Influences

[TeleFuzz]

I am bored, it is Friday. I plan on playing guitar for hours when I get home (I was at it for 3 hours straight yesterday).

So just to get the juices flowing, lets share influences. Who you like, who you listen to. Who has had the most impact on you?

1. My guitar teacher. He had the biggest impact on my playing, after all that is the person who taught me.

2. Jimmy Page. He made me want to play guitar, sparked my interest in blues and folk.

3. Les Paul. He was my first jazz guitar experience. His influence on me would later lead me to some others on this list.

4. Chet Atkins. Though I can't play like him worth a damn, I love his style and I try it all the time.

5. Charlie Christian. One of the first guys to popularize single note playing on the guitar. I love his melodies, especially his work with Benny Goodman.

6. Scotty Moore. He played with Elvis Presley in the early years. He was good friends with Chet Atkins, and he had a huge influence on American music. In fact, I spent 2 hours yesterday jamming out to That's Alright Mama, My Baby Left Me, and Mystery Train.

7. Mark Knopfler. The stuff he did in the mainstream kinda sucks. I hate Money for Nothing. The songs messages shows his plans "Don't do shit, sell out, and get money on women". It worked; and he spent a lot of his free time playing with guys like Chet Atkins. Great guitarist, I just hated the 80s stuff he did.

8. Miles Davis. Yeah hes not a guitarist, but man he was crazy good.

9. Thelonious Monk. The guy all the cool jazz cats ripped off of. Crazy, John Coltrane said this about his experience with Thelonious (recalling from memory): Miles expected you to know it and wouldn't waste time explaining the idea behind it. Thelonious wanted you to understand the ideas behind the music. A mad genius if there ever was one.

10. Joe Pass. I think he merges the best of both worlds of jazz. The smoking melodies, and the smooth rhythms. My guitar teachers teachers TEACHER would hang out with Joe Pass sometimes.

Yours?

[nicole]

wow..wut a list...

ok...

for me..

i might miss some and i might remember some but this is my short list..

elmore james
keith richards
freddie king
luther alison
leadbelly
jimi hendrix
steve stevens
angus young
malcolm young (more than angus)
junior kimbrough
buddy guy
alex lifeson
joe bonamassa
eric clapton
j.l. hooker
srv (for his revival of blues more than his music)
bonnie raitt

if u want reasons..just ask lol

and i have lots of non player influences too and im forgetting a few on that list but w/e..

<3

[StuckInALemon]

Bono
Robert Smith
Wayne Hussey
Peter Murphy
Mike Peters
Michael Stipe
The Edge
Mike Ness
Dave Gahan
Michael Hutchinson
Ed Kowalczyk
Ian Curtis
John Lennon
Neil Young
Morrissey

[TeleFuzz]

Yeah I am all over the place, but it always comes back to an American jazz/blues/swing style. I love American music (pre 1960's. Nothing against rock, I love Zeppelin, but when I think of American music I think of the old folk tunes, jazz, and rockabilly).

Malcolm Young eh? That's hot. Most people totally overlook him. A very good choice, he is a sold player. Then you must love this tune; cause God knows I do.

AC/DC - Soul Stripper - YouTube

Keith Richards LOVED Scotty Moore. In fact he said "everyone else wanted to be Elvis. I wanted to be Scotty".

I like most of the guys on that list as well. Another non guitar influence Willie Dixon. Na-na-na-na nervous.

Yeah I want reasons, girl! I'm bored!!!!!! Throw a dog a bone!

[nicole]

i like yer list lemon..

u know why? u were into alot of the newer stuff wen alot of people were prolly into alot of head banin galm stuff..like your list says alot about the innovation of the music u likes..from wut i read of alot of the newer music in the 80's , it made big strides for a lot of breakthrough bands in my opnion..

[StuckInALemon]

i like yer list lemon..

u know why? u were into alot of the newer stuff wen alot of people were prolly into alot of head banin galm stuff..like your list says alot about the innovation of the music u likes..from wut i read of alot of the newer music in the 80's , it made big strides for a lot of breakthrough bands in my opnion..

:iagree: :dita: tanx dear..I like yours too..but i'm not a guitarist...just yet..though i do like many guitarists..but i went with the singers, the songwriters, the creators, NOT that guitarists don't do all that, but this and these singers and their bands is what moved me the most...to have the love of music that i have today...and forever.

[nicole]

Yeah I am all over the place, but it always comes back to an American jazz/blues/swing style. I love American music (pre 1960's. Nothing against rock, I love Zeppelin, but when I think of American music I think of the old folk tunes, jazz, and rockabilly).

Malcolm Young eh? That's hot. Most people totally overlook him. A very good choice, he is a sold player. Then you must love this tune; cause God knows I do.

AC/DC - Soul Stripper - YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FOPjG8A4mEY)

Keith Richards LOVED Scotty Moore. In fact he said "everyone else wanted to be Elvis. I wanted to be Scotty".

I like most of the guys on that list as well. Another non guitar influence Willie Dixon. Na-na-na-na nervous.

Yeah I want reasons, girl! I'm bored!!!!!! Throw a dog a bone!

i love this song by ac/dc ..prolly one of the coolest songs with Bon ..but malcolm is the backbone of ac/dc..not flashy..and his rhythm methods are actually..beleive it or not.. in some stuff ive heard.. kinda complicated!!.. but they still SOUND simple..not alot of bands can do complicated stuff and sound easy..

ac/dc have done alot of disspaointing things for me for some of thier recordings.. and to me the best years of what they can do in the studio are behind them..but their overall sound and malcolms quiet way of keepin the band from being something they arent or could never be..is cool to me..

its alot of flash now for them..and they've paid alot of dues..but malcolm young is a big rhythm influence on me..great for workin on time signatures in my head ...i guess i like blues alot so ac/dc amped that whole level of blues to power chord rock...

[TeleFuzz]

i love this song by ac/dc ..prolly one of the coolest songs with Bon ..but malcolm is the backbone of ac/dc..not flashy..and his rhythm methods are actually..beleive it or not.. in some stuff ive heard.. kinda complicated!!.. but they still SOUND simple..not alot of bands can do complicated stuff and sound easy..

ac/dc have done alot of disspaointing things for me for some of thier recordings.. and to me the best years of what they can do in the studio are behind them..but their overall sound and malcolms quiet way of keepin the band from being something they arent or could never be..is cool to me..

its alot of flash now for them..and they've paid alot of dues..but malcolm young is a big rhythm influence on me..great for workin on time signatures in my head ...i guess i like blues alot so ac/dc amped that whole level of blues to power chord rock...


Malcolm played lead on that track.

I agree, I loved the Bon Scott years. They are my favorite, songs like Gone Shootin', Livewire, Baby Please Dont Go, simple straight forward rock with lots of clever attitude.

I don't hate the Back in Black years, but I prefer Bon Scott. I would have loved to party with that guy. The clever and witty feel of the songs was gone. He had a dark sense of humor that I love.

See, even jazz cats can dig the simple hardcore rock. I may even bang my head now...

[nicole]

Malcolm played lead on that track.



never knew that..

[nicole]

Malcolm played lead on that track.

I agree, I loved the Bon Scott years. They are my favorite, songs like Gone Shootin', Livewire, Baby Please Dont Go, simple straight forward rock with lots of clever attitude.

I don't hate the Back in Black years, but I prefer Bon Scott. I would have loved to party with that guy. The clever and witty feel of the songs was gone. He had a dark sense of humor that I love.

See, even jazz cats can dig the simple hardcore rock. I may even bang my head now...

haha yeah

but my biggest influences are the the bands i heard in my pa's truck when i was small..on teh radio..u know?? alot of it was blues..

thers something kinda primal for me with blues..it soothes ..people say that alot..it sounds cliche..but it has always had a soothing feeling to me..its natual like baby milk or learnin to breathe..for me that is..

jazz i love listeming too....i could name artists too but i havent yet cuz i get a flood of names in my had and i cant type that fast lol..i LOVE it..i just cant take my love of some jazz and put it to song..idk why that is..

[nicole]

elmore james - cuz i never heard slide guitar before in my life like his. heard it in my pa's truck and i never looked back. haunting and sad and amazing beyond words..

keith richards - becaseu hes the guitar player i think of for rock bands for the 70 and 80s..his open tuning and capo stuff is classic and i liove the who stones package ..classic tone too..one of my fave tele players

freddie king -i dont even know how to sescribe why ..its just...freddie..his feeling and playing and pause is like no1 ever!!!

luther alison - talks to his girl in his playing and i think its freakin sooo inner city and amazingggg..and he played a les paul and what a voice too..

leadbelly- legend--that is all..original..that is ALLLL

jimi hendrix - im not even gonna go into this..

steve stevens - underrated...flashy..all the right influences..his vibrato is on fire..this guy can cook leads..les paul player and not afraid to innovate

angus young - cuz of his shoes..lol..hes such a showoff too1! <3

malcolm young (more than angus) --i explained earlier..

junior kimbrough - his sadness falls through all his music..u can hear the suffering in this guy..moves me

buddy guy-- tone..voice..blues...idk what to say ..the guys amazing and he can send shivers down my spine with some of his notes and riffs..legend

alex lifeson - innovation..innovation...innovation..he assumed control..he assumed control..

joe bonamassa - classy blues style..and he invertnts and fuses stuff that i never thought could be in blues music..like 'bird on a wire' has a Greek feel to it..amazing..

eric clapton - for being a constant tribute to the originals..
j.l. hooker - hauting..morte music from my pa's truck radio wen i was small
srv --- for his revival of blues more than his music)

bonnie raitt - deadly slide player and she has a calm cool feminine sie that comes though with an answer for any guy that sings the blues from a guys point of view..just like koko taylor and big mama thornton did..

[TeleFuzz]

I forget his name, but I heard about him on guitarforums. Some blues player that played a lot of Robert Johnson covers. When I built my new PC I forget to save some stuff from the old one.

Sadly his name slips me. He played a lot of slide and open tuning blues.

[nicole]

yeah its beautiful to hear it when its done right..i mess around wirth it..but it takes such an ear in my opinion

[TeleFuzz]

I practice it a lot, but on acoustic only. Sounds the best.

[TeleFuzz]

Damn, no other musicians? Lame.

[benderb9]

hmmm where to start...at the begining maybe?

Hank Williams Sr-a really great rhythm player, possibly the greatest white blues singer ever.Heard him all the time at my grandparest's house.

Buddy Holly-chiming tone and a rock a billy feel

Chuck Berry-great playing..the original rock n roller-the best lyrics/stories in his songs

James Burdon-first guitar player I ever saw on TV on Ozzie & Harriet...started the unwound g revolution, thank-you James.

Roy Orbison-the look, the voice, that driving guitar he played. Pretty Woman still tears it up.

The Beatles (and English Invasion period)-Their appearance on Ed Sullivan convinced me that I had to buy my first guitar, three chords later I was hunting down others who also 'played'.

various Detroit Bands-saw them all the time playing at free concerts in parks/opening at the Grande Ballroom and Eastown Theater as well as the Hideout and Pallidium. MC5-Fred 'Sonic' Smith and Wayne Kramer-had a new approach to two guitars palying at once that roar is commonplace now, Ron Ashton-Stooges-could probably say he started punk guitar playing. Great riffs massive tone. Bob Seegar-know as a singer/songwriter but he can REALLY rock a guitar. Joe Walsh-played the ice rink a couple of time a month and was officially adopted. He met Glen Fry playing there (who grew up nearby) and later got invited to join the Eagles. A few other less well know bands were The Rationals, Fridgid Pink (had 1 hit w/House of the Rising Sun),Scott Richard Case and Third Power.

Alber King-blues-saw him at a club called the Hideout stood in front of him with my mouth open, catching flys the whole first set...not sure if I breathed or blinked. At the end of the set he got me up on stage and got me to hold his guitar Lucy (the Gibson Lucy) between sets. Was I surprised that he played lefty but the guitar was strung upside down (righty)...could not figure out why no chords sounded right until years later when I learned he played to an open tuning. He sent shivers up my spine that night and still does when I hear him on a recording. Got to talk with him a little too and he was a really cool 'older guy' (I hadn't started to drive yet).

Keith Richards-well heck does he have to be anything other than Keef? A real riff monster...my role model during my teen years, LOL, I'm probably lucky to be alive...

No way is this complete but really more like highlights, favorites that just pop out...Music has always been a BIG part of my life but everything around you influences you. I've always had open ears and things show up and you may or may not recognise it for what it is immediately. Roland Kirk really affected me as a musician for the way he played and his openess (got to talk extensively with him several times and he was just the coolest cat you could ever meet) so his horn playing probably does affect the way I play...might actually be why I got into guitar synths so I can play horn patches dunno.

[benderb9]

can't believe I neglected THIS guy from the Detroit Bands, I hope my birth certificate hasn't been burned...TED NUGENT! The original Motor City Madman...the stories I could tell LOL. A great artist and absolute master of controlled feedback. You may not agree with everything he says or does but he's a real American Guitar Hero and one of the funniest people you could ever meet

[TeleFuzz]

It's a difficult list to make, who really has an impact on your playing. I've avoided a lot of rock guitarists the past 4 or 5 years, not because I don't like them... but everyone already does that.

I mean, how many people love EVH, or Angus, or Ted? They rock, no doubt. But it's been done to death. Though anytime I hear old time AC/DC like Girls Got Rhythm or Gone Shootin I crank it. I've lost a lot of interest in rock music lately, I've just heard it so much. High school was nothing but Zeppelin, Floyd, The Nug, AC/DC, etc etc. I try to listen to it less so when I do happen to catch it, I don't think "damn, Ive heard this already". Its more like "Stairway To Heaven. Haven't heard this in years, TURN IT UP!"

[Chubba]

Here's a few - not sure if it's so much how they influence how I play, or my approach or just my desire to play....

Robbie Krieger (the Doors) - my first electric was almost an SG because of him, but finance dictated that it needed to be a MIM-strat (which I don't regret either)...when I hear 'Light my Fire' on the radio, I always pray for the long version and stop what I'm doing to listen to that guitar solo - I like how he mixed jazz and flamenco with some pretty badass blues and rock...you mostly hear about Jim Morrison, but Krieger wrote some of their biggest hits

Ben Harper - I don't play much slide (and certainly not like Ben), but again his versatility and ability to play about any style, and his ability to inject emotion into a lot of his better stuff....a favourite is the guitar solo in 'my own 2 hands'

Jack Johnson (up till about 'Banana Pancakes'...lol - i don'T really know what he's done since...) - another one who makes what he does seem so simple, but the songs of his I'Ve learned can be tricky to keep that steady smooth rhythm, and make it seem effortless while singing the song (I constantly play the opening to 'Brushfire Fairytales' but have never felt I can play it smoothly enough to play live, by myself at least)

John Spencer (Blues Explosion! Attack! 'I don't play no Blues, I play Rock N Roll') - some of this stuff sounds like a mess, but the funky beats and the loose riffs really speak to me...one of my faves - Lovin Machine on 'ACME' - Jack White and Dan Auerbach/Black Keys have brought this sound to the mainstream

Howlin Wolf/Muddy Waters/Hubert Sumlin/Son House - I put these guys together, because they get to me similarly - Nicole said there's something about the blues that is primal, and that's what I love about blues - hearing Howlin Wolf's voice, it's like a force of nature...no 10 minute solos, just down and dirty...some faves - Wolf's 'Evil', Waters' 'Louisiana Blues' (ithink that's what it's called...'i just found out, my trouble just begun') and (though a capella) Son House's 'John the Revelator' - it's so haunting...

sorry for the super long post...:)

[TeleFuzz]

Nothing wrong with long posts, its good to read about others influences.

Robby is an interesting guitarist often overlooked because of Jim; Like Scotty and Elvis, or George with John and Paul.

[Chubba]

agreed - i was also going to mention something about the ubiquitousness of the beatles...it's an obvious choice for many, but important nonetheless, they were almost always playing on something somewhere growing up....

[TeleFuzz]

Some of my friends knock me for playing Beatles songs "Dude... everyone plays that." I think learning Beatles tunes is essential, they are great for learning about playing. Yeah they did a lot of "weird" druggy stuff, but still learning their stuff is great. I don't think of "riffs" or "shredding" when I think of the Beatles; but I do think of a lot of great stuff to practice and learn from. Someone once said they hated the Beatles cause they were a boy band. While this is true to a great extent, they did a lot of really cool stuff. Elvis did a lot of boy bandish stuff, but he could still belt out down home hill billy tunes like nobodies business.