jamesg1213

SteveStrummerUK

• Les Dawson
• Father Abraham
• Chico

You forgot Paper Lace.
 
 
 

Billy don't be a hero

Hallucinogens were an influence too... 

It started with the most metal I knew, Jerusalem. Then Stryper. Stryper is a mix of pop and metal I think is really underrated. And I have aloft of that approach from them. Guitar wise I would say Anthrax, Stryper, Yngwie Malmsteen and so on. I'm not that technical tho. I've always wanted to be, but lack of discipline and concentration made me give up. For singing, every high pitched singers. Male or female. From early on I discovered Handel and Bach sort of on my own, and always have a mind to put something baroque in songs or the whole thing. I love Fugue technic and try to learn more on my own. So Bach and Handel is grate influences too. For extreme metal I have some. All Christian. Antestor, Mortification, Paramæcium. But I started making such music just recent. Another influences is Dream Theater.

I almost forget. MAX Martin and Dennis POP.

It's only recently that I've realized that I have been heavily influenced by Jeff Beck without actually listening to him  
 
I remember about 20 years ago at a party, listening to a friend tell the person sitting next to him that I was a guitar player and that I sounded like Jeff Beck. It kind of stuck in my mind but amazingly enough I never really bothered to check out his music. I'm sure everyone has an example of some musical legend whom they've somehow managed to avoid listening to over the years only to discover them later. Over the last couple of years I've listened to a lot of his stuff and very often thinking wow, that's exactly what I would have played. 
 
I think I've also been heavily influenced by the British folk guitar players - Bert Jansch (I once transcribed almost his full catalog), John Renbourne, Davey Graham (of Anji fame), Archie Fisher, Martin Carthy (amazing), Wizz Jones, Nic Jones, Martin Simpson, John Martyn and many more. 
 
Back when I first started, my influences were a weird mixture of classic rock (Jimmy Page, Richie Blackmore etc), thrash metal (picking out Kirk Hammett's solos on Kill 'Em All is what taught me to play guitar) and the sublime guitar playing on Steely Dan albums. 
 
I grew up in the 70's in a house in which my father smoked weed and listened to amazing music. How much of that smoke I inhaled is anybody's guess (although my brother and I ate nearly a whole tin of strong hash cookies when I was 5 - I was stoned for a couple of days apparently and the box was kept on a higher shelf after that) but I sure as hell soaked up all that music like a sponge. Steely Dan, Frank Zappa, the Mahavishnu Orchestra, Miles Davis, Bob Dylan, Back Door etc. It definitely influenced the way I hear chords and melody. 

craigb
...  On my own I used to play along with the early Scorpion albums from begin to end so I also picked up things from Herman Rarebell and the Schenker's.
...

 
NP: "Fly To The Rainbow" ... followed by AD2's "Apocaliptyc Bore". Gotta love it ... one says goodbye to drugs and drink and the other says hello to the party!
 

Hi,
 
Having come from a house with 40K+ books on Portuguese, Spanish and Brazilian literature (not toilet paper!), makes a difference. I had gotten and enjoyed the Beatles and Rolling Stones way back in 1964 in Brazil, but I already thought that the lyrics were childish and that most "pop music" was not to be taken seriously -- like Bapu!
 
When the Beatles "grew up" and did not want to do silly pop songs, I was quite OK with that and it was better for me, since a new generation was, then, also creating new "literature" that I could relate to. This, eventually, led me to the European music scene and its much more intelligent and less pop minded attitude towards what we could/would/should call "music".
 
From a writing perspective, I could easily say that Amon Duul 2 in its incarnations until "Apocaliptyc Bore" is the closest thing to my attitudes and how I write, although I will state that I do not have the "psychedelic" shine that they did. Others that also influenced me were Tangerine Dream, and Guru Guru ... both known widely for being total free form for a long time on stage in the early days, and still create a lot of outstanding material.
 
After that, the numbers slow down. The person that I admire the most in rock music is Peter Hammill and Van der Graaf Generator, for being so honest with his words and music, that one wonders where it stops. After that, the Master Builder himself, is an inspiration for his work and specially his meditative work, that he used to teach. Sadly, the ravages of time and cancer are eating him apart and he just posted recently a moving hello and goodbye to all of us, by saying Thank You.
 
Wise Man In Your Heart!
 
The rest is something that I love to hear and enjoy watching people "going away" with their own music ... something that lyrics can not replace much, and define an "artist" for my tastes. At moments like those, there are no words, that one can use to describe the inner feelings, and they become way too special moments for one's life.
 
And recently, seeing King Crimson, with 3 drummers, and watch a music master just rip it all apart into oblivion and one of the best concerts I have ever seen. Only "Return to Forever" displayed such amazing discipline and musicianship on a stage in my life! The rest just does not sound as important. I want to add Pink Floyd Live at the Hollywood Bowl in 1972 to the list ... and Tangerine Dream at the Greek Theater with Lazerium turning all the trees on fire, the picture of which you can see on the Live Album in America! That was something else, but otherwise ... the only other concert I love dearly and most don't was YES at the Long Beach Arena doing Tales from Topographic Oceans which was magnificent and made me cry, because I knew no rock band would EVER do something that valuable and important during my lifetime! I did not have a chance to catch JT's Passion Play tour and would love to have seen it otherwise.
 
That's it ... most of my inspirations are in music. Some people have even said that my poetry is very musical and when I read it to myself, I have no idea what they are saying ... I only see a floating movie in my head!
 
Which is where it all comes from for me!

Welcome back Pedro.... where have you been hiding?

From a synth perspective...
Vangelis
Jarre
Tangerine Dream
 
From a melody perspective...these artists inspire great tunes
Kate Bush
Annie Lennox
Sting

@Moshkito - if you enjoy lyrics, check out the Emerson, Lake, and Palmer tune - Pirates.  I believe Greg Lake and Peter Sinfield spend something like a year working together on them, and the song is a masterpiece, from their Works release.
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uSLDz8PSSkc

Bob Bone