SLASH - SLASH `RELIEVED' ABOUT WEILAND'S DEPARTURE

LATEST: Rocker SLASH has revealed he and his VELVET REVOLVER bandmates are "relieved" now SCOTT WEILAND is no longer with the group. The band announced frontman Weiland's departure after a show in Amsterdam, The Netherlands on Monday (31Mar08), ending weeks of public bickering between the singer and his bandmates. And, amid an ongoing war of words online, Slash is glad Weiland is no longer part of the group. He tells RollingStone.com, "Everybody's just very relieved. This is something that's been coming down for a while." And the rocker insists the split has nothing to do with the upcoming reunion of Weiland's old band Stone Temple Pilots. He adds, "I know everybody is tying the STP thing to it, but it started way before that. We just had a lot of commitments to fulfil, so we just had to drag this thing out until the obligations were finished. "Basically, we're just excited about finding someone else and moving on." And Slash insists Velvet Revolver already have a replacement in mind: "We actually worked with a guy, I won't mention his name, before we left to go to the U.K. and there just wasn't enough (time) to break him in, so we're gonna work with him again some more."