BUMBLEFOOT Says 'Chinese Democracy' Release Is 'In Negotiations'

[Bill Bailey]

GUNS N' ROSES Guitarist BUMBLEFOOT Says 'Chinese Democracy' Release Is 'In Negotiations' - May 12, 2008  
 
Jason Price and Steve Johnson of Live-Metal.net recently conducted an interview with GUNS N' ROSES guitarist Ron "Bumblefoot" Thal about his upcoming solo album, his work for Rock Against Diabetes and GUNS N' ROSES. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow.

Live-Metal.net: When do you think you will be releasing [your new solo album] "Abnormal"?

Bumblefoot: Well, I would like to get it out there as soon possible. It's a plus and a minus that I am doing things all by myself. It's a plus in the sense that I don't have to organize and wait and work it out. I can just put it out as it comes out, which is also a minus because there is no big bang when it comes out. Suddenly it is just there, but I kinda like that. So I am just making it available as I can and hopefully people will discover it and they have the option of deciding whether they like it ot not when it is there.

Live-Metal.net: A lot of people might have become familiar with you by way of GUNS N' ROSES. How did your involvement with the band come about?

Bumblefoot: It was about four years ago that we started talking. Joe Satriani recommended me and then I got a funny email from Chris Pitman, the keyboard player, and we all just started talking. It took a minute for us to get it together but we started touring in 2006. We just started jammin' and the next thing you know we are doing it in front of people, then we are doing it in all different places, then I am laying guitar tracks on the album and then here we are in New Jersey!

Live-Metal.net: Did you know any of the others in the band before joining?

Bumblefoot: Pretty sure most of the guys had a previous relationship, except for me, haha. Tommy [Stinson] and Richard [Fortus] worked with Frank [Ferrer], things like that. Funny thing about Frank is that we had all these mutual friends, going back 20 years, but Frank and I had never met. Or maybe we did but just didn't realize it. So relationships developed. Frank and I get together whenever we can.

Live-Metal.net: How did you react to the news that Robin Finck was leaving GUNS N' ROSES to rejoin NINE INCH NAILS?

Bumblefoot: He's playing the 27th of August up at The Meadowlands, which I will always call it. I don't give a fuck if they are calling it Izod Theater or Continental or whatever they want to fucking call it. It's the Meadowlands! Bring the name back, dammit! [laughs] That's all I'm saying, haha.

Live-Metal.net: Do you ever tire of being asked what is slowly turning into the million-dollar rock journalism question, "When is 'Chinese Democracy' going to be released?"

Bumblefoot: How can you not ask that question? It's like, "Doesn't anyone notice that elephant in the room?!" We have new management and they are good guys, and it's in negotiations.
 

[Streetchild]

Wow, we haven't heard this before .

Nice how he avoids the question about Finck.

The fact that he played on every song on the album surprises me though, since Axl confirmed Buckethead will be on the album.

Anyway, despite the lack of actual GNR information it was a pretty cool interview.

[Atharot]

Live-Metal.net: Do you ever tire of being asked what is slowly turning into the million-dollar rock journalism question, "When is 'Chinese Democracy' going to be released?"

Bumblefoot: How can you not ask that question? It's like, "Doesn't anyone notice that elephant in the room?!" We have new management and they are good guys, and it's in negotiations.
 

 

[Bill Bailey]

The fact that he played on every song on the album surprises me though, since Axl confirmed Buckethead will be on the album.

Bumblefoot said he thought the album sounded too clean/processed and re-did all the rhythm guitars to make them sound more like Appetite. So all of Finck and Bucket's solos should pretty much be left untouched.

[Queenie]

mock negotiations

[Bill Bailey]

Why would Bumblefoot lie? He's been the most honest out of all of them.

[BlueQueen333]

I do wonder why my country's rock radio station (usually a very reliable source) keeps telling us, over and over, over these past few weeks, that the album's coming out this year if we apparently still don't know any more than we did three or twelve years ago...

[Streetchild]

I do wonder why my country's rock radio station (usually a very reliable source) keeps telling us, over and over, over these past few weeks, that the album's coming out this year if we apparently still don't know any more than we did three or twelve years ago...

Because all these radiostations are a bunch of parrots who lack any real information.

[Queenie]

Why would Bumblefoot lie? He's been the most honest out of all of them.

negotiations don't take this long, which means there's no negotiations going on for chinese democracy