In a recent interview with
Metal Hammer, Ron "Bumblefoot" Thal gave some advice to up and coming musicians and it went like this:
"1. Be on time. By “on time” I mean “be early.” Make sure you’re there for when you need to be — wait in your car, communicate, let them know 10 minutes early that you’ll be there in 5 minutes, and walk in 5 minutes later. 2. Be prepared. By “prepared” I mean “overly prepared.” Know more than you need to. If you’re gonna lay guitar parts, know the drum grooves and where all the accents and up-beats and fills and breaks are, know the bass lines… When the bassist doesn’t show and they freak out and you say, “I know the bass part. I can lay it down,” you’ll be the MVP 3. Be cool. And by that I mean, be a calm, relaxed, easy-going, soothing presence in the room. When everyone is contagiously breaking into panic and stress mode, you’ll be their voice of reason without even trying. Players can be replaced — people are chosen by who others want to spend their time with.”
Excellent advice! All three points could be applied to any Job. Especially if a lot of people are depending on you. Not just staff but customers or clients. Also, I'd like to add, WHAT THE F**K?! Are you serious? You are still with Guns N Roses right? With all due respect, maybe you should mention these points to your exceptionally skilled Tardy Master, Walkin' off the stage, deciding to not go on 10 minutes before the show boss?
I don't know, maybe he's venting through the press. But that would be breaking rule 3. Maybe "Bumblefoot's" watch is fast. Seriously, when you guys were 3 hours late at The DCU Center a few years ago you could've applied point #1 and call and let us know.
Maybe he's joking? That's got to be it. Then this is hilarious! Damn, I'm such a stick in the mud. My New Year Resolution is to have more of a sense of humor.
On the other hand, no one knows more about being late than the Guns N Roses Crew. So I guess this is expert advice. For Free!
