Ex-GUNS N' ROSES Guitarist RON 'BUMBLEFOOT' THAL On SLASH: 'He's Just An Icon. He's A Legend.'

During an appearance on the March 14 episode of "The Card King Sports And Variety Show", which airs on the ABC news affiliate KMET 1490 AM, Ron "Bumblefoot" Thal spoke about how he landed the guitarist gig with GUNS N' ROSES more than 20 years ago. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Joe Satriani hit me up and said, 'Hey, I just recommended you for the GUNS gig. They're looking for a new guitar player.' Just so if someone reaches out, you know it's legit. And they reached out. That was in the summer of 2004 — 22 years ago, my God. And then a year and a half later, two years later, they had a tour, and we got together in New York. We jammed seven times and hit the road and finished the 'Chinese Democracy' album, and [it was] just eight solid years of a lot of touring and putting stuff out. We put out 'Chinese Democracy'. We put out this DVD/Blu-ray 'Appetite For Democracy'; it was this live show. And then, after that long, it was 2014, and I just missed everything else I was doing."

Reflecting on his decision to leave GUNS N' ROSES, Thal said: "The GUNS gig wasn't gonna become more than it was. And I missed being creative with a band, writing and recording and doing more. And I missed teaching, I missed producing, I missed everything else I was doing. So I went back to all of that, and had ART OF ANARCHY and then eventually did SONS OF APOLLO, which did pretty well, that band."

After the interviewer noted that Slash is "more of a blues-based melodic, hard rock-style performer" while Bumblefoot is more technically precise, Ron said: "Well there's this old joke. It's a joke making fun of jazz people. It's rock versus jazz — you can play three chords for 3,000 people, or 3,000 chords for three people. And the thing about Slash is he's just an icon. He's a legend. If you were gonna say, what is a rock guitar player? It's Slash. And he came up with the things that every little kid — one of the first things they wanna learn on guitar is something that he came up with. He is the top. Absolutely. And it's not about technicality. It's not about any of that stuff. That's the 3,000 — you could say 3,000 notes for three people. Slash, he made things that you can sing and that you recognize within a second. And that is a talent and a skill that is rare. And it's fantastic. I mean, I do what I do, he does what he does, and the world is complete with everybody doing what they do."

Thal added: "We all have to be true to who we are. We gotta be genuine, we gotta be authentic. And for me, I'm a weird dude, so I play some weird stuff. And that's just how it is. Is it gonna appeal to the masses? No. It has its place. It's not gonna be on radio, but it's gonna be on TV and video games and things like that. And that's what I'm happy doing. And if I didn't do that, there would be a little hole in the universe that I was meant to fill and I didn't. And that goes for every human being. That's everybody. It's not about being famous or any of that crap. It's about being true to yourself. That's the most important thing. That's it."

Thal joined GUNS N' ROSES in 2006 and appeared on 2008's "Chinese Democracy", an effort which contained music that had been written before he came into the group. The disc took 13 years to make and was only a modest seller, moving just around half a million copies. Thal worked with singer Axl Rose on the LP, and is credited for playing on every one of that album's 14 tracks.

Thal never officially announced his departure from the GN'R, but a source confirmed to Detroit music writer Gary Graff back in 2015 that the guitarist had been out since the end of the band's second Las Vegas residency in 2014.

Thal spent a few years recording and touring with SONS OF APOLLO, which also featured drummer Mike Portnoy, keyboardist Derek Sherinian and bassist Billy Sheehan. SONS OF APOLLO released its second studio album, "MMXX" (pronounced: 20/20),in January 2020 via InsideOut Music/Sony.

ART OF ANARCHY's third studio album, "Let There Be Anarchy", was released in February 2024 via Pavement Music. Thal was joined in the group's most recent lineup by founding ART OF ANARCHY members Jon Votta (guitar) and Vince Votta (drums),vocalist Jeff Scott Soto (YNGWIE MALMSTEEN, JOURNEY, SONS OF APOLLO) and bassist Tony Dickinson (SOTO, TRANS-SIBERIAN ORCHESTRA).

Thal's latest instrumental album, "Bumblefoot ...Returns!", came out in January 2025.

Ron "Bumblefoot" Thal press photo credit: Andre Tedim