Guitar Gear Forum

Wondering who you guys are into that makes you play or write the way you do these days.

Bob Nanna from Braid and Hey Mercedes and Ladd Mitchell from Park have totally influenced how I approach and structure songs.

John Samson from The Weakerthans is a huge influence for me lyrically.

How about you guys?

Matt Pike, and Bjorn and Jesper of 90's era In Flames probably had the biggest influence on me in my initial years of playing

mustaine
hetfield
azagthoth
shuldiner
sting
fagan and becker


those are really the main ones, with lots of others salt and pepper'd here and there.

I think the Peter Tägtgren and Dan Swanö influences are pretty obvious. At least to me.

Learning their songs taught me that you can make awesome music with very simple elements.

Bob Mould
Paul Westerberg
Frank Black
Rick Nielsen
Kevin Seconds

Focus on lyrics. Harmonically simple music, presented elaborately. Big fan of sad-sounding major key songs.

Ander Osborne

The Zulus

The Hellacopters

The Bags

conqueso wrote:John Samson from The Weakerthans is a huge influence for me lyrically.

:love:
He's a big one in that department for me too.

Other big ones for me be it music, singing, lyrics, or playing are:
Ben Folds
Ian McKaye (Fugazi, Minor Threat, and 100 other projects)
Milo Aukerman (Descendents)
Hot Water Music
Bill Withers
Ramones
Tons of Fat Wreck and Epitaph bands
Frank Turner
RX Bandits
And believe it or not a lot of various DJs I listen to, I love breaking down a vibe of an electronic song that is really striking and emulating that in rock.

K-Bizzle wrote:Milo Aukerman (Descendents)

Huge early influence whom I forgot to mention. Descendents with Suicide Machines and Shades Apart is still my favorite live show I've ever been to. I love Milo the frontman/singer, but always liked Bill and Karl's songs better than his. Stephen Egerton AKA "Stevo" from the film SLC Punk is a friend.

benjamin801 wrote:

K-Bizzle wrote:Milo Aukerman (Descendents)

Huge early influence whom I forgot to mention. Descendents with Suicide Machines and Shades Apart is still my favorite live show I've ever been to. I love Milo the frontman/singer, but always liked Bill and Karl's songs better than his.

Yeah I honestly have no idea who is the writer of what. I guess more than anything I just latch onto the nerd punk image he's selling. Was much more relatable resonated more than the Tim Armstrong types that were also available to me as a teenager.

K-Bizzle wrote:

benjamin801 wrote:

K-Bizzle wrote:Milo Aukerman (Descendents)

Huge early influence whom I forgot to mention. Descendents with Suicide Machines and Shades Apart is still my favorite live show I've ever been to. I love Milo the frontman/singer, but always liked Bill and Karl's songs better than his.

Yeah I honestly have no idea who is the writer of what. I guess more than anything I just latch onto the nerd punk image he's selling. Was much more relatable resonated more than the Tim Armstrong types that were also available to me as a teenager.

Yeah, no matter who wrote which individual song, it all came filtered through that angry, funny, nerdy, sexually frustrated persona of his. The guy was practically a god to me in high school.

Mostly Old School bands/Artists

Randy Rhoads/Ozzy
Tony Iommi/Sabbath
Lemmy
Metallica
UFO
Judas Priest
AC/DC

I'd say Morbid Angel was the first band that really took me on a ride.. I certainly grabbed a lot of influence from that feeling of hearing and feeling some thing that took me to a different realm. I was also heavily into taking acid around this time.. lol. But i still write music that tries to encapsulate that feeling of being otherworldly.

Pink Floyd, Hendrix and other greats were also channeling that energy as well.. I would say, i don't copy anyone's writing style cause my songs rarely follow any type of rule or structure, which a lot of bands artist do. And on that font, i realized writing in an unconventional and free flowing approach works. Bands like Ripping Corpse and Human Remains ,Gorguts etc opened my mind to throwing out the rules.. Even bands like Dillinger escape plan made an impact on the idea of a song.. Basically, as long as it feels from a different planet, i usually try to go with it!

EndTime wrote:I'd say Morbid Angel was the first band that really took me on a ride.. I certainly grabbed a lot of influence from that feeling of hearing and feeling some thing that took me to a different realm. I was also heavily into taking acid around this time.. lol. But i still write music that tries to encapsulate that feeling of being otherworldly.

Pink Floyd, Hendrix and other greats were also channeling that energy as well.. I would say, i don't copy anyone's writing style cause my songs rarely follow any type of rule or structure, which a lot of bands artist do. And on that font, i realized writing in an unconventional and free flowing approach works. Bands like Ripping Corpse and Human Remains ,Gorguts etc opened my mind to throwing out the rules.. Even bands like Dillinger escape plan made an impact on the idea of a song.. Basically, as long as it feels from a different planet, i usually try to go with it!

I know what you mean about free flowing and open ended. Of the bands I mentioned above, The Zulus had a very, err, literary way of writing. Hardly any of their songs go where you would expect. Nor do they ever finish anywhere close to where they started. It's like a trail to wherever. Or just a thread flapping in the breeze.

K-Bizzle and benjamin801, I think I'd probably dig your music in a big way

conqueso wrote:K-Bizzle and benjamin801, I think I'd probably dig your music in a big way

There's a link to my band in my sig, where you're welcome to stream or download our EP for free.

Here's the heavy hitters (playing / songwriting / both)

Hendrix
Clapton
Kossoff
Gibbons
Peter Green
Gary Moore
Gilmour/Waters/Syd Barrett
Iommi/Butler/Ward
Page/Plant/JPJ/Bonham
Dr. Know/Earl Hudson (there's a whole bunch in this category but these guys were my favorite)
Murray/Smith/Harris
Hetfield/Cliff Burton
Scott Ian/Charlie Benante
Mikael Akerfeldt
Dime
Jerry Cantrell
Chuck Schindler
Adam Jones/Danny Carey

benjamin801 wrote:

conqueso wrote:K-Bizzle and benjamin801, I think I'd probably dig your music in a big way

There's a link to my band in my sig, where you're welcome to stream or download our EP for free.

Just listened to your EP--yup, it's right up my alley! Awesome tunes!

I really like"The Drill". The vocals have a Matt Skiba vibe (one of my fav singers in the genre)

conqueso wrote:Just listened to your EP--yup, it's right up my alley! Awesome tunes!

I really like"The Drill". The vocals have a Matt Skiba vibe (one of my fav singers in the genre)

Thanks! I take that last as an enormous compliment. I fucking adore Alkaline Trio. Crimson is in my all-time top 10 albums, probably. If I could sing like Matt, and find someone to sing like Dan for me, I would be a happy dude.

Portishead. I know it sounds weird cause they don't even play guitars that much, but I used to make music that was way louder than I actually wanted. Eventually, I was sitting in my room and listening to Portishead and it occurred to me that I want to make it more "minor" and softer.

Mustaine, Steve Harris, Tipton/Downing, Yoshiki from X-Japan, Nobuo Uematsu, Chuck Schuldiner, Trey Azagthoth, Erik Rutan, Hetfield, Jesper/Bjorn from In Flames, Iommi (obviously), the guys from Rush...I think that mostly covers the big ones.

The Hiryuu wrote:Mustaine, Steve Harris, Tipton/Downing, Yoshiki from X-Japan, Nobuo Uematsu, Chuck Schuldiner, Trey Azagthoth, Erik Rutan, Hetfield, Jesper/Bjorn from In Flames, Iommi (obviously), the guys from Rush...I think that mostly covers the big ones.

You sound like it, in the best possible way.

Dimebag
Terrance Hobbs
Scott Hull
Tony Iommi

I wish i knew then i would hunt him down and torture him for my inept abilities.....

Friedrich Hayek

No idea. I try to make music that sounds like Polar Bear Club and The Dangerous Summer. But I don't think any of the stuff I write sounds like them. So who knows.