I suppose if you know enough about Guitar and have listened to enough music you can probably guess at a few of my influences but I’m sure there are a few that you would NEVER guess.
My earliest was The Ventures. No one else for a long time caught my attention because I didn’t really listen to the radio back then. I had gotten my first stereo, which was very exciting except for the fact that I didn’t own a single album. So When I went to pick out my FIRST album I wanted something… Special. But I knew almost NO music but what I heard from my Dad which was mostly Eddy Arnold, Jim Reeves and the like. So I looked at some records in a bin and the one that caught my eye for some unknown reason was The Ventures – Walk Don’t Run ’64. It was fate from there. Once I heard the sound they produced I was COMPLETELY HOOKED!
After that its a bit of a blur. Clapton, Hendrix, Page and very much Jeff beck were all in there. Then someone else caught my ear like the Ventures did. Jan Akkerman. Not a household name at all but a phenomenal guitarist with a Dutch group called Focus. That name might sound a bit familiar but once you hear the familiar yodeling and hot guitar licks of their one basic hit, Hocus Pocus, you’ll say “Oh Yeah! I remember that song!”. Thing is that song was a far cry from a lot of their normal songs. They were very avante garde and eclectic and while I didn’t love every song, I listened to every note with a passion.
And of course Carlos Santana. From Soul Sacrifice on I was captured by his truly unique sound and approach.
Despite his personal problems and general bad attitude, I still was in awe of Ritchie Blackmore’s playing and sound. His sound was SO mellow and fluid. He was another truly unique individual and way ahead of his time. But now he’s playing Renaissance Faire’s?? A shame really…
Joe Walsh was and instant hero to me. What a master of the understatement! And by going through the back door too. He took an approach I had never heard before and his closing wah-wah solo on Walk Away is still one of the most powerful statements I have heard. Many other songs are classics too, all thanks to his mastery.
Then there was Pat Travers. Too bad his big hit was Snortin Whiskey and Drinkin Cocaine. He had SO many better songs. Great Sound, Great licks and a funky style. Loved his old tunes. He’s playing Power Blues now and still sounding good.
Another guy that did a similar style change to Pat was Gary Moore. Another incredible technician with a lot of emotion. He ventured from band (Coliseum) to band (Thin Lizzy) and worked on solo projects in between. He’s now primarily doing blues also and a major player in that style.
Another obscure player that I was very fond of was Pat Thrall. I first heard him in a group Automatic Man. I loved their mix of funk and hard rock. Then he showed up with Pat Travers! Later he became part of the somewhat legendary Hughes/Thrall band. Glenn Hughes being one of my favorite vocalists, this thrilled me to no end. Pat later joined Asia and has done some work with many others as well. So cheers to my early instincts about this talented man. He deserves all the praise you can give him.
Later I and the world were blown away by Steve Morse. Who wouldn’t be. But I never quite wanted to play exactly like him. I did marvel at his technique and melodic sense. Along the same lines was Al Dimeola. Another master of the Fretboard.
As time went on I regressed a bit and REALLY started to listening to the old blues players. But I think I will save this for chapter 2…