Another world exclusive brought to you
by the KISS ARMY AUSTRALIA!
Message from Ron to the KAA
G'day everyone! As a member of the KISS
Army USA, I salute ya!
Ron 'Bumblefoot' Thal
(Guns N' Roses)
http://www.bumblefoot.com/
Ron 'Bumblefoot' Thal Photo from Talking Metal
Hi Ron, Thanks for doing a Q & A on our site. I love the
photo's of you in Budokan that Keith Tarrier took of you in the
KISS t-shirt
Q: What is it like to be working alongside a Axle Rose ? Has he
commented to you about wearing a KISS t-shirt on stage ? Is he
very demanding ?
Take care and hope to see you in Australia again soon.
Regards
George X
It's a fucking pleasure. He's a wonderful
guy, we have a great time on and off stage. The only time
anyone ever gave me shit for something I wore on stage was this
one time, I was gonna wear this bright yellow shirt that said "Hi,
my name is Ronald! And your name is DOUCHEBAG!" Frank
(GnR drummer) talked me out of it.
http://www.baldfreak.com/images/bbf-douchebag-closeup.jpg
Thanks
George!
Ron 'Bumblefoot' Thal
with GNR at the Budokan on Jully 18th 2007 Photo by Keith Tarrier
Hi Ron,
Q: What was your very first KISS experience? (Mine was when my
friend brother played me Alive II. As an 8 year old, I was blown
away that afternoon)
I was 5 years old, and the older neighbors
(they were around 8 or 9 years old) played me the KISS Alive! album,
it had just come out. I was an instant KISS fan. Next
memory, besides putting the KISS Army sticker on my bedroom door, or
seeing an occasional commercial on TV for a concert or album and
getting all riled up, was playing drums to Detroit Rock City for our
2nd grade talent show. (I wanted to be a drummer
originally...) Then getting the KISS dolls, and seeing them
live at Madison Square Garden in '79 - it was my first concert, and
not much topped it. All this had an impact on my life, the
direction it took, and why I'm doing what I'm doing
today.
Q: Did you ever get into a fight defending KISS when you were
younger? (I did at school)
Nope. Our Army would smite anyone that
dared go against us. They all knew better than to
try.
Q: If you could only take one studio album with you to a desert
island, which album would it be?
Tough one - maybe Dressed To Kill.
Something about it, the tightness of the chords in the verses of
Ladies In Waiting always made me stop whatever I was doing and
really focus on the song.
Q: Did you ever wear KISS make-up and/or costumes as a kid, say
at Halloween or a party? If so who did you go as? Who made the
costume or painted your face?
Haha, yeah... painted up as Ace
Frehley for Halloween 1979, parents helped. One time my
parents went to a Halloween part as Paul (mom) and Gene (dad).
My dad ended up looking *exactly* like Gene, it was
great!
Q: If you could ever grace the stage with KISS to play one song,
like Steve Perry from Aerosmith did, what song would you want to
play with KISS?
Just one song? No way! We're
doing a whole lot of 'em, haha... 100,000 Years, Rock
Bottom, Love Her All I Can, Goin' Blind, Mr. Speed, Detroit, I Want
You, Rocket Ride, Snow Blind... maybe even The Oath, War
Machine, and Fits Like A Glove... why not.
Thanks for chatting with us at KAA, we really look forward to
seeing you down under again!!
KAA Team.
Thank you!
Hi Ron
Q: I was wondering who were you mostly influenced by as a
guitarist?
Q: Also just out of curiosity, how did the name 'Bumblefoot' come
about???
Thanks! Lina.
Hi Lina - biggest guitar influences were
Eddie Van Halen, and Jimi Hendrix. The name Bumblefoot
happened about 15 years ago, my girlfriend was studying to be a
veterinarian, one of the diseases she was learning about was
something that birds and rats get, called Ulcerative Pododermatitis,
also known as "Bumblefoot" One of the treatments for the
disease was to rub hemorrhoid ointment on the bird's foot. It
all sounded so fucking ridiculous, I went and wrote a song about a
superhero called Bumblefoot, a few years later, started up my band
and called it Bumblefoot, and it sort of morphed into my
nickname. What the fuck was I
thinking..........?
Kids, don't do drugs.
G'day Ron,
Thanks for taking the time to chat with us.
Q: When and how did you get into KISS, and who is your
favorite member out of any KISS era?
Thanks, Dave.
Back in the day it was Gene Simmons that first
stood out to me, more for the image. I learned to appreciate
his bass lines later in life... I dig Paul Stanley's
voice, and Peter Criss' too, a lot, but now, I gotta say it's the
guitar melodies that Ace came up with. Man, you can sing every
solo.
Thanks Dave!
Hi Ron
Q: Do you think that the die hard Guns and roses fans have come
to love except the new line up?.
Q: Has the overall reaction been positive??.
Mr. Starchild
Hey Starchild,
Yeah, it's been cool.
Usually the skeptics are more open to the new Guns after seein' us
live. I think... haha. It's all good, I mean, ya
can't please folks that don't wanna be pleased, so I don't worry
about it, I play for those who wanna have a good time and enjoy
themselves.
Ron 'Bumblefoot' Thal
with GNR at the Budokan on Jully 18th 2007 Photo by Keith Tarrier
Bouffe:
Hello
Q: How did you end up in GNR and who would be in your fantasy
band?
Cheers.
KISSace666
Hi KISSace666... Joe Satriani
recommended me to them, then Chris Pitman (GnR keyboardist) got in
touch, and here we are :) Fantasy
band? hmmm.... how's about Flea on
bass, Dennis Leeflang on drums, Axl on vocals... either
that or I join as the 4th member of Freak Kitchen or 24-7
Spyz... or something with Guthrie Govan on guitar, Chris
Kuffner on bass, Mike Patton on vocals... how's about
Dave Grohl and Taylor Hawkins from the Foo Fighters, and Rob DeLuca
on bass. I could keep going...
G'day Ron,
Q: As far as Kiss goes, what's your take on the makeup issue and
whether people other than the originals should wear it?
Firekiss
Hi Firekiss - I think a band sometimes turns into a
growing family. I like seeing any new member having their own
identity and make-up, but I'm cool with whatever KISS decides for
themselves, make-up or no make-up.
Greetings Ron!
Q: What's the best and worst thing about being in GNR?
Might I also take this time to congratulate you on an awesome
performance in Melbourne earlier this year. All my GNR dreams came
true!
Samurai Peter Criss
Thank you Samurai! Best thing about it
is YOU guys - ya make it all worth while. And the songs, a lot
of fun to play... worst thing about it? Aint
nothin' bad about it, I guess the worst part is missin' it when I'm
not doin' it...
Q: What type of music do you listen to?
Troy
Hey Troy - I listen to all kinds of stuff - classic
rock, punk, funk, old metal, but I really love Motown...
and cheesy lounge music. Seriously.
Ron, Ya gotta tell us,
Q: What is your favourite KISS song? And why do you like it?
Sorry 2 Questions in one, but what the hell!
Thanks man, Dave.
Hi Dave... man, hard to pick one
favorite... (10 minutes later...) Dude, I can't
pick. I'm tryin'... (15 minutes after
that...) Alright, I just gotta pick one, so I'm
gonna say Let Me Know. Why?
The trading off vocals, I think it's some of the nicest singin' Gene
did, the harmony at the end that I totally didn't expect the first
time I heard it, and then going into the coolest fucking fade-out
double-solo to ever end the side of any album. So when I
finally got to play Madison Square Garden last year, which was a
life-time goal musically, I played that same end-of-the-song jam,
the way Ace did it as his solo on the KISS Alive! album.
It was my tribute to them for inspiring me to pursue music and not
stop until I got to play MSG with all the pyro and everything, just
like when I saw KISS for the first time as my first concert.
Thank you KISS.
Thank you all for the
great questions! Hope to come back to Australia one of these
days - see y'all there!
Ron
Ron 'Bumblefoot' Thal proudly wears a KISS
T-shirt on stage with GNR. Photo by Keith Tarrier
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