Guns N’ Roses guitarist Richard Fortus says it was difficult adjusting to different guitarists throughout his run in the band from 2002.
According to Blabbermouth, Fortus made the admission in a new appearance on The Radical With Nick Terzo podcast on Friday, September 18th.
“I love Robin [Finck, guitar]. I loved his playing. Loved working with him. And, obviously, Tommy [Stinson, bass] is like my brother. We were all very tight. And then there was Bucket [a.k.a. Buckethead, real name Brian Carroll], who was just sort of out on his own.
But it was very musical, and it was exciting to be a part of. He’s a phenomenal talent. Man, he’s pretty out there. And he definitely can be difficult to work with. I enjoyed working with him, ’cause he’s very musical.”
“It was a difficult dynamic to make three guitars work,” Fortus said. “[Buckethead] did an excellent job, because he understood the dynamics of it and how the puzzle pieces have to fit together, and Bucket really understood that. Everything sort of has to have its place.
When [Buckethead] left and Ron Thal [a.k.a. Bumblefoot] came in, it was a different dynamic, because I think Ron had been used to sort of doing his own thing, with his own band, so he didn’t really get how that worked, or how to make it work. So it was difficult at that time.”
According to Fortus, it was a smooth transition when guitarist Slash and bassist Duff McKagan officially returned to the outfit in 2015.
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“I wasn’t uncomfortable in any way,” he said. “You’re cautious at first — you don’t wanna step on anybody’s toes; everyone’s sort of feeling each other out. Duff and I had worked together before and were friends. And it fell together really quickly and very naturally.”
Fortus went on to call Duff one of his “favorite” people. “[He’s] really just a great dude,” he said. “Just so much fun to hang out with and talk to. Very smart.”
Guns N’ Roses is reportedly working on a new studio album. This will be their first under the name since 2008’s Chinese Democracy, and the first to feature Slash, Rose, and McKagan since 1993.
Check out Richard Fortus’ appearance on ‘The Radical With Nick Terzo’:
