Influences

Subject: RE: Influences
From: Margret RoadKnight
Date: 10 Jan 04 - 01:28 AM

Greetings, all! And apologies for not getting back earlier to respond to your responses re any female influences.
(Btw, like most of you, I don't think of it as a gender thing either, it's just that the absence of women - certainly at that point, and for whatever reason - was very noticeable, to me, anyway.....)

So, here goes with my early & important influences (as opposed to the many extremely talented performers I've enjoyed and been tremendously impressed by - they're probably for yet another thread....):

- Odetta (repertoire, voice & vocal approach, distinctive guitar),
- Nina Simone (ditto, but substitute piano, and add arrangements),
- Paul Robeson (voice, repertoire, political stance reflected through art),
- Malvina Reynolds (ditto, minus voice), and
- the local (Melbourne) and '62-live-in-concert Glen Tomasetti, who played guitar and sang a broad range of international songs (and gave me my first gig - obviously a woman of taste and discernment)

Cheers, chers
Margret

Subject: RE: Influences
From: GUEST,Diva
Date: 10 Jan 04 - 06:45 AM

Interesting thread. I have been incredibly lucky in that most of my influences have become good friends. Gordeanna Mc Culloch,Heather Heywood,Maggie Macrae, Cy Laurie,John Eaglesham,Willie Scott and most of all Sheila Mc Math, who can sing but doesn't but took me along to Kilmarnock Folk club and encouraged me to sing and to listen and made me realise that there was more out there than folk rock.

Subject: RE: Influences
From: John P
Date: 10 Jan 04 - 10:04 AM

Early on:
The Beatles
The Who
Deep Purple
Simon and Garfunkel
The Band
Cat Stevens
Elton John (the early albums)
Somehow out of this I started playing the blues . . .

And then:
Yes
Led Zeppelin
Genesis
Keith Jarret
Gentle Giant
Jethro Tull
Chick Corea
John McLaughlin
King Crimson
Emerson, Lake, and Palmer

And then I fell in with a folkie crowd, and was introduced to:
Steeleye Span
Martin Carthy
Lo Jai
Malicorne
Maluzerne
The John Renbourn Group
Pentangle
Melusine
Muzsikas
Sebo Consort
Kornog
The Silver Strings Macedonian Band
Alan Stivell
William Pint (a good friend and musical co-conspirator who has had a big influence on my playing).
Anna Peekstok (my wife, who consented to play music with me after finding that we both saw lots of similarities between Jethro Tull, Led Zeppelin, medieval music, European traditional folk, and the blues. She continues to amaze and influence me musically).

And a bunch of early music, most notably:
Thomas Binkley & the Studio der Fruhen Musik
Atrium Musicae de Madrid
Les Menestriers

Lately, a lot of Scandivavian, Flemish, and Dutch music:
Garmarna (especially the early albums)
Lais
Kadril
Frifot
Vasen

And, as someone said earlier, the songs themselves. I spend many happy hours pouring through books of old folk songs, finding the threads of different versions, the odd turns of phrase, the intensely satisfying melodies. This isn't done in any scholarly or folkloric way, although I suppose some of that sticks to me. It is just for the joy of the music.

John Peekstok

Subject: RE: Influences
From: Jeri
Date: 10 Jan 04 - 10:45 AM

CarolC, I downloaded Bernard's 'Dark Island', and it's a very good example of what sort of musician influences me. He knows what his instrument is capable of and uses every bit of it to benefit the music. I'll never be a fast player on any instrument, but I can hope for 'good'...I can hope for 'expressive'. Bernard, if you're lurking - masterful treatment of that tune!

CarolC, thank you!

Subject: RE: Influences
From: CarolC
Date: 10 Jan 04 - 01:57 PM

You're welcome, Jeri. I feel the same as you do about the way he plays that piece.