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A genuinely awesome interview with Bumblefoot


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Sorry HubbaBubba didn't want to quote your post because the thread of messages was getting long.

I can only say that again, it is priorities, I always thought of Ron as a genuine person, but for someone at some point who was extremely vocal about his displeasure of the band's commitments, to turn around and put his health and life on the line to "keep GNR going".. well, I can only say good luck to him, because I don't know him personally. Aside from that, hope he doesn't look back with too much regret when he leaves.

I think this is a pretty ordinary situation. Here’s how it went down:

Del: Bumble, you still seem to be in a lot of pain man, are you sure you can tour?

Bbf: Yeah my back kills, but I should be ok to play.

Del: You sure?

Bbf: Yeah

Del: Ok, but keep me updated.

.....Then, in an ill-considered interview many months later….

Bbf: That tour made me so miserable I tried to kill myself, but I had no choice. I don’t think I’ll ever completely fit into guns.

This just isn’t how it works. He probably had ample opportunity to pull out, and probably even could have during the tour, but chose not to. It would’ve been awkward - Axl and the band would hardly have been jumping for joy - but they’re reasonable guys and know he needs to put his health first. But instead he sees it through, suffering all the way. Then going against the spirit of the agreement, he fucks them in the press later with the sacrificial lamb routine.

Here’s what he should’ve said:

Bbf: I thought I could handle the tour but now know I pushed myself too hard. You could probably tell by my shitty reaction to the ‘surprise’ extra dates. The guys were great though, they never blackmailed me or forced me to do anything. I just wanted to play.

Well, I'll repeat what I said in case you scrolled past.

Tour was booked without his knowledge.

He said that he would not tour.

Tommy said that if Ron couldn't do the tour, he would not do the tour as well.

Then Richard said he wouldn't do the tour as well.

So he had the choice to keep the tour and the band alive to do the tour or cancel everything a bit before the begin of the tour - people already had booked hotels, flights, etc. Promoters would have sued Axl, there would have been several other problems.

That's exactly what happened. There's no "IF's".

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I like Ron a lot - not so musically if I'm being honest - but he's clearly a genuinely nice guy. Just when I read some of his quotes I find them, kinda strange. If I were being unkind I'd say he thrives off the attention and almost comes across (to me at least) like 'pity me' - I may be wrong as I'm not privy to the inner world of GNR and my views are as a fan of the band.

Dunno it's like I can't put my finger on it but at a guess I maybe don't think he's a sincere as he would like us all to believe. Again, I know that sounds harsh but I just honestly think there are things you should ALWAYS be allowed to say privately but publicly? Put it this way if you were Tommy, Richard ex reading that interview you can't honestly tell me you'd be mighty pissed off!? I've read it 3 times now and it's just very very strange IMO.

I hear you & unfortunately feel much the same. It's like you know he's a good guy, so you feel a bit guilty for partly seeing through what you guess may be a bit of an act.

Also like you, I find his guitar work isn't to my taste and I think it's a bad fit for gnr. But as a guy he seems genuine, and speaks from the heart in interviews. You can't fault that, esp in the disillusioned, zero-info world of gnr.

However over the years, I think many of us have noticed that his words and actions just don't quite seem to match up. He talks artistic integrity but hangs around for years with no creative input. He tours an ancient set-list for the umpteenth time, apparently under duress, and then attempts suicide on the tour.

We're only scratching the surface Subsy, but personally I think your intuition is spot on. Whether deliberately or not, there's a picture of a victim being painted.

This all also rings completely true with everything LLL has said about Bumbles, Bucket and the band in general.

I was just gonna post this. Everything he has said in the past seems to be spot on...

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Can't help but wonder if Ron's comments were more for his bandmates to hear than for the fans, as he clearly doesn't feel welcome/appreciated, other than by Axl.

If they are directed at the fans, it seems he's really trying to stockpile some sympathy with the "My body is destroyed because I kept Guns N' Roses alive." comments. How are we supposed to feel about that?

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Can't help but wonder if Ron's comments were more for his bandmates to hear than for the fans, as he clearly doesn't feel welcome/appreciated, other than by Axl.

If they are directed at the fans, it seems he's really trying to stockpile some sympathy with the "My body is destroyed because I kept Guns N' Roses alive." comments. How are we supposed to feel about that?

he's talking about him and somthing he went trough...there's no agenda behind, he doesnt want nor does he need our pity

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Sorry HubbaBubba didn't want to quote your post because the thread of messages was getting long.

I can only say that again, it is priorities, I always thought of Ron as a genuine person, but for someone at some point who was extremely vocal about his displeasure of the band's commitments, to turn around and put his health and life on the line to "keep GNR going".. well, I can only say good luck to him, because I don't know him personally. Aside from that, hope he doesn't look back with too much regret when he leaves.

I think this is a pretty ordinary situation. Heres how it went down:

Del: Bumble, you still seem to be in a lot of pain man, are you sure you can tour?

Bbf: Yeah my back kills, but I should be ok to play.

Del: You sure?

Bbf: Yeah

Del: Ok, but keep me updated.

.....Then, in an ill-considered interview many months later.

Bbf: That tour made me so miserable I tried to kill myself, but I had no choice. I dont think Ill ever completely fit into guns.

This just isnt how it works. He probably had ample opportunity to pull out, and probably even could have during the tour, but chose not to. It wouldve been awkward - Axl and the band would hardly have been jumping for joy - but theyre reasonable guys and know he needs to put his health first. But instead he sees it through, suffering all the way. Then going against the spirit of the agreement, he fucks them in the press later with the sacrificial lamb routine.

Heres what he shouldve said:

Bbf: I thought I could handle the tour but now know I pushed myself too hard. You could probably tell by my shitty reaction to the surprise extra dates. The guys were great though, they never blackmailed me or forced me to do anything. I just wanted to play.

Well, I'll repeat what I said in case you scrolled past.

Tour was booked without his knowledge.

He said that he would not tour.

Tommy said that if Ron couldn't do the tour, he would not do the tour as well.

Then Richard said he wouldn't do the tour as well.

So he had the choice to keep the tour and the band alive to do the tour or cancel everything a bit before the begin of the tour - people already had booked hotels, flights, etc. Promoters would have sued Axl, there would have been several other problems.

That's exactly what happened. There's no "IF's".

Fair enough. This seems like a plausible scenario. But look at the first two lines of your explanation:

The tour was booked without his knowledge.

He said he would not tour.

If this was the case, then the blame for 'killing gnr' lies squarely at the door of the the incompetent idiot who booked the tour. There is no onus on Ron to change his mind.

With management like that, a good fucking suing might teach them to be more careful.

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I like Ron a lot - not so musically if I'm being honest - but he's clearly a genuinely nice guy. Just when I read some of his quotes I find them, kinda strange. If I were being unkind I'd say he thrives off the attention and almost comes across (to me at least) like 'pity me' - I may be wrong as I'm not privy to the inner world of GNR and my views are as a fan of the band.

Dunno it's like I can't put my finger on it but at a guess I maybe don't think he's a sincere as he would like us all to believe. Again, I know that sounds harsh but I just honestly think there are things you should ALWAYS be allowed to say privately but publicly? Put it this way if you were Tommy, Richard ex reading that interview you can't honestly tell me you'd be mighty pissed off!? I've read it 3 times now and it's just very very strange IMO.

I hear you & unfortunately feel much the same. It's like you know he's a good guy, so you feel a bit guilty for partly seeing through what you guess may be a bit of an act.

Also like you, I find his guitar work isn't to my taste and I think it's a bad fit for gnr. But as a guy he seems genuine, and speaks from the heart in interviews. You can't fault that, esp in the disillusioned, zero-info world of gnr.

However over the years, I think many of us have noticed that his words and actions just don't quite seem to match up. He talks artistic integrity but hangs around for years with no creative input. He tours an ancient set-list for the umpteenth time, apparently under duress, and then attempts suicide on the tour.

We're only scratching the surface Subsy, but personally I think your intuition is spot on. Whether deliberately or not, there's a picture of a victim being painted.

You got it right on UK SUBS, not harsh at all, I thought Ron had the right attitude to maybe take Axl a little out of his comfort zone and push GNR forward, but ultimately he seems like he cares as much as any of the other employees. It's more disappointing when, as you both said above, he's always expressed himself as a genuine musician with integrity and so on, yet ultimately he's looking to score points with fans as a hero and draw more attention to his own projects.

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There's nothing to worry about the band.

What's the atmosphere in the Guns N' Roses camp these days?
- It's a lot better. I mean, we've been stable and consistent, and when you have that, you can grow and develop more. When you're in the trenches for so many years with the same people - the same group - it solidifies. You get to know each other musically, personality-wise, and you start playing on that more. You know how it is when you play with someone for years, and you just know where they're gonna go musically, and you're on it with them - or you just know what accents they're gonna gravitate toward, and you just fall into this groove with them. Things like that. I feel that we have that a lot more now, and I hear it from people that go to shows. They say, “you guys are just so much more of a band now”.

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There's nothing to worry about the band.

What's the atmosphere in the Guns N' Roses camp these days?

- It's a lot better. I mean, we've been stable and consistent, and when you have that, you can grow and develop more. When you're in the trenches for so many years with the same people - the same group - it solidifies. You get to know each other musically, personality-wise, and you start playing on that more. You know how it is when you play with someone for years, and you just know where they're gonna go musically, and you're on it with them - or you just know what accents they're gonna gravitate toward, and you just fall into this groove with them. Things like that. I feel that we have that a lot more now, and I hear it from people that go to shows. They say, “you guys are just so much more of a band now”.

comical-ali.jpg

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