2008.08.13 - NRhZ (Germany) - Interview with Bumblefoot

Original English text

You just released your new solo record Abnormal, you’re part of the campaign Rock Against Diabetes and besides you are one of the three guitarists in which is one of the world’s greatest rockbands. How does that feel?

BUSY, haha... man, I've been spending 10 hours a day with two computers and two phones around me, constantly working out agreements with distributors, doing interviews and keeping in touch with everyone, then running to the studio and mastering albums and doing music for TV shows. Then there's all the organizing for the Vegas concerts, making sure everyone jamming for the R.A.D. (Rock Against Diabetes) shows are good to go... sometimes, on rare occasions I even get to play guitar, haha... it's been like this for months. And I'm real excited about Shackler's Revenge coming out next month - great song!=2 0

You always seem to be the relaxed guy, the one who holds the closest contact to the fans...

You guys are everything - it doesn't take much to let you know I appreciate you... I do what I can

Can you tell me more about the songwriting and recording process of Abnormal?

Man, this album just hit me out of nowhere. It happens like that a lot, I'm "dry" for a while (no songs being written) and then it's like a piano falling on your head, all this music comes flying out all at once, lyrics, melodies, guitar lines, beats, arrangements, everything. I call Dennis Leeflang (drummer - www.dennisleeflang.com ) and we start jamming, laying rough tracks, and it all comes together over the next few months. Then mixing, mastering, artwork, manufacturing... I took a different approach for this album - I "reamped" the guitars. That's when you record the guitar raw, without an amp, and later send the raw tracks to an amp. This way, you have the performance, and can spend as much time as you need on trying different amps, different mics, all of that. For the vocals, I also tried something different. Instead of singing the songs line-by-line, verse-by-verse, I sang the entire album straight through without stopping each day, every day, for a month. Then I chose the best performances from those takes. I have videos of the recording process on YouTube, at www.youtube.com/bumblef oot .

Are you planning to tour after the album or are you waiting for Guns to hit the road?

I'm not sure if I'll tour. I'd like to, but there's so much work I've put aside, that I need to make time for. I want to do an instructional DVD, make my own hot sauce, all kinds of things I've been planning for years that I need to do now, or I may never get them done. There's always gonna be something else I could be doing - I need to make time for these things.

How is life in Guns N’ Roses? From what I’ve heard, Joe Satriani created the connection between you and the band....

Yes, that was in 2004. All is well

With all the bad press about Guns – being a band of hired musicians and all that stuff – here’s your place to give a message to the “punks in the press” about what Guns really is.

They can keep analyzing the situation, that's fine. We'll keep recording and touring the world.

So Guns have a new song coming out in September, titled Shackler’s Revenge. Can you tell more about the song? And will it be a single, will it be the “start” of Chinese Democracy?

You'll hear it in a few weeks... It's the first song legitimately released from new Guns - we'll just have to see where things go from there...

Ron, thanks a lot for answering these questions. Hoping to see you and Guns in Germany in the near future!

Thanks a lot - big hello to the forum members!

Take care!

Ron
13 AUG 2008

http://www.bumblefoot.com/press/20080819-NRhZ-bumblefoot-interview/20080819-NRhZ-bumblefoot-interview.htm