Seems ya can't swing a mexistrat these days without hitting someone who's got a beef with an artists (or anyone's) character.

I've been surfing these guitar sites for 2 years and the first thing I noticed was the animosity towards Mike Fuller. It seems a lot of fellas have a gripe with him. I know his pedals are not cheap, that people expect good customer service, etc. All I can (or should) judge him on is his products, which are just fine with me. Hell, i'm not too crazy about his guitar playing, but who cares, right ?

Ok, so-more to the point: I simply don't understand why folks care about whether Artist X or Pedal Maker Z is a pain in the ass, pretentious jerk off. Perhaps it's 'cos I live in a huge city filled with assholes, but assholes are easily ignored, it seems to me.Frank Sinatra was perhaps the most despicable musician of his time, but no one can match him. Dont like him ? Well, let me put it this way--Bryan Adams might be the SWELLEST guy on god's gray earth, but I'd kill everyone twice before listening to his crappy sub-Springsteen music.

Anyhooooo, I'm just thinking-judge on the end result. Perhaps it's too much to consider Fuller, et al, "artistes", but I believe artists often make work to reveal their humanity in ways they couldn't do otherwise. If The Strokes are rich prep school kids, well, so what ? Being raised wealthy is no picnic, contrary to what the amerikan dream tells us. Way i figger it, if you name the majority of great, great geniuses, chances are that they were AWFUL human beings: picasso, wagner, miles, michelangelo, and of course,,,barbra streisand ! (i'm kidding, of course, about babs).

well...FLAME ON, brothers !

I've always wondered:
What if I met(insert favorite influential musicians name) and they turned out to be an asshole? Would it effect what I thought of their music? Just a thought.

Lawrence D.

Well, hmmmmm...

Picasso: A notorious womanizer. Zero tolerance for BS. Reinvented the face of Art more times than anybody who has ever stalked the earth (I like the Blue Period). Scared to death of dying. Worked incessantly in an attempt to cheat death. Found himself in revolving rifts with family and former lovers. Had huge problems with his father because Dad realized that his son was not a classicist, and was in possession of far more talent than himself.

Wagner: A groundbreaking prototype for the title of pretentious jerk. A self-proclaimed "visionary thinker". Forever changed the destiny of opera, by fusing music, drama, myth, and legend. His most ambitious work was based on Norse-Germanic myth and lasted over fifteen hours. Not an easy guy to get along with.

Miles: Brought melody back to jazz when it had gotten to the point of being sheer mathematics. Instrumental in forwarding the movement of modal music and "fusion" music. Brought jazz and rock elements together via the talents of Mike Stern, John Scofield, and many other notables. Was, by most accounts, the person first universally associated with the slang phrase, "cool". Terse and demanding on the bandstand; turned his back on his audience. Fought heroin addiction and suc***bed to other addictions off and on his entire life. Constantly found himself in race-related altercations and never backed down. Considered "difficult".

Michaelangelo: A havyweight intellectual and poet, in addition to his obvious artistic contributions. Ridiculously educated. His interpretation of a "supreme being" was that of a deity of fire and ice. Saw the world as being basically corrupt. Absolutely detested Leonardo da Vinci, considered him a flake, lacking in focus and perserverance.

Mike Fuller: Never met him, will probably never drink a cold beer with him. I have several of his stompboxes, they sound fairly bitchin' to me. No problems.

Babs Streisand: She refused to have a nose job because she thought it might screw up her voice. That's kinda cool.

Ol' Blue Eyes Sinatra: Well, what you said.

Hey stratoplaster, I'm not gonna be the one to flame ya. The people you mentioned found a way to get from point A to point B by filtering out the crap. Were they / are they nice people? Gee whiz, I haven't the slightest idea. Maybe they were / are nice to the people that didn't / don't try to suck the lifeblood out of 'em. I'm with ya. If anything should be scrutinized in a place like this, it should be little boxes that make weird noises, not the personalities of people who create, use, critique, or enjoy them. Nice post. Peace.

Huh? Well anyway, suc***bed is a real word that means "yielded". Not a sexual reference, for the record.

THe sound byte has been there for over a year!