Bumblefoots brilliant idea!

[LIGuns]

Down in the article Bumblefoot talks about how he would like to release a new song to play live prior to each leg of the tour..I think this would be a great idea..

Even though 2008's "Chinese Democracy" wasn't the most well-received GUNS N' ROSES album, fans were still grateful to finally hear something new from the group after 15 years. But if anyone is hoping to hear a new record from the current version of the band anytime soon, they shouldn't hold their breath. During a brand new interview with RollingStone.com, guitarist Ron "Bumblefoot" Thal addressed that question, saying, "There's a lot of stuff, it's just a question of all of us organizing. We're still doing shows, and I think once we clear our schedule and focus more on new music, it'll happen. We just have little things on the back burner, just waiting for the right time for us to organize and make something new out of it. Hopefully we can make more music ? that's what it's about."

He added: [Fans] want new music, and we can do it. It's not that we're done. I'm not ready for that. We need to keep making music. We have a great band that's ready to do it and can do it well.

"I would love to [release a brand new track every few months] with GUNS. I don't think it's in the cards, I don't think it's what everybody wants to do. But me personally, if we could put out a song every time we're about to hit the road, that would be a great way to do it. It would add relevancy to each leg of the tour as well, having a fresh song that we're playing on that leg."

Keyboardist Dizzy Reed told The Pulse Of Radio a while back that a follow-up to "Chinese Democracy" didn't look likely to happen soon. "We haven't really talked a lot about that," he said. "We recorded a lot of material back, you know, when we started working on 'Chinese Democracy', so there's a quite a bit of unreleased stuff, I think, that would be really cool to be finished and put out. Everyone has great ideas and we're always sort of bouncing stuff off each other and I think eventually something's got to give, you know, and it's gonna come out."

As for Axl himself, the subject of a new album was just broached to him in an interview with Adelaide Now. When asked whether there would be new GUNS music in 2013, he replied, "I can give you a definite maybe."

"Chinese Democracy" took 13 years and a reported $13 million to complete, and saw the exit of the entire original band as well as several succeeding lineups.

[jarmo]

Throwing ideas around is fun. But who knows if that particular idea is even possible?

Release the song how? Where?

Digital only on iTunes? Well, some people want physical releases.

What about the record stores? The stores that still exist. They'd have nothing.

You can't even find singles in certain stores....



/jarmo

[Nytunz]

Throwing ideas around is fun. But who knows if that particular idea is even possible?

Release the song how? Where?

Digital only on iTunes? Well, some people want physical releases.

What about the record stores? The stores that still exist. They'd have nothing.

You can't even find singles in certain stores....



/jarmo

Bands need to take choices like this all the time these days... There has been digital releases and singles beeing released only thorugh the interenet for quite some time now. And in the big picture i dont know if this strategy has been a big success. The sales of LPs are increasing.. and by the look of the it, i think many bands will still release CD`s and Vinyls... (along with digital releases).

Its easy for Bumble to work this way. For small projects in general. But for big bands its not that easy.

[Dr. Blutarsky]

A four  to 6 song EP would be a possibility. It is becoming more common lately. And it could go into the physical record shops, be less $$ than a full album.

[kyrie]

Throwing ideas around is fun. But who knows if that particular idea is even possible?

Release the song how? Where?

Digital only on iTunes? Well, some people want physical releases.

What about the record stores? The stores that still exist. They'd have nothing.

You can't even find singles in certain stores....



/jarmo

Why not both physically and online?

I'm playing Devil's Advocate here because I know this is all easier said than done, and I know it wasn't the most successful experiment, but The Smashing Pumpkins basically did this with the first 8 tracks from Teargarden by Kaleidyscope - offered them for download via their website, and after 4 tracks were released, sold a physical copy of the volume as well. You could always skip the free route and go iTunes one shot at a time and release the physical media after.

I don't see GN'R doing a major release this way - there's too much in the way of politics with the label, and frankly money, involved. However, doing the first few tracks like this could work - release them one at a time, then collect them for a special edition. Going back to The Pumpkins example, they wound up going with a major label release after the first two volumes were released through their website. And it has (to me) been their best work since Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness (not that the release method matters... or maybe it did a bit just because it got me listening again).

Mainly I think Ron is just showing how much he wants music to be released and getting ideas out there, which in the end is a positive for all of us. I'd be a lot more worried if the band members didn't care about new music! When it comes to release dates right now I keep looking at Tool... no new album since 2006 and they're saying the same thing; there's "bits and pieces" of stuff down etc. It's just that in Guns case, after the wait between TSI and CD (with just Sympathy for the Devil and Oh My God released during that time), most people are hoping it'll be a "sooner rather than later" situation.

You also make it a lot easier to promote shows. Hell - release a couple over the covers like The Seeker to get some attention going (is that or any other cover going to be on the live BluRay release? If the rights could be sorted out I'd love that, I care more about audio than video personally).

[ITARocker]

Throwing ideas around is fun. But who knows if that particular idea is even possible?

Release the song how? Where?

Digital only on iTunes? Well, some people want physical releases.

What about the record stores? The stores that still exist. They'd have nothing.

You can't even find singles in certain stores....


/jarmo

I thought it was all about art and not marketing

If they have a new song they should just play it live, that's enough for almost everybody

[reayj2003]

I'd hoped a disc a bit like Metallica's 'Beyond Magnetic' might be on the cards. I personally don't like the idea of releasing songs here and there. It's not as satisfying as an album where the songs are a part of the whole. With a big band and label I can't see it happening.

Also this is not news- He's had this idea for over a year!

[jarmo]

I thought it was all about art and not marketing

Have you ever heard the word contract?

If they have a new song they should just play it live, that's enough for everybody

Don't act like your answer is the universal "make everybody happy" answer, because that doesn't exist.

Rewind to 2006. Everybody was happy that they played new songs that weren't released yet? No they weren't.





/jarmo

[Hale]

I thought it was all about art and not marketing

Have you ever heard the word contract?

If they have a new song they should just play it live, that's enough for everybody

Don't act like your answer is the universal "make everybody happy" answer, because that doesn't exist.

Rewind to 2006. Everybody was happy that they played new songs that weren't released yet? No they weren't.

Sure, you can't make everybody happy. I'd love it though if they picked a path that made people that want new music happy (and Bumblefoot!).

[ITARocker]

I thought it was all about art and not marketing

Have you ever heard the word contract?


/jarmo

Axl is well known for his integrity and his "i don't give a fuck" attitude  (or, at least, he's been portrayed this way) so if they have a song, he would be the first not caring about a contract. The main problem, as i've already said, is that it seems that they don't have  a new song ready to be played and Bumble to me is just remarking this thing over & over again: they probably don't have even one song written by the actual members and the old stuff is stuff that is there, ready to get completed, but still not rehearsed or ready to be played during live performances and they haven't even talked seriously about that. I think this kind of "lets do something" by bumble means one thing: he's fuckin tired of been in the fuckin' limbo "are we a band or we aren't?"

[jarmo]

You must be a very naive person if you think an "I don't give a fuck" attitude applies to everything in his life.

Do some research. They have songs. Just because they might not be 100% ready to be released doesn't mean there's no songs that could be performed live!
In order to record a song, you need to have a song. When you have a song, you can perform it and/or record it. Simple logic.





/jarmo

[dolphins]

Throwing ideas around is fun. But who knows if that particular idea is even possible?

Release the song how? Where?

Digital only on iTunes? Well, some people want physical releases.

What about the record stores? The stores that still exist. They'd have nothing.

You can't even find singles in certain stores....



/jarmo

Funny we still call them "records" when they haven't been around for yonks.
Our town does still have a record shop - amazing stuff you find in there & heaps of singles (I miss them)
I'd much rather have something physically in my hand than a downloaded stick of music if thats how this industry will end up.
Don't like CD's though, the writing is way too small, at least records opened up with heaps of pics, words to the songs that was big enough to read & delightful covers to attract you in the first place.
I would like some new songs but I'm still learning some of the old ones I still don't know & when at the concert was thrilled I knew all the songs they sang - not stand there listening to something I'd never heard before.

[Siamese Democracy]

Throwing ideas around is fun. But who knows if that particular idea is even possible?

Release the song how? Where?

Digital only on iTunes? Well, some people want physical releases.

What about the record stores? The stores that still exist. They'd have nothing.

You can't even find singles in certain stores....



/jarmo

I agree.  The method he is suggesting are more for indie bands.  GNR's songs are more album oriented?   Fans want something tangible when you are dealing with a passionate fan base.  I'd rather wait then go down that road.  I waited a long time for Chinese Democracy and at the end of the day it was worth it.

[old_at_heart]

[/quote]

Bands need to take choices like this all the time these days... There has been digital releases and singles beeing released only thorugh the interenet for quite some time now. And in the big picture i dont know if this strategy has been a big success. The sales of LPs are increasing.. and by the look of the it, i think many bands will still release CD`s and Vinyls... (along with digital releases).

Its easy for Bumble to work this way. For small projects in general. But for big bands its not that easy.
[/quote]

I agree... Fleetwood Mac, a huge successful band just released a digital only 4 tracks EP of new recordings. They just started a new tour!

[Bodhi]

Its a great idea, not an original idea as most bands I listen to already do stuff like this all the time, especially before a new leg of a tour.  The standard release procedure for this is itunes, and also a vinyl and sometimes cd version available  on the bands website and certain indie record stores who decide to stock it.    Question is, what is GNR's situation with the label, are they even allowed to do this?  Do they have 100% finished songs?  Do they even want to release music that way?   Who knows?  It is a great idea on paper, but who knows what kind of red tape is involved here.

[rebelhipi]

nah.
i prefer to buy something real period.
in fact the only time ive bought digital music was bumblefoots 2011 singles. im sorry but it just feels stupid to buy something digitally when its more fucking easy to download it for free (no creditcards ect.) i think more people will buy something if it actually exist.

plus nothing beats having a beautiful lp in your record collection (cds cassettes arent bad either)

[ITARocker]

You must be a very naive person if you think an "I don't give a fuck" attitude applies to everything in his life.

I'm not naive, I'm just talking from experience: what about the contract about CD? If it had been for a contract, we would have had cd in 2001.   Anyway, i really hope to hear one new gnr song this year  

[bolton]

Well after read Rons article only I can say is:"Somebody is a liar...Ron or Richard"
Well in a two days we have different stories from two Gnr guitarists about new album realize...While Richard said "We are almost done" Ron said "We didn't see studio yet"....Million dolars question is "Who is a liar"

[ITARocker]

Well after read Rons article only I can say is:"Somebody is a liar...Ron or Richard"
Well in a two days we have different stories from two Gnr guitarists about new album realize...While Richard said "We are almost done" Ron said "We didn't see studio yet"....Million dolars question is "Who is a liar"

I think it's not about lying, they just have two different point of view: richard has worked with gnr for 10 years and he worked on the old stuff too (so he can say there is a lot of material ready, even if it isn't in terms of involvement of all the guys). Obviously bumblefoot is more concerned about new stuff and revisiting the old stuff, things he hasn't done yet both

[Nytunz]

Bands need to take choices like this all the time these days... There has been digital releases and singles beeing released only thorugh the interenet for quite some time now. And in the big picture i dont know if this strategy has been a big success. The sales of LPs are increasing.. and by the look of the it, i think many bands will still release CD`s and Vinyls... (along with digital releases).

Its easy for Bumble to work this way. For small projects in general. But for big bands its not that easy.
[/quote]

I agree... Fleetwood Mac, a huge successful band just released a digital only 4 tracks EP of new recordings. They just started a new tour!
[/quote]

The reason Fleetwood Mac did that was to see if there was any interest in a full new Fleetwood Mac Album. In theyr situation it could work.. I think GNR wants to release an album when they have it done. not fuck around to much with digital eps, and other kinds of digital stuff. i could be wrong