When I was a kid, I spent years playing piano and trumpet. Bizarrely, what made me want to pick up a guitar was Mike Nesmith in the Monkees! I dunno, he just looked cool somehow. Later on, guys like Page and Slash .... Striking a pose with an LP was the way to rock paradise :)
But one of my biggest influences as a player is Jerry Garcia: too often over-worshipped in the US, too often under appreciated elsewhere. Improvisational playing in ensemble ("conversational" playing, maybe) just made such instant sense to me when I first heard the Dead. Back when I lived in Boston, I used to jam in a kind of "musical collective" (more than "band") that was totally improvisational (no songs, no rehearsals!) and trying to take that modal-based Coltraneish improv thing in a more heavy rock direction. I'm still dreaming of bring that "jam" thing into a heavier vibe ....
In that vein, I've got to confess the influence of Hawkwind's Dave Brock on my playing. Slashing away at power chords with droning one note wah solos also made too much sense to me. :oops: And I suppose I've got to put in another "thank you" to Iommi, master of taking simple things and turning them into monster riffs that just make you stand up and wave your fist in the air. There will always be part of me striving for that.
And since I also play bass: Lemmy! I started really listening to what basses do because of Lemmy. IMO, the bass solo in "Time We Left This World Today" on Hawkwind's Doremi Fasol Latido album is one of humanity's greatest achievements. :) Thereafter I gave a lot of heed to Geezer Butler and Allen Woody as well. Guys who tackle the bass like it was a guitar. 8)
