Planet Of The Axe

Yeah. The Headline Is A Whimsical Nod To The Film Planet Of The Apes. But The Fact That Young Players May Not Be Continuing Their Obsession With The Guitar Is No Joke.

- Michael Molenda

IT DOESN’T prognosticator to note that today’s young people have myriad options for education, entertainment, engagement, and just plain fun. When it comes to our favorite love jones—the guitar—it’s also obvious that teens and Millennials don’t hold the instrument in nearly as much obsessive awe, wonder, and inspiration as more mature players, who, back in their early days, often wanted to be Jimmy Page, Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, or any number of the transcendent guitarists blasting out of radios and television sets in the 1960's and 70's. The intense pull of that rock-star dream was probably no different than our fervent desires to be astronauts, fighter pilots, or super heroes in our pre-teen years, but acquiring the skills to play guitar was infinitely more achievable than developing x-ray vision or indestructibility. So we got our hands on typically horrendously bad guitars and often suffered our way to competence—and, hopefully, a path to technical and creative excellence. And most of us have stayed dedicated to the guitar throughout the decades, and we will likely continue this devotion until our hands can no longer manage a ragged version of “Hey Joe.”

But this is a story of an age gone by.

While society—and history—can be cyclical, there is no current globally seductive force such as “The Beatles,” “Jimi-Jimmy- Jeff-and-Eric,” “The Sex Pistols,” “Stevie Ray Vaughan,” “Nirvana,” “Unplugged,” or “Green Day” to drive an explosion of young people starting bands or solo acts and buying epic numbers of guitars and guitar gear. In fact, even if there were a 2017 version of “The Beatles on The Ed Sullivan Show in 1964,” would it be compelling enough to inspire Millennials to launch a million bands?