Didn't mean to piss anybody off, or suggest listening to music isn't worthwhile. In retrospect, I think Stephen Bennets remark may illustrate the difference between amateurs like myself, and touring musicians who really have to practice and have very tight schedules.I personally think television is a much greater impediment to playing music than listening to music.

Cluin- The reason I started this thread is I thought Bennett's remark very interesting, as opposed to the question of "What do you like to listen to". You are right, I erred in implying that players in general should play rather than listen. But Erik's first response sounded like an answer to "what do you listen to", which is way different than the purpose of this thread.

If you'll re-read my first post, you will see that Stephen Bennett listens to music when he can, mainly while driving. He is not a "snotty" player, or why would he have taken time to come to our tiny town? He's obviously listened to a lot more music than I have, because he can play damn near anything from Duke Ellington to show tunes to folk and rock. His own songs are his best, especially "Life's too Short to be in a Bad Mood".

Also in retrospect, I really doubt that I've ever seen a better guitar player live. Sorry for the misunderstanding. BlueJay