It is a strange phenomona isnt it pasquatch? Long gone are the days of guitar solos and talented voices. Ive never been to one of the "new" shows, but ive seen some live DVD's, Hawthorne heights did some live stuff on MTV. Thursday as well, etc......and alot of them......as you said, are "studio" bands. lol. ANother thing thats funny, is when i go to the record store (underground store) and i can walk out of there with about 24 free sample CD's that bands like the above put out to get there name out. Just shows how many bands are out there right now. Gotta be a heck of a competitive scenario to be givin your music away for free.