My Influences
23/12/07 08:26 Filed in: Background
It seems that one of the reasons to blog is to let
you get to know me better. Probably one of the best
ways to get to know me as a musician is to take a
stroll with me down musical memory lane. You may not
hear or directly be able to identify how these
various artists influenced me, but on some level they
affected me.
It all started with having older brothers and
sisters. I am the baby of the family. My oldest
sister is actually my half-sister is 13 years older
than I am. I don't really have a musical memory of
any specific songs. We did reconnect and took a tour
of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland. She
was most fascinated with the dresses the Shirelles
were wearing while I was looking at the Lennon
display.
My
next oldest sister got me hooked on all kinds of
music. Of course there were the Beatles and the
Monkeys. My sister had Davey Jones love beads and
posters. Then one summer it was Tommy James and the
Shondells on the stereo. Then it was John Denver
8-Tracks (OK, I’m old). But I'd have to say the high
trinity of my sister's musical legacy would have to
be: Crosby Stills Nash & Young (Four Way Street),
Cat Stevens (Foreigner), and Jackson Browne (For
Everyman) .
When I was 8 I got my first snare drum [Screeeeetch! Crash! Honk!] "Snare Drum?" What the?!@(*&??
Yes, it's true. For a couple months I tried to take drum lessons and they gave me a headache! Not to mention that I didn't exactly "take" to reading rhythmic notation!
When I was about 10 I got my first guitar. It was a “no brand” steel string. I was ready to start playing all those great songs I was hearing.
I
remember I listened to those albums over and over
again. I even memorized the introductions on Four Way
Street. I explored the nuances. Do you remember
Graham Nash introducing "Love the One Your With"? The
band is already starting to play the song, picking up
the tempo and in time Graham says, "...remember... if
you can't be with the one you love... Love the one
You're With!" The crowd goes bonkers laughing —
LAUGHING! That was the first time they heard the
title of that song and it was delivered like a joke!
I fantasized what it must have been like for that
crowd to hear all those songs - many of them for the
first time! Amazing. It was probably 23 years later
when I heard CSN live at the Shoreline amphitheater
and I still have this image of Graham Nash and David
Crosby harmonizing so beautifully. They were lost in
their song and looking away from each other off into
the distance on opposite sides of the stage. When the
song finished —they looked at each other in
astonishment and started laughing because they were
so blown away by how well they had harmonized!
OK, back to family musical influences. Down the hall my brother's quirky music was lurking, waiting to be discovered. Keep in mind that John Denver is a great fit for a boy with a guitar. I had probably five of his song books. Somewhere along the line, I think it was the 500th singing of "This Old Guitar" my brother popped his head into my room and said, "Hey have you heard of this great new band?! Check them out. The album is called AQUALUNG!" and he let me borrow his Jethro Tull album. This gave way to Led Zeppelin, Kansas, Pink Floyd and Genesis. I remember we hit a divergent path when my brother showed me a Frank Zappa album called "Weasels Ripped my Flesh". I didn't go there.
I had enough of a kick start to start my own collection: James Taylor (Mudslide Slim and the Blue Horizon), Simon & Garfunkel, Jackson 5, The Guess Who, Queen, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, the Eagles and Elvis Costello. As you can tell my influences were pretty heavily dictated by popular radio of the day. I traversed all six degrees of separation and ended up with quite a big record collection.
When I was out of high school taking classes at an electronic tech school I heard this amazing song on the radio. It was "In the Air Tonight" by Phil Collins. I bought the cassette tape (OK, I'm old). I played that tape until it fell apart. I sang that song at the top of my lungs in my little red truck.
When I was living in Minnesota - after college,
I
used to listen to this great radio station that
played such excellent set lists. They turned me on to
David Wilcox. "How Did You Find Me Here" took me from
my house in Minneapolis and back again to the dinner
theater in Chanhassen where I ran sound for a while.
I memorized those songs and once someone told me they
thought I sounded like him. Another album that has
always seemed to be with me is "Blue" by Joni
Mitchell. I have studied and studied that one.
When I moved to San Francisco I was so thrilled to find the bars in the Castro playing such excellent music. In those days Badlands used to be this rough wood interior saloon style bar before it turned into a spaceship. Badlands was where I first heard Nirvana's - Smells Like Teen Spirit CD and Michael Penn's "No Myth" from his March CD.
I was able to travel to London a few years ago. I traveled by myself and one of the CDs I brought was Shawn Colvin’s Cover Girl. As thrilling as the trip was, there were some solitary lonely times and these songs are etched into my mind. They were my companion and my soundtrack for that excursion.
Today I am still a ravenous fan. My latest finds have been Rufus Wainwright, Teddy Thompson, Damien Rice, Glen Hansard & Marketa Irglova, Iron and Wine, Ray LaMontagne, and Brett Dennen.
Now I have an aching sense that I've left out some key favorite band or musician or influence. But I think it is fascinating that as I remember these - I am remembering people and situations. These songs have a way of being stamped with a time and a place and an emotion.
I hope this gives you a snapshot of the music I listened to growing up. My listening history has been rather vanilla with a few interesting exceptions. I recently added the ability for you to provide comments to these blogs! I would love to hear from you to know your favorite band or artist, or perhaps a memory you have about a particular song that was meaningful to you. I am also always curious to know if any of my songs remind you of a particular artist. I’ve gotten a wide range of responses to date.
When I was 8 I got my first snare drum [Screeeeetch! Crash! Honk!] "Snare Drum?" What the?!@(*&??
Yes, it's true. For a couple months I tried to take drum lessons and they gave me a headache! Not to mention that I didn't exactly "take" to reading rhythmic notation!
When I was about 10 I got my first guitar. It was a “no brand” steel string. I was ready to start playing all those great songs I was hearing.
OK, back to family musical influences. Down the hall my brother's quirky music was lurking, waiting to be discovered. Keep in mind that John Denver is a great fit for a boy with a guitar. I had probably five of his song books. Somewhere along the line, I think it was the 500th singing of "This Old Guitar" my brother popped his head into my room and said, "Hey have you heard of this great new band?! Check them out. The album is called AQUALUNG!" and he let me borrow his Jethro Tull album. This gave way to Led Zeppelin, Kansas, Pink Floyd and Genesis. I remember we hit a divergent path when my brother showed me a Frank Zappa album called "Weasels Ripped my Flesh". I didn't go there.
I had enough of a kick start to start my own collection: James Taylor (Mudslide Slim and the Blue Horizon), Simon & Garfunkel, Jackson 5, The Guess Who, Queen, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, the Eagles and Elvis Costello. As you can tell my influences were pretty heavily dictated by popular radio of the day. I traversed all six degrees of separation and ended up with quite a big record collection.
When I was out of high school taking classes at an electronic tech school I heard this amazing song on the radio. It was "In the Air Tonight" by Phil Collins. I bought the cassette tape (OK, I'm old). I played that tape until it fell apart. I sang that song at the top of my lungs in my little red truck.
When I was living in Minnesota - after college,
When I moved to San Francisco I was so thrilled to find the bars in the Castro playing such excellent music. In those days Badlands used to be this rough wood interior saloon style bar before it turned into a spaceship. Badlands was where I first heard Nirvana's - Smells Like Teen Spirit CD and Michael Penn's "No Myth" from his March CD.
I was able to travel to London a few years ago. I traveled by myself and one of the CDs I brought was Shawn Colvin’s Cover Girl. As thrilling as the trip was, there were some solitary lonely times and these songs are etched into my mind. They were my companion and my soundtrack for that excursion.
Today I am still a ravenous fan. My latest finds have been Rufus Wainwright, Teddy Thompson, Damien Rice, Glen Hansard & Marketa Irglova, Iron and Wine, Ray LaMontagne, and Brett Dennen.
Now I have an aching sense that I've left out some key favorite band or musician or influence. But I think it is fascinating that as I remember these - I am remembering people and situations. These songs have a way of being stamped with a time and a place and an emotion.
I hope this gives you a snapshot of the music I listened to growing up. My listening history has been rather vanilla with a few interesting exceptions. I recently added the ability for you to provide comments to these blogs! I would love to hear from you to know your favorite band or artist, or perhaps a memory you have about a particular song that was meaningful to you. I am also always curious to know if any of my songs remind you of a particular artist. I’ve gotten a wide range of responses to date.
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