Axl & Tommy: Friction?

my guess as to the start of this friction: bumblefoot.

my guess isn't any more worthwhile than any others, but if these guys have been recording and rehearsing and preparing for this tour for a long time and all of the sudden axl, who hasn't attended many rehearsals, calls and says "hey, i just hired on ron thal to play all of bucket's old stuff and take some of the solos." i would guess the rehearsal "general" might flip out a bit. regardless of how talented and/or necessary thal may be, these guys were presumably putting the last bit of polish on, getting ready to play the shows as a seven piece band (hard to believe 7 isn't enough) and to get a call one week in advance that completely reshuffles the deck would be frustrating, to say the least. maybe i'm completely off base and bringing on thal was something the band agreed upon, but as soon as i heard the statement that he had only been in the fold for a week, my first reaction was that it was pretty messed up to do to the rest of the guys. one big piece of evidence for my theory is the statement tommy made in an interview just a few weeks back when asked if they were looking for a replacement for buckethead. i don't remember exactly the wording of the response, but it was something to the effect of "hell no, i'm just glad the guy is gone."