Which artists inspired you to play guitar ?

[Davey]

I had a different path than some.
I started on the drums at 9. Neal Peart was my hero and years later was Mike Mangini (way before DT)
In high school, my friend James played guitar and I couldn't get over how much fun he looked like he was having while playing.
He was not a popular artist, but he inspired me to pick up a guitar and learn.
As I progressed, early influences were Randy Rhoads, Jimmy Page, Angus Young, Dave Murray, Adrian Smith, Glenn Tipton, K.K. Downing, EVH and Joe Satriani, but my friend James was the one who inspired me to pick up a guitar.

 

[CandidPicker]

My most influential album was The Who 'Live at Leeds.' It wasn't the technical proficiency nor accuracy of note choice that inspired me. Moreover, it was the raw force Townshend employed to draw out what his fingers were asking the guitar to play. A lot of slap and bend percussive technique, pick scrapes, slides, failed attempts until something worthwhile followed.

Exactly what one might expect from a live unmastered recording, clams and all. Live at Leeds told a story of a soon-to-be supergroup that played by the seat of its pants, pissed that they hadn't played as well as they wanted, but happy to play at all with the exposure they received.

Isn't this the truth for many of us? Perhaps it was that honesty that was my inspiration, the ability to play half-arsed but still sound good, the joy that came from doing as best you could despite one's lack of technical proficiency.

Duly noted, as The Who morphed into their storytelling rock opera series and theme-based album releases, I felt that this was likely not the path I'd later choose as my main influence. Soon after, it was Cream and EC's subsequent releases.

Soon, like many before me, I took the journey backwards from the British Invasion to honor the fathers of jazz and blues, the 3 Kings, the Delta and Chicago blues.

Yet today, I'm stuck in a mess of YT videos suggesting embellishing my blues playing by learning jazz triads. I think I've realized I'll never be better that an adequate unschooled blues guitarist who employs occasional jazz phrases for interest.

Perhaps if I revisit my EC days, it might be helpful to carry on the name of one of the world's most prolific blues guitarists. Encouraged by both artists Josh Smith & David Grissom, there might be hope for these old fingers yet. I know tomorrow arrives much quicker than we'd like and once it's gone you can't get it back. May we all be as successful as our searches allow.