Buckethead, aka Brian Carroll, has revealed that he is suffering from a serious heart condition.
The prolific guitarist appeared on the new Coming Alive podcast where he told the hosts that he has an ongoing heart problem that has recently become serious.
I have a heart problem where my heart beats out of rhythm. It’s been doing it for a long time, but recently it kicked up and became really intense.
I didn’t know what was going on – I just tried to deal with it and let it do what it did. But it got really intense, so I went to the doctor and they said, ‘You’re on the verge of having a stroke.’
They suggested I had an ablation, where they go in and freeze your heart. It’s supposed to do something with the nerves, because they said my heart was fine and it could be a genetic thing – they didn’t really know. I had that procedure and it didn’t really stop it and I’m still dealing with it.
It’s been really difficult because it’s scary. Even walking across a room is difficult. Luckily the medication I’m thankful for, because it’s kept it from going berserk, but it’s still pretty intense.
I’m letting this thing sort of exist in me and I can’t really escape it. I’m always aware of my heart beat or the intensity of my heart beat. It definitely scares me, but it’s also doing a lot of good because now I better do all the things I want to do – and I’ve been doing a lot of stuff. I feel an urgency now.
I could be gone tomorrow. Anybody could be gone, but that’s a heavy experience. I want to play right now, and I want to play that experience.
The list of artists with which Buckethead has performed includes Guns N’ Roses (he was a member from 2000 to 2004, Iggy Pop, Bootsy Collins, Les Claypool and many more.
Prolific doesn’t seem to be an adequate word for his own solo work. Between 1992 and today, he has released over 300 studio albums along with a live album, an EP and a number of special sets.
