Influences
08/10/07 22:24
One one of my favorite internet sites, we were
discussing influences, so I thought I'd share my
personal biggest influences. In chronological order
of discovery:
Def Leppard. My brother is 5 years older than I am, so when he brought home the Pyromania album in the mid-80s, of course I thought it was the coolest thing ever. Rock of Ages was the first song I ever learned on guitar.
Metallica. I have Kill 'em All through Justice pretty much burned into my brain. I still hear a little Kirk Hammet in my playing.
Led Zeppelin. The masters. Zeppelin IV was my introduction to them, and they were one of the few non-metal bands I listened to when I was a kid, and you just can't do classic rock any better. I love their early stuff, I love their later stuff.
Black Sabbath. If you grew up in the 80s and played heavy guitar, Sabbath had to be an influence.
Santana - when I started really getting into guitar, it was Santana that took me from noodling on simple scales and butchering covers into playing with melody and feel. I have the first Santana album cover (the lion head) tatoo'd on my left arm - that's how much it means to me. Always play with life and passion.
Hendrix - again, as a guitarist, how can you not be influenced by Jimi? He taught me how DEEP music can really be. I listened to a couple songs from Electric Ladyland this morning at the gym, and I STILL heard things I hadn't noticed before. Simply amazing. I also dug how easy he seemed to make songs flow. He takes these simple structures and riffs, and makes them totally funky and interesting. Cool, creative lyrics as well.
Stevie Ray Vaughan. I had been playing hard rock & metal for years. But when a friend turned me on to SRV my world totally changed. I got into blues really hardcore for years and years, and I don't think I bought a non-blues album for almost five years after that. I'm still a huge blues nut. SRV was my gateway to BB, Feddie and Albert King, Buddy Guy, Robert Johnson, Son House, Howlin Wolf, Muddy Waters, Clarence Gatemouth Brown... And once I got into the blues, I got into other types of music like jazz, country and folk. It opened up my eyes to the whole spectrum of music. His overcoming alcohol and cocaine addiction was inspiring to me as I was trying to quit smoking at the same time I got into him (and I did!). I don't think I actually sound that much like SRV, but his impact on my life was enormous. In fact, I have him tatoo'd on my left shoulder.
The Allman Brothers Band. After playing straight up blues covers for a while, naturally my band started doing some A-Bros songs, and eventually we started branching out into more jamband stuff. I love the way they blend styles, write great songs, and go from straightforward dirty blues to wacked out jams. They're amazing.
Lucinda Williams. I just completely fell in love with her music when my wife and I took a long road trip and popped in Car Wheels somewhere in western Colorado. The power of lyrics is what hit me: I always dug guitars and grooves more than words, but not after listening to Lu. She really taught me how powerful the right words (with the right delivery) can be. I don't think I would have ever written any lyrics worth a damn had I not discovered her. I also started getting into country and alt-country more because of her. Just saw her on tour this spring, and it was amazing (saw her in Chicago about 5 years ago, too, and she was great then).
Of course, there are lots of other artists that I love, but these are the people that have really molded me as a musician more than any others.
Def Leppard. My brother is 5 years older than I am, so when he brought home the Pyromania album in the mid-80s, of course I thought it was the coolest thing ever. Rock of Ages was the first song I ever learned on guitar.
Metallica. I have Kill 'em All through Justice pretty much burned into my brain. I still hear a little Kirk Hammet in my playing.
Led Zeppelin. The masters. Zeppelin IV was my introduction to them, and they were one of the few non-metal bands I listened to when I was a kid, and you just can't do classic rock any better. I love their early stuff, I love their later stuff.
Black Sabbath. If you grew up in the 80s and played heavy guitar, Sabbath had to be an influence.
Santana - when I started really getting into guitar, it was Santana that took me from noodling on simple scales and butchering covers into playing with melody and feel. I have the first Santana album cover (the lion head) tatoo'd on my left arm - that's how much it means to me. Always play with life and passion.
Hendrix - again, as a guitarist, how can you not be influenced by Jimi? He taught me how DEEP music can really be. I listened to a couple songs from Electric Ladyland this morning at the gym, and I STILL heard things I hadn't noticed before. Simply amazing. I also dug how easy he seemed to make songs flow. He takes these simple structures and riffs, and makes them totally funky and interesting. Cool, creative lyrics as well.
Stevie Ray Vaughan. I had been playing hard rock & metal for years. But when a friend turned me on to SRV my world totally changed. I got into blues really hardcore for years and years, and I don't think I bought a non-blues album for almost five years after that. I'm still a huge blues nut. SRV was my gateway to BB, Feddie and Albert King, Buddy Guy, Robert Johnson, Son House, Howlin Wolf, Muddy Waters, Clarence Gatemouth Brown... And once I got into the blues, I got into other types of music like jazz, country and folk. It opened up my eyes to the whole spectrum of music. His overcoming alcohol and cocaine addiction was inspiring to me as I was trying to quit smoking at the same time I got into him (and I did!). I don't think I actually sound that much like SRV, but his impact on my life was enormous. In fact, I have him tatoo'd on my left shoulder.
The Allman Brothers Band. After playing straight up blues covers for a while, naturally my band started doing some A-Bros songs, and eventually we started branching out into more jamband stuff. I love the way they blend styles, write great songs, and go from straightforward dirty blues to wacked out jams. They're amazing.
Lucinda Williams. I just completely fell in love with her music when my wife and I took a long road trip and popped in Car Wheels somewhere in western Colorado. The power of lyrics is what hit me: I always dug guitars and grooves more than words, but not after listening to Lu. She really taught me how powerful the right words (with the right delivery) can be. I don't think I would have ever written any lyrics worth a damn had I not discovered her. I also started getting into country and alt-country more because of her. Just saw her on tour this spring, and it was amazing (saw her in Chicago about 5 years ago, too, and she was great then).
Of course, there are lots of other artists that I love, but these are the people that have really molded me as a musician more than any others.