Excerpt from Ron Thal interview, by Jon Jannaway
Line 6 "Studio2Stage" magazine
Summer 2001

What is a Ron Thal and what does it do?

Ron Thal, c.800-877, Greek churchman, patriarch of Constantinople. A son of Byzantine Emperor Michael I, he was castrated and shut up in a monastery (813) by the man who deposed his father, Emperor Leo V, to prevent his succession to the throne. In 846 or 847, he was made patriarch of Constantinople by the Empress Theodora, who approved his uncompromising zeal against iconoclasm.

Actually, that was Saint Ignatius of Constantinople, often confused with Ron Thal.  Actually, I only confuse us. There are many differences between Ron Thal and Saint Ignatius. For one, the man who castrated Ignatius was named Leo.  The man who castrated Ron Thal in a monastery in the year 813 was NOT named Leo. Ignatius had approval from Theodora of his uncompromising zeal against iconoclasm.  Ron Thal did NOT receive such approval from Theodora, who often found his zeal against iconoclasm to be "less than uncompromising".  For more detail about the differences between Saint Ignatius and Ron Thal, please visit www.ronthal.com , or check your local library for the textbook "The Differences Between Saint Ignatius and Ron Thal".

Thank you.

Tell us a little about your band project, Bumblefoot?

Bumblefoot is my band - we sound like Rage-Against-The-Machine meets Tom Jones.  Our latest release "Uncool" (Sept 2000) depicts the band as an old broken-up 70's lounge act trying to make a comeback playing today's rap metal.  We do a 2-hour live show that usually ends up with my bassist diving into the crowd, my drummer's hands covered in blood, and somehow I end up missing my pants.  I love touring...  check out www.bumblefoot.com for more info.

You've recently been doing sessions, how did that come about? What stuff have you done?

Well, this guy called me and asked if I wanted to do sessions. I said, "ok."  A short time later, I did the sessions.  I just did guitar and co-engineered the dance re-mix of Jessica Simpson's "Irresistible" single, and played guitar on Leann Rimes' single "Soon". I always had my own studio and continue to produce alot of bands, but it was my first time being a "session guitarist".  I feel like such a whore.  Not really - I had them pay me in SUSHI - I prefer sushi above money.  Right now I'm finishing my solo CD "Guitars Suck" and I'm doing a rock re-mix of an upcoming hip-hop single.  I also did a duet guitar solo with Mike Chlasciak (Rob Halford's guitarist) for a Jason Becker tribute CD (www.lionmusic.com/jasonbecker/jasonbecker.htm) to raise money for his family.  And I volunteer for the Multiple Sclerosis Research Foundation (www.msrf.org) - a 100% nonprofit organization that holds concerts to raise money for MS research.

Too many rock guitar players take it all too seriously - what's the cure?

Don't play rock.

I think we can solve this problem once and for all, by abolishing rock music in it's entirety.  Starting with Elvis...

What is your one-man mission statement?

Fire safety.  People don't realize the little things they can do to safeguard themselves against avoidable perils.  And oral hygiene - flossing every night, if not directly after meals.  So, I guess my one-man mission statement is, "fire safety."