Shooter Jennings has said that he turned down two offers to supplant Scott Weiland in Velvet Revolver.

"They've asked me twice, dude," the country rocker told Classic Rock. "I've done a couple of shows with those guys, and they asked me a couple of years ago and they asked me again last year to be the singer. And it pained my heart not to say yes, because those guys are the best players in the world. They're literally one of the best bands I've ever heard, and to be able to sing with them has been amazing. But I had a talk with them about it and... I knew I was gonna be doing another record and that what I wanted to do was really special to me, and I didn't feel I could stifle that."

Jennings, son of outlaw country pioneer Waylon Jennings, says he's become good friends with Slash, Duff McKagan, Matt Sorum and Dave Kushner. "No disrespect to them, but I just felt like it wasn't my time to do that, y'know?"

Given that Guns N' Roses has always been one of his favorite bands, it was a tough decision. "I was six years old when 'Appetite for Destruction' came out, and it was the coolest thing. I never liked Bon Jovi. I never liked hair metal. When I heard Guns N' Roses, it was dangerous and it was mean, and that was why I wanted to move to L.A. I wanted to be Axl, stepping off the bus with the hayseed in his mouth."