Matt Sorum has played in the biggest arenas and the smallest of smoky bars and dives, and none of them are really big enough to contain his sound.

Born Matthew William Sorum on Nov. 19, 1960, in Mission Viejo, Calif., Sorum was already becoming known on the Southern California music scene by his mid-teens. Wearing “Union Jack” shorts and usually nothing else, he hammered away at a huge acrylic drum set as a member of an otherwise unmemorable band, Prophecy.

Pulled from Prophecy by songwriter Stephen Douglas, Sorum became a member of a local group Chateau, known for its grandiose themes and wall of sound. Chateau became known on the Hollywood circuit, appearing at the popular Gazzarri’s, but soon its style of music was obsolete as American audiences turned to punk and alternative music. Sorum left Hollywood to play his way through a series of bands, including Population Five with The Knack’s bassist, Prescott Niles, among others. He even toured the country in the company of a blues guitarist, playing nightclubs and bars.

In 1988, he was recruited as a session drummer for the debut album of a group dubbed Y Kant Tori Read. The band was fronted by then-unknown vocalist Tori Amos, and while she and several of the players on the album, including Sorum, went on to great success, the self-titled debut (and only) album for Y Kant Tori Read was a flop.

In the wake of that studio project, Sorum scored an important gig as the drummer for The Cult on the metal band’s 1989 tour supporting its album “Sonic Temple.”

That was only a start.

During The Cult’s tour, Sorum’s work was observed and appreciated by Guns N’ Roses guitarist Slash. Sorum was plucked from The Cult to take over the drum set with Guns N’ Roses, replacing Steven Adler in 1990 when the band decided it could no longer perform with Adler due to his drug abuse. (Adler claims his firing was due to personal reasons and that the band and its handlers were trying to strip him of his share of the money. He filed suit, finally settling in 1997 for $2.25 million plus 15 percent of future royalties.)

Sorum would play with Guns N’ Roses for seven years, starting out by picking up Adler’s slack in the recording studio for the mega-release “Use Your Illusion I and II.” He played all 192 shows with the band in support of the double album.

In 1995, he joined forces again with Slash and bassist Gilby Clarke in the group Slash’s Snakepit, drumming on the band’s debut album “It’s Five O’Clock Somewhere.” That same year, he also played drums for the theme song of the film “Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie,” and formed his own group, Neurotic Outsiders, featuring another ex-Guns N’ Roses bassist, Duff McKagan. Only a single, self-titled album was released by the band.

Sorum lost his job in Guns N’ Roses after a 1997 spat with mercurial vocalist Axl Rose. The drummer had defended his pal Slash, who had departed the group, during an argument with Rose and guitarist Paul Tobias. The next year, Sorum released an instructional video “Drum Licks and Tricks from the Rock n Roll Jungle,” then in 2001 re-upped with The Cult for the album “Beyond Good and Evil” and the band’s subsequent tour.

In 2002, Sorum landed his current gig – again alongside ex-GNR bandmates. Guitarist Slash and bassist McKagan had reunited with Sorum for a charity show and decided to form a new group, to be known as Velvet Revolver. Fronted by ex-Stone Temple Pilots vocalist Scott Weiland and with rhythm guitarist Dave Kushner on board, the group released its debut album, “Contraband,” in 2004, went on a tour (which Sorum missed part of due to a broken wrist from a boating mishap) and then issued a second studio album, “Libertad,” on July 3, 2007. The group is back out on tour supporting that second album.

Beyond Velvet Revolver, Sorum has released a 2003 solo album entitled “Hollywood Zen,” and ventured into something of a periodic supergroup called Camp Freddy.

The band includes an interesting mix of guitarist Dave Navarro (Jane’s Addiction, Red Hot Chili Peppers), guitarist Billy Morrison (The Cult), vocalists Weiland and Donavan Leitch Jr., and bassist Chris Chaney (Jane’s Addiction). They play live shows of cover songs and released a single in September 2006 – a cover of the Cheap Trick hit “Surrender,” which was included in the feature film “Employee of the Month.”

Apart from music, Sorum has launched his own clothing line, called Sorum & Noce.