Guns N' Roses Tips For Working Guitarists

12/14/2010
. (Gibson) Everyone who has ever picked up a tennis racket and rocked out in front of the mirror has dreamed of chucking in their day job to be a rock star instead. And why not? The adoration, the freedom from the nine-to-five grind, the potential for romantic entanglement � it sounds like a pretty fun vocation. Well, the bad news is that not everyone gets to have a career as a rock star, but the good news is that with a little hard work and a lot of covering your bases, you may be able to still carve a living out of six strings and a dream. One guitarist who has managed to do just this is Ron "Bumblefoot" Thal.

Thal first made a name for himself in the mid-'90s with his wildly creative solo albums and unorthodox techniques, and since 2006 he's been one of three guitarists in Guns N' Roses, performing on every track of 2008's Chinese Democracy and criss-crossing the world with Axl and Co. While on tour with GN'R in Australia, Thal spoke exclusively to Gibson.com about how to make a career out of music.

He says the key is diversity. "You have to be able to multitask and be multi-faceted," he says. "If you're just going to be a guitar player that plays in a band, your options are going to be very limited. If you're going to play in a band, you should also be able to teach what you know. If you record yourself, then record other people as well and get into the studio thing. If you're taking care of a lot of the business for your band, maybe start doing it for other bands as well and get into that side of things." A lot more here

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