Bumblefoot’s golden rule: Protect your tool...I mean, don't be late!

http://www.rockaaa.com/news/bumblefoot%E2%80%99s-golden-rule-dont-be-late-1425

Guns N' Roses guitarist Ron ‘Bumblefoot’ Thal says the golden rule for being a professional guitarist is: “Don’t be late”.

He accepts it sounds strange coming from a band fronted by Axl Rose, who’s known for routinely starting shows anything from an hour to two hours after their scheduled time.

But it’s one of three commandments Thal lives by – and he recommends anyone who wants to follow in his footsteps should do the same.

He tells Gibson.com: “Number one, which will be funny coming from a guitarist in Guns n’Roses, is: Don’t be late. That was always my cardinal rule for everything.

“To be on time you need to be early. Wait in your car for 15 minutes then go in two minutes before whatever time you’re supposed to be there.

“Number two is: Be someone people want to work with. Be a person they’ll want to be in a room with and spend ten hours with. Be relaxed and calm. Don’t cause a stressful vibe – keep your intensity knob down a bit and just roll with things.

“Number three: Be overly prepared. If you just need to know the guitar part, make sure you know the other guitar parts too – and the vocals, and the bass, and the drums and where the accents are. Really know the song inside out, and know more than you need to so you’re able to offer more than was asked of you, if you’re asked.

“Those three things matter the most: be on time, be cool, and be prepared. And that’s not just for guitar work – it’s for everything in life.”

Meanwhile, GnR’s show designer says Rose gave him the best start imaginable when they started discussing the stage sets for the band’s Chinese Democracy world tour.

Shipley explains: “My three favourite words: Budget doesn’t matter. I was just told to design something really big. There are several different scenarios for different situations, but every show is unique. Some places we take out some video because of the restrictions to the roof. One time we cut all the video. Some other places had full high trim and we could use the whole system. We’re all very flexible.”