T1B

Bwah, first two on my mind were Vai and EVH and dag gummit there they were at the top!

Andy Summers should be in the top five.

His self-love is legendary.

Random thoughts regarding that list...

-While I certainly understand Vai's inclusion, I thought Michael Angelo Batio would be a dead-nuts lock to nab the top spot. Vai is douchey in that he's an overt showman on stage, sure, but otherwise he's basically about the least douchey dude on the planet. He's humble, soft-spoken, gracious, generous, and eminently decent. Conversely, by all accounts Batio is just a straight-up arrogant dick, plus he still sports the same ridiculous look he trotted out back in the '80s. He hasn't progressed one iota, in any sense.

I did laugh though at this bit about how Vai...

"You can almost feel how insignificant he thinks you are with every note he plays. You are blessed to hear him even turn his amp on."

That was excellent.

-As was noted numerous times in the comments section, the article's author doesn't know his ass from a hole in the ground. Mayer is not a shredder in any sense, much less an accomplished jazz shredder. Satch never gave lessons to Yngwie.

-Speaking of Mayer, the bit about how he jizzed in his pants made me laugh.

-Not sure that I agree about EVH's inclusion here. He doesn't really exhibit any of the tendencies normally associated with douchey guitarists. It seems that the author's main indictment of the guy centered around "Eruption" and how influential it was to other guitarists of the era. Well, sure, but that doesn't make EVH a douche.

-C.C. DeVille was a full-on embarrassment. He wasn't even good enough to be douchey.

-Did Rick Nielson ever actually play the bottom neck on that five-neck monstrosity? If so, I'd like to know how he did it, considering the fact that normal human arms don't reach that far. In order to get that bottom neck high enough to play it, the rest of the guitar would need to be hiked up to dude's face.

-I'm surprised Jeff Beck didn't make the list. Overblown histrionics? Check. Chronic diva behavior? Absolutely. Self-important as all get out? Yeppers. Hell, the Rock Guitar Douche parody that is the Nigel Tufnel character was based almost entirely on Jeff Beck.

Whatever. I love these lists.

Van wrote:He's humble, soft-spoken, gracious, generous, and eminently decent.

if he's gracious and generous, then why does he come off as a pretentious asshole?
misunderstood?

When does he ever come across as a pretentious asshole, other than for his facial expressions and other physical displays while playing?

Seriously, have you ever heard the guy speak? About anything? The subject doesn't even matter. He's always supremely even-keeled and sort of New Age hippyish. He's also generous to a fault when it comes to praising others while deflecting praise directed towards himself. I'm not just talking interviews either. That's how he is in real life, when no cameras are rolling and no mics are recording.

Good luck finding anyone who has a bad word to say about him, other than jokes about hair-flipping, stage outfits, guitar wankery, etc.

Same with Satch, actually. They're two of the most down-to-earth, decent people you could ever hope to meet. Neither guy has an ounce of real douchiness.

Van wrote:
Good luck finding anyone who has a bad word to say about him, other than jokes about hair-flipping, stage outfits, guitar wankery, etc.

http://joecefalu.com/

a buddy of mine here in boise that was hired by Vai to organize some gear for Steven under the premise of "making $1,000" for an afternoons work....when it was said and done, Vai paid Joe and another guy $8/hr for a total of $72 for nine hours worth of work......

joe told me that while the guy is a great guitar player, he's a dick as a person.....this is first hand

Okay, you win. You found a guy who claims to have gotten jobbed by Vai on an Idaho work project.

I'll stick with the overwhelming consensus throughout the industry regarding the guy, as well as what I witnessed during actual first-hand encounters I've had with him. Having dealt with him in person twice, he was everything I described both times. Seeing the way he also worked so selflessly with my friend's young son to help him along in his guitar studies, same deal.

Anecdotal nothings, to be sure, but they jibe with everything I've been told by people who work with him all the time and really know him.

Nonetheless, I concede that Mgo will always be able to point to this as all the visual evidence he'll ever need...

How the fuck is Yngwie Malmsteen stuck in 9th place?