As part of the official launch of Guns N' Roses fan site ?GNR' Destruction? I decided to ask Guns N Roses guitarist Ron ?Bumblefoot? Thal to partake in a short interview with me. Needless to say Ron humbly obliged and I thank him greatly for that. The results were as follows:
1. "Guitars Suck" has become a downloadable piece of additional content for the video game ?Rock Band 2?. How has the reception to that track in particular been? Do you intend (if possible) to partner up again with the ?Rock Band? franchise sometime in the future?
Ron ?Bumblefoot? Thal: I think it's done ok, haven't seen the stats yet. Would love to do a bunch more songs from the Normal & Abnormal CDs, already in progress of encoding a few songs. We'll see how it goes........2. Your d?but record ?The Adventures Of Bumblefoot? was recently re-released exclusively through your web store. Is the latter something you've always had the ambition to do? Like make your earliest material more widely available for the craving fans? Could you see yourself maybe doing the same with the likes of ?Hermit? at some point?
Ron ?Bumblefoot? Thal: I never wanted those albums to be unavailable, but it wasn't up to me. Those albums were made while under contract with Shrapnel Records and they own all the rights. When I left the label, they stopped printing the albums and they were no longer available. 15 years later they've made the ?Adventures? album available again, and I worked it out where I buy albums off them, sell autographed copies on my site and donate $5 a CD to Multiple Sclerosis research. I also made a 200 page transcription book of the album, every detail of the picking, fingers, tablature and music notation, that's at the webstore ( http://www.bumblefoot.com/store/ ) as well. The CD and book hit the store in mid-August and it's done really well, happy to say. If Shrapnel would like to re-release ?Hermit?, I'd want to re-master it. I was never happy with the mastering, but it was out of my hands.3. GN'R have embarked on the second leg of their European tour. How has it been so far? At this relatively early stage of the leg have any dates in particular stood out for you?
Ron ?Bumblefoot? Thal: Other than a few snags at the start of the tour, it's been fucking great. The most fun I've had on tour, and the best shows. I just got off the stage a few hours ago, Belgium show, and I'm feel great about every show. Each one felt special in subtle ways, a lot of warm welcomes and 'welcome back's. I love that we're hitting cities and countries that are seeing the band for the first time.4. The sheer tightness of this band would lead to people remarking ?Get this band in the studio quick?. Would you all be eager to get into the studio and let the creative juices flow?
Ron ?Bumblefoot? Thal: I would love it if we went into the studio before each leg of the tour and wrote & recorded one song, each time, also play the song during that leg. Been saying that for a while, I'd love to do that.5. We've seen some slight alterations to the GN'R set as the second leg of the European tour progresses. Are there any songs played in South East Asia you'd like to play again at some point?
Ron ?Bumblefoot? Thal: I'd be happy to play any and all, all good.6. Recently something horrible has managed to establish its presence upon your face. Neatly known as ?Ron's Beard?, is it possible to rid yourself of him?
Ron ?Bumblefoot? Thal: Best we don't mention *it*. *It* might hear us, and if *it* wakes up, *it*'s only gonna try and wreak havoc on mankind. Fucking evil... *it* actually refers to me as ?Beard's Ron?.7. And finally, an old ?Chinese Democracy Forum? classic, what is your favourite sandwich filler? Have there been any developments in regards to your hot sauce range? Any potential names thought up?
Ron ?Bumblefoot? Thal: Give me a simple peanut butter and jelly sandwich and I'm good. My hot sauces will either be called Bumblicious (mild) and BumbleF**ked (hot), either that or Normal (mild) and Abnormal (hot). Hell, maybe both. If we take a long break from touring I'm gonna get on it. Alright, it's 8 in the morning, gonna get breakfast, then get to bed. Thanks for the interview, have a good one...!
Ron
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