I fell in love with the guitar at an early age and, as a result, loved anybody who could really play. I didn't make any distinctions between musical genres untill I started to be image-conscious (about 14), when it seemed to matter who you were caught listening to.
My biggest influences, growing up, were the singer/songwriters of the late sixties/early seventies like James Taylor, Cat Stevens, Jim Croce and Joni Mitchell.
In my attempts to imitate their various styles I was educated in some of subtleties of guitar like moving bass lines, alternative tunings and intricate finger-patterns. Like most kids of my generation I loved the excitement of the Beatles and the Stones and wished I could belt it out like Rory Gallagher but I always came back to music that I felt was more gentle and thought provoking in the way ballads are.
In recent years I've found jazz to be a wholly different playing experience and focused on the style of Django Rheinhartd, a player of such sublime skill that his ability to put expression into his playing leaves me breathless. It's much more fun to play than endless songs of unrequited love but the romantic in me will always return in my quiet moments.