Re: Some thoughts on "mixing"
Absolutely, and when you have a band that play together a lot and you get used to doing sound from stage, it is not different to how it was fourty years ago, and peolple managed then. Once you set your levels, have control over your equipment and organize for it, the soundman is superflous. Back when we wern't soundmen, but roadies, we drove the van/bus, set up the equipment and helped out during sound check, and by the time the performance started, our work was done till the band was done and we were packing up and loading the van. Then some bright spark thought it would be cool to make a snake and take a console, and the cat was out of the bag 
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Edit: One thing though, a guitar player that isn't in control of his pedal board is no different from any other musician that doesn't have his or her shit together. If the guitar player can't control his pedal board and have his levels in order, one would think that the problem was lack of practice or lack of insight, not an inherent problem with the concept of pedal boards.
