Influences

Subject: RE: Influences
From: CarolC
Date: 06 Jan 04 - 09:28 AM

The accordion playing of Mudcat's Skipjack K8 continues to be my biggest influence, as it has been for more than three years. Of the accordion players I've heard, his way of playing comes closest to my own way of understanding and relating to this instrument. I was listening to a tape of him playing a couple of days ago and I can still hear aspects of his playing that I haven't tried yet, but I would like to someday.

Subject: RE: Influences
From: GUEST,Gern -where's my cookie?
Date: 06 Jan 04 - 09:16 AM

OK< I'll try this. I too took something from Sinatra and Billie Holiday (Sinatra's model), like many others-- a conversational phrasing and attention to diction. From Dylan I tried to adopt some vocal recklessness and impulsiveness. It often didn't work, of course, as it often misfires for Dylan. From Bill Monroe I absorbed a tendency to sing in full-throated release with a casual approach to accuracy of pitch. Especially from John Lennon comes my attention to rhythmic delivery. From Louis Armstrong I learned to experiment with tone and wander around melody. My harmony inspirations are as varied as Don Rich, the Everlys, Brian Wilson and Ralph Stanley. As you can see, I'm open minded in my musical thefts. Instrumentally, my piano shortcuts the styles of Fats Waller, Jerry Lee Lewis and Earl Hines. My guitar work shamelssly borrows from Clarence White and Doc Watson--their easier stuff. My banjo will steal from anyone accessible. On bass, I imagine myself as Jack Cassidy.

Subject: RE: Influences
From: Midchuck
Date: 06 Jan 04 - 09:14 AM

In approximate chronological order:

Hank Williams (the real one)
Homer and Jethro
Buddy Holly
The Kingston Trio
Bob Gibson
(the young) Joan Baez
The Clancy Bros. & Tommy Makem
Ian and Sylvia
Doc Watson
Dick McCormack (a local VT singer/songwriter)
Utah Phillips
Willie Nelson
Waylon Jennings
Jim Ringer
Ian Tyson (again, in his Cowboy Culture stage)
Tom Russell

Those are just the major ones that I can think of right away.

Peter

Subject: RE: Influences
From: Wesley S
Date: 06 Jan 04 - 09:05 AM

Richie Havens is one that springs to mind for me. Not only his rhythms but also the way he made a song his own - just like Lonnie Donnegan did for you. But also he made me notice that when you slow down a song and change it's tempo it can become something very different than what it started out as.

Subject: Influences
From: Jerry Rasmussen
Date: 06 Jan 04 - 08:36 AM

In the Mental Blocks thread, the conversation has wandered into how we learn to play music... either by playing along with records, or with other musicians (or some combination of the two.) Many people learn by taking lessons.

What I started thinking about is who has influenced my music the most.
Sometimes, the people who influenced our music the most may not be obvious. For example, Two of Elvis' biggest influences were Arthur "Big Boy" Cruddup and Perry Como. That's like having Dennis Day and the Sex Pistols for your two major influences.

Rather than making this another "list" thread, I'd be interested in hearing not only who your influences were, but what there was (or is) in their music that you feel has become part of your music. Others may be surprised to hear who your influences are, because their music may sound very different than yours. That's why it would be interesting to hear what you've taken from your influences that has helped to give you your own personal style.

I'll start out with just one, rather than my own list.

Lonnie Donnegan: As much as anyone, Lonnie influenced the way I sing, and yet you'd probably be hard pressed to hear any Lonnie in my singing, if you heard me. There were a lot of qualities in Lonnie's music that I loved. I loved his energy and enthusiasm. Talk about somebody always being "on"! I liked his playfullness and his choice of material. And, I liked how he took a song and made it his own, even having an electric guitar on some of his recordings at a time when that was not acceptable over here in the U.S. When I finally heard Rock Island Line by Leadbelly, (and Whoa Back Buck, for that matter) I realized how many "liberties" Lonnie took with his music, and I loved it! Lonnie was not a scholarly re-creater of anyone else's music. Whatever he sang, it became HIS.

What I took from Lonnie was how much shear enjoyment there was in his music. Everyone sounded like they were having a great time. I liked the looseness of it, and the fact that all the people singing harmony with him sounded like they had pretty much every-day voices and were a little rough around the edges. I liked his adventuresomeness. As I began to learn folk songs, I think I approached them in the same way that Lonnie did... they were great songs that were fun to sing, and I just went ahead and sung them, not trying to sound like the recordings.

But, the one thing I may have taken from Lonnie more than anything else was his sense of rhythm. Lonnie could get you up on your feet dancing. Not contra dancing, or the more formalized forms of dancing. Dancing, like people do spontaneously, in the aisles, whether it's rock and roll, gospel or any music that has a good beat to it.

Well, that's enough of that... now I'll just sit back and read your comments... if you can, try not to just post a list... I'll be back again telling you what I took out of Frank Sinatra's singing (especially for one of his greatest fans... Kendall.)

Jerry