I think I've said this before, but my current sound engineer reeled off one day a list of singers I had listened to in my youth -- he could hear their influences in my singing even though I hadn't listened to some of them in years. On the other hand, he wouldn't have heard a lot of the other singers that influenced me. (He cited Joan Baez and Judy Collins abd may have mentioned Joni Mitchell as well and that's who I was listening to when I picked up the guitar, as well as Odetta, whom he did not mention). I had grown up on Burl Ives and Susan Reed and Terry Gilkynson and Bob Atcher records, By college I had added Ewan MacColl, Jeannie Robertson, Alison McMorland, Mississippi John Hurt. And it goes on and on and on: whenever I hear someone I like and admire I listen to them a lot, learn a portion of their songs and style and move on to my next musical crush.

Sharyn