Influences

gibs

gibs

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I was just a little kid and my father had Hank Williams' "I'm So Lonesome I could Cry"...the word and music combination had way more effect on me than all the children's "music" I had heard....by the time I was ten or so I loved instrumentals by Al Hirt, Henry Mancini, and the like....then John Lennon brought it all back together for me when I was fourteen, and Dylan at fifteen.....
Of course now, all I ever listen to is N Sync.....gibs :D
 
Just curious to whom everybody's songwriting influences are? Mine seem to change as time goes on but seems not to stray to far from a Savatage/Saxon type genre of music. Anyone else care to offer theirs??
 
Hendrix is given almost no credit for his lyrical ability yet I think he was one of the
best lyricists of the psychedelic scene. His
lyrics are very well constructed and witty. Not the comercial stuff like foxy lady and
purple haze but stuff like the burning of the
midnight lamp 1983 a merman I should be, etc.
 
hmmm....
It's hard for me to say who has been an influence on me. Kurt Cobain and Leonard Cohen come to mind. Ani Difranco, Tears for Fears, the psycedelic grunge of Screaming Trees, The Cure's Disintegration, Sonic Youth, Neil Young, Paul Simon. A big influence on some of my early stuff was this band called Cell. You guys know of Cell? they rock!

But mostly I think it has been the other musicians that I have played with through the years that have influenced me the most.

-jhe
 
The Beatles influence me a lot I think. A lot of my influence too comes from the people I play and sing with and from my first music teacher. She was into folk and Celtic stuff and lived in the van in the sixties. Sometimes though it is hard to know exactly what influences you.

Tucci
 
I had always thought that the songs of Kate Bush, David Sylvian, and Todd Rundgren had the most influence on the stuff I wrote, but when I play my stuff for friends they think it's Jan Hammer still stuck in Miami Vice or disco mode.

Ah well, back to the drawing board.
 
Ben Folds, Ben Harper, Hendrix and Paul Simon (although some of the lyrics to 'Graceland' were are but of a 'whatever rhymes affair')

Tim
 
frank zappa,john zorn,wagner,MOI,naked city,santana,the accused,praxis,minutemen,SRV,fishbone
something for the senses.
Some people never go crazy what truly horrible lives they must lead.
 
Kurt, Pink Floyd, even old Marylon Manson. I suppose ppl with issues and problems (especially issues stemming from teenage years) really write good lyrics because they mostly come from within and are very honest and powerfull. I also like Leonard Cowan and a not-so-well-known german band called Toten Hosen. Pantera can also peak once or twice in an album and so can Fields of the Nephilim.
 
David Sylvian? Ron, there's a name I haven't heard for a long time.
One of my favourite CD's is Japan's 'Tin Drum' and nobody I ever play it for has heard of them (or him).

Cool!

foo
 
I am happily(and probably for life)situated in the shadow of Mr.Bob Dylan,particularly his work in the 1960s.I'm not just talking about songcraft here,but about the way he said SO many things in songs like "It's Alright,Ma(I'm Only Bleeding)" or "The Times They are A-Changin'" or "My Back Pages" (I could go on) that REALLY hit me right where I live and were a big part of my realising just how powerful lyrics can be.Paul Simon(I Am A Rock)and Billy Joel(Summer,Highland Falls)are other favorites of mine.Cheers!
 
Tin Drum is also one of my all time favorites. A friend gave me a live version of Japan performing "Art of Parties". It's so atonal yet it makes me want to shake my booty.
 
Niel Young, Bach, John Lennon, Tom Waits, Jagger/Richards, Paul Mcartney(before whatever happened to him happened to him), Randy Newman, Mozart, Ray Davies, Hank Williams Sr., Dylan, Thelonius Monk, Beethoven, Mose Allison, Sun Ra, Lyle Lovett, Chester Burnett, Willie Dixon.....and many others.
 
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