Is THAT Buckethead GNR Story True? - Bryan Brain Mantia sets the record straight!

Since the mid-2000's former Guns N Roses A&R representative Tom Zutaut has said a number of derogatory things about guitarist Buckethead.
Calling him “emotionless”, blaming him for tour cancellations and the delay of the Chinese Democracy album.
No other member of Guns N' Roses has spoken of Tom Zutauts claims until now. Today, Bryan 'Brain' Mantia, who was the drummer for Guns N Roses at the time, sets the record straight. 

What are your thoughts on Tom Zutaut and were you aware of what he said about Buckethead.

Nobody liked Tom Zutaut. I'm not even sure I liked him. He was put in the band thinking he could save the band and project. He was kind of a punk to everybody.
And I'm not saying I know Tom to where I can say these things. And he never bothered me. But to me that was bullshit. Buckethead was just trying to survive.
He was struggling with it in his own way. And it didn't make it easier that everyone was trying to take things from him. The best thing to happen to him was for him to leave, because then realized he wanted to go and do his own thing.
Nobody really learns from their success, its from the hardship and mistakes they make. And people like Tom Zutaut poked at Buckethead to try and make an excuse for what was happening with the band.
They just tried to put Buckethead in a cage, no pun intended. There really was a cage that was built for him to record in. The chicken coop.

Tom Zutaut said about this porn story, that Buckethead was in the studio watching hardcore pornography to get inspired and Buckethead fans were like 'that's bullshit'.

That's bullshit!!! That's bullshit!!! That's just mean and rude.

And I even made a video basically calling Tom Zutaut out. We know that story is bullshit. Why would you say that about a guy you know isn't gonna respond. Like, what's the reason other than being a slime ball? 

Exactly! Buckethead and I have had our differences because sometimes I will say funny things in these interviews that kind of hurt him. Because they're our personal journeys and stories and the things we've done.
I've said some stuff where he went “why did you tell that story?”. I'm sorry to any Buckethead fan's that took it the wrong way and thought it was at his expense. Because It never was.

But I don't think anybody has. Nobody thinks that from what I've seen or heard.

Oh okay, good! That's cool. Because its all out of fun. Some of the best times I've ever had on tour have been with Buckethead.
Like the Ozzfest thing at the cemetery. And being in a hotel and seeing him walk through the hotel in his mask and people wondering 'what is going on?'.
And on the Guns N Roses tour he was signing autographs with this weird mask on and nobody was sure it was him and saying “is that really Buckethead?”. And he wasn't answering and just giggling. It's all been fun, weirdo stuff.

People like hearing those stories, I don't know if he knows it or not. People enjoy hearing them. It doesn't affect what they think of him.

That's cool because those stories like the Tom Zutaut one is just a poke at him and rude!

Yeah that's the only one that's bullshit. And it always annoys me when I see other websites and channels share the story when we know it isn't true.

Yep! Definitely.

(Video Question, Vince Khong) Did Buckethead really sign his Guns N Roses contract at the Haunted Mansion in Disneyland?

Yes, it's a true story. I think he's done a lot of things there that I heard about. Doing other contracts and meetings there. There's that Iggy Pop story when Iggy wanted him to join his band and Buckethead met him at the Haunted Mansion. Yeah, that story is true.

Are you into Disneyland or not your thing?

Yeah, it is. But not like Buckethead. He knows every word on every ride. He lives in the Haunted Mansion basically. He'll go on it 50 times because he loves it.
It's funny because I was talking to a lawyer the other day and he was telling me that his dad used to know Walt Disney. And he texted me a ticket from 1954 that Walt gave out to friends and family to go to Disneyland the day before it opened. I wanna show Buckethead the ticket, its pretty rad. It's signed by Walt.

He would love that!

Yeah! It says 1954, like a personal ticket from Walt.

He even released a song the other day from the guy who done the Haunted Mansion music, Paul Frees.

Oh cool, that's rad! I'm gonna go on his site and check all this out. I didn't know he's been so active. I guess he's trying to keep busy because he'd be touring right now if he could.

Did Axl Rose really give Buckethead a Leatherface doll to convince him to join Guns N Roses or is that an urban myth?

I heard that one.

Because Buckethead put that story out himself so I would assume it's true.

Yeah I remember hearing that. But it wasn't really to convince him. I think it was more of a gift. Yeah that was when they first met and Buckethead went to Axl's house. Buckethead said he gave me this doll. So yeah, I think that's true.