One highlight of Barry Adkins’ musical life came on his birthday in 2010, when Pantera co-founder and Hellyeah drummer Vinnie Paul handed him a shot of tequila.
The legendary Paul passed away last year.
Adkins said the memory of drinking with legends at a Fozzy show in New York City came about because of his love of music and the power of friendship. Fozzy was formed in Atlanta in 1999 by lead singer Chris Jericho and guitarist Rich Ward.
What might seem like luck, getting to socialize with stars, began back in 2003 as Adkins was an aspiring guitarist. He was impressed by Paul Gilbert’s string-skipping and Yngwie Malmsteen’s flamboyance. Adkins said he will never forget watching videos of Jason Becker playing guitar with one hand while performing yo-yo tricks with the other.
When he stumbled across a video that introduced Ron “Bumblefoot” Thal’s guitar work, Adkins was impressed beyond a doubt.
Still, it took two more years for Adkins to wander onto the artist’s website, where he quickly fell “in love with not only the technicality of the songs, but the lyrics, the structures and the quirkiness that permeated the whole thing.”
Bumblefoot, whose given name is Ron Thal, signed to Bald Freak Music in 2005. Before that, the man was mailing albums out of his home and graciously signing every CD sold online.
“Ron had promised to autograph the CDs in my batch and contacted me to confirm the proper name to which he should sign them,” Adkins said. “Oh, did I mention that he was touring France at the time? And that it was Thanksgiving Day? That’s a small example of the kind of guy Ron is. He never wants to do anything if he can’t offer 110%.”
As a college student impressed with the collection of artists on the Bald Freak label, Adkins got involved with the street team. Remember, kids, this was before MySpace and Facebook were huge. People still listened to music on CD players in the mid 2000s.
RELATED: Interview with guitarist Ron ‘Bumblefoot’ Thal
In 2006, Thal signed on to play lead guitar in Guns N’ Roses. He treated the limelight as a true professional who didn’t get starstruck and didn’t turn his back on old friends. By 2010, Thal was the type of guy who’d meet up with Adkins in NYC for a Fozzy show at the B.B. King House of Blues.
As Adkins shot video of the show as a favor to Rich Ward. He was given free reign to go anywhere necessary.
“Next thing I heard was, ‘Excuse me, sir’ so I stepped to the side and realized I had just made way for former Pantera and Hellyeah drummer, Vinnie Paul, who was carrying a tray of shots onstage,” Adkins said. “He distributed them around and turned to me, extending the last glass.”
That evening, Adkins hung out backstage within 5 feet of then Dream Theater drummer Mike Portnoy and getting called “the man” by Chris Jericho. Adkins also introduced Ron Thal and Rich Ward to one another.
Thal invited Adkins to the “green room” after a Guns N’ Roses show in 2012. It wasn’t magic or luck that led Adkins backstage, he said. It was the power of music. Because, his passion started with professional respect.
“I have been very fortunate in not only being in the right place at the right time, but in encountering such humble people who have treated me not only as a fan, but as a friend,” he said.
His advice for meeting an idol is the same as meeting a man on the street: ‘Treat them like a human being.”
Note: This was originally written in March 2015, and Bumblefoot has since joined Sons of Apollo (w/ Mike Portnoy), Art of Anarchy (formerly w/ Scott Weiland and now with Scott Stapp), and, most recently, he became the singer/guitarist for Asia.
How I Got Into That Band
This blog is being reinvented as a place to house a column on the meaning of music. More than the notes that structure a song, we want to show people how melody connects people. Places harbor choruses. Bands encompass histories.
We’re looking for stories about how music moved you in life. How you first heard that artist or song that decades later reminds you of an old friend, an experience or a feeling.
If you’d like to contribute a guest blog (or have us link back to your story on your blog), please email HowIGotIntoThatBand@gmail.com
Read our first post about how music reminds us to be our best every day.
