2010.07.07 - Merlin'in Kazani - Interview with Bumblefoot

Mahmut Saral

We talked with Bumblefoot about his new projects, his music and video games... Thank you Ron!

Merlin'in Kazanı (MK): You said "I would like to see my Bumblefoot albums on Rock Band" on previous interview. Now you're adding your songs on Rock Band Network. How did you decide? When will it be on Rock Band Network?

Ron "Bumblefoot" Thal (RT): It was something I needed to prepare for first. I needed to go back to my old albums, open up the multi-track mix files, and make 'mix stems' of each instrument. That's when you take one track (or a group of tracks) and mute everything else in the song, and make a mix of just those unmuted parts, as they exactly appear in the song, with whatever level and EQ and FX they have in the song. I had to convert my computer to the system I had 10 years ago, with the same software and plugins, and go through every song of every album and have stems ready for when it was time to submit songs to Rock Band.

As I was working on that (and tweeting about it, www.twitter.com/bumblefoot ) an independent Rock Band game author contacted me about having his company 'Freen In Green' prepare my songs for Rock Band Network. He did really good work, and we started with the most requested song, 'Guitars SUCK'. It's in the final stages of testing now, and will hopefully be available soon. I'll post an announcement on my site ( www.bumblefoot.com ) when it is. After that I'll continue to submit songs – Normal, Real, Turn Around, Guitars Still Suck, Abnormal, as many songs as possible.

MK: Can you tell us about new project? I guess you will re-release your album. What will it have inside? When will it be released?

RT: My first album 'The Adventures Of Bumblefoot' came out in 1995, on Shrapnel Records in the US, Roadrunner Records in Europe & Japan. It's an instrumental guitar album, and every song is named after an animal disease, a concept that began with the first song 'Bumblefoot' (aka Ulcerative Pododermatitis) That's where my nickname 'Bumblefoot' began. The album got a good response from critics and press, reader's polls, it was a nice beginning. Two years later, I finished the record deal and the label stopped manufacturing the album. It was out-of-print, and there was no way to get the album.

Sometimes I'd see them on eBay, selling for up to $150. I even saw one going for $600... last year Shrapnel contacted me and said they wanted to re-release the album. I was so glad – we worked together on it, I prepared the artwork for the digipak design (original was a jewel case) and added 5 bonus tracks from a video game soundtrack I had made for a Sega game also in 1995. The album will be available online at my webstore ( http://www.bumblefoot.com/store/ ) in August – the CDs will be autographed and $5 from every album will be donated to Multiple Sclerosis research.

I also made a transcription book for the 'Adventures' album. I listened to each recorded track and re-learned the parts, I wrote out every detail of everything I played on the album, did the typesetting for all the music notation, TAB, fingers, picking, everything. It took six months to write out, and is so accurate and detailed, definitely something 'guitar geeks' like me will enjoy, haha. That will also be available in August at the webstore.

MK: Are you thinking about new videos or concerts after album release?

RT: I'd like to do more videos, as long as I can find the time to make them happen. I've been touring so much and the time in-between is all about catching up on everything else. But videos have been on my mind for a while. Music videos, instructional videos, live videos, whatever I can make happen.

MK: What can you tell about your career from first album to now?

RT: That's 15 years to summarize, hmmm... after 'Adventures' I did the music for the Sega 'Wild Woody' video game, then my 2nd album 'Hermit'. My Shrapnel deal was finished and I started releasing my own albums 'Hands' (1998), 9.11 (2001), Uncool (2002), Forgotten Anthology (2003), Live At the 'RMA' DVD (2004), 'Normal' (2005), 'Abnormal' (2008) and 'Barefoot' (2008). I toured Europe staring in '97, was doing US gigs, clinics internationally, started teaching music at SUNY Purchase College in '03, produced a lot of bands, built my own studio, started making music for TV shows, joined Guns N' Roses and started touring with them in 2006, we released 'Chinese Democracy' in 2008. Also toured US & Europe with Lita Ford in 2009.

MK: You said that you fail at playing Rock Band as a band in the previous interview. How is your situation at Rock Band now? Any improvements? Will you be able to play your own songs

RT: Ahhh, no, I'm even *worse* at my own songs, haha!! I'm still trying to keep up with them on a regular guitar, haha...

MK: You're on tour as GN'R. How is concerts going? Which concert is your favourite until now?

RT: Been touring since last December - played Taiwan, S. Korea & Japan, then Canada in Jan & Feb, some acoustic shows in NYC, then South & Central America in March & April, Scandinavia & Russia in May & June... it's been a wild one!! I think our best performance might have been the very last one in Aalborg Denmark. My perspective is different than the audience's, or other bandmember's, but for me something felt really good in every way at that show. The Russian shows too, Japan, Sweden Rock... and the Latin American shows were intense... I don't have a favorite, I can't choose – they each had their own special moments, ya know?

MK: Is there a Turkey concert in plans? As Bumblefoot or Guns N' Roses?

RT: Right now all Bumblefoot shows are on hold. I have to give my time to GNR. It's not so easy to book a show as big as GNR's – management and the booking agency working out a deal with the promoter, finding the venue, the right date, transporting 30 tons of stage, lights, video, instruments and all that, there's the band and crew and everyone, about 60 people, that need their transportation organized with Visas and hotels and flights and local drivers, all different itineraries for different people... Then there's any promotion to work out, and coordinating all this to happen smoothly with any other shows and travel and business agreements happening right before and after it... this is all for one show.

And one change can throw off everything. Knowing how much work goes into it on our end, and knowing how many people in the audience have re-arranged their schedule to be there, and all they've spent on tickets, travel, and time, GNR shows are my ultimate priority. Looking at the upcoming European GNR tour schedule, I'm guessing that a show in Turkey will happen another time. Too bad, we had such a great time in Istanbul in '06... July 12th 2006, almost exactly 4 years ago! Time goes too fast...

MK: What advices can you give to someone has a little knowledge about guitar to practice? What should be their prescription?

RT: Use a 'metronome'...! Ya know, that little clicking thing that keeps steady time? Use it. Don't rush ahead of it - stay behind, let the beat happen, then follow it. The rhythm, the beat, the drums – that's your leader. Let the leader lead.

MK: We would like to invite you to our office if you come to Turkey Maybe we can play soccer video games. How is it going with video games now?

Would love to come hang at the office, but I have to tell you, I SUCK at most video games, haha! I just don't have time to play, and to get good...! When I was 12 I kicked ass at Atari 2600 Laser Blast, Yar's Revenge, a bunch of others... and 10 years ago I got into 'Doom' and 'Wolfenstein 3D' a bit – now, other then playing 'Rock Band', I'm starting from scratch. Once in a while I think to myself, 'someday I'll be locked up in jail or a nut house, and I'll finally have time to read, write, work out, and play video games...'

RON