# Paul Gilbert - I opened for him and...



## Leec

Well, I'm not going to detail everything here, and having thought about what to write after what was supposed to be the biggest honour in my playing life, I've boiled this down to this:

Paul Gilbert behaved, and treated my band and everyone else, like shit and acted like a total diva/primadonna, making ridiculous demands and even said things to the effect of "do you know who I am?" and referred to himself in the third person to soundmen and event organisers.

He can go fuck himself.


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## loktide

wow, he always seemed like a really nice guy in his vids and live performances


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## drmosh

holy shit. I can't ever imagine him being like that at all.
I met him once and he was nice as can be. oh well.
not saying you are a liar of course.

I would like to hear from people who did the VIP thing with lesson too, wonder what he was like then


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## Randy

Perhaps you should've used his teeth as a drumset, and your fists as the fucking sticks.


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## jymellis

maybe he had a bad day.


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## drmosh

jymellis said:


> maybe he had a bad day.



considering the tour schedule, he was very probably worn the fuck out. not that that's an excuse really


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## petereanima

such things sadly happen from time to time, i have never met paul gilbert, but similar experiences with other musicians/bands already - you may read:
http://www.sevenstring.org/forum/li...finding-out-that-former-idols-are-idiots.html


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## jymellis

drmosh said:


> considering the tour schedule, he was very probably worn the fuck out. not that that's an excuse really



thats the only excuse. maybe the guy was tired, worn out, had a bad day. are you happy everyday you go to work? im not! i treat people kinda bad at work when i am having or had a bad day. just because the guy id famous doesnt mean he will be a ray of sunshine all the time cuz fans are around or coworkers.


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## drmosh

not really an excuse to make crazy demands and speak about yourself in third person, you know, the whole diva thing.
If he is in a pissy mood that is entirely different but it sounds like it was more than that


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## Leec

How he behaved goes way beyond a bad day of work, dude. He acted like a spoilt child, doing petty things just to make life difficult.


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## jymellis

Leec said:


> How he behaved goes way beyond a bad day of work, dude. He acted like a spoilt child, doing petty things just to make life difficult.



well dude think of it this way (no im not condoning the way he acted). he is paul gilbert. he has been a globally known guitarist and has been for decades. he is spoilt. he has been getting his way for along time. so he prolly is used to getting the red carpet treatment. add that to a hectic schedule and your prolly gonna get a moody asshat lol.


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## distressed_romeo

Holy shit, that's unexpected!

Really sorry to hear that man.

Did your set at least go well?


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## Leec

Surprisingly, it went pretty well. I think because of all the concessions we had to make and the negativity we all had prior to going onstage, we just resolved to make the best of a bad situation. We managed turn the negativity into fuel for a good performance.
We also had a very good turn out and felt some love from the audience.


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## jymellis

Leec said:


> Surprisingly, it went pretty well. I think because of all the concessions we had to make and the negativity we all had prior to going onstage, we just resolved to make the best of a bad situation. We managed turn the negativity into fuel for a good performance.
> We also had a very good turn out and felt some love from the audience.



now that is what really matters


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## Neil

wow I've always heard of PG being a really nice guy

I emailed him on his site once and he replied straight away, it was really strange for such a big guy to do.


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## hairychris

Leec said:


> Surprisingly, it went pretty well. I think because of all the concessions we had to make and the negativity we all had prior to going onstage, we just resolved to make the best of a bad situation. We managed turn the negativity into fuel for a good performance.
> We also had a very good turn out and felt some love from the audience.



That's cool.

Very sad to hear that PG was, erm, a dick...


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## Zak1233

well when i met paul on the 19th at the glasgow gig he was such a nice guy!
it probobly was due to him being worn out which has aready been said


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## Apophis

sad to hear that


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## HighGain510

Zak1233 said:


> well when i met paul on the 19th at the glasgow gig he was such a nice guy!
> it probobly was due to him being worn out which has aready been said



Yeah that sounds similar to everyone else I've heard from who has met him before too! 

Although it doesn't excuse the way he acted that day, it was probably just an off day. Sorry to hear your experience with him was less-than-stellar but all other accounts I've heard about meeting Paul or hanging out with him have been really positive.  He IS a huge name in the guitar industry so I'm sure he might have a little ego, but with what he has accomplished and his technique bowdown I would have cut him a little slack.  Again, not excusing him but it was probably just a really bad day.


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## Elysian

Leec said:


> How he behaved goes way beyond a bad day of work, dude. He acted like a spoilt child, doing petty things just to make life difficult.



one thing that i've heard about paul is that he's pretty upset that he's such a badass guitar player and yet has almost no following, unlike vai or satch... i've emailed the guy before, and he was cool as all hell, was awesome to get a personal response from him.


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## Randy

That's it... we need more details.


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## ILdÐÆMcº³

Well that is very disappointing to hear .


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## TimSE

never meet your Heros


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## Randy

TimSE said:


> never meet your Heros



FWIW, Muhammed Suiçmez was really humble, helpful, and friendly when I met him.


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## TimSE

Randy said:


> FWIW, Muhammed Suiçmez was really humble, helpful, and friendly when I met him.



Likewise actaully. they were all really cool guys. But then not EVERYONES heros are going to be dicks but i imagne 9/10 they wont be what a person was expecting so ends up being a disapointment


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## budda

I feel fortunate that when i meet bands that i really want to see, they are very polite and nice and answer my questions without being "wow this kid's an eager beaver" about it.

sorry to hear that dude


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## Scali

I can only say that Paul Gilbert is the last person I'd expect it from.


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## distressed_romeo

Elysian said:


> one thing that i've heard about paul is that he's pretty upset that he's such a badass guitar player and yet has almost no following, unlike vai or satch... i've emailed the guy before, and he was cool as all hell, was awesome to get a personal response from him.



If he genuinely does feel that way then frankly it's pretty pathetic, as the guy's had a career that most musicians would kill for (respect of his peers, recording contracts, teaching...).


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## Leec

distressed_romeo said:


> If he genuinely does feel that way then frankly it's pretty pathetic, as the guy's had a career that most musicians would kill for (respect of his peers, recording contracts, teaching...).



 There are plenty of guitarists I listen to who are at least as good as him, if not better, who have nowhere near the profile he has.


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## Trespass

I'm pretty shocked to be honest.

Please, more details


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## Demeyes

I wouldn't have expected that from Paul Gilbert at all. He seems like a really sound guy, very funny and all that. Everyone does have their off days though.


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## eleven59

Could be he's the moody type. I know I get a little bitchy when things aren't going well, and pre-show is a pretty stressful time, working on a limited amount of time to try and get everything ready for the show, if things aren't going well, there's a chance something beyond your control might make you look bad, and that's the last thing you want. 

Not excusing it, just offering a possible explanation.


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## Misanthropy

wow, and i thought paul was one of those people who would never ever act like that, but i guess people can have one of those days.


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## 7 Strings of Hate

thats crazy, he seems like such a nice guy


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## hufschmid

damn i was a fan of his youtube videos.... i dont like big headed people


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## TonalArchitect

This is disappointing. 

I expected better from him.


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## Nick1

Last time I checked Paul is human and humans make mistakes. Who knows what kinda pressure Paul was under or what was going on for him that day/week... Sure it doesnt excuse being an asshole, As Im sure we all have had a moment of acting just like that once or twice in our lifetime.


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## shadowlife

Write him an email about the situation, and ask him for an explanation. Worst thing that can happen is you never hear from him, but who knows, he may write back and set things straight.


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## AK DRAGON

I've never met Paul Gilbert. Though it's surprising to hear that after all I have read about him to go completely 180 on ppl. Tired? bad day? grueling long tour? Closet BiPolar? I am as shocked as you all are.


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## jjjsssxxx

That's really unexpected and disappointing.

Even though he's had a great career and touring can wear good people down, refering to himself in the third person? who the fuck does he think he is? Bono?


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## Shani

plz more details


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## Oogadee Boogadee

Elysian said:


> one thing that i've heard about paul is that he's pretty upset that he's such a badass guitar player and yet has almost no following, unlike vai or satch... i've emailed the guy before, and he was cool as all hell, was awesome to get a personal response from him.



paul made the mistake of, from the beginning, portraying himself as a goofball (like his instructional videos - while funny, make it hard for him to be taken seriously on some subconscious level)... and he's always looked like a slob who just rolled out of bed after falling asleep in a grundgy flannel shirt.

all those other guys - vai, satch, yngwie, etc - look and act the part in their dress and body language alone. when you see a guys like them, you already feel like you're around a rock star. when you see paul, you're like 'that dude is pretty funny and strange sense of humor'.


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## silentrage

Oogadee Boogadee said:


> paul made the mistake of, from the beginning, portraying himself as a goofball (like his instructional videos - while funny, make it hard for him to be taken seriously on some subconscious level)... and he's always looked like a slob who just rolled out of bed after falling asleep in a grundgy flannel shirt.
> 
> all those other guys - vai, satch, yngwie, etc - look and act the part in their dress and body language alone. when you see a guys like them, you already feel like you're around a rock star. when you see paul, you're like 'that dude is pretty funny and strange sense of humor'.



I personally think that should work in his favor.
I mean Paul gets on stage and cracks some goofy jokes and acts very casual, if you didn't know him you'd probably think it might be some kind of a joke, then he starts playing and you just start shitting BALLS.

On the other hand with Yngwie's attitude if he plays anything less than fcking amazing, you'd probably think he's a total tool. (Which he's probably not, it's just his stage personality I think. )


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## HammerAndSickle

Not to mention who in the name of hell could take Vai seriously back in his dreads-and-neon-Jems days *rofl*


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## Oogadee Boogadee

silentrage said:


> I personally think that should work in his favor.



i wish it would - i like the simple down-to-earth types... but 'gods' aren't supposed to be 'earthly'....


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## Luan

Maybe he got angry for some reason that day
we never knew how Vai or Satch are when they are angry


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## WillingWell

silentrage said:


> On the other hand with Yngwie's attitude if he plays anything less than fcking amazing, you'd probably think he's a total tool. (Which he's probably not, it's just his stage personality I think. )





I've heard from several different people that have met Yngwie that he's got a huge ego and acts like a pompous ass regularly. My uncle met him at a guitar store and he refused to be in a picture or sign anything. Then a guitar store owner I worked for went to one his concerts (a guy who has met people like Vai and Gilbert before they were huge) and again he refused to sign anything. The guy thinks he's God's gift to guitar or something.


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## Anthony

Wow, that's really disappointing. While it's hard to get a real judge of character based on meeting him once, it's still unprofessional and rude to act the way he did.

Seriously, send him an email, that'd be fucking bad ass. If he's a dick when he replies, goatse that mother fucker!


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## Luan

I readed that Yngwye signed "play Fender" in a lot of ibanez guitars that the owners asked to sign them.
I would kill him in that moment, really.


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## DaveCarter

^ Id rather just carve the Ibanez logo in to his forehead with a Jazz III


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## Anthony

Luan said:


> I readed that Yngwye signed "play Fender" in a lot of ibanez guitars that the owners asked to sign them.
> I would kill him in that moment, really.



I fucking love Yngwie!  That's what you get for getting your guitar signed.


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## Harry

Really did surprise me to hear that he (Gilbert) acted in such a manner


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## RenegadeDave

I rather like the idea of Yngwie being a complete condescending primadonna. It makes him kind of like an inside joke that everyone gets to share in.


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## Luan

Seems like those fools are dead inside. There are some great guitarists that are great people too, not only because of their musicianship. Steve vai, John Mclaughlin, Allan Holdsworth, for mentioning some.


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## yevetz

Luan said:


> Seems like those fools are dead inside. There are some great guitarists that are great people too, not only because of their musicianship. Steve vai, John Mclaughlin, Allan Holdsworth, for mentioning some.



I know one person, that I was work with few times, who know Vai personaly and actually they are friend, and that person is a boss of company that sells Ibanez in all post USSR countries and some others like Latvia Litva....and countries of that district. So actually that person is good friend of Vai coz he going to meet Vai for few times a year and living in his house for few weeks. So as I know Vai is friendly and awesome guy with awesome humor sense....

But when I read first post..I was like wow .....I really don't think that he can do that


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## Luan

do what?
are you talking about gilbert?


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## st2012

Really dissapointing to hear that he acted like that. He would be one of the last people I would expect to be a dick. Any chance we can get some more details?


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## Sebastian

yevetz said:


> I know one person, that I was work with few times, who know Vai personaly and actually they are friend, and that person is a boss of company that sells Ibanez in all post USSR countries and some others like Latvia Litva....and countries of that district. So actually that person is good friend of Vai coz he going to meet Vai for few times a year and living in his house for few weeks. So as I know Vai is friendly and awesome guy with awesome humor sense....
> 
> But when I read first post..I was like wow .....I really don't think that he can do that



Its Paul Gilbert Vova.. Paul Gilbert


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## rmp0012002

I would email him about it. He responded to an email I sent a while back and he came across as a really good guy.


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## Stealthdjentstic

Should have asked him if it was his time of the month


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## Regor

TimSE said:


> never meet your Heros



I dunno about that... I've become really good friends with the guys in Manticora, and they're definately heroes of mine. I met Mattias "IA" Eklundh the 2nd year he played ProgPowerUSA, in the lobby of the hotel we both happened to be staying at and he went up to his room to put away his guitars and then came back down and had some beers with myself and my friends. Very cool dude. We just say down and bullshitted and stuff for I dunno, 30-45 mins? Really nice guy. And once I got a meet & greet pass to a DT concert, and met Petrucci. My brother and I got down on our knees and did the whole Wayne's World "We're not worthy!" thing. He laughed and we talked a while. Nice enough guy. Met Portnoy a couple of times. Really nice. Everyone in Divine Heresy are really cool guys too! And Rusty Cooley was beyond nice! And Echoes of Eternity are really cool people too.

I guess it depends on 'who' the person is.


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## hairychris

Luan said:


> I readed that Yngwye signed "play Fender" in a lot of ibanez guitars that the owners asked to sign them.
> I would kill him in that moment, really.



To be honest I think that this is fucking hilarious. I imagine, though, that Yng is being dead serious which makes it funnier...


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## Luan

hairychris said:


> To be honest I think that this is fucking hilarious. I imagine, though, that Yng is being dead serious which makes it funnier...



It's funny for Yngwie, but not for the owner of the guitar. Of course you can't sell that guitar anymore as it is.


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## Anthony

Luan said:


> It's funny for Yngwie, but not for the owner of the guitar. Of course you can't sell that guitar anymore as it is.



No shit you can't sell the guitar for the same price, you got a bunch of dudes to write on it!  I doubt Yngwie forced the guy to let him sign it.


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## AeonSolus

Maybe he was mestruating?


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## chanchan

Paul Gilbert is the best guitarist... that is my Idol..


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## Mattayus

Leec said:


> How he behaved goes way beyond a bad day of work, dude. He acted like a spoilt child, doing petty things just to make life difficult.



Yeah, to be honest, i get sick of hearing the phrase "it's tough on tour, he/she/they was/were probably just exhausted". You can tell when it's tiredness, and you can tell when someone's busy or having a bad day, in the same way that you can tell if that's an inherent part of their personality.

Being tired and being busy doesn't make you talk about yourself in the third person, and be condescending. If someone's snappy, short tempered, a bit moody and quite unapproachable then yes, those are the signs of a busy tired person. Being a prima donna and a brat, is not.

Those people that defend these people by saying "i met him and he was real nice" forget that they were doing PR, effectively. They wouldn't dare act like they do backstage.

This thread makes me cry inside, and it's the one thing I didn't expect from Gilberto.


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## ShadyDavey

Everyone has a bad day occassionally and honestly, this is the first negative comment I think I've ever read about Paul so is it likely he's a pompous ass or perhaps just a human being having a bad day after touring and being dog tired?

Statistically even based on this thread alone its more than likely the latter....

As for Yngwie - I have it on very good authority that he only really gives respect to quality musicians...this from a man who _is_ a quality musician and has interviewed Yng on more than a few occassions. Heck, I've even heard tapes of Yngiwe playing Hendrix unplugged on his strat and he sounded anything *but *an asshole even to the point of laughing at his own singing....clearly he treats some of his fans quite badly and is perhaps given to the prima donna syndrome more than other guitarists. Ego does that to a person...and with his ability its almost understandable.


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## AeonSolus

chanchan said:


> Paul Gilbert is the best guitarist... that is my Idol..



yes


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## Stealthdjentstic

Another flawless bump. :fail:


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## DomitianX

Luan said:


> I readed that Yngwye signed "play Fender" in a lot of ibanez guitars that the owners asked to sign them.
> I would kill him in that moment, really.



I think thats funny as hell. Why would someone want him to sign and Ibby anyways? I never understood when people want people to sign products they dont endorse. I think its kind of disrespectful to want Yng to sign an Ibby. Kind of like smacking him in the face, "I dont like what you endorse, but sign my shit anyways"

Would you want Babe Ruth to sign DiMaggio's baseball card? Of course not. Why would you do the same for anything else?

But thats just me. Im not a big autograph whore anyways. I could care less. I met Pablo once after a Mr Big concert and chatted with him and the other guys for a half hour or so while he was signing everything under the sun. Very pleasant guy. They all were.


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## troyguitar

WillingWell said:


> I've heard from several different people that have met Yngwie that he's got a huge ego and acts like a pompous ass regularly. My uncle met him at a guitar store and he refused to be in a picture or sign anything. Then a guitar store owner I worked for went to one his concerts (a guy who has met people like Vai and Gilbert before they were huge) and again he refused to sign anything. The guy thinks he's God's gift to guitar or something.



Yngwie _IS_ God's gift to guitar 

I only met him briefly one time about 5 years ago (whenever he was opening for Dio) and he was cool though.


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## hairychris

Yaddayaddayaddayaddayaddayaddayaddayaddayaddayaddayaddayaddayaddayaddayaddayaddayaddayaddayaddayaddayaddayaddayaddayaddayaddayaddayaddayaddayaddayaddayaddayaddayaddayaddayaddayaddayaddayaddayaddayaddayaddayaddayadda

Whatever....


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## bulletbass man

eleven59 said:


> Could be he's the moody type. I know I get a little bitchy when things aren't going well, and pre-show is a pretty stressful time, working on a limited amount of time to try and get everything ready for the show, if things aren't going well, there's a chance something beyond your control might make you look bad, and that's the last thing you want.
> 
> Not excusing it, just offering a possible explanation.


 
Yeah I can be a total dick If I get angry (which sadly happens a little too easily). While I'm getnerally a nice guy with a sense of humor I get seriously pissed off by stupidity. I've walked off stage during soundchecks before If I get pissed off with the sound people and have disagreements with them. Only difference is rather than argue to get my way I basically do it my way anyways. And if I can't then I just let the sound suffer cause it's out of my control. But Paul has spent decades in the business and is the big name act. He by now has earned the right to get his way.


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## bulb

so like, details pleeeez pretty preeettty pleeeeeieieiz!

im never a dick no matter what, even when im furiously mad i still fart rainbows!


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## yingmin

Randy said:


> FWIW, Muhammed Suiçmez was really humble, helpful, and friendly when I met him.


One of my friends recently told me that Muhammad pulled a knife on a coworker of his, because the coworker was running sound at a show Necrophagist was playing, and he told Necrophagist's sound guy to "eat AIDS".


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## Raoul Duke

yingmin said:


> One of my friends recently told me that Muhammad pulled a knife on a coworker of his, because the coworker was running sound at a show Necrophagist was playing, and he told Necrophagist's sound guy to "eat AIDS".



So he pulled a knife on a sound guy because he insulted one of Necrophagists crew???

If this is true, *makes note to self never to fuck with Muhammad* 

"Eat AIDS"? That has to be one of the weirdest insults i have heard


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## Scar Symmetry

I've heard good and bad things about many guitarists; Karl Sanders, Muhammed Suicmez, Paul Gilbert, Yngwie Malmsteen, and countless others. 

at the end of the day, don't take what someone else says about someone on face value. what they find intolerable, you might tolerable. what they see as 'nice', you may see as 'nasty'.

at the end of the day, if you haven't met someone, you don't know what they're like. even then, as has been mentioned before, famous people have good days and bad days, good moods and bad moods, just like anyone else.

if our favourite artists didn't get bad moods I doubt they'd make the brutal heavy music we love listening to!


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## Maniacal

I spoke to Muhammed on several occasions, we insulted each other a lot and he never pulled a knife out on me... although I did not make aids jokes. Maybe thats the key.


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## Scar Symmetry

Maniacal said:


> I spoke to Muhammed on several occasions, we insulted each other a lot and he never pulled a knife out on me... although I did not make aids jokes. Maybe thats the key.



I heard that on that tour you were teaching Muhammed to sweep properly?


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## Maniacal

Thats not true. He was saying he had stiffness in his arms before he played so I just gave him some exercises to do, which helped apparently. 

I think Muhammed is a pretty clean sweeper already.


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## signalgrey

Paul Gilbert mean?....
i dont doubt it but. so hard to envision.


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## Scar Symmetry

Maniacal said:


> Thats not true. He was saying he had stiffness in his arms before he played so I just gave him some exercises to do, which helped apparently.
> 
> I think Muhammed is a pretty clean sweeper already.



I'd say so yeah.

pretty cool that you helped Muhammed with warming up.


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## AvantGuardian

Just saw this thread and I'm really surprised. Back when I was at MI I got to meet Paul when he was teaching a master class and he was super friendly and nice to everyone. Maybe he's a different guy when it comes to his live setup.


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## Anthony

yingmin said:


> One of my friends recently told me that Muhammad pulled a knife on a coworker of his, because the coworker was running sound at a show Necrophagist was playing, and he told Necrophagist's sound guy to "eat AIDS".


Did he yell "Stabwound"?

Lame joke. I'm leaving now.


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## Stealthdjentstic

Anthony said:


> Did he yell "Stabwound"?
> 
> Lame joke. I'm leaving now.



I laughed


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## Isan

BUMP ...DETAILS NAUGH!


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## drmosh

Isan said:


> BUMP ...DETAILS NAUGH!



this thread is ancient, he's not going to post any details and frankly it doesn't matter either.


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## HighGain510

drmosh said:


> this thread is ancient, he's not going to post any details and frankly it doesn't matter either.



^This.  P.S. Calan - it is spelled "NOW", not nao or naugh or whatever retarded spelling people want to throw up here. The whole "lolcats spelling + poor grammar" thing got pretty lame on here, think that was addressed in the note posted by DDDorian on forum etiquette recently as well, might want to read it.  *sigh* /rant

I still find this whole topic a bit lame as it seems to be a solo account of what happened and as stated previously by myself and many, many others I've never seen anything out there on Paul Gilbert saying he was anything less than an awesome guy.


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