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A genuinely awesome interview with Bumblefoot


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Stabbing band members and wishing he was dead. Bumble is way more unstable than he first appears.

Was. WAS.

He seems to be in a far better place mentally and physically now.

I guess. But did he seem so unhinged back then? I dunno man.

Hard to dispute. Back in 06-10 Ron was a welcome breath of fresh air, and seemed (by far) the most even-keeled member of GNR. Who knew that behind the scenes he was pulling knives on these dudes, and later trying to take his own life just to escape life on the road with GNR. Then again, maybe that's why he's so adverse to everything GNR. He's just a normal guy who wants to create and put out music. Unfortunately, GNR is no longer the right band for that kind of mindset.

We knew it then because Ron was saying it then. He was doing live streams all the time where he told all of those stories.

Also-

He wasn't trying to escape life on the road with GN'R. He was dealing with a very serious mental and physical condition caused by a car accident.

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Stabbing band members and wishing he was dead. Bumble is way more unstable than he first appears.

Was. WAS.

He seems to be in a far better place mentally and physically now.

I guess. But did he seem so unhinged back then? I dunno man.

Hard to dispute. Back in 06-10 Ron was a welcome breath of fresh air, and seemed (by far) the most even-keeled member of GNR. Who knew that behind the scenes he was pulling knives on these dudes, and later trying to take his own life just to escape life on the road with GNR. Then again, maybe that's why he's so adverse to everything GNR. He's just a normal guy who wants to create and put out music. Unfortunately, GNR is no longer the right band for that kind of mindset.

We knew it then because Ron was saying it then. He was doing live streams all the time where he told all of those stories.

Also-

He wasn't trying to escape life on the road with GN'R. He was dealing with a very serious mental and physical condition caused by a car accident.

Could be. Either way it's an awful situaion that his time with Guns since the accident has not helped, in fact, quite the contrary when you look at what he says.

It just pisses me off that these guys, not just Ron, poured so much of their time and energy into the creation and subsequent suport of the Chinese Democracy album(s) with so little payoff.

You'd think Axl would see this and do his due diligence to actually put out and support the music they helped create, instead of this half-assed greatest hits touring we've seen over the past few years.

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Stabbing band members and wishing he was dead. Bumble is way more unstable than he first appears.

Was. WAS.

He seems to be in a far better place mentally and physically now.

I guess. But did he seem so unhinged back then? I dunno man.

Hard to dispute. Back in 06-10 Ron was a welcome breath of fresh air, and seemed (by far) the most even-keeled member of GNR. Who knew that behind the scenes he was pulling knives on these dudes, and later trying to take his own life just to escape life on the road with GNR. Then again, maybe that's why he's so adverse to everything GNR. He's just a normal guy who wants to create and put out music. Unfortunately, GNR is no longer the right band for that kind of mindset.

We knew it then because Ron was saying it then. He was doing live streams all the time where he told all of those stories.

Also-

He wasn't trying to escape life on the road with GN'R. He was dealing with a very serious mental and physical condition caused by a car accident.

Def agree that bbf was and is a breath of fresh air in GnR, and I really respect his honesty. But there's no way anyone could reasonably infer that he was going through such hell based on the interviews he did in that period. I mean, a suicide attempt is rock bottom, right?

Personally I think it's fucking pathetic to hear about a bunch of well-off, middle-aged (and largely irrelevant) rock stars who have been parachuted into a once-great act in terminal decline act like spiteful playground bullies towards someone who seems like a genuinely decent guy having a hard time.

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One of the reasons Buckethead left was because some guys in the band were being pricks to him.

I heard about that too, I forgot what interview or source that came from though. But I remember reading something that said that

Edited by WhazUp
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Bumble seems like a great person, and imo he's by far the most talented member in Guns (not including Axl)

I don't know what really happened or why, and I don't know the details, so I'll give the rest of the guys the benefit of the doubt, but I believe what Bumble said.

They are lucky to have him in the band. Without him it won't work at all imo.

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Supposidly Bucket left because everyone in the band besides axl was mean to him. I can see that.

I think Tommy, Dizzy, Pitman, Freese, and Finck had their own little clan together and were opposed to anyone new coming in. I'm assuming Axl and Paul more or less kept to themselves, so they didn't mind when Fortus came in, and probably accepted Brain as Freese's replacement as Freese left on his own and they needed a drummer. Noone liked bucket as bucket was an outsider and Axl's right hand man. Bucket got the most attention and they were probably jealous of him. Bucket left, and they had Tommy, Dizzy, Pitman, Brain, Fortus, and Finck, and they all had there little clan together, so why add 7th wheel to the dump truck?

Bumble came in, and again they had an outsider, but this time he wouldn't take their crap and Axl liked him. They tried to make him miserable, because they don't need anyone else in their little clan. But, for whatever reason, Pitman was nice and friendly to him. I don't think Brain or Finck minded him, but I'm pretty sure Dizzy, Stinson, and Fortus hated him, he was invading their clan. Fortus likes Ron now from what Ron said in the interview, I'm not sure about Tommy though or Dizzy. Frank joined, and I'm sure Ron befriended him so that he wouldn't go what Ron went through. Same thing with DJ.

That said, I can't see anyone besides Ron and Axl liking DJ. DJ once again is Axl's right hand man, he has the most fame, and will be the star (behind axl) of anything New GnR writes because of his fame.

The other, more sinister explanation....

If it was Just Tommy, Dizzy, Pitman, Brain, and Finck, they had their clan, and then there was Axl alone. They could pretty much team up and pretty much force axl into doing things their way. Would axl really want his second band to completely disolve?

Now you have Ron, DJ, and Frank on Axl's side. Realistically, they can go on with just the four of them if the need ever arose.

On a lighter note, I can just imagine axl's reaction walking into a room and seeing Bumble holding a knife to Fortus's throat. I think he would probably be more mad at fortus than ron.

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One of the reasons Buckethead left was because some guys in the band were being pricks to him.

I think Tommy and Del want GNR as a 5 piece more punk hard rock. If Ron leaves due to health, could that happen with them playing stripped down versions of Better and SOD live?

If Ron leaves would Pitman leave as that would signify a more hard rock record. Frank would leave then.

So the core members of Axl, Tommy, Dizzy, Dj, Fortus would be looking for a drummer. Tommy Lee steppin' casually.

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One of the reasons Buckethead left was because some guys in the band were being pricks to him.

I think Tommy and Del want GNR as a 5 piece more punk hard rock. If Ron leaves due to health, could that happen with them playing stripped down versions of Better and SOD live?

If Ron leaves would Pitman leave as that would signify a more hard rock record. Frank would leave then.

So the core members of Axl, Tommy, Dizzy, Dj, Fortus would be looking for a drummer. Tommy Lee steppin' casually.

Would Axl tolerate it though? Not sure if he could shoe-horn his lofty dreams into a punk outfit.

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It is a cool interview. Strong impression of him just speaking his mind is present here and there. Rare thing in GNR world.

Humble request:

Can somebody remind me who were in the band during his 1st 3 years in?

I can imagine it could make a interesting read to read his older interviews/remarks about band chemistry during those 1st 3 years..and compare to stuff he now says.

Edited by LTD
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Humble request:

Can somebody remind me who were in the band during his 1st 3 years in?

Axl

Robin Finck (out around 2008)

Richard Fortus

Tommy Stinson

Dizzy Reed

Chris Pitman

Brain (out in 2006)

Frank Ferrer

Edited by MarcoM
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I remember a livestream with Tommy Stinson back in 2010 and he had very nice words to say about BBF. He said a few words about everybody but Ron was the guy he elaborated most on after Axl. Seemed he really liked him...

Looking at footage from 2006, the Rock am Ring concert for instance, it's pretty obvious that Richard and Robin had a clear distaste for Ron back then. You can see them clearly ignoring him. Have no idea who the third guy might be ( I know that he got into a fight with Merck too ).

Edited by The Glow Inc.
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It was fifteen years between that and “The Spaghetti Incident?”. Does that mean we're only ten years away from the next Guns N' Roses album?

- Hopefully! Ten years, give or take nine! It's hard to say, because anything can happen in life. It's easy to joke about it and say “2019! Here we come!”, but honestly, you don't know what's gonna happen. You don't know what set of circumstances are gonna motivate or take away from a process. People can get sick. People can die. People can lose a limb. Or people can have the road completely cleared in front of them where there is nothing distracting the focus of making it happen. Or anything in between.

Right.

- Sure, if you look at the past, you can start making predictions and assumptions on what might happen, or how long it might take to happen - but that's an impossible question. And I don't have the answer. Even for my own music, I don't have the answer. Every year, I wanna do an album, but I know that I'll probably not be able to get more than a song done. And even then, I can't even get the ball rolling to get the song recorded, because too many things get in the way. It's tough, and it gets tougher.

To what extent do you do songwriting when you're on tour, in between shows and rehearsals and such?

- On tour, I can never write. For some reason, I dry out on tour. It's like I need to be away from things and just living a normal life to get inspired and have music start coming out. I really should try and force it, but I just never can. I have very few songs that I have been able to write with all the touring.

Lol, so he's fine with this

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I never knew this...

- Well, when I first joined the band, they did not want me in the band. And it's not me - they just didn't want a third guitar player. ‘Cause at the time they had worked it out for two guitar players. Then suddenly the old manager at the time hits them up one day, and the tour was, like, two weeks away. He said, “your new guitar player is coming down”. And they're like, “what the hell - who the fuck is this?”, and I showed up, and they wouldn't even look at me. For that first tour, you know, I was treated like shit. Like absolute shit. They wouldn't really talk to me. If I spoke, they'd roll their eyes and walk out of the room. I was made to feel as unwelcome as possible. Until, finally, I had to get a little violent. And then they started realizing that I'm not gonna leave. They're gonna get hurt.

In what way?
- Physically.

Really?
- Yeah. Then they realized that they couldn't bully me, and that I was gonna fight at a level they weren't prepared for. And then they started loosening up how nasty they were. It was about three years before they would really start warming up and start talking to me. Even about things back then. ‘Cause I didn't know why they were so cold to me, and I realized that they would have treated anybody that way. It was a set of circumstances, a lack of communication from the management that was there at the time, that set it up so it was almost like a stranger thrown into a crowded cage.
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While I like Bumblefoot and he is of paramount importance to the current line-up; Finck/Fortus would have been killer.

I don't blame the then incarnation for the hostilities Ron was subjected to. It was ridiculous for management (probably at the request of Axl) to recruit a third guitarist when the band were weeks into preparation as a two piece.

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While I like Bumblefoot and he is of paramount importance to the current line-up; Finck/Fortus would have been killer.

I don't blame the then incarnation for the hostilities Ron was subjected to. It was ridiculous for management (probably at the request of Axl) to recruit a third guitarist when the band were weeks into preparation as a two piece.

I don't see how you could blame anyone other than the members of that incarnation. Ron accepted the job and took the paycheck, in exactly the same way as the rest of them. He was just the last guy in. Their boss, who pays their salary, wanted a third guitarist - their job as employees is to back the boss's decisions.

Alienating him for no other reason than because they'd been employed first is just shitty behaviour.

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I don't see how you could blame anyone other than the members of that incarnation. Ron accepted the job and took the paycheck, in exactly the same way as the rest of them. He was just the last guy in. Their boss, who pays their salary, wanted a third guitarist - their job as employees is to back the boss's decisions.

Alienating him for no other reason than because they'd been employed first is just shitty behaviour.

The band didn't articulate their position in a constructive manner.

However, that band existed since 2002. How could they not be annoyed by management forcing a third guitarist deep into preparation? They were literally a matter of weeks away from touring.

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Did Ron actually stab anyone though, or was it like Keith Richards pulling out a knife to make a point not to fuck with him? It just sounded like they pushed him further than they should have, and thought he was going to be a pushover.

I don't get it what people manage to take away from that quote. I mean..when you close your eyes and imagine somebody " TRYING TO STAB three persons at stage" what is it you see behind your eyes? I read the quote and just assume it is some inside joke/tour memory/ anecdote not ment to be really understood.

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Who did they expect to play Bucket's guitar parts though?

First of all, the record hadn't been released so Chinese Democracy wouldn't have been particularly prominent in the sets. More importantly, clearly any 'impossible' parts would have rearranged to the suit the style/proficiency of the then line-up.

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I don't see how you could blame anyone other than the members of that incarnation. Ron accepted the job and took the paycheck, in exactly the same way as the rest of them. He was just the last guy in. Their boss, who pays their salary, wanted a third guitarist - their job as employees is to back the boss's decisions.

Alienating him for no other reason than because they'd been employed first is just shitty behaviour.

The band didn't articulate their position in a constructive manner.

However, that band existed since 2002. How could they not be annoyed by management forcing a third guitarist deep into preparation? They were literally a matter of weeks away from touring.

The guys ganged up on him and bullied him, despite their position as paid professionals. Axl knew what stage their preparation was at and made the decision to employ a third guitarist.

You say you don't blame the band for their (blatently unprofessional) behaviour. Surely then Axl's the one at fault? It's probably best just to come out and say this, because when you don't it looks like you're implying Ron deserved what he got.

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Did Ron actually stab anyone though, or was it like Keith Richards pulling out a knife to make a point not to fuck with him? It just sounded like they pushed him further than they should have, and thought he was going to be a pushover.

Keef threw a knife so it stuck in the chair between a guy's legs. He pulled a knife on slash at one point too (just for 'show' apparently) but really he's no thug. He even says in the book he was lucky he didn't hit the dude - you get a sense he wouldn't have known what to do if he had.

I think Ron probably flipped out, but even in extremis he's probably too smart to actually follow through with stabbing someone. He's not an idiot. I guess they just found his limit that night.

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It is a cool interview. Strong impression of him just speaking his mind is present here and there. Rare thing in GNR world.

Humble request:

Can somebody remind me who were in the band during his 1st 3 years in?

I can imagine it could make a interesting read to read his older interviews/remarks about band chemistry during those 1st 3 years..and compare to stuff he now says.

2006: Axl, Robin Finck, Tommy Stinson, Dizzy Reed, Chris Pitman, Richard Fortus, and Brain for a while before Frank joining in 2006.

Bumble replaced Bucket sometime around 2004 or 2005. DJ didn't replace Robin until 2009.

One of the reasons Buckethead left was because some guys in the band were being pricks to him.

I've heard stories regarding Buckethead being bullied don't know what the truth was but I can imagine if it happened to Ron the same would of happened to Buckethead

They never wanted 3 guitar players.

In the late 90's they had it worked out for Tobias and Finck, right before the 2001 shows axl brings bucket in. Tobias leaves in 2002, Axl brings in Fortus. Fortus was Tommy's friend though, so I doubt anyone bothered him. 2004 Bucket leaves, Bumble comes in.

Who did they expect to play Bucket's guitar parts though?

First of all, the record hadn't been released so Chinese Democracy wouldn't have been particularly prominent in the sets. More importantly, clearly any 'impossible' parts would have rearranged to the suit the style/proficiency of the then line-up.

Look at how often durring CD songs DJ is just standing there with his hands in the air. They could easily make CD songs work with 2 guitarists.

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