Originally posted by Bardsley
...washed up 45 year olds trying to relive the glory days of their instrument...

Ouch!! I resemble that remark!! :D lmao (I'm 48, but unless I'm covering Albert King's "Blues At Sunrise", I can usually get my point across in 12 bars, 24 tops).

It takes a certain amount of ego to want to get up on a stage in front of a bunch of people and subject yourself to possible critisism. Sadly, there are enough players with more ego than talent to give everyone a bad name.

Originally posted by Bardsley
...Is there one, big, americanised, soul, that guitarists have, rather than something more personal? Where is the expression of our age? Where is the life?

Well, yes, if you only listen to the radio! Take a break, get out to a club or two, and listen to some live music.

Here, in Calgary, the talent agents work a battle of the bands format in some of the smaller clubs. The house gets a sampling of local talent they might not have heard otherwise, and the bands get good exposure. There's some real creativity out there. Everybody has to know a few recognizable tunes for credibility, but its not all rehashed top-40.

'Americanized'? Get over yourself, dude. The world is home to some 6 billion people. About 5% of 'em are American.