NEWS FLASH: Renaissance Rock Orchestra is ecstatic to officially announce that guitar wizard Ron Thal aka Bumblefoot ( ‪#‎GNR) has graciously accepted our invitation to share his brilliant guitar mastery on one of our currently being recorded 5 song release “In Times Of Olde”. ‪#‎Bumblefoot will play a solo on “My Lonely Heart” which a medium tempo epic hard rock rock anthem piece. We look forward to hearing your creative vision on one of our pieces Ron!

Ronald Jay “Ron” Blumenthal, better known by his stage name Ron “Bumblefoot” Thal, is an American guitarist, songwriter, recording artist and producer.

He is one of the co-lead guitarists in Guns N’ Roses along with DJ Ashba) and performs on their sixth studio album Chinese Democracy. Since the early 90s, Thal has released 10 CDs and a live DVD.

In 1989, Thal submitted a demo tape to Mike Varney of Shrapnel Records, which caused Varney to feature Thal in the Spotlight New Talent column in Guitar Player Magazine’sAugust 1989 issue. Upon hearing the demo, Varney comented “[Thal’s] demo tape is amongst the most impressive I’ve ever received. It contains elements of classical, blues, and jazz, and at times reminds me of Frank Zappa. His transcriptions are most impressive and detailed, so fans of hot transcriptions might be interested in seeing these musical masterpieces on paper. With its clever melodies, contrapuntal lines, intricate rhythms, and ultra-complex ensemble sections, Ron’s sheer musicality will surely gain him much acclaim.” In 1993, Guitar Network Magazine described Thal’s playing as “Ridiculous… in a good way”

Thal was eventually signed to Shrapnel Records, and his debut album The Adventures of Bumblefoot was released in 1995. Thal released Hermit on Shrapnel in January 1997, his final album on the label.

After a recommendation by guitar virtuoso Joe Satriani, Thal auditioned for Guns N’ Roses in 2004, but turned down the invitation to join the band. In a 2015 interview, Thal mentioned why he initially turned down Guns N’ Roses, saying “I was doing so many things and I was really happy doing them all. And I felt that every one of those things had a future and were growing and should be nurtured. I knew that if I put all that aside that I would be trading off a lot of things that we’re important to me.”

Thal reconsidered the offer after jamming with the band and joined Guns N’ Roses in 2006, filling the position vacated by guitarist Buckethead. Thal made his live debut with the band at the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York City on May 12, 2006 and he also performs on the bands sixth studio album Chinese Democracy, released in 2008. Thal appeared on the Guns N’ Roses video release Appetite for Democracy 3D, including a solo spot of his song “Objectify” from Abnormal. Thal has performed solo songs such as Objectify, Abnormal, Glad to Be Here and a cover of The Pink Panther Theme during Guns N’ Roses concerts.

In 2007, after 14 months of recording and touring with Guns N’ Roses, Thal began recording Abnormal, which was released in July 2008.

Thal has acted in & scored the soundtrack for several independent horror films. He portrayed Thunder in The Meat Puppet in 2012, also contributing to the soundtrack. In 2013, Thal portrayed Mitch Casell in Gravedigger, as well as scoring the soundtrack. Thal is set to score the soundtrack and portray Jack Hayes in the upcoming film Clean Cut, set for release in 2016.