark place, he had a family, 3 kids, he just had so much to live for. Whatever it was in his mind that told him he would be better off dead than alive, it’s just heartbreaking.
I don’t know much more than that to say about it. My experience has been that drug addiction and alcoholism is partly a voice in your head that tells you those kinds of things, and that’s why it’s so difficult, and you have to work so hard to keep it at bay.”
