Guns N’ Roses Guitarist Bumblefoot Renews Focus on His Solo Career

Are Ron "Bumblefoot" Thal's days of playing guitar for Axl Rose coming to an end?

The Guns N' Roses guitarist seemed to hint at a GNR-free future -- or at least a diminished role for him in the band -- during a press event he hosted in New York on Dec. 12 to promote his next solo album, due Feb. 24. "I'm focusing on my stuff," he told attendees. "I'm sure it's going to be an exciting, interesting year for everybody -- for Guns, for me, for everybody. A lot of stokes in the fire ... for them, for me. We'll see what happens in 2015."

Speaking to Horns Up! at the event last week, Thal elaborated, "I’ve tried to do both, and it’s been really difficult. There’s only so much time and you can’t be in two places at once. Teleporters? No. Army of clones? No. You can only be in one place at a time, and that kind of gets in the way of things. You have to start making choices."

Even though he didn't say his decision had anything to do with it, Thal also revealed a recent cancer scare: "It was really a quick thing -- I mean, it doesn't compare to people that really have it and really fought it. For me, I was lucky. It didn't spread, it didn't get worse. They cut it out and that's it. But, yeah, it happens."

Thal's apparent willingness to leave Guns N' Roses behind echoes statements he made in an interview with the National in August, when he admitted, "The solo albums are everything to me and it’s really what I do. To be honest, I really should have paid more attention to it, even when I was in Guns N’ Roses. I should have been touring more and putting out more albums than I did."

The new solo album, which doesn't have a title yet, will be Bumblefoot's first since 2008's 'Abnormal.'

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