The topic (yawn)…guitar nerds, gearheads, etc. Far too many times I am in a dressing room or behind a stage, about to perform, and a little cluster of these guys (always guys) are gathered in front of the stage. I hear them talking about my axes, the ones onstage that will be used in my PERFORMANCE. I realize that my songs, my playing, my vocals, my storytelling will take a backseat to the fascination with WHO MADE THE GUITARS, and WHAT YEAR. No doubt, I know the information concerning those issues. No doubt, being a pro, I have pro instruments and gear. But, the real reason I drove 5 hours to be there was not to parade my guitars. It was to deliver a performance, MY performance. Ah, but, the conversing goes on and on: other artists and their gear gets mentioned, there is talk of the personal likes and dislikes of certain instruments and pick-up systems, on and on…(another yawn)…. I try to work guitar clinics into my touring schedule as it is enjoyable to teach, and it helps pad my schedule with earning scenarios. I love to watch folks learn more guitar skill, to progress as a player and ratchet up the joy in doing it. But, again, we only get into the workshop/class after the students arrive and do their gearhead conversations. The Taylor discussion, the second Taylor discussion, the third…(yawning again). Finally, I get the players to play and focus on the advancement of playing guitar. That is when, to a large degree, the time spent PLAYING guitar is exposed as a scarcity, while the TALK of guitar is with more regularity. Why is that? Why does the fascination of talking the talk far outweigh walking the walk, meaning really playing? Have I ever mentioned that I can play a few thousand songs? I cannot believe that would be possible if I had spent lots of times in discussion about finishes, pick-ups, tuning gears, factories, etc.