Hadn't heard of the health issues, hope he's doing well. He does speak sometimes, but only through a deranged puppet named Herbie. Apparently when Guns N Roses

Hadn't heard of the health issues, hope he's doing well. He does speak sometimes, but only through a deranged puppet named Herbie. Apparently when Guns N Roses manager was working out the details of him recording and touring with them, he would only speak to the manager through Herbie. It's all just a character though of course. He did some recordings with the LOTR actors, Dominic Monaghan and Billy Boyd (Merry and Pippin) spoke a little bit about it on their podcast. He had a strict rule about no cameras or cell phones when meeting him, and they were able to hang out with him sans bucket and Herbie.