Interview: Bumblefoot Shows Off the Creative Process of Making Love Is Blind Together with Ahmad Dhani and Andra Ramadhan

Ron "Bumblefoot" Thal (Photo: Kevin RC Wilson)

JAKARTA - Early January 2023, the virtual world was shocked by the uploads of Dewa 19 personnel on social media Instagram. In photos and videos circulating on the internet, Andra Ramadhan (guitar) and Ahmad Dhani (keyboard) pose with a number of world-class musicians.

They, among others, are Ron 'Bumblefoot' Thal (Sons of Apollo, ex Guns N' Roses), Simon Phillips (ex Toto), Derek Sherinian (ex Dream Theater), Dino Jelusic (Whitesnake), Billy Sheehan (Mr Big, Talas ), and Jeff Scott Soto (Sons Of Apollo, ex Yngwie Malmsteen).

These eight musicians stand on the set for a music video against a green screen backdrop. The faces of Agung Yudha (drums) and Yuke Sampurna (bass) are not visible in the photo.

In the next upload, a collaboration video tagged by the account @alghazali7, Andra is seen buying and selling guitar solos with Bumblefoot.

They played Mahadewa's song Cinta Itu Buta, written by Dhani, which was packaged in a new version with English lyrics. One month later, the song entitled Love Is Blind was officially released via digital music platforms under the banner Dewa 19 Feat. All Stars.

VOI then contacted Bumblefoot, one of the international musicians involved in this collaborative project. We asked for time to interview the Guns N' Roses guitarist during the Chinese Democracy album era (2006-2014) about the process of composing the song Love Is Blind.

"Let's do it, yes! Thank you!" he replied enthusiastically.

Currently, Bumblefoot is the guitarist for the supergroup Sons of Apollo. The band, which is also fronted by drummer Mike Portnoy, bassist Billy Sheehan, keyboardist Derek Sherinian, and vocalist Jeff Scott Soto, has released two full albums, Psychotic Symphony (2017) and MMXX (2020).

Since embarking on a solo career in the mid-1990s, Bumblefoot has released eight albums and appeared in guest appearances on numerous other artists' albums as well as on numerous compilation albums. Over the last twenty years, he has also worked with many bands and artists, whether as a producer, engineer, writer, arranger or performer. In fact, he served as guitarist and vocalist for the band Asia from 2019 to 2022.

Meanwhile, with the supergroup Art of Anarchy, this musician whose full name is Ronald Jay Blumenthal released two albums: Self-titled in 2015 and The Madness two years later. In this band, Bumblefoot is accompanied by Jon and Vince Votta (guitars and drums) and Disturbed bassist John Moyer, as well as Creed vocalist Scott Stapp who replaced the late Scott Weiland (Stone Temple Pilot).

Bumblefoot has appeared on the cover of GitarPlus Indonesia magazine several times. This guitarist is known as a friendly, humble and low profile person. His guitar playing ability is also extraordinary where he is able to play various songs spontaneously.

This long-bearded guitarist has visited Indonesia several times, including in November 2012 when he appeared at MEIS, Ancol, Jakarta, with Guns N' Roses, in October 2013 when he performed at the Jakarta Blues Festival accompanied by Ponch Satrio et al, and in November 2017 when he took part in the Hi-End Guitar Experience event at Plaza Semanggi. This means that collaborations between Bumblefoot and Indonesian musicians are no longer rare.

However, Bumblefoot revealed many interesting things to VOI regarding his collaboration with the two Dewa 19 frontmen, Andra and Dhani, on the song Love Is Blind. Also his views on Indonesian musicians as a whole. What's that? Check out the full interview below.

How did your collaboration with Ahmad Dhani and Andra Ramadhan for the song Love Is Blind happen?

It began a year before, when we worked together on a fundraising song Human Race for forestnation.com, including vocalist Once Mekel (ex Dewa 19) and guitarist Edo Widiz (Voodoo), organized by Indra Putra. It worked very well, and Indra proposed the idea to Derek Sherinian for Love Is Blind. 

Love Is Blind is a new and English version of Dhani's (Mahadewa) song Cinta Itu Buta, how was the recording process?

Dani gave us a demo of the song, each player used this as a guide to record their parts. I received everyone's parts and mixed the song, then sent my mixed tracks to Dhani, and he added additional parts and did the final mix and production of the song.

What makes you excited about this song the most?

What excites me is seeing the positive reaction from people.  Lots of great Indonesian guitarists making videos covering the solos that I had the pleasure of watching and sharing on social media, I'm thankful for everyone's support.

Bumblefoot (Photo: Diego Iost Do Amaral)

How did you approach the recording process for the guitar parts? How much preparation was involved beforehand?

I try not to think too much, not plan too much or get attached to ideas...  stay clear and open, and trust your instincts.

What was the first thing that came to your mind when you came up with the guitar solo for this song?

I listened to the song – the rhythm, melodies, how the song made me feel.  From there I picked a guitar sound (Line 6 'Helix Native' plugin, into Steinberg 'Cubase' recording software) and played what I felt.

Any special directions or requests from Dhani and Andra for guitar solos?

They trusted me to do what I do, and I'm glad they liked what I did.

When collaborating with musicians across countries, do you prefer to record material by sending data (remotely) or sitting together in the studio?

Both have their advantages – being together gets a very connected feel between the players and and exchange of ideas, while recording separately gives each player more time to develop their own ideas and everyone can record without the challenges of organizing everyone's travel and scheduling.

Why did you choose to use a fretless guitar?

I just do what feels natural, I use the fretless very often in soloing.

Can you describe your guitar sound for this song?

The tone, the fretless, the note choices...  I'm just being myself.  Everyone involved is just being their authentic selves, all doing what we do. And that's what makes everything work, each person's identity combined to make a unique combination. 

Bumblefoot (Photo: Gunner Kal)

In terms of playing guitar, can you describe the main differences between your solo project or Sons Of Apollo and this project?

My solo 'Bumblefoot' music is a complete expression of myself in every way – the writing, the performances, the production. With Sons Of Apollo, Derek and I write most of the music and the performance and production is in everyone's hands. With Dewa 19 All Stars, the song is already written, I write my own solo, and play what feels right for the song.

What's the most important thing you got from working on Love Is Blind?

Friendship. The people in your life make your life what it is.  I'm blessed to have met these wonderful people.

You and Dhani and Andra are working together for the first time. How would you describe your chemistry?

It was very comfortable, relaxed, it didn't feel at all like the first time to me.

After working with Dhani and Andra, what do you think about Indonesian musicians?

I've known the incredible talent of Indonesian musicians for years, starting with my friend Ponch Satrio – we've known each other for 20 years, he's a great guitarist, teacher, he was my co-guitarist and arranged my band when playing Jakarta Blues Festival in 2013 :)  There's also Balawan, Dewa Budjana, Tohpati, Zendhy Kusuma, Andra Ramadhan, so many great guitarists, great musicians in Indonesia!

Any plans to work with Dhani and Andra again in the future?

Everything is possible, the future is open to all things.

Bumblefoot (Photo: Hristo Shindov)