2013.06.17 - The Times of India - GNR Is A Roller Coaster Of Chaos & Destruction: Ron (Bumblefoot)

GNR is a roller coaster of chaos & destruction: Ron
Sutapa Singha, TNN | Jun 17, 2013, 12.00 AM IST

With his flowing hair, braided beard and sheepish grin — Ron 'Bumblefoot' Thal makes for a true-blue rockstar. In India for a tour with the Dubai-based band, Point of View, as part of The Festival Chapter III, the musician was seen enjoying the Kolkata monsoons as TOI caught up with him a while before his final gig of the festival. Excerpts:

How is India treating you? I was here with GNR last year too. I love the enthusiasm of the audience. This time in Mumbai, we got down from the stage and a swarm of people collapsed on us. So much love!
Heard you fainted before the Delhi gig? It's been hectic. Flying, soundcheck, performing, two hours of sleep... My body and mind simply shut down. I didn't faint, but it was a near collapse.
How is it being a part of Guns N' Roses? GNR is a big runaway roller coaster of chaos and destruction.

Aren't you worried this statement might be misconstrued? Trust me, I mean it the way it sounds. It causes destruction in its path wherever it goes, and I am not only a part of it but also the reason for it. So I take full responsibility.

Share some anecdotes. Okay, so the weirdest story I can remember is this one time in Prague, we had just finished performing. It was six in the morning. The hotel opened up the bar downstairs for us. So it was just us, except for this one kid, probably in his 20s, sloshed. We heard him telling the manager of the band, 'I am the manager of this band.' And we were like, 'Really!' and the kid refused to leave. So there was a full-fledged bar fight going on downstairs, while I was talking to these two Slovakian models who were teaching me the language. Beside me, there was another touring member of the band, absolutely zonked out, trying to teach music to these women. So he shouted, 'Do you like show tunes?' and these two were like, 'What the hell is he talking about?'

Picture all this going on at the same time! And then upstairs, we found the guy, blurred, along with his parents, and a camera. So, I went to him. And he said, 'I am really sorry, I am so drunk! Can my parents take a picture of me with you guys?'. We clicked a picture with this kid, who we had just beaten up. How weird is that! Then we went to the room of Axl (Rose), the frontman of our band, and talked for about 20 hours. The only reason I had to leave was because I had to get on the plane to get to the next country for a gig. Then Axl arrived, he was miffed and said, 'I thought we had two days off between the gigs', and I was like, 'You did man, you talked through both days! The shades were down, so you didn't see the sun rise or set!' With him, you are in the AXL time zone, an odd vortex where time and space defy the laws of physics. I have been living in that zone for seven years now!

So how has the journey been? Full! Very full! Here's another incident. Once in Japan, we were up for 43 hours, hanging out. Again, it ended up in a bar fight! This model guy, he started throwing ice cubes at us. Then he came and sat down, unfortunately on someone's girlfriend. So everybody was yelling at the guy and he threw a punch! And next thing we knew, he was on the ground pinned down by two other guys. And me, I pick up a couch and I was telling my friends, 'Move!' cause in my brain, I was going to put this couch down on this guys and sit on it and continue having a nice time! And then I heard Axl's assistant screaming, 'Bumble, put the couch down!' So we got out of there. It was about six in the morning. We went to the fish market of Japan, got ice cream and ended up having an ice cream fight. We went back to the hotel, went to the bathroom and chatted right there till 1.30 in the afternoon. Again, the only reason I had to get up and go was because of this video interview. The interview turned out to be wacky because I was all messed up and sleep-deprived for 43 hours!

Bollywood is big here. You know that right? Bollywood? What's that? (laughs out loud). Of course, I know. Everybody knows. It's 'Baw-leeewood' man!

Do you ever listen to Bolly beats? Well, I do. But I won't be able to identify songs. I like the style. You learn from different genres.

Axl is infamous for turning up late. How do you deal with that since you are big on your commitments? Being on time is a sign of respect. I had the hardest time with Axl. It's been more than once when I walked out because I was so angry!

Didn't that put you in a tight spot since you are just a newcomer in the band as compared to Axl? For me, honour and character are more important than anything else. I can walk away from anything if I feel it's compromising on integrity. But ultimately, GNR is like this big dysfunctional family. And we enjoy every high, every low together. We get along so well, because we don't really make issues out of petty things. Also, the GNR shows have been doing well lately, and Axl's mostly been on time. In fact, in one of the shows, he turned up a couple of minutes early. I remember, we were to start from 8 pm and he turned up at 7.58! That's huge, right? (smiles).
You were recommended to GNR by Joe Sartriani. How did you get in touch with him? We met through a guitar magazine. He had said something about me and I got in touch with him to find out if that was true. Thereafter, we bonded. He is the sweetest guy I've met. It shows in his music! I am not saying he is my idol or anything. I see him as a person and he is one of the better persons I have seen.

Anybody you would want to jam with but didn't get an opportunity? Les Paul. And I would love to make music with the Foo Fighters. They are really cool guys who do good stuff!

There must be comparisons with Slash and Buckethead, from the previous lineups? How do you handle that? You are absolutely correct. I am your second daddy. Not your first. But guess what, daddy left. So either you can go on without a daddy or you can put up with me. That's life. I am not in some sort of battle against the past. Me, Slash, Buckethead — we are all musicians and we all love what we do. And we all respect each other. If you wanna get the most out of GNR, you should not separate one chapter from another. It's a 25-yearold journey!

Your favourite Indian food? You like the spicy things? Bring it on. There's this place in Manhattan where they make the hottest curry in all of NY. So I took up the challenge. I won it twice. The spicier the better, I say!

Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/music/news-and-interviews/GNR-is-a-roller-coaster-of-chaos-destruction-Ron/articleshow/20627175.cms

Bumblefoot made the following disclaimer on Facebook: These are NOT all word-for-word quotes in this interview!! Just sayin'...