PLEASE READ BEFORE CONTACTING BUMBLE...
Hey all!
I've always enjoyed corresponding with each of ya in the past, reading and
answering every email personally. But after exceeding hundreds of emails a
day, spending 6 hours a day doing it, the typing caused numbness and pain in
my hands and started to affect my ability to play guitar. I've had this
problem in the past, and need to back off on typing before the damage gets
worse, and permanent. When rehearsing, recording, or touring, I stay off the
computer as much as possible, and stay focused on bizz.
(Anything written below is there because I've been asked a few too many
times...)
*I will not answer questions about Guns N' Roses' business - that includes
album releases, tour dates, future plans, other band members,
leaked songs, promo/marketing questions, etc. GNR's bizz people will give
you confirmed information about GNR when they decide the time is right, in
the way they want to announce it - it's not my place to step on their toes,
you won't hear any GNR breaking news from me. If you don't hear confirmed
info directly from GNR, it's probably just a rumor.
*I can't do personal interviews, or interviews for school projects. Simply
not enough time.
*I can't give you free merch. By 'free', I mean you expecting me to pay for
the manufacturing and the shipping expenses. Too many people ask for me to
give them merch and my belongings (guitars, pedals, clothes, documents...)
and I don't have time to pack merch and make runs to the Post Office. I
can't get you other people's autographs either - it's not my place to make
this kind of merch available.
*Other than attending a meet-n-greet, if you want autographed merch it's
available at the
BumbleStore where a portion of the proceeds goes to
charity. I'm not doing it any other way.
*Please don't give me gifts on tour. I appreciate the kindness and
good intentions, but traveling light and keeping it light is important on
tour, and we can't be shipping boxes home from overseas and buying
additional suitcases to accommodate all the gifts. The best gift you
can give while we're on tour is a heart-felt 'thank you' and a hand-shake.
*Please don't mail me gifts. I truly do appreciate the kindness and
good intentions, but I have no room left in my house! My house is
filled with boxes of gifts that I no longer have room for. Sure, I can
add an extension to my house just for gifts, but it'd be so much more
appreciated if you just emailed 'Thank you' to me. :) Odds
are I may not see what you send me for months as I'm touring often. 'Unsolicited' mail
will not be opened or returned...
*I won't fetch other bandmembers out of their hotel room and interrupt them
Skype'ing their families so they can take a photo with you in the lobby. If
you see them yourself, ask them yourself, and if they want to take a pic or
sign something they will.
*Please don't ask me to pass along your personal messages or introduce you to
anyone else. I'm not anyone else's messenger, I don't set up anyone else's
'meet-n-greets'.
*I will not give you anyone's contact information. I will not give any
travel information. It's a security risk - if some nutbag shows up at the
hotel and makes a problem, security will ask 'Who told anyone our info!?',
I'll say 'I told one of the 50 people that asked me for the info on Facebook
& Twitter that all said << I promise not to tell anyone >>', and I'd be part of the
cause of whatever damage was done.
*I can't call you, you can't call me, we can't Skype chat, we can't make
plans to hang out together, I can't go to your wedding, or have dinner with
your family, any of that. I barely have time to see my own family - if I had
time it would be with them.
*Please don't ask me to make a wedding or birthday video for your
friend/family member. I barely have enough time to get
anything done that I need to and don't have enough time to record and edit
personal videos for everyone that asks for them, I get too many requests.
*I can't get you a job or intern position on the crew with any band. If you don't have experience as an instrument tech or driver
or lighting guy or video guy or pyro guy or production assistant or stage
carpenter or any other touring job, get 20 years of it somewhere else and
prove your competency and ability to work well with others. At that point
the band's tour personnel will know of your existence and ability on his/her own.
*I can't get you free or discounted musical equipment.
*If we haven't spoken since age 10, please don't ask if I can get your
cousin's friend's wife's co-worker's neighbor's son free tickets and
backstage passes for all his friends to next week's show. There are security
issues, plus you're asking me to strain my relationship with everyone in the
group by being responsible for people I don't know and have them hang where
other members need their privacy and space to prepare for the show. I can't
get you backstage passes to other bands' concerts either. Whatever it is
you're asking for, please understand that 20 people have probably just asked
me for the same in the last ten minutes.
*I can't get you tickets to shows. I can't put the hundreds of people asking
me for tickets on my guest list - there is a limited amount of tickets given
to our production staff by the show promoter for the band/crew's family and
close friends, and there's usually not enough room on the list for them.
Band members don't have tickets for shows 6 months away on other continents,
that's not how it works. If a show is sold out, try contacting the person
running the show.
*Please don't ask me to wear your company's shirt on stage, it feels like
I'm being used as an opportunity for you to promote your own interests. I
need to wear what I'm comfortable wearing, what I choose to wear, from my
clothes.
*Please don't send me your company's shirts in the mail along with a request
to take photos wearing them - I'm not a walking billboard, I can't be
putting time into making photos for your company's promotion.
*I'm unable to donate to every charity and organization that comes to me. I
will not promote any charity event or organization unless you can provide
100% proof that everything is legit and that the proceeds will go where
they're supposed to.
*It's a challenge working in a time to teach one-on-one guitar lessons, with
the recording and touring schedule as it is. If I do any teaching, I'll post
an announcement.
*It takes a lot of time to write out guitar parts for your favorite songs -
I just don't have enough time to do it. I don't know why your guitar isn't
working right, I can't diagnose the problem and fix it through emails. I
can't give everyone personal advice on how to improve on the guitar, not
enough time.
*I can't be a guest on everyone's album that contacts me. Time is so scarce,
I have to be more choosy than I'd like to be. Also keep in mind, I do this
for a living and would need to be compensated.
*People constantly send me music to listen to and review, all the time. I
can't do this all day for everyone, I don't have enough time.
*I'm not looking for an intern at my recording studio. If that changes, I'll
post an announcement.
*Too many people ask me to reply to Tweets and leave comments on their
Facebook pages for me to oblige, I get hundreds-to-thousands of messages day
and night non-stop, I can't get to it all.
*Every time I respond to messages I'm making my hands go numb and am taking
time away from making music - please keep this in mind before sending a 'How
are you?' message followed by a 'Why haven't you answered me yet?' message
an
hour later, thanks.
*I can't be your band's manager, setting up a business plan and giving
contacts and continued advice. I can't get you an audition for a band, or
submit your demo to a label. I can't be your band's booking agent either - I
can't help you get gigs, I don't know where you should play when visiting
the US.
*I will not post and promote links to your site. Too many people ask me to
do this and I need my posts to be my own. If I post everyone else's sites
and links for them, my own messages will be lost in the 50 other postings I
make for other people.
*I can't promote your band's contest on my social media pages and tell
people to vote for you. It would be unfair to the other 10 bands that also
asked me.
*I AM NOT GOOGLE. Once again, I - AM - NOT - GOOGLE. Do your homework on
whatever information you're looking for about music gear, the weather,
cutlery, skydiving apparel, whatever it is you're looking for. I am also not
CUSTOMER SUPPORT for whatever issues you have with Twitter or any online
business sites. Don't ask me to do this work for you when it's something you
can and should do yourself.
*I am not the official NYC or LA tourism board. Please Google the travel and
nightlife information you're looking for.
*My wife is not a free online medical advice service - I will not pass along
your veterinary questions to her. If you have a veterinary question, ask
your vet, or if you need a second opinion, find a local vet who can do a
physical exam and access the patient's medical history.
*I can't be your therapist. I'm not qualified. I can't give you daily
motivational messages. It's not my responsible to keep you happy, I don't
even know you.
*I will not raise your children in the event something happens to you. I
will not be a godfather to children I've never met, for people I don't know.
Enough people have asked these things to add this to the list. I care and
appreciate the honor, but those responsibilities should be trusted to people
that know you and your family personally.
*NO MEANS NO. I do what I can, but I can't do everything for everyone.
If I can't oblige your request, for whatever reason, no explanation
required, don't give me attitude and act entitled as if I'm your personal
servant and I owe you - I will blow up on you, curse you the f**k out and
filter all future emails straight to the trash. Zero tolerance for
spoiled brats.
Thanks so much for your understanding. :)
bbf