Influences??

[BenderOfStrings]

Here are my top ten!

 

1.) Ace Frehley - Ok, he's an average player at best and he has made a living on the penatonic scale. But he IS the reason I wanted to play guitar in the first place!

 

2.) Gary Rossington - I'm from Georgia and I think as a rule, if you're from the south you HAVE to like Skynyrd. It's like a pre-requisite when you're born down here. Anyway growing up, Skynyrd was always being played in my house and I just took a liking to it. One word...FREEBIRD!

 

3.) Tom Sholz - Growing up I loved the distinctive guitar sound this guy created. Plus Boston is still one of my all time favorite classic rock bands.

 

4.) Brian May - Just a true original! Great player and his chops were instantly identifiable.

 

5.) Eddie Van Halen - completely changed the face of rock for me! In my honest opinion, after Eddie, we're all imitators. BTW, he's a fantastic rhythym player as well!

 

6.) Jeff Healey - blind dude who plays guitar on his lap! After seeing this guy play I had no excuse NOT to get better.

 

7.) Angus Young - just created some of the most kick butt memorable riffs in rock history!

 

8.) James Taylor - Amazing songwriter! Very influencial for me and my acoustic playing.

 

9.) John Petrucci - when "Images and Words" came out, I literally had no words. This guy just sickens me with his ability and creativity.

 

10.) Stevie Ray Vaughn - I had no interest in blues playing until I saw this guy! R.I.P. How does this guy die and yet we can't seem to get CC Deville on a freakin' airplane??

[EmptinesOf Youth]

i dont really have any, there are people who i think are good but i dont want to go toward their direction....maybe thats why im not getting anywhere

[PeeMonkey]

Here are my influences probably very similar

 

1.) Randy Rhoads - Awesome player, rocks hard and had a terrible accident RIP, my first influence to play Elec. Guitar, im only 18

 

2.) Yngwie Malmsteen - Lightning speed!! Never able to imitate his songs, wanted to be just like him however i lack the practice haha

 

3.) Angus Young - Kicks ass! Great riffs, one of the very first solos i learned were his

 

4.) Ed Van Halen - Awesome player, I can never be eddie, however i want his sig. amp haha

 

5.) Ace Frehly - What else can i say he uses a les paul and kicks ass

 

6.) Jimmy Page- Stairway to heaven first song I was actually able to play (including solo)!! What a great solo

 

7.) Jimmy Hendrix - C'mon everyone loves him!

 

8.) SRV - Strat player I loved, him and ygnwie made me buy a go for the strat, but I wish I can afford a Les Paul

[Leon_]

All Great Guitarists...you have listed there....Guitarists that I'm into are:

 

Steve Lukather, Joe Satriani, EVH, SRV, Frank Marino, Lee Ritenour, Andy Timmons, Steve Vai, Frank Gambale, Neal Schon.....so much great talent out there...I like all forms of music...If the music has great melodies, arrangements...I'll like it !!

 

Cheers !

 

Leon MacLellan

[EmptinesOf Youth]

change my mind, he diesnt influence me too much but i wouldnt mind playin like slash

[revolead]

My influences aren't really a number ten, they're more of a defining timeline in my small guitar career. I know many of you are way older than I am, so forgive me for not citing Jimmy Page as the reason I started guitar.

 

1. Jerry Horton of Papa Roach - He may not be the greatest guitarist or the fastest chops, but I love his riffs and I think he is a lot of what made the band what it is. All the riffs I write somehow come back to the forever memorable riffs of "Between Angels and Insects" and "Last Resort."

 

2. Kirk Hammett of Metallica - After learning a few licks, I realized I needed to learn some solos to get better at guitar. Metallica and Hammett paved the way for that, and I haven't regretted a moment since. I love everything about his solos, especially his best work (IMO) in "One" and "Fade to Black."

 

3. Slash - I went through a period where I had a Guns N Roses craze. I liked Slash's tone and his ability to create a melting, bluesy metal solo. His solos in "November Rain" still set my standard for heart-wrenching metal.

 

4. Janick Gers, Dave Murray, and Adrian Smith of Iron Maiden - My playing reeks of Iron Maiden. Anyone who's listened to Brave New World and then listened to me shred out can tell you that. I love these guys, and their British approach to metal. It doesn't get any better than the three of them in unified harmony playing a sweet Maiden riff.

 

5. John Petrucci - When I started guitar lessons, I bought the book Wild Stringdom by John Petrucci. I was amazed at even his technical exerises. Then I watched a video of him. The man is ridiculous. IMO, he is the greatest guitarist of metal, prog rock, prog metal, and hard rock. I own all the Dream Theater CDs, and I love every one of them, mostly because of him.

 

6. Eric Johnson - My neighbor introduced me to his hybrid blues/rock/metal style. I fell in love with it immediately. He is the standard in beautiful guitar tone. And the man knows a lot. I watched his instructional videos, and they helped my playing a lot. My playing also reeks of EJ.

 

7. Angus Young - I got into Angus for great rhythm and lead playing and great classic rock tone. I love his riffs.

 

8. J.S. Bach - I took a music appreciation course in college, and to my surprise, I learned quite a bit I never knew about classic music. I always liked Bach, but now I love him. I listen to him all the time, and when I write classical music, it reeks of Bach. Listen to the music on my website and you can see what I mean.

 

9. Joe Satriani - This guy also influenced my playing a lot. I love his solo called "Crying." It has to be my favorite Satch song. But his ability to make the guitar do things I never thought it could do is what really gets me going.

[BiC]

I would have to say Carlos Cavazo of Quiet Riot since it was "Metal Health" that got my guitar gears a turn'n.

 

Followed by:

 

- EVH

 

- K. K. Downing / Glenn Tipton

 

- Uli Jon Roth (Scorpions)

 

- James Hetfield

 

- Kirk Hammet

 

... just to name a few!

 

Hummm, I wonder what Randy Rhoads' music would have evolved into if he stayed with Quiet Riot???

 

Peace

[Billster]

Pete Townshend made me pick up guitar

Tony Iommi

Went through a Frank Marino phase

Robin Trower

John McLaughlin (all of it - Mahavishnu to Shakti)

Steve Vai

Mike Stern, John Scofield

 

Those are the biggies. Everyone I hear offers a little something.

 

How about non-guitar influences on your music? For me it's big band, Ellington and Basie, plus Miles Davis, Thelonius Monk.

 

EDIT

 

How did I not mention Jeff Beck? I was thinking that from the get go, and then started typing from the beginning and got lost in the stream of consciousness chronology.

[Jedro]

Semi-chronologically, these are some of the guitarists that I've really gotten into over the years. Looking back at it, there is somewhat of a progression.

 

1. Angus Young - I came home from school one day and listened to a song called "Rocker" on Dirty Deeds and that was it. I had to play the guitar!

 

2. Ace Frehley - I had listened to Kiss way before I picked up a guitar. When I finally sat down to learn some songs off of Alive!, I somehow already knew how to play them. That's how much Ace's playing had become ingrained into my subconscious.

 

3. Randy Rhoads - I don't listen to Ozzy too much these days, but Randy was my first guitar hero. I tried hard to copy his stuff for years.

 

4. Steve Clark/ Phil Collen - Def Leppard's Pyromania had been out a few months when I started playing. I loved the AC/DC heaviness paired with pop songs. More motivation than influence, though.

 

5. Clapton - I loved Behind the Sun. There were licks on there that I could play and they were from a "guitar god"!

 

6. Brad Gillis - Man, those guy in Night Ranger could play! Gillis was really the first where guitar style started to become a conscious effort. I'm still blown away by the stuff he and Jeff Watson did.

 

7. Neal Schon - Just a monster guitarist. Plays everything like he means it. Melody everywhere. The live "Captured" is incredible. Neal's tone is one of the best.

 

8. Steve Lukather - To this day, my favorite player and the first I really copied. He could put out an album of him tuning the guitar and I'd probably like it! I get ripped for liking Toto, but they're still playing so I'm still buying. The outro solo on Rosanna is great.

 

9. Larry Carlton - On Solid Ground was the first I had of his. Fantastic, beautiful guitar playing. When I got into Steely Dan, LC's Royal Scam work blew me away.

 

10. Robben Ford - The perfect blend of blues & jazz. Great tone. I love it when he takes what is basically a blues tune to jazzier places. Always has a killer groove, too.

 

11. Mike Stern - Beautiful playing with an edge. Between the Lines was my favorite.

 

Guys I left out: Pre-blues Gary Moore, Jeff Beck, Van Halen, Satriani, Page, the list goes on.....

[Base]

Hey, don't let anyone ever knock you for liking Steve Lukather!!!! His singing may have been a tad off last week but he's still one of the best musician's out there!!!!

 

I'd have to say it was bands like Metallica, Queensryche, Iron Maiden, etc that got me into playing guitar. Especially Metallica as my neighbour started playing first and bought all of the tab books so when I finally got a guitar I just kept borrowing those books and learning the riffs and simpler solo's. Probably wouldn't think it from the sort of stuff I play nowadays tho...

[Lee Flier]

My top 10:

 

1) Keith Richards (duh!)

2) Pete Townshend

3) John Lennon

4) George Harrison

5) John Fogerty

6) Mike Campbell

7) Richard Thompson

8) Jimmy Page

9) Elmore James

10) John Lee Hooker

 

Lots of others I've picked up bits and pieces from, but those prolly more than anybody else.

 

Good idea to ask about non guitar influences Bill - I have a lot of those actually. I think every drummer I've ever played with has influenced me, cuz I tend to play off the drums a LOT and be very much affected by whatever the drummer's doing. And I think I sound different to a degree as a guitarist, depending who's playing drums.

[Billster]

Originally posted by Jedro:

9. Larry Carlton - On Solid Ground was the first I had of his. Fantastic, beautiful guitar playing. When I got into Steely Dan, LC's Royal Scam work blew me away.

 

Check out the live album from around then "Last Nite" Excellent, excellent, excellent, with a small horn section. I have it on vinyl, gotta dump it to CD for summer vacation.

[Gabriel E.]

I find it interesting that Angus Young is mentioned a couple of times for his kick ass riffs. Note that MALCOLM Young is primarily responsible for AC/DC's riffs. He never gets the credit he deserves.

 

In any case, here are mine:

 

-Vernon Reid. Got the GP with the "Cult of Personality" soundpage back in 12th grade. That turned my world upside down. Jazz lines DO sound good cranked up!

 

-EVH. It was impossible to be a rookie guitarist in the late 80s and not be influenced by him.

 

-SRV. Back in '88 I had a choice of studying for a French test or seeing SRV at the Halifax Metro Centre. Needless to say I failed the test. I never had the desire to learn any SRV stuff but that concert was really inspiring. I still have the ticket stub.

 

-Jimi Hendrix. I went through a "Hendrix is God" phase.

 

-Robert Cray. His solo on "Strong Persuader" is amazing. Great control of dynamics. I worked hard at copping his sound. I've always envied guys like him and knopfler who play clean but are still powerful players.

 

-Mark Knopfler. "Brothers in Arms" is an outstanding record. He's amazing player and an amazing songwriter. I always liked his Dire Straits work the best.

 

-Prince. Been a fan since "Purple Rain". Great playing. Great songwriting.

 

-Rocky George. One of the best shredders of the 80s. Never got any credit. Suicidal Tendencies were just awesome. I liked their later speed-metal stuff.

 

-Carlos Santana. "Europa" is incredible. I was never able to get sustain like he does. Saw him perform "Blues for Salvador" on TV with Chester Thompson. Messed me up.

 

-Ywingie Malmsteen. His instrumental stuff was really cool on the first couple of records. I still find myself doing trills and swept arpeggios occasionally.

 

-Eric Clapton. "Layla" was a big deal for me when I was first learning how to play.

 

-Dickey Betts. I always preferred his playing to Duane Allman's. Great tone, great phrasing.

 

-Chuck Berry! When I was first learning, I was into old blues and early rock. Chuck Berry was the first shredder and I learned a lot from him.

 

-Albert King. I still bend strings down towards my feed because of him.

 

-The guy who played guitar on Dr. Dre's "the Chronic". The funk/R&B chords on that record sound killer.

 

There are numerous non-guitar influences as well. These probably had just as much of an impaxton my playing.

[Guitarzan]

lots of great choices guys.

well as a young pup i would say Ace Frehely made me want to play. Kiss just played rock and roll really loud.

angus and malcom... they each focus on certain parts of the riff. try panning the balance left and right to hear each one by itself. those guys put together are one big ass riff machine.

Billy Gibbons

EVH

KK and Glenn (Judas Priest)

Randy Rhoads

Mark Knoffler

Oh yeah Vernon Reid blew my mind

though i don't really play like any of these guys, i would say i am infuenced by how i think now after hearing them.

of course there are tons of players that have changed how i think about music.

[tiger85]

In no particular order:

 

Chuck Berry

Beatles

Kinks

Rolling Stones

Yardbirds ( with Jeff Beck)

Jimmy Page

Eric Clapton

Albert King

Dickie Betts

Ritchie Blackmore

Santana

Skynyrd

The Ventures

Jimmy Reed (blues)

SRV

Wes Montgomery (jazz)

Brent Mason ( country)

[Shoes]

This is kind difficult to answer and I'll try to be as close to the mark as I can here.

 

Earl Slick

Rick Derringer

Lowell George

David Howell Evans "The Edge"

Mick Ronson

Frank Zappa

 

It's personal inclinations toward off kilter timing, thin lyrical rhythms and contrasting leads. Mostly the result of the trauma I suffered as a child when I was attacked by a bat.

 

Conversely, little of what I play for covers comes from any of them!

Perhaps that's respect... I duno...

[tiger85]

No one has mentioned:

 

The Monkees

The Partridge Family

Milli Vanilli

Tiny Tim

Spinal Tap

Phoebe (from Friends)

Brady Bunch

[BenderOfStrings]

Wow! I never really realized just how many here were influenced by Ace Frehley. I was amazed when I first saw his cherry sunburst Les Paul, and then when he played the smoking guitar that was IT for me!

 

I guess I'm just as impressed with those who do a lot with their limitations as I am with virtuoso's.

 

I am also glad to see Neil Schon on some lists. Being in Journey I feel he never could get out of the shadow of Steve Perry's voice (but GOD what a voice!!) and the overall sappy ballad-happy songwriting the band practiced. The early heavier stuff that's pre-Perry is pretty cool though.

 

Some names that I'm surprised that I HAVEN'T seen yet are Zakk Wylde, David Gilmoure, Phil Keaggy, Ted Nugent, Joe Perry, Peter Frampton, Joe Walsh, Mick Mars, George Lynch, Les Paul, Chet Atkins, Mel Bay, Andres Segovia, Robert Johnson, Roy Clark, Stanley Jordan, etc.

 

These guys weren't necessarily influences of mine but I figured I'd see these guys pop up here and there.

[Lee Flier]

Originally posted by BenderOfStrings:

Some names that I'm surprised that I HAVEN'T seen yet are Zakk Wylde, David Gilmoure, Phil Keaggy, Ted Nugent, Joe Perry, Peter Frampton, Joe Walsh, Mick Mars, George Lynch, Les Paul, Chet Atkins, Mel Bay, Andres Segovia, Robert Johnson, Roy Clark, Stanley Jordan, etc.

Well, you can put Gilmour, Perry, Walsh, Atkins, Clark, and Johnson in my list of "people I've picked up a lot of bits and pieces from."

[tiger85]

Now that's a nice list Bender!

I'm sure that some of those older guys influenced our picks!

[Gabriel E.]

I forgot - Stole Billy Gibbons' pinched harmonic thing. I use that a lot.

[Mudcat]

These are not necessarily guitarists that I've sat around and deliberately listened to over the years. I think I've been heavily influenced by Jeff Carlisi & Dickey Betts just from hearing 38 Special and the Allman's on the radio over the years. I've never owned either one's albums.

 

Yanovsky & Levin on the other hand! I wore out my Lovin Spoonful & Raider LPs over the years.

 

In no particular order:

 

Harrison, Lennon, McCartney

Zal Yanovsky (Lovin Spoonful)

Drake Levin (Paul Revere & the Raiders)

Ventures

Scotty Moore

Eddie Cochran

Billy Bremner (Rockpile & the Pretenders)

James Honeyman Scott (Pretenders)

Jeff Carlisi

Dickey Betts

Duane Eddy

 

Now for non-guitarist influences, I really only have one:

 

Cap'n Geech and the Shrimp Shack Shooters

[NMcGuitar]

There are tons of guitarists that I like, and many of them I've tried to incorporate into my own style. I won't list all of those.

 

The players whose influence I see as most obvious in my playing are (in no particular order):

 

Ace Frehley

Joe Perry

SRV

Jeff Beck (old stuff)

Clapton

Harrison

Kenny Burrell

Nancy Wilson (for acoustic stuff)

[Gruupi]

Eric Johnson

Jimmy Page

Stevie Ray Vaughn

Christopher Parkening

Alex Lifson

 

These are the main ones that I have learned the most from and tried to emulate the most.

[Tedster]

Earliest influence: John, George, and Paul.

 

Actually, even though he wasn't really a "player" I remember seeing Elvis movies before the Beatles came out, and he was slinging the thing around...that was cool.

 

Later...

 

Johnny Winter

Duane and Dickey

Terry Kath

B.B. King

Bill Nelson (although I never really learned much of his stuff)

Some of the country pickers, like Roy Clark, Jerry Reed...etc. Hell, even Glen Campbell (no matter what you think of his music, the mofo can play).

[Blue Strat]

Tim Sult - Clutch

Tony Iommi - Black Sabbath

Kurt Cobain - Nirvana

Angus & Malcolm Young - AC/DC

Dave Mustaine - Megadeth

Kim Thayil - Soundgarden

Jerry Cantrell - A.I.C.

[Shannon]

Alright i was going to try to put a lot of thought into this one but I'm about to go home so I'll just refer to my cd case instead....

 

I make a point of trying everything I can... broadening my horizons...so hopefully the deeper I dig over time this list will get much longer...

 

so there are a lot of fantastic musicians out there that I appreciate and like to listen to for different reasons and some I haven't even heard of yet... these are just the ones that have made a major impact or emotional connection and are currently what I love most in music...

 

(I also decided to not just go with guitarists because other musicians have made a big impact too... and because I don't just play guitar)

 

no particular order

 

*Led Zeppelin - I have to accredit Jimmy Page's playing with being the main catalyst for me picking my guitar back up after so long - he's not the best... the tones just make me feel the most... guess that's most important to me

*The Beatles - every single one of em

*Bob Dylan

*Eric Clapton

*The Rolling Stones

*Fleetwood Mac - Peter Green days and Stevie and Lindsey era

*Heart

*Lynyrd Skynyrd

*The Allman Brothers Band

*Simon and Garfunkel

*Joni Mitchell

*The Yardbirds... Eric, Jeff, and Jimmy eras

*Jeff Beck

*Jimi Hendrix of course

*SRV

*Janis Joplin

*The Eagles

*Guns-N-Roses

*The Ramones

*The Sex Pistols

*Metallica

*Black Sabbath

*Aerosmith

*Pink Floyd

*Howlin Wolf

*Chuck Berry

*B.B. King

*Robert Johnson

*Elmore James

*Muddy Waters

*Ravi Shankar

*Otis Rush

 

Wow that was a bunch ok I think that's enough for now... I think I'm forgetting someone... but I don't know who... and no that's not everyone in my CD case... just the ones I listen to the most right now......I have more than 200 cds in my jeep at any given time

If you see a red jeep with a #8 tag headed your way and it's swerving all over the road... watch out I'm searching for the right song

[Shannon]

 

AC/DC just came on the radio... how could i forget them??? i agree great riffs

[rockman_real]

All I can see is a beautiful girl. no Beatles, no bob dylon, no stevo

 

Nice to meet you here,

 

mistake! you but not meet me

[pauldil]

Originally posted by tiger85:

No one has mentioned:

 

The Monkees

The Partridge Family

Milli Vanilli

Tiny Tim

Spinal Tap

Phoebe (from Friends)

Brady Bunch

You forgot Menudo & The Archies!

 

For me, the list of people that I've stolen from...er, I mean who have influenced me includes, but is not limited to the following:

 

George Harrison

Terry Kath

Carlos Santana

Ritchie Blackmore

Duane Allman

Larry Carlton

Wes Montgomery

Joe Diorio

Joe Pass

BB King

 

Paul