If you've watched TV from the Desilu age, you've heard Howard Roberts on guitar countless times, probably without ever knowing his name.
HR was very big in the Studio scene. He and 2 other guys put up GIT in hollywood, a guitar player trade school. 1 year of intensive training. No goofing off. If you wanted to get from garage band jammer to pro, GIT was the place to go.
Folks who prefer one genre over another do so because they've been Exposed to that genre for a very long time. If you grew up listening to a steady diet of Country or R&B, you're probably going to continue listening to it.
Steve Howe, the guitar player from Yes, said when he heard the Right kind of music as a little kid it made him want to get up, run around the house and break things. It gripped him That tight.
With me, I dutifully learned and practiced my guitar lessons from a few older Trad Jazz players. It's what we had as kids. And after grinding my way through them set to 'Discovering' more primitive rythms and melodies on my own, after my lessons were done for the day.
Grew up listening to the radio, mostly R&B in the mid 60s. Didn't cotten to it. Nor was I impressed with Dad's fascination with Chet Atkins. But when Rock Music started coming out through those same speakers, THAT was when my Hair stood up and set itself on fire.
By the time the word Metal came into in Vogue, well, I'm still amazed anyone fell for it. It's Rock, period. Metal is hyperbole, sales hype.
But like I said, it's what we get used to listening to that forms our musical preferences.
And an Awful lot of that is determined not by musicians but by A&R execs at record companies. They have never been about selling music. They sell Licensing to consumers to listen to music. They've sold Vinyl, Computer downloads, and youttube pay per click royalties today, but Music has always been at the far distant End of a very long list of their priorities. For every band/singer that got signed there were 99 more just like them, waiting out in the alley.
Our musical tastes have been crafted and handed down to us by Record Companies. We've had almost no say in the matter.
Back to Howard Roberts, studio guitarist back in the day. HR was upset with the inflexibility of the Industry, and its refusal to try Anything outside of 'It's got to sound Just Like this Last Band that went Gold 6 weeks ago, but All New and Completely Different.'
And as HR put it:
"People don't know what they like. They like what they know."
