McMoo has a good point. "Does it all matter anyway"? NO...it doesn't. Does it matter if I know anything about the car I drive (other than it says "Ford" and if I turn the key and it goes), Does it matter (in the slightest) if I spend over an hour staring at Leadbelly's guitar in the Rock and Roll hall of Fame in Cleveland? For that matter does it matter if I read two papers a day, know a huge amount of baseball trivia, or talk to people on Mudcat when I get the time?

Not really. Since I have the mechanical skills to play music, and 99% of my audiences wouldn't care a whit whether I'd studied Riley Puckett's right-hand styles or not, none of the "research" is actually neccessary. But it's FUN! Once in a blue moon (til I found Mudcat) I'd run into someone who could REALLY talk REAL folk music, and boy, did I enjoy that person's company. Same with baseball, or British history, or American politics. So even the question about differences between "musicians and folks who play music" has no REAL importance.....just like the other things....it's fun to discuss. Actually I've been able to meet folks here who share my passion in a number of areas...not just music. My problem is that the things that ARE of crucial importance ie: tax returns, furnaces, plumbing repairs, and gettin' rid of weeds don't interest me in the least.....and it shows!

Rick