VENTS magazine
OCT 2013

Hey Ron! Welcome to VENTS Magazine. Glad to have you in, how are you doing?

A pleasure to chat with you, all is well thanks!

For those who haven't heard from you, can you tell us a bit about yourself?

I'm a solo artist from NYC, I sing & play guitar, hard rock & metal, I've released music for over 20 years, I produce other artists, I enjoy teaching, making music for TV & movies, and I play lead guitar in Guns N' Roses.

Did the nickname "Bumblefoot" or what made you wanted to pick that name as your alias?

It was my band name for the last 15 years, but being the singer, lead guitarist, songwriter and all, people saw it more as my nickname than a band name...

So did you ever had this dream you will become this sort of guitar hero and legendary musician or it just came to you as a surprise?

That's not something in my control, that's something the rest of the world decides. I simply do what I do for the love of it, and people will view me however they choose. I just stay focused on giving the best I can, and try to keep improving.

You have been doing some collaboration with lots of new acts, what you enjoy the most about doing this?

The combination of different spirits, different ideas that blend, you create something that you couldn't do alone. It's beautiful...

What does a band or an artist needs to have in order for you to consider work with them?

They have to write good songs and be able to perform them well, have something unique in their identity, but the most important thing is *they must have good character*. They have to be humble and open-minded and willing to grow, they have to be dedicated, and they have to be *honest*. I won't give support to someone if they lie, betray people, and think only of themselves - that's a recipe for destruction, those people go nowhere in life.

So can we say you like working with upcoming acts?

Very much, yes. They need all the support they can get.

You also produce albums for this people, what you like the most about producing?

The best part of producing is seeing someone's music build into something greater than they started with. When they come in with demos and ideas and leave with a focused sound and quality recording and stronger musical identity and better performance and great songs... love it. :)

What's your working method?

I start by getting to know the personalities of who I'm working with, everything about them. Then I get to know how they sing and play, what their strengths are. Then we start working on the song arrangements, making sure the music goes where it should. We usually work in my studio, which is an entire house for recording and for them to live at, if they want, so they can work any time. Then we start to record, and capture the moments...

How you feel about having your music in Rock Band?

I love it. It's one of many new ways to enjoy music :)

So there are rumours a new Guns N' Roses album is in the process, what can you tell us about it?

There are always rumors. If there's something to tell, you would hear it from us directly.

I am pretty sure you got tons but any recent hilarious moment you have been or took part while hitting the road?

Yes, most are too crazy to tell. The ones that usually come to mind are the guy that fell through the ceiling crawling through the air ducts trying to get backstage before a show, the woman who held her face in my armpit as I walked around room-to-room after a show because she loved the smell of sweat. And for some reason women love to bite people backstage. I know so many people, myself included that have been bruised up from bitten *hard* backstage.

What's next in Bumblefoot's world?

A lot of solo touring in Europe, the Far East, and hopefully South America if the booking agent and the promoters there can make it happen. It's great to be doing Bumblefoot concerts again. Will continue doing acoustic shows with Tony Harnell and supporting our album ( http://tinmanmerchandising.com/product_info.php?cPath=494_497&products_id=1653&osCsid=829f64drj6osubn906qbnmvq73&tplDir=TonyHarnell
), shows with GNR, producing and collaborating, teaching when possible, will keep eatin'-and-greetin' at fiery food festivals with the Bumble hot sauce ( http://bit.ly/bumblefkd ) and updating the store with new merch ( http://tinmanmerchandising.com/bumblefoot/ ), and will try my best to get to the studio to record and release new music.

Where can we find more about your music?

I'm easy to find on the web, just look up Bumblefoot.... you can find out everything I'm doing at my site www.bumblefoot.com, there's a discography with sound samples of my albums, guest solos, bands I've produced... or you can check out the samples at www.reverbnation.com/bumblefoot. You can find me on iTunes at http://itunes.apple.com/artist/bumblefoot/id23227515.

Thank you!

~ Ron 'Bumblefoot' Thal

www.bumblefoot.com
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