GREG PUCIATO VS. MTV

Wednesday, January 13th, 2010 at 10:29am by

puciato muscles

The Dillinger Escape Plan’s Greg Puciato is ripped. But it would never even occur to me to accuse the dude of taking steroids, for the following reasons:

  1. He might kick my ass.
  2. To make an accusation like that requires something known as “evidence,” and I have none. In fact, I’ve never even heard a rumor about the guy taking ‘roids.
  3. He might kick my ass.
  4. It seems perfectly feasible to me that Puciato spends the hours and hours of downtime that come with touring working out.
  5. He might kick my ass really, really bad.

None of these issues gave pause to James Montgomery, though. I have no idea who Montgomery is, but in what has to be the stupidest act of 2010 so far, he’s written a piece for MTV in which he accuses ten musicians – including Puciato, Trent Reznor, and Glenn Danzig – of taking steroids. “Proof?” Montgomery actually bothers to raise the issue in his intro. “Who needs it when you’ve got pure suspicion?”

As far as I know, Reznor and Danzig haven’t weighed-in (no pun intended) yet about this absolutely moronic article – but Puciato has, and he ain’t happy about. He tells our friends at Noisecreep:

“Irresponsible? Yes. Understandable? Of course, because he obviously doesn’t know what it feels like to have actual willpower and drive. I don’t know what it feels like to be a total pussy who manifests his own inadequacies by accusing other people of cheating in order to achieve something of notice.”

“Unfortunately for him, they don’t have ‘writer potions’ that he can take to better himself at his chosen hobby. While this isn’t the first time that someone has presumed that I take steroids, it is the first time that I can think of that it’s been publicly presumed. Although I usually take it as a compliment, it borders on slander when done in this way, and in actuality, it’s more of a shame that we live in a time in which people assume that you need to cheat somehow in order to actually achieve anything worthwhile.

“Your article says more about you, James, than it says about me. Regardless, thanks for the publicity softball pitch, and you can thank me in return. Keep practicing the whole ‘writing’ thing, cause it apparently doesn’t come that naturally to you. And meanwhile I’ll go pop all the huge zits that I have on my back, beat the shit out of my girlfriend for having a guy friend, start a fight at a sports bar, drunk-bang a bunch of 19-year-old sorority chicks and crush 20 Wendy’s double stacks.”

And what else is there to say, really? I’m not sure if Montgomery and Viacom saved themselves from a lawsuit by admitting that they have none of that pesky evidence stuff, but if I were one of the dudes on this list, I’d be thinking about getting litigious right about now. Then again, Puciato’s barbed comments might be all the revenge he feels he needs.

Of course, he can also always just kick Montgomery’s ass really, really bad.

-AR

Thanks to Donnie Graham for the tip!

  • farts

    HAHAHAHA. High five for the last sentence of his response. God that was great.

  • tyler09

    Revolver did an interview with Danzig a few years back. Dude says he just eats a shit ton of red meat and works out constantly

    • Double D

      Also, have you seen Danzig lately? If homeboy WAS on steroids, he ain’t now…

      • Dementer

        A-fucking-men!

  • myke

    baby mama drama

  • RockOutWithMy…YouKnow

    Not only is this man one of the best frontmen out there, the dude has a sense of humor as evidenced by his last sentence.

  • http://themetalgrinder.com M Kraatz

    That story is barely passable for Perez Hilton; I can’t believe anyone at MTV authorized that shit, and it’s terrible that Greg would be victimized solely because he’s a badass.

  • Fufkin

    All joking aside, he should be held accountable for writing this. Of course it’s completely unprofessional to see MTV commissioning this but it’s also slander.

    • MetalAC13

      I’m SHOCKED that MTV published that.

      They (Viacom) can (and really should be) sued for libel. MTV would be on such a level of fucked. I’d try to be smart and say why they can be sued for libel, but I don’t really remember the specifics of the court cases – basically, Greg isn’t really a public figure and the comments can be taken seriously.

      The main thing is that there’s a fine line between freedom of speech and printing bold lies.

  • Facebook User

    whatever. MTV is a propaganda machine throwing kids on the wrong track every day.

    it would make sense for them to spread a bunch of lies about a band thats about to come out with an amazing album, so that kids dont pay attention, and just keep buying all the bullshit on the top 30

    fuck MTV

    fuck them up their stupid asses

    • RockOutWithMy…YouKnow

      Completely agree!
      It just sucks I might be forced to watch MTV for the first time in at least 10 years if what I hear about a Dawn of the Dead TV show is true.
      Those cocks better not fuck it up!

      • John

        mtv is not capable of doing anything right.

        • RockOutWithMy…YouKnow

          Yeah, I know. I guess I’ll just have to put all my Zombie love into The Walking Dead on AMC when that comes out.

        • MartyJannetty

          Yeah ur right because all of the Oddities programs were garbage, so was Beavis and Butt-Head, MTV Unplugged, Daria, Buzzkill, and The State, were all crap. Just complete crap. *sarcasm*
          MTV has created excellent programming, it’s just this ability has disappeared.

          • RockOutWithMy…YouKnow

            And how long ago was that? Jackass has been the only thing worth watching in the past 10 years on that channel.

        • d00shc00gr

          second

    • stu1

      I’m not defending MTV and am not a fan but that theory is retarded. First off, this is bringing attention to a band, so it’s not throwing kids off. Second, why would steroid accusations throw someone off of a band? It’s not a sports team. Do you think MTV is actually trying to foil the careers of small bands who aren’t on the mainstream radar?? Really?? I mean, think about it, with all your power.

      • RockOutWithMy…YouKnow

        Yeah, I’m not agreeing with them trying to fuck up DEP’s record sales. But I do agree with the propaganda point. They purvey all of these bullshit lifestyles on their “reality” shows that these fucking idiots all over the country completely buy into. It’s disturbing how many people on my facebook feed are in love with Jersey Shore. I mean jesus christ, what the hell is wrong with people. I’d expect it out of 15 or 16 year olds, but not people pushing 30 like myself.
        *cliche alert*
        MTV is leading the dumbing down of society.

        • matt

          i like jersey shore because i like watching morons be morons every once in a while. no one seriously enjoys it as good tv.

        • http://Myspace.com/wearecarnevil AEnema175

          If i find that anyone i know watches that shitty show or any of those other shows i delete them automatically and stop talking to them. Fuck mtv, fuck vh1, fuck fuse, fuck all former music channels. I would gladly live without jackass and the state (even though i love them) if it meant that mtv (and by association, vh1) didn’t exist.

  • John

    That dude is terrifying, I cannot imagine who would want to talk shit to a dude that can pick up an ampeg 8×10 with one hand.

  • smear

    something about the phrase “written a piece for MTV” that makes me laugh.

  • Jason

    Not a DEP fan since a long time ago, but GP’s response was awesome. A verbal beatdown that the writer will feel for a long time. Nicely done!

  • bearbomb

    I love the trend that’s forming in America lately. If you’re in shape, you must be taking steroids. Nobody can just, I dunno, work out anymore. Like, “there’s no way you have the time to work out, you must be a cheater.” It’s almost like saying it’s better to be a fat, fucking slob like 90% of the country, at least your being honest, right? Stupid America.

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Jason-John-Crispen/100000169530540 Jason John Crispen

    seemed to me that the original article was written as sarcasm. had it been from another source besides mtv (maybe even this site) people would have laughed about it. but since everyone hates mtv because of what they’ve become the last 10 (maybe even more) years, then they let them have it. can’t believe everyone got that riled up about it. of course when mtv has as many mindless idiots thinking lady gaga and hollywood undead are music, i could see how greg would be worried that people would actually believe that he was on steroids.

  • http://www.hibernum.net hibernum

    Danzig on steroids? How do you explain this:

    http://danzigisfat.ytmnd.com/

    Yeah, thought so!

    • http://hookinmouth.net Hookinmouth.net

      You have to give Glen a break. The dude is over 50 and that picture has been doctored a hair.

  • Me

    well there’s no way to know for sure. it all depends on how jacked someone is and how long they’ve been working out. if Puciato has been working out for years and years and eating diligently, there’s not reason why he can’t be as big as he is. it’s with the people who come out of nowhere looking like they’ve worked out for 5-10 years that make you suspicious. while we’ll never have definitive proof, there are some cases where there’s not denying drug use (e.g. carrot top’s obvious drub abuse and fucked up/deformed shoulders from synthol).

  • wata

    Written by an aging hipster who probably spent too much time in grad school.

    • aids robot

      mtv is the exact opposite of hipster

  • Coop

    Well, Trent Reznor started working out a shitload after he got off heroin. Apparently a lot of former addicts do something like working out obsessively to fill the hole left by drug abuse. And Puciato probably just works out a lot. Not necessarily steroids. It kind of strikes me as funny that they didn’t mention some of the guys from Rammstein, haha.

    • Andy Synn

      Til from Rammstein is a scarily large dude.

      Perhaps the writer feared his german wrath? If you say something, they’ll come get you…

      • akeldama

        Til used to be an olympic swimmer if ive heard correctly.

  • key

    I’m really baffled about this. I thought it was a joking piece. Did you see his reasoning for trent reznor? About being married to that busted chic? I’m pretty sure the article was supposed to be a joke. Greg’s response is certainly hilarious but damn. A sense of humor goes a long way.

  • Genial Gentile

    Greg’s response is great. Admittedly, I didn’t read the MTV article, but I don’t see how it matters if a musician is taking/has taken steroids. It’s not like it would give them any kind of advantage like it would for an athlete. Am I missing something here?

    • stu1

      Exactly.

  • Kuranes

    I get this sometimes – I have been lifting weights 4 times a week for the last 12 years or so. People say “what are you, on steroids or something?” and I only weigh about 210. If I were on steroids, you could add another 20-30 pounds on top of that. Weak-willed people have trouble conceiving that something may be achieved through actual hard work.

    • cougar party

      Yeah, this is a state of mind that is symptomatic of our culture. Most people resent others for succeeding and often choose to believe that they are lying or cheating to achieve their goals rather than considering the possibility that they worked harder.

      Think how girls treat other girls who are in better shape then them. They will say all kinds of things like they are anorexic sluts or they take illegal diet pills (aka cheating). It’s NEVER that they might actually just exercise 3-4 times a week and watch what they eat. Same goes with guys. It’s always the steroid comment.

      It goes further than just physical appearance too. Anyone who has been financially successful in life is also villianized. Most people would rather believe that they cheated, used, or stole from people than believe that perhaps they just worked hard for what they have.

      I find this kind of attitude pathetic and sad. People cannot accept that others may be able to succeed where they could not on a level playing field.
      .

      • Alex_P

        Not only that, but you can tell if someone’s cheated, because they always seem excessive and have disproportionate body parts. For example, if a chick is actually in shape, she’ll have a nice body, but anorexic and coked-up girls just look sick. I’ve been working out for two years (since 16) and it’s basically changed my life. At the same time, I’m not huge.

        All respect due to Greg, discipline must be hard to maintain with such a hectic schedule. Unless I’m wrong, he’s an edger. Seems that would contradict steroids. And he’s jacked, but still looks normal. In that picture, it looks like he’s flexing.

  • Hyperkulturemia

    I know the article is supposed to be somewhat tongue in cheek, this is completely irresponsible and tantamount to defamation of character. Even if these dudes do take steroids or PEDs (which I highly doubt, they’re performers, not athletes) they should be praised for their physical achievements, not eyed suspiciously.

  • dot

    many musicians work out during down times on tour and even before the show. they need it to maintain their health and stamina on the road. i think jason bittner of shadows fall posted something like this on moderndrummer.com.

    greg puciato probably works out harder than other dudes because he needs it to keep his energy up and maintain his image.

  • pariah

    the original article just seems like a joke gone bad to me. not that it was a good joke to start with either.

    off topic, what the fuck is up with noisecreep? its like reading news about “underground” music through a corporate filter. i guess that doesnt make any sense, but thats the only way i can desribe it. remember the winamp post they posted a while back too? think it was mentioned on this site

  • Facebook User

    lmfao

  • Facebook User

    surprised no mention of zakk wylde. I mean, he’s pretty much admitted to roiding up

  • blah

    greg vs the writer on twitter

    http://bettween.com/GregPuciato/positivnegativ

    • RockOutWithMy…YouKnow

      I know it’s hard to get somebody’s tone from reading what they write, especially on twitter, but all I can picture is someone shaking and stuttering like crazy while writing that.

    • Genial Gentile

      Good of him to admit his mistake and try to make it right.

  • change

    Greg Puciato will pull some Superjail shit on your ass if you fuck with him. I’m talking ripping the skin off your body and feeding your organs to birds.

    • matt

      love superjail

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Harrington-Neil-Sauer/677600672 Harrington Neil Sauer

    Best reply ever, Puciato’s such a champion

  • http://folkblackdeath.tumblr.com jc

    Go back to the original article, people…….there is a relatively lengthy update from the author stating that the original post was all a complete joke and that he has since contacted Puciato to apologize.

    • Facebook User

      1

  • Robert

    Greg is awesome. He should show them his balls to prove his point… and show MTV what they lack.

  • terrybeans84

    Total bull shit. None of the guys mentioned do any type of roids. I’ve been pretty involved in the body building community the last few years and you can tell who juices and who does’nt. A doctor told me once that a sure way to tell if a dude is juicing is too look at the head. There is no exercise in the world that would cause a dudes forhead to get larger. On a more positive note I think its great that so many dudes in the metal community are physically active. I think it gives the metal community some more credibility besides the sterotypical pale, skinny drug addicted person its made out to be sometimes.

    • SonOF

      Good points. Barry Bonds’ head size increased dramatically in his 70 home run years. It was so weird looking.

  • SonOF

    I was suspicious of Puciato in regard to steroids not because he was big and ripped, but because he seemed to gain a huge amount of size very quickly. However, I have no reason to not take him at his word, so if he says he just works hard at the gym, then more power to him. It’s not like he made some Mark McGwire type size gains anyhow..at least Puciato’s head looks the same size it alwaws was. And DEP also kicks ass. That is all.

  • Me

    http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/andols_herrick_interview.htm

    Chimaira drummer talks about lifting and touring lifestyle.

  • sev

    How has nobody mentioned John Petrucci? I dunno if he buffed up legitimately or not (I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt) but he went from a really skinny dude to completely ripped.

    Side note, Dr. Dre? Really? Rofl…

  • Sammy

    Geez, it’s so obviously a humor piece parodying the baseball steroid issue on the heels of the Mark McGwire admission. And there’s a follow-up from the author, who the next day contacted Puciato to apologize. So if it was indeed satire, then it was indeed a compliment to Puciato. I lift weights daily and eat my body weight in protein damn near every day, but metabolism keeps me lean as opposed to huge. I’d love for someone to think I’ve used ‘roids.

  • WolfAmongSheep

    Any One Bother To Read The Update At The End…Stupid Asses

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Troy-Rickard/1516566408 Troy Rickard

    For anyone who didn’t read the update at the end:

    “UPDATE: I don’t often do this — mostly because I usually don’t do things this dumb — but I’m making an apology.

    I wrote this blog post inspired by the news of Mark McGwire’s less-than-shocking steroid admission, one that named ten musicians who I (jokingly) suspected to also have been on the juice. It seemed like a good idea at the time. Turns out it wasn’t.

    Because one of the musicians I mentioned — Dillinger Escape Plan frontman Greg Puciato — was genuinely offended by what I wrote, and he took to his Twitter account to let his displeasure be known. At first, I didn’t understand why he would be so upset. I mean, clearly, the entire blog was meant in jest. But then one of my co-workers summed it up pretty neatly for me: “You’d be pretty pissed too if someone made jokes about you cheating on your wife or being a crappy journalist.”

    So I contacted Puciato and apologized. I explained to him that the reason I didn’t attempt to reach him for comment on the post was because I genuinely thought he would understand that it was an (admittedly pretty stupid) attempt at humor. I asked him what I could do to make it right. He said that he was “done with it” and accepted my apology, told me to move on and “be more aware in the future.”

    I thought about it overnight, and decided to write this blog post. Not because I have any interest in continuing the story, or because anybody ordered me to do it. No, I’m writing it because I actually feel bad about what happened. Believe it or not, I’ve been doing this for almost 10 years now, and I’ve always taken pride in the fact that I do my job the right way: I contact sources, I ask for comment, I verify facts. I am a reporter, even in an era when reporting genuinely doesn’t mean squat.

    So, Greg — and, really, anyone else who I offended with yesterday’s post — I’m sorry. I didn’t do the due diligence this time around. I wrote something that was potentially damaging, and pretty irresponsible. My intention was not to suggest in any way that anyone on my list has every actually used steroids. Rather, I was attempting to poke fun at a pretty ridiculous situation, and, in turn, only created a more ridiculous one. It won’t happen again. Please don’t kill me.”

    Just a bad idea from the start.

  • trappedunderice

    So the writer did an update to his article

    UPDATE: I don’t often do this — mostly because I usually don’t do things this dumb — but I’m making an apology.

    I wrote this blog post inspired by the news of Mark McGwire’s less-than-shocking steroid admission, one that named ten musicians who I (jokingly) suspected to also have been on the juice. It seemed like a good idea at the time. Turns out it wasn’t.

    Because one of the musicians I mentioned — Dillinger Escape Plan frontman Greg Puciato — was genuinely offended by what I wrote, and he took to his Twitter account to let his displeasure be known. At first, I didn’t understand why he would be so upset. I mean, clearly, the entire blog was meant in jest. But then one of my co-workers summed it up pretty neatly for me: “You’d be pretty pissed too if someone made jokes about you cheating on your wife or being a crappy journalist.”

    So I contacted Puciato and apologized. I explained to him that the reason I didn’t attempt to reach him for comment on the post was because I genuinely thought he would understand that it was an (admittedly pretty stupid) attempt at humor. I asked him what I could do to make it right. He said that he was “done with it” and accepted my apology, told me to move on and “be more aware in the future.”

    I thought about it overnight, and decided to write this blog post. Not because I have any interest in continuing the story, or because anybody ordered me to do it. No, I’m writing it because I actually feel bad about what happened. Believe it or not, I’ve been doing this for almost 10 years now, and I’ve always taken pride in the fact that I do my job the right way: I contact sources, I ask for comment, I verify facts. I am a reporter, even in an era when reporting genuinely doesn’t mean squat.

    So, Greg — and, really, anyone else who I offended with yesterday’s post — I’m sorry. I didn’t do the due diligence this time around. I wrote something that was potentially damaging, and pretty irresponsible. My intention was not to suggest in any way that anyone on my list has every actually used steroids. Rather, I was attempting to poke fun at a pretty ridiculous situation, and, in turn, only created a more ridiculous one. It won’t happen again. Please don’t kill me.

  • Me

    So the author updated the article, if you didn’t catch it:

    “UPDATE: I don’t often do this — mostly because I usually don’t do things this dumb — but I’m making an apology.

    I wrote this blog post inspired by the news of Mark McGwire’s less-than-shocking steroid admission, one that named ten musicians who I (jokingly) suspected to also have been on the juice. It seemed like a good idea at the time. Turns out it wasn’t.

    Because one of the musicians I mentioned — Dillinger Escape Plan frontman Greg Puciato — was genuinely offended by what I wrote, and he took to his Twitter account to let his displeasure be known. At first, I didn’t understand why he would be so upset. I mean, clearly, the entire blog was meant in jest. But then one of my co-workers summed it up pretty neatly for me: “You’d be pretty pissed too if someone made jokes about you cheating on your wife or being a crappy journalist.”

    So I contacted Puciato and apologized. I explained to him that the reason I didn’t attempt to reach him for comment on the post was because I genuinely thought he would understand that it was an (admittedly pretty stupid) attempt at humor. I asked him what I could do to make it right. He said that he was “done with it” and accepted my apology, told me to move on and “be more aware in the future.”

    I thought about it overnight, and decided to write this blog post. Not because I have any interest in continuing the story, or because anybody ordered me to do it. No, I’m writing it because I actually feel bad about what happened. Believe it or not, I’ve been doing this for almost 10 years now, and I’ve always taken pride in the fact that I do my job the right way: I contact sources, I ask for comment, I verify facts. I am a reporter, even in an era when reporting genuinely doesn’t mean squat.

    So, Greg — and, really, anyone else who I offended with yesterday’s post — I’m sorry. I didn’t do the due diligence this time around. I wrote something that was potentially damaging, and pretty irresponsible. My intention was not to suggest in any way that anyone on my list has every actually used steroids. Rather, I was attempting to poke fun at a pretty ridiculous situation, and, in turn, only created a more ridiculous one. It won’t happen again. Please don’t kill me.”

  • Hammer_Smashed_Hurtt (AKA: Dallas Coyle’s Juicy Curl))

    HGH is not worth it. It may give you instant gratification, but it will fuck you up in the long run. Everyone talks about athletes and roids, but ill be willing to bet youd be surprised how many actors/actresses take that shit.

    Bottom line, no one wants to work hard anymore, noone wants to bust their ass in the gym .People scarf down Hydroxycut or whatever clone is poplular today or take HGH for the easy results.

    Just my .02

    • Hammer_Smashed_Hurtt (AKA: Dallas Coyle’s Juicy Curl))

      And in Puciato, or reznors, or Danzig’s case theres a BIG difference (no pun intended) in just being huge, swole whatever and having functional fitness. Just cuz your big dont mean your tough. Im sure those guys can pickup Marshall Cabs one handed but put em on a treadmill for 10 minutes and youll see the truth.

      And being swole sure didnt help ol’ Glenn slip that hook he caught.

  • SourDeez

    Not now chief, I’m in the fuckin zone.

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Zach-Gates/14209777 Zach Gates

    Danzig maybe, the rest? Hell no. None of them are even that big, they’re just BIGGER than the average rocker/rapper.