Art of Anarchy have a new album, but their start has been a little cloudy given singer Scott Weiland's continual insistence that he's not part of the group. Weiland did sing on their new album, but has continually stated he has no plans to be part of the group going forward. In fact, he stated in a recent interview that he felt it was "a scam from the beginning." Guitarist Ron "Bumblefoot" Thal is now speaking about the confusion in an interview with About.com.

The guitarist shares his regret that things have played out publicly like they have. He explains, "I don't want to throw anybody under the bus or anything, but contracts were worded clearly. We all knew what we were getting into and thought each other knew what we were getting into. So anything else came as a shock. And even when we announced the existence of the band in January, the night before camps were in touch with each other approving the bio and all those things so that nothing was a surprise. Even things that we didn't need to be in touch about like, 'Here's what I'm gonna say on Twitter, just so you know,' out of courtesy so that nothing for any reason rubs anyone the wrong way. And we made the announcement and then (laughs) we saw in the middle of... (pauses). Yeah. So it was disappointing."

He adds, "I would have much preferred if Scott had called me and said, 'Can we find a different way of doing this or wording this,' or something that would be less damaging." Bumblefoot admits that while there were talks with Weiland at different points in the process, most of the conversations took place with the singer's manager.

While Weiland's reluctance to embrace the project is disappointing, the guitarist states, "Honestly, at this point, I just want people to be happy. Everyone's gotta do what's in their heart. But at the same time you also have to see through your obligations. And if you don't wanna see them though then you need to work out something. But I get it. You know what, you only have one life and you can't be a slave to what you do. You have to do what makes you happy. And honestly, if doing Blaster, doing that tour and doing nothing else, if that's what he needs to do to be happy, for life to be livable and for his spirit to stay lit, and for him to enjoy making music (and I hope it's doing that for him) then I can understand that that's what he needs to do. I've been in that same position where you have to start making choices."

He adds, "Ultimately, there's been way too many rock stars that blew their head off, and I can almost understand why (laughs). You become property of everyone else and you're just a slave to what everybody else wants from you. It doesn't mean anything to you anymore and it's just too f--king much. I don't want to see anybody like that. And I don't wanna be like that. I don't want anyone I play with to be like that. But we just need to work out the details of all of that."

The band released their debut disc earlier this month. The self-titled set is currently available at Amazon and iTunes.

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