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Who are your musical influences? Which musicians have helped you define your style of what you play?

I only play (rhythm) guitar, but my influences include:

Pete Townshend - the agression, the flourishes, the windmills
Brian Jones - one of the best rhythm guitarists, with ways of playing the song HIS way, not the original, intended way
John Lennon - another great rhythm guitarist, who's simple plunking says a lot
Ray Davies - his riffs and rhythm playing is fun to (try to) copy

I really admire Richard Wagner (anti-Semitic sentiments aside) and Claude Debussy, and perhaps to a lesser degree 20th century American composers like Ives and Copland. The Beatles, naturally. Brian Eno, Wilco, David Bowie. I dunno, a whole lot. I think everything I hear is an influence in some way.

My musical influences = my literary influences, and so I have to mention Leonard Cohen, Townes Van Zandt, Conor Oberst, and Dylan.

I'm pretty eclectic. I don't really think I sound like any of these folks on a regular basis, but they all contributed to forming my "style":

Instrumentalists:
Pete and John
Keith Brian and Bill
Eric Clapton
Duane and Greg Allman
Jack Casady and Jorma Kaukonen
Carlos Santana
Ry Cooder
Bonnie Raitt
Mike Wilhelm
Carol Kaye

Overall Idols:
John, Paul, and George in their various manifestations
Jimi Hendrix
Kurt Cobain
Steve Earle
Janis Joplin
Patti Smith
Chrissie Hynde
Gillian Welch

Composers:
Todd Rundgren
Ray Davies
Steve Winwood
Leon Russell
Van Morrison
James Taylor
John Fogerty
Randy Newman
CSNY (all of em')
Donovan
Cat Stevens
John Kay
Harry Nilsson

Literary:
Bob Dylan
Leonard Cohen
William S. Burroughs
Constantine Kavafis
John Prine
Eminem
Trent Reznor
Jim Morrison
Ice T

Well, that's about it for my short list I'm sure I forgot a few.

Most of the usual early '60's icons, then folks like Nick Drake, Steve Earle, Neil Young, Tim Buckley

Not enough room to list them all.

Wow, where to start?
Where to end?
There is no end, I keep hearing new things that influence me!

There's just no way I could list them all, I'd probably have to list just about everything/everyone I've ever head...

"Influence" is a seriously loaded word. I think we're all influenced by everything we hear. For example, every time I hear a Rush song, I'm influenced to do the complete opposite, musically speaking.

Or, every time I listen to a CAN record, I feel as if I'm under the influence.

My musical influence?....simple. My guitar or instrument that is in my hand at any moment in time.

How much time do we have?

Just off the top of my head:
Guitarists
Chet Atkins
Merle Travis
Roger McGuinn
George Harrison
Dick Betts
Doc Watson
Blind Blake
Blind Willie McTell
Leadbelly
Happy Traum

Banjo Players
Wade Ward
Kyle Creed
Uncle Dave Macon
Beverly Cotton
Cathy Barton
Art Rosenbaum
Mike Seeger
Pete Seeger

Fiddlers:
Tommy Jarrell
Melvin Wine
J.P. Fraley
Bob Walters
Bill Driver
Lyman Enloe
Bob Potts & Walt Koken
Johnny Gimble
Bob Wills
Stephane Grapelli

Song Writers:
Lennon & McCartney
Bill Staines
Phil Ochs
Bob Dylan
Tom Paxton
David Hakan
Henry C. Work
Cheryl Wheeler
Gram Parsons
P. D. aka Anon., aka Trad.

OK, that's enough for a while.
JimK

Influences:
Dee Murray
John Entwistle
Paul McCartney
Chris Squire
John Lodge

A person I get compared to A LOT is Peter Hook, even tho' I'd been playing a good 30 years before I really listened to any Joy Division/New Order, and only then because so many had told me I must be a big fan considering how I play.

long term influences:
Genesis
They Might Be Giants
Elvis Costello
Ben Folds (with or without the Five)
Richard Buckner
Roger McGuinn
Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers
Tom Waits
Stereolab

recent digness:
Punch Brothers
Flight of the Conchords
Kenny Howes
Airway Lanes
The Postal Service
Gorillaz

This could end up being a list of favourite acts. I'll try and distill it down to influences that might actually come out in my music:

- The Beatles
- The Who
- The Clash
- The Ramones
- The Cure
- Nirvana
- JJ Cale
- Mental as Anything

It's hard for me too because I steal from any and everyone I like

More:

Banjo Players:
Charlie Poole
Pete Steele
Dock Boggs
Hobart Smith


Fiddlers
Arthur Smith
Gid Tanner
Lowe Stokes
Clayton McMichen

(I'm just gettin' warmed up now....)

JimK

sloop_john_b wrote:"Influence" is a seriously loaded word. I think we're all influenced by everything we hear. For example, every time I hear a Rush song, I'm influenced to do the complete opposite, musically speaking.

I have to agree. The music you don't want to sound like influences your musical direction just as much as the music that inspires you. I like Rush though, for me, the plug gets pulled as soon as a song starts to sound like Journey.

Some big influences can also soak into you completely subconsciously. When I was a kid, a friend of mine's older brother blasted Deep Purple all of the time. It wasn't until years later that I discovered how much of Richie Blackmore's style I had digested.