DogAndPanda: Bumblefoot

Bumblefoot

The History

If you don't care about how I found out about Bumblefoot, skip to the next section.

I think it was cdbaby (still in business!) that had a promotional cd full of mp3 samples of many of the artists that were distributed through them. I may have actually listened to (read: skimmed) all of them. The ones that stood out were Herbert, some funk bank I've since forgotten and can't even recall the name of, and Bumblefoot - specifically the song What I Knew. It was an interesting blend of high energy (real high energy, not the buzzword kind you see everywhere) pseudo-metal with Rage Against The Machine style vocals and some interesting guitar-work. Further research gave forth the amazing guitar solo in Brooklyn Steakhouse. I just had to order Hands right away

Description

Now, Bumblefoot (the man formerly known as Ron Thal) is part of Guns N Roses, the replacement for Buckethead (see a pattern?). For many people (especially guitarists), hearing some of his playing brings about a newfound curiousity with the instrument - "how did he do THAT?". Although he did start out as Mr Superchops Guitarist, he has since developed some other talents - songwriting, singing, arranging, producing (he produced the latest from 24-7 Spyz - Face The Day - which is a great album IMHO).

Normal

Bumblefoot's fourth album (or sixth, or fifth, or seventh, depending on how you count) is a great achivement for him. It took him 4 years really, it felt (to me) like forever, but was pretty much worth the wait. With Hands, Thal showed he was a great guitarist, with lots of innovative techniques, and was a good songwriter in the areas he'd selected to use (some Rage Against the Machine, some Mr Bungle). With Uncool, he tried to branch out into other areas (being a big fan of lounge, apparently), and in my opinion didn't always succeed.

With Normal, he's crafted a very listenable, very melodic and catchy album full of musical complexity and nuance. The second track, Real, has a riff that involves so-called 'hybrid picking' (picking with both a pick and fingers), has some serious Slavic influences (at times, if you pay attention, it's almost polka like), but comes across as an energetic pop-punk song. The rest of the album is much the same - at least, when I listen, when each track starts up, I find myself thinking "oh yeah, i liked this one".

Real (official video): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pWGKzgUCNzs

how to play Real: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Iv-UjgOPQ0

Turn Around http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DnLBEiLOSCc

Normal http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QRjSxHv-aRA

Hands

Hands was the first album I got from Bumblefoot, and for a long time it was my favorite. It's nice and raw, full of energy - just the way I like a lot of my albums. The songs speak for themselve, really.

Drunk http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EhBdTFhwQd0&feature=related