ART OF ANARCHY interview 2017

Ron "Bumblefoot" Thal chats about ART OF ANARCHY'S NEWEST CREATION THE MADNESS
By: Stephanie Stevens

If someone told me last year or 3 years ago that I would be asking Ron “Bumblefoot” Thal questions of any kind I would of thought they were crazy but here it is 2017 and I just received back an interview from the man himself.

It all came to reality because his BAND art of anarchy just released a solid and triumphant album entitled THE MADNESS. An album with pure emotion, raw power and emotionally solid to make any music fan turn their heads and pay attention. If this band is something new to you the band members will not be hard to recognize; Lead guitarist Ron “Bumblefoot” Thal hails formerly from Guns N’ Roses, while bassist John Moyer rose to fame as a member of Disturbed. Twin brothers Jon Votta (guitar) and Vince Votta (drums), meanwhile, first gained renown as fixtures on the New York music scene. The most recent addition to the group is Grammy Award winner Scott Stapp, the founder and lead singer of Creed. Stapp replaces the late Scott Weiland (of Stone Temple Pilots) as AOA’s lead singer.

So like I said in the beginning I was very privileged to speak to Ron about  solos, lyrics, vinyl and his tips on being a successful band and/or musician.

WITH STRONG PERSONALITIES AND THE IDENTITIES EACH BAND MEMBER HAS HOW DOES THAT ENHANCE THE WRITING PROCESS GOING INTO WRITING FOR THE MADNESS RECORD?
When we started writing the album we didn't have a direction in mind, we just did what we do, being ourselves, and let everything organically come together. With any band, there's a unique set of personalities that form a combined sound, and as long as everyone is being honest and authentic, the ingredients shine through. Moyer brings the modern edgy sound, the Votta brothers are more old-school metal, Scott is a master of melodies and lyrics, and I tend to get more theatrical writing and production-wise, Beatles & Queen inspirations, the fretless guitar, venturing a bit 'outside the norm' a bit...
HAVING SCOTT JOINING THE BAND IT SEEMS HE PUT HIS HEART N SOUL INTO THE LYRICS DID HE THROUGH THE PROCESS SIT WITH ANY OF YOU TO ASK YOUR OPINIONS ON THE LYRICAL CONTENT AND HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT THE MESSAGE COMING ACROSS?
Scott digs very deep, and gets very personal lyrically. Ideas would bounce around sometimes while songs were coming together, but his words within his voice are best when they're from his soul. With lyrics, if the words don't paint the exact picture and take the listener into the exact experience, it can feel like you're lying every time you sing them – it needs to be the truth. That's what makes great story-tellers what they are.
YOUR NEWEST TRACK OUT IS NO SURRENDER WAS THAT A BAND PERSONAL CHOICE OR DID CENTURY MEDIA HAVE SOME SAY IN WHAT THEY THOUGHT WOULD BE A GOOD FOLLOW UP TO MADNESS? IF IT WAS A BAND THING WHY DID YOU WANT TO FOLLOW UP WITH THAT TRACK?
Our first single, the title track “THE MADNESS” was released end of last year on radio, with a music video, and as the full album grew closer we released lyric videos for three other songs, “NO SURRENDER” included. We just finished shooting a music video for the opening album track “ECHO OF A SCREAM”, it's looking like that will be the next song that gets a push...

AFTERBURN HAS A KILLER SOLO IN IT DO YOU HAVE OLD GUITAR SOLOS HIDDEN AWAY AND YOU BRING THEM OUT WHEN NEEDED OR ARE MOST OF THESE SOLOS THOUGHT OF ON THE SPOT?
The song comes first, solos come last. :) After a song is written, vocal melodies are there, there's an energy and character to the song, then I follow my gut and let the solo flow out, spontaneous improvised melodies, nothing pre-planned.

DID MADNESS HAVE A RUN OF VINYL RELEASED ALSO? AND WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST VINYL YOU EVER PURCHASED?
For the initial release, vinyl wasn't manufactured, but we're hoping to have it down the road. My first vinyl, hmmm... there was a lot. All the '60s/'70s stuff – Beatles, Stones, Hendrix, Led Zeppelin, Yes, KISS, The Who, Queen, Pink Floyd, Boston, Blondie, Billy Joel, the Cars, Bowie, Elton John, Sex Pistols, Ramones, Fleetwood Mac... from there it branched out to ACDC, Judas Priest, Rush, Iron Maiden, Ozzy, Black Sabbath, Queensryche, Manowar, Anthrax, Metallica... but the very first album I remember picking up off the shelf and asking mom to buy me, haha, was the soundtrack to the movie “Close Encounters Of the Third Kind”. I was 7 years old, with a busy little brain. Had a band at that age, would write songs, make demos (came up with a way to multi-track using multiple cassette recorders), would play shows in the neighborhood and a nearby school, would hand-make merch, would watch what my favorite bands did and come up with a mini-McGuyver way to do it using whatever resources were available. And never stopped.

YOU HAVE BEEN ON A LITTLE MINI TOUR SINCE THE START OF APRIL. HOW HAS THE SHOWS BEEN AND ARE YOU FOCUSING JUST ON NEW TUNES SINCE THIS IS SCOTT’S FIRST ALBUM WITH YOU OR DO YOU PLAY OLDER TRACKS TOO?
This is our first ART OF ANARCHY tour, it's been wonderful. Great crew, great team, so much laughter and fun, and the shows keep getting more solid every night. :) We're playing the entire new album, every song. We're also adding some solo moments, and a song from the previous album before “THE MADNESS”.

YOU DEALT WITH A LOT OF STRESS I’M SURE WITH THE LIKES OF YOUR OLD SINGER AND NOW SCOTT WHO IS DOING AWESOME HAS BEEN DOWN THE DARK ROAD HOW DO YOU GUYS KEEP A POSITIVE AND ENLIGHTENED MESSAGE WITHIN THE BAND AND TO THE FANS OUT THERE ABOUT THIS FATAL DISEASE THAT BOTH SINGERS HAVE HAD GONE THROUGH?
All of us are on the same page, which is to be at 100% for the audience, for each other, for ourselves. We take care of ourselves. We're friends. We enjoy what we're doing. We act as a team throughout. Our family and friends are very welcome on the tour. It's taken us no extra effort to be positive, it's there naturally. :) As for any challenges, we've been through in the past, this happens in life to us all in one way or another – what matters is how we handle it, to overcome and triumph over it, to learn and be stronger and wiser from it. Keep a strong spirit – a fighting spirit, a loving spirit, a healing spirit. And turn that into music. :)

WHAT IS YOUR BEST ADVICE FOR ANY MUSICIAN OUT THERE ON THE BUSINESS SENSE, A CREATIVE SENSE AND ALSO A TOURING MINDSET THAT YOU COULD HELP NEW MUSICIANS?
I could spend hours on this, but I'll keep it super-simple...
Business – stay DIY for as long as you can, taking on as many tasks and roles as you can so you learn what they entail and so you'll know if something's being done effectively or not, and so you have realistic expectations.
Creative – be authentic, be genuine, be who you truly are, make ART. It doesn't matter what style it is, or how it stacks up to what's momentarily popular – don't deny your soul the gift of having a real connection with the world, let your true self out.
Touring – sleep whenever you can. Healthy food and exercise whenever possible. If one person gets sick, everyone ends up sick, so take care of yourself! Things will not go as planned, that's ok, laugh at the “Spinal Tap” moments you'll find yourself in. Nothing gets you on-top-of-your-game like touring does. Give it your all, and enjoy!
Ron 'Bumblefoot' Thal