The Musician's Influences Thread!

Since we've seen the recurrance of the "fave band/album" threads, I'm curious to hear from the practicing musicians.

Who are your influences? Now, I'm not talking about the bands you like and such...I'm talking about the players that actually influenced your own playing style in whatever instrument(s) you play, vocalists included. Those players whose style shows up in your own original fashion. No matter how original your own style is, it always bears the marks of those you learned from or those who turned you on to the instrument in the first place. So fellow musicians, who shows up in your own style?

Since I started the thread, I guess I'm obliged to go first.

Being a multi-instrumentalist, I have a few who lent thier talents to my musical upbringing. My first and foremost instrument is bass guitar. That's my baby. I'd have to say that Geddy Lee of Rush was my first real influence, and I wouldn't be the bassist I am without him. Having known only Rush in my formative years, Geddy's signature "triplicate 4th" style shows up in almost everything I do without thought. I've also picked up some great licks and stylings from Billy Sheehan and Steve Harris, and believe it or not...John Wetton. John (Roxy Music, King Crimson, Asia) is a master of the ingrained relationship between bass, harmony and melody and his "simplistic" approach is actually a bit more complicated than it appears.

As a keyboardist, my first real influence was Neal Doughty of REO Speedwagon. I learned almost everything I know about improvisational soloing from old REO albums. As a keyboardist, however, I'm more of a "synth" type player than a true pianist, concerning myself with sonic landscaping to fit the tunes I'm playing. Most of this style I learned from Mark Kelly of Marillion. I really dig the older "analog" style of synth playing and between Mark and the legendary Keith Emerson of Emerson, Lake and Palmer...this style became an important part of my playing.

As a vocalist, I actually learned to sing from old Jim Croce records. He had a nuance to his voice that really let you in on the emotions of his songs. Without Jim, I probably would have never become a singer. Along the way, I've picked up specific stylings from Rik Emmett of Triumph, Ian Anderson of Jethro Tull and Robert Plant of Led Zeppelin.

Most of the extraneous instruments I play (guitar, dulcimer, violin and a variety of African percussive instruments) are an amalgamation of influences that really aren't all that particular in thier stylings. These are the instruments that I believe have that particular "Dave Sound" to them.

So, fellow musicians, who are your influnces on your style?

since i majored in flute performance, i suppose my influences were mostly classical. or baroque. my favorite was bach in baroque. i could also play harpsichord and piano and playing bachs inventions on harpsichord was the best thing. the tinkle of the harpsichord fits with bach so much better than piano. and also i loved the fugues of bachs with recorder and soprano trumpet. wow that first recording i heard inspired me to learn those fugues. on flute and also recorder. and since my husband majored in trumpet, it seemed appropriate at the time.

as for mozart well. i won a orchestra solo by playing one of mozarts hardest concertos for flute and piano, but played it with the orchestra, memorized of course. and in my senior recital i also played it, and received ovation after ovation. this is not bragging, as i didnt continue the promise i showed at that time, but got married instead and taught privately. my husband performed his senior recital with mine which made it more special.

now today if i could i would love to play guitar. my husband played bass in a rock band when young. so my influences differ greatly as i grow older.

i would have to say that bach and mozart were my biggest influences as far as career went. today i , if i could, would love to sing or play guitar in a hard rock band, regardless of age.

isabeau

wow Dave dulcimer hmm i can play that a bit. and what made me say hubby was in a rock band and then didnt continue that thought, was that i was influenced at that time by bands such as hmmm the clash and blondie. she rocked totally however i never played in davids band. but he played those songs....

eeks i should never attempt to post while half asleep and in the throes of alcoholic bliss. i never did say who influences me today. if i were to learn to play guitar, i would take stevie ray vaughn and jimi hendrix as my inspirations. heck women can play the blues right?

I haven't practiced my bass playing in a long time, but there are two bass players who inspired me to pick up the instrument in the first place.

My first influence is obvious. Paul McCartney's bass playing, especially with The Beatles, inspired me to pick up the bass at the tender age of 15. I'm not anywhere close to being as good as he is, but at least I've had a lot of fun moments figuring out how to play the basslines to those Classic Beatles songs.



James Jamerson may not be a household name to many people, but I bet you've heard at least a few hundred of the songs he played bass on. If you were a fan of Motown, then you have definitely heard James' playing. He played on nearly all of the 1960s and early 70s hits made famous by Stevie Wonder, The Temptations, Diana Ross & The Supremes, The Four Tops, Marvin Gaye, Gladys Knight & The Pips, etc. etc. In my opinion, he was quite possibly the greatest bass player of all time.

James Jamerson was definitley a later influence for me, when I started really picking apart the bass according to it's place in music history. Also of note in my relatively recent fondness for upright bass-playing and fretless playing is the legendary Oscar Pederson.

Interesting Thread, Dave....(big surprise, there)

In stream of consciousness order:

Charlie Byrd
Eric Clapton
Carlos Santana
Leslie West
Tommy Bolin
Larry Carlton
Elliott Randall
Jimi Hendrix (Band of Gypsies)

I have to say that some local guitar players have had a significant influence on me as well (in all of my "hometowns").

R

I keep on mangling Led Zepplin's 'Stairway to Heaven' on my guitar...does that count?

Vocalist here, though not currently practicing. My biggest influence when I first realized I had a passion for singing as a child was Karen Carpenter. As young as 5-6 years old, I would sit for hours, listening to her sing, mezmerized by her voice. I wanted to grow up and be just like her, to sing just like her. I can actually sing in a style and sound very similar to hers, though my actual natural voice is a tad more choral.

Mimi 😉

Mimi said:

Vocalist here, though not currently practicing. My biggest influence when I first realized I had a passion for singing as a child was Karen Carpenter. As young as 5-6 years old, I would sit for hours, listening to her sing, mezmerized by her voice. I wanted to grow up and be just like her, to sing just like her. I can actually sing in a style and sound very similar to hers, though my actual natural voice is a tad more choral.

Mimi 😉

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omg Mimi i'm in love you can??? wow now if you can you know you should perform i mean it. you know how unique karens voice was. wow i would love to hear you sometime. my sister was and is a singer.

isabeau

Not quite right dave.......

....its Niels Henning Orsted Pedersen, god rest his soul, he died earlier this year while still in his fifties.

OK, now thats cleared up. Speaking as a jazz piano player, its hard to know where to start, but here goes:- Oscar Peterson, the great flash harry of jazz piano, a massive influence on anyone who plays. I have always loved the bluesey, earthy sounds of guys like Horace Silver,Bobby Timmins, Ramsey Lewis and Les Mcann.

Add to that the quirky off centre wide spaced style of Ahamed Jamal and of course the awsome master of stride Art Tatum.

We have some great Brit guys, who have been a big influence on me as well such as Dudley Moore, George Shearing, Gordon Beck, Victor Feldman, John Haller, John Taylor and the total maverick nut case Stan Tracey.

Then of course I cant miss out Chick Corea and Herbie Hancock...............and........of course........


The great shamen, the bhudda, the guru, the mystic, the prophet, the high priest of jazz piano Bill Evans.

just a quick question here on this thread. why arent there any great girl blues playing guitar??? and i dont mean bonnie raitt or sheryl crow who i hardly consider great. but someone in the category of a stevie ray vaughn or jimi hendrix or eric clapton??? and also does it in a feminine way. now dont you women jump all over me for saying that. but i havent myself seen a really great woman blues guitar player. heck if they can sing the blues, why not play as well? and i dont mean piano either.

isabeau

isabeau said:

just a quick question here on this thread. why arent there any great girl blues playing guitar??? and i dont mean bonnie raitt or sheryl crow who i hardly consider great. but someone in the category of a stevie ray vaughn or jimi hendrix or eric clapton??? and also does it in a feminine way. now dont you women jump all over me for saying that. but i havent myself seen a really great woman blues guitar player. heck if they can sing the blues, why not play as well? and i dont mean piano either.

isabeau

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There are some decent lady guitar slingers; don't know if they're in the SVR category, but I enjoy the blues and listen to some of the following: Joanna Connor, Deborah coleman, Sue Foley, Debbie Davies, Sue Foley, Susan Tedeschi and Kelly Richey, among others.

My Influences:

ACE
Jimmy Page
Ted Nugent
Van Halen
Randy Rhoads

peace out,
daddy

As a musician, I'm more influenced by the person that was teaching me at the time... that goes for either playing the drums or the piano. Its in my compositions (and when I play my compositions) that my influences shine through.

First of all comes Chick Corea and Dave Brubeck. Odd meters and cross rhythms are what I live for... which means that bands like Tool, Dream Theater and The Mars Volta are having an influence on me now.

You're right, Injun...I crossed the two names in my mind when I was posting. I was unaware of Neils' death, I'm truly saddened.

And Isa...don't be too quick to dismiss Bonnie Raitt. She's been around long before she went pop, and her older stuff is quite good.

As a bassist my earliest influences were Cliff Burton, Steve Harris, and Les Claypool. I got into some Jaco Pastorius, Charles Mingus, and lots of other jazz bassisits as I got older. Oddly enough my more recent influences from some not so flashy guys such as Justin Chancellor from Tool and Billy Gould from Faith No More.

I've been Playing guitar for nearly 11 years and currently am a guitar teacher and a lead guitarist in a signed/touring doom metal band. I actually come from a line of musicians on my dad's side. Everybody on his side of the family is a guitar player. For a long time, though, I rejected the guitar. Then, when I turned 15, I heard "Eruption" by Eddie Van Halen...that did it. The next day I picked up one of my father's guitars and started trying to play it. Anyway, I spent a few years of my life learning Van Halen 1. Then, I started to hear Eric Johnson, Joe Satriani, Steve Vai, Paul Gilbert and guys like that. Finally, I heard "Trilogy Suite" from Yngwie Malmsteen and that was it. Since then, I have evolved a style that is cross between a blues-y Van Halen-ish style and a Yngwie-ish neoclassical style...with just a dash of doom.

Finally, despite my "shred" background, to me, the most important part of being a musician is honest emotional expression. Even though I do like to play very fast, emotional expression will always be more important than speed/flash.

Play Loud!!!

true i suppose Dave about bonnie , however she doesnt match at all the caliber of stevie ray, at least not to me. i dont understand why there arent any women who cant? almost makes me want to begin learning the guitar, although it would probably take years to reach a stevie ray vaughn level.

isabeau

Vocalist here:

here are my influences:

Voice-wise:

Patsy Cline
Brenda Lee
Allison Moorer
Amy Grant
Wynonna Judd
Sara Evans
Faith Hill

Performance Influences:

Wynonna Judd
Cher
Reba McEntire
Sarah McLachlin
Patsy Cline
Dottie West

I haven't done solos in two years but hope to get back to it eventually

Mental Block Head

Geez, I can't believe I left out Jeff Beck!! There are solos of his I've spent 30 years on and I STILL don't quite have them right, yet!

Sorry, Jeff....

R