I didn't know Gate well, but I always appreciated him, most of all, his feisty, independent spirit and warm heart, ... Gate was the original contrarian, but there was always a well thought-out argument behind it. It wasn't just that Gate was unwilling to play the fool. He simply refused to live up to anyone else's definition or expectations of him. But I think this was part of his genius. From the start, Gate defined himself, both as a musician and as a man.