During an interview with 101 WRIF, found here, former Guns N' Roses guitarist Ron "Bumblefoot" Thal discusses his time with the band, the Chinese Democracy album, touring, and his departure from GNR. Thal also talks about his new band, Sons Of Apollo, an Eminem tribute album he's on, his one request when it comes to recording in a studio, recording the new album, working with the famous Appice brothers, other projects he's produced (including one that's been done for a year) his crazy schedule for the next month, and more.

Thal: "I quit the band and they moved on and I moved on. It's not like we quit pretty. I wish them well and all, but to actually physically go and see them, after hundreds of times on the stage with them, it just feels very surreal. I always describe it like going to see your ex-girlfriend's wedding. And I don't mean any disrespect by that, and I do wish them well and I'm happy that they're doing so, so good. But for me to go and see it, it would just stir up a lot of stuff. So it's better that I'm just doing my thing, they're doing their thing and everybody just wishes each other well from afar."

Sons Of Apollo, the new supergroup featuring members of Dream Theater, Mr. Big, Guns N’ Roses, and Journey, will release their upcoming debut album, Psychotic Symphony, on October 20th via InsideOutMusic/Sony Music. Pre-order the album here, and check out Part 2 of an introduction video series below.

Reuniting to form Sons Of Apollo, former Dream Theater members Mike Portnoy and Derek Sherinian have joined forces with Ron "Bumblefoot" Thal (ex-Guns N’ Roses), Billy Sheehan (The Winery Dogs, Mr. Big, David Lee Roth) and Jeff Scott Soto (ex-Journey, ex-Yngwie Malmsteen's Rising Force).

Psychotic Symphony was produced by the dynamic production duo of Portnoy and Sherinian, also affectionately known as “The Del Fuvio Brothers,” which is the nickname given to them over 20 years ago during their time together in Dream Theater.

Sons Of Apollo got together very organically, as Portnoy explains: “Derek and I reunited shortly after I left Dream Theater in 2010 and we put together an all-instrumental touring band with he and I, Billy Sheehan, and Tony MacAlpine. That was my first time working with Derek since the ‘90s when he was in Dream Theater and it was just great to be working with him again. Ever since that tour, which was really just a one-off live thing, he has been nudging me to start a real, original, full-time band. The timing just had never been right, because I had too many other things on my plate. Long story short, the time was finally right to take the bait and put together a band.”

“Mike and I work at a relentless pace in the studio,” continues Sherinian. “The music is modern, but we have an old school soul. What is unique about Sons Of Apollo is that we have true rock n’ roll swagger along with the virtuosity - a lethal combination!”

But what to call the next great supergroup? “Derek was mainly the one behind the name,” says Portnoy. “I have a list that I keep on my phone of about a hundred different band names, which I constantly have to refer to every time I have a new band every year (laughs). So, I pulled up the list and Apollo was one of the names on the list. It was a word that both of us really liked. We started fiddling with different variations of the word. One of the original band names we were working with was Apollo Creed, the character from the ‘Rocky’ movies, but after lots of different discussions on different variations, Derek suggested Sons Of Apollo and it seemed to stick. Apollo is the God of Music so with that in mind it seemed like a fitting name.”

Mike Portnoy, Derek Sherinian and Billy Sheehan previously toured together in 2012 and 2013 as PSMS (along with guitarist Tony MacAlpine), playing all instrumental versions from each of their previously recorded music. Sons Of Apollo is the next logical progression by adding a vocalist and creating all-original material. The band incorporates the progressive style and individual technical prowess that Portnoy & Sherinian shared together in Dream Theater combined with the swagger and groove of Van Halen, Deep Purple and Led Zeppelin.

“I have known Mike and Derek for a long time, so when they came to me with Sons Of Apollo, I jumped on this straight away,” says Thomas Waber, Label Manager/A&R International of InsideOutMusic. “However, the album they ended up recording exceeded my already high expectations by a long mile! We couldn’t be happier about it!”

Tracklisting:

“God Of The Sun”
“Coming Home”
“Signs Of The Time”
“Labyrinth”
“Alive”
“Lost In Oblivion”
“Figaro's Whore”
“Divine Addiction”
“Opus Maximus”

Introduction Part 1:

Introduction Part 2:

“Signs Of The Time”:

Teaser:

Sons Of Apollo will hit the road in 2018 for their first worldwide tour.

“This is a real band,” Portnoy declares. “This is going to pick up for me and Billy where The Winery Dogs left off, in terms of this being the next logical full-time thing for us. I’m not saying The Winery Dogs have broken up, because we haven’t, we’re just on a break. Sons Of Apollo is absolutely going to be a full-time band and we plan on touring all over the world all throughout 2018 and, honestly, it is the priority for all five of us.”

Sherinian agrees, “We will go on a worldwide crusade in 2018 to bring Sons Of Apollo to as many people as possible. Apollo was the God of Music, and we are his mighty offspring!”

(Photo - Kevin RC Wilson)