2007.08.DD - Kiss Army Australia - Q&A with Bumblefoot

Q&A with Ron 'Bumblefoot' Thal of Guns N' Roses
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)

*

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.

Thanks George!

*

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.

*

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.

*

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

https://web.archive.org/web/20070918235358/http://www.kissarmyaustralia.com/ron/