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BUMBLEFOOT: If I Have To Choose Between GUNS N' ROSES And The Rest Of My Life, I'm Out


gunsguy

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Imagine being in a band where you had zero creative control and zero influence on any decision making.

i could do a tl;dr essay right now on how this concept was initially a positive for NuGNR. i think any true fan realizes the band, in the traditional sense, stopped being a band sometime around 1990 when (as duff put it) they were all living in their own mansions and arriving at shows separately and whatever. so...being viewed as a collective of talented musicians, i accepted that they were no longer a tightknit family, and i had no problem with it when axl came back with buckethead and co. -- i didn't have the problem that a lot of casual fans seemed to have with the lineup changing.

again, my frustration is just that they're not doing anything fresh from a musical standpoint. i'd love to hear what some of these guys over the years could pull off in the studio, but we've only gotten one record in nearly two decades. it just seems like a waste! i am not blaming axl or anyone here, i don't care what the circumstances were, it gets old and repetitive trying to debate and spin that stuff -- at the end of the day, regardless of the hows and whys, it's just a real pity we never got more material from the band throughout its many talented lineups.

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Ron just said on live radio that management reached out to him and they were "wonderful". He ain't going anywhere :)

Haha fucking brilliant!!

Dear oh dear Ron. Hopefully now some of you will see this for exactly what it is -- that is until next time Ron does his next interview.

Still though, either Ron's an asshole and playing sad games, Team Brazil are (incompetent) assholes playing sad games or all of them are assholes playing sad games. In all of those cases, GnR fans lose. :( None of those options would make anybody feel any better about Guns n' Roses.

You're not wrong. :shrugs:

Agreed guys. It sucks!

Saw through it as we've seen it too many times.

Yup. But it's just a bummer. It's not exactly the greatest time to be a GnR fan. They were touring but Axl's voice was hit and miss. They have a management team but they're horribly incompetent. They have a stable band but no music is being released. There's no information other than mixed messages from bandmembers who obviously don't know anything. DJ Ashba is in the band. And then, on top of all they frustration that they SHOULD be able to operate as a normal band now, we all get drama like this instead of a record. In a way it seems like they've fixed a lot of the things that didn't work pre-CD and they got the album off their chest. Yet the result is the same. A big fat load of nothing.

To be fair to TB, you're forgetting Fernando's ingenious (now months old) promise to get a game plan together to provide fans "information".

Or...you know....he could have just been wanking all over us with that one too.....

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A little more from Bumblefoot:

GUNS N' ROSES guitarist Ron "Bumblefoot" Thal spoke to Argentina's Vorterix prior to his November 24 appearance at The Roxy Palermo in Buenos Aires. A few excerpts from the chat follow below (transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET).

On recurrecting his solo career:

Bumblefoot: "Before GUNS, I was touring all the time, doing my own stuff, putting out my own albums, doing all kinds of things. And then once GUNS got busy with all the touring, it slowly… there were too many conflicts with the schedule and everything else that I did in my life slowly sort of fell to the side until it reached a point that I just was not really putting anything into it. And in the second half of this year, GUNS kind of went into hibernation — as sometimes happens — and I was, like, 'You know what? I've gotta get back on the horse. I've gotta start doing my thing again and becoming me again.' And I started doing a lot of clinics and master classes and jamming and just going all over the world, jamming with local musicians and doing shows. And that is what brings me here this evening."

On GUNS N' ROSES' future plans:

Bumblefoot: "The future is completely unpredictable; you all should know that. It's just trying to say, 'Alright, what direction is the tornado gonna turn?' Anything can be. I'm sure that 2014… Actually, I shouldn't say 'sure,' because it's unpredictable. But I can assume, but when we assume, we make an ass out of… Probably there will be some shows in the future, and I'm hoping that there will be some completed recordings in the future. I would like to see the band write as a band from the ground up and put some music out there. I've been saying for years that we shouldn't even tackle an entire album because it's too big a bite to take. It's too much — it takes too much time, too much of an investment of life that just doesn't exist. Not in this day and age, and not where things are with the band. We'd be better off just doing a song at a time and putting that out. What I've always wanted to do was, before each time we go out and do a leg of touring, that we get together for a week in the studio, we write a song, we finish that song no matter what it takes, we finish it and we put it out and we play it on that leg, we give it to radio. Every single time we go out and play, we have a new song that we're doing. And if we did that, it would be an album worth of material done that would be done by this band right now. Yeah, if I was master of the universe, that's what would have happened. I mean, you're dealing with seven other people and everybody's gotta be on board and everyone has to agree on a strategy. And it has to coincide with any existing, or preexisting business agreements that are there as well. I mean, it's complicated."

On GUNS N' ROSES leader Axl Rose:

Bumblefoot: "I think I've been a much bigger pain in the ass to Axl than he's been to me. That's for sure.

"I am very honest and probably honest when I shouldn't be. Kind of like when you should say nothing and be silent, instead of being silent, I'll [say something] usually on the radio. And he'll get a hundred e-mails about it. Or probably just hear from everyone else.

"I think he kind of, in a weird way, probably likes that I am a pain in the ass. Because even in the beginning, when we had the big management fight, before joining the band, I remember hanging out with him and he liked the fact that I went after his team of lawyers that the manager sent after me to try to take me down, and I just came out swinging at them. And I remember he said to me, we were hanging out one time, he was, like, 'Your balls, when they touch, they go, 'Clang.''

"But he knows what he's gonna get with me. I'm not gonna give him lip service and be dishonest. If he asks me something, I'm gonna tell him [what I think]. And he's a human being. He's like everyone else.

"You just want the truth. Nobody wants games or anything like that. You'd rather have honest bad news than be strung along with things that aren't true. And that's one thing about him is that… He's a human being. I know him as a person. I know what my flaws are, I know what his flaws are, I know what everybody's flaws are. And we're all just human."

On the recently leaked song called "Going Down" which reportedly features GUNS N' ROSES bassist Tommy Stinson on lead vocals and Axl Rose on background vocals:

Bumblefoot: "Yeah, I'm aware that some stuff did leak.

"You know what? Here's the problem. And this is why I say that I am also a bigger pain in the ass to Axl, because when it comes to something like this, when something leaks, that is an illegal activity which could possibly, depending, lead to legal [issues], in which anything I say could be used against [us]. So when something leaks, it's very important to say nothing because it could affect legal issues, and it's better not to talk about that. But I tend to talk…

"Here's the thing: Before 'Chinese Democracy' came out, which, as we know, was exactly five years ago yesterday, I started working on an acoustic album called 'Barefoot' that I ended up releasing the following month, after 'Chinese' was released. So I have a little acoustic EP called 'Barefoot'. There was an additional song that I recorded on that album, along with everything else, where pretty much that album, it was just two guitar tracks, maybe some bass in the background and vocals; it was very raw — just acoustic guitar, acoustic lead guitar, vocals. I did it all myself. While I was at it, I kind of recorded an extra song. From what I understand… yeah… So, anyway, if you listen to the 'Barefoot' album, you might notice a similarity in tone and playing and everything to other acoustic songs that might have escaped the… Yeah. But I don't know anything about anything."

On whether he gets along with former members of GUNS N ' ROSES:

Bumblefoot: "GUNS N' ROSES, it's like a life that has different chapters. And there are different people in those chapters, and I'm in one of those chapters and those [other] guys were in a chapter, and we're all part of the big book, we're all part of the big book of GUNS. And it's cool. I'm in touch with a bunch of the guys and stuff, and everybody's cool with each other. Really, the ones that I'll reach out to and shoot an e-mail to and say 'hi' to are Duff [McKagan] and Gilby [Clarke].

"I think people want us to be these superheroes and villains and good-versus-evil and these wrestling characters of good guys and bad guys, but we're all musicians. And it's not the thing that separates us, it's the thing that we have in common. It's, like, we all played in the same band. And sometimes at the same time. Sometimes Izzy [Stradlin] joins us on stage, sometimes Duff. It's great. Then afterwards, we all go to dinner. And once in a while, our wives are talking and stuff. And it's all good. Everybody's cool."

On whether he is in touch with Slash:

Bumblefoot: "That one I steer clear of. Simply because there's such a heated relationship between Axl and Slash. I don't want Axl to feel betrayed if I'm… I think it would bother him if… [Slash and I] have a lot of mutual friends, though.

"[Slash and I] almost were in a situation when we might be on the same stage together in Las Vegas in July. I was playing with the bass player from PANTERA, Rex Brown, and Brian Tichy on drums, who had played with Slash, and we were doing a bunch of KISS covers in Vegas, just having fun. And it was the same night that Slash was doing his final show of his fun and he was in Vegas. Yeah, we were just playing not far from there, and there was talk that he was gonna come and play on stage. And I was, like, 'Hmmm….'

"Because, for me, I don't have problems with anybody… Although I do have a couple of problems with Mr. Adler. 'Cause he tends to say some nasty things about the current band, and then I say some things back, and then he apologizes, and we make nice, and I talk to him, and then he says it again, he says something bad again. Steven, stop it! But even him, if I saw him, I'd give him a big, old hug. I'd tell him what a pain in my ass he is and then I'd give him a hug.

"But there was talk leading up to that night, there were a lot of texts going back and forth between Slash and the guys I was with doing the KISS stuff about him coming and joining on stage for a song. And I'm, like, I don't wanna be rude and step down, because that's just, like, insulting. If he gets on stage, like, 'Alright, you play,' and I'm walking off. But then if I do it, it's, like, that's kind of not cool at all to Axl, 'cause I know that he would feel really… So I was, like, 'Ahhh..what to do.' So there was just a lot of inter-texting and stuff, just kind of feeling it out with the guys on my end. It turned out that [Slash] had to grab a flight to Europe early the next morning, so he wasn't coming at the last minute, it wasn't happening.

"I mean, I wasn't that worried about it, because I'm just like, 'You know what?! Whatever is gonna happen is gonna happen.' You've just gotta kind of trust your gut in situations. And honestly, no matter what, the world is not gonna crumble. It's a bunch of musicians jamming and having fun. Ultimately, that's all it's about."

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This is getting interesting. Seeing how Jarmo is very close to the band and tours with them, you can't help but wonder if this is the expressed sentiments of team GNR...

Ron knows what he's doing. I'm sure he's aware of what his comments will cause among fans. A band that's given him all kinds of opportunities, and the the focus is often on single issues like in the past when every other interview was about Axl going on late. Now that the shows start earlier, it's another issue.
/jarmo


Jarmo, do you think Ron's nearing the end of the road with GNR? I mean, I know people can read into things, but it's very hard not to take what he's saying here as a very public calling out of Team Brazil...
No, I don't think so. I think it's just frustration that he should've kept between himself and those he thinks need to know about it.
/jarmo
Echoing Jarmo's sentiments, DJ's twitter was recently updated with the following tweet...

"If you bite the hand that feeds you.....you will go hungry"

Not too hard to read into that one...

Edited by sofine11
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A band that's given him all kinds of opportunities

loooooooooooooooooool

Maybe financially, but artistically?

btw i'm sure DJ Assba's belly is full as fuck with money. He is happy, because he is got a decent business, but this also shows how glad he is in a nostalgia band with a fat paycheck

Edited by Crash Diet
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Dj is an assholle-sniffing little shit-licker. I loathe the guy.

He's a fucking moron too. If by 'biting the hand that feeds' he is referring to Bumblefoot biting the hand of Axl, he has completely missed the point. The hand that ultimately feeds is that of the fanbase, and with these petty, bitchy little comments, DJ is in danger of doing the very thing he is warning about. Fucking idiot.

He would be well-advised to keep silent in future if his involvement just leads to embarrassing himself like this. Have some fucking dignity, eh?

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Despite his claims to the contrary, I think we are all of the mind anything Jarmo says doesn't deviate too much (if at all) from the band's position.

DJ though, that's telling. I wonder if it was a case of Ron telling him this stuff in private and DJ telling him to just let it drop, only to then see him take it public.

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This is getting interesting. Seeing how Jarmo is very close to the band and tours with them, you can't help but wonder if this is the expressed sentiments of team GNR...

Ron knows what he's doing. I'm sure he's aware of what his comments will cause among fans. A band that's given him all kinds of opportunities, and the the focus is often on single issues like in the past when every other interview was about Axl going on late. Now that the shows start earlier, it's another issue.
/jarmo

Jarmo, do you think Ron's nearing the end of the road with GNR? I mean, I know people can read into things, but it's very hard not to take what he's saying here as a very public calling out of Team Brazil...
No, I don't think so. I think it's just frustration that he should've kept between himself and those he thinks need to know about it.
/jarmo
Echoing Jarmo's sentiments, DJ's twitter was recently updated with the following tweet...

"If you bite the hand that feeds you.....you will go hungry"

Not too hard to read into that one...

To DJ:

But everybody darlin' sometimes

Bites the hand that feeds

:lol:

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I wouldn't be surprised if an NIN record now features in Dj's online 'discography'. #dontbitethehandthatfeeds #sicshit #conquertheworld #ashbaNrose

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Despite his claims to the contrary, I think we are all of the mind anything Jarmo says doesn't deviate too much (if at all) from the band's position.

DJ though, that's telling. I wonder if it was a case of Ron telling him this stuff in private and DJ telling him to just let it drop, only to then see him take it public.

Yeah, like I said, I know we have a habit of reading into things now and then, but man, he's so obviously talking about Ron there. And that's a bit surprising.

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I'm not sure Dj's comments are even related to Bumblefoot.

Broski's theory that Bumblefoot may already be out suddenly has more credibility though.

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Despite his claims to the contrary, I think we are all of the mind anything Jarmo says doesn't deviate too much (if at all) from the band's position.

DJ though, that's telling. I wonder if it was a case of Ron telling him this stuff in private and DJ telling him to just let it drop, only to then see him take it public.

Yeah, like I said, I know we have a habit of reading into things now and then, but man, he's so obviously talking about Ron there. And that's a bit surprising.

Remember that bit about how Ron said he was basically hazed and treated like dogshit for a bit? Maybe that never really subsided.

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Despite his claims to the contrary, I think we are all of the mind anything Jarmo says doesn't deviate too much (if at all) from the band's position.

DJ though, that's telling. I wonder if it was a case of Ron telling him this stuff in private and DJ telling him to just let it drop, only to then see him take it public.

Yeah, like I said, I know we have a habit of reading into things now and then, but man, he's so obviously talking about Ron there. And that's a bit surprising.

Remember that bit about how Ron said he was basically hazed and treated like dogshit for a bit? Maybe that never really subsided.

Well he's certainly still miserable in GNR, so that would not surprise me one bit if he still felt "othered". DJ seemingly being so quick to judge doesn't exactly hurt his case either.

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