Guitarist who got you interested in becoming one.

[BlankinLoud]

First influence was a Livingston Taylor performance prolly thirty years ago. He sang while playing, but the guitar in his lap was his voice.

The other guy would be a local, Ed Lester, RIP, MBAF. I can't even begin to say how much I miss Ed.

His signature was doing a mashup of Elvis, Julio Iglesius, Willie Nelson, and Porky the Pig singing "To all the girls I loved before" with dead on voices while alternately playing his guitar behind his head and picking the strings with his teeth.

Ed was a force of nature who passed way too soon.

 

[P-Nutz]

Tommy Bolin

 

[meatball]

Tom Johnston From the Doobie Brothers was my main inspiration .
Learned the whole “Captain and Me “ album…

Then as I got more experienced it was early Billy Gibbons , Not that Eliminator crap , Barry Buie from A R S , Then James Young and Tommy Shaw from Styx came along , Joe Walsh , Eric Johnson, Jock Bartley from Firefall, Dan Fogelberg, and of course , Dickie Betts .

 

[BlankinLoud]

Probably no one at first. I was like 4 or 5 when I saw guitars hanging on a wall in a music store and knew immediately I wanted one.

And I would stare at them in the Sears catalog lol.

I was almost 13 when I got my first guitar. It took me a year to save up for a crummy strat copy but my dad told me if I saved up for it I could have it. I think he didn't think I would though because when I finally had the money and showed him the one I wanted in a giant ad in the Sunday newspaper, and asked him to take me, he was pretty surprised. But, he did.

My first guitar was actually fairly decent.

$100 Jackson Dinky.

I loved how it sounded clean on the neck pickup, but could never get along with the strat style switch location. Kept hitting that damned switch while strumming and that bridge pickup was freaking obnoxious.

 

[Leee]

Barry Buie from A R S … Jock Bartley from Firefall

YES!!!!
I’m not a jazz guy at all, and I didn’t know what the precise appeal was, but I loved some of the Atlanta Rhythm Section stuff.

For 40 years, I’ve been telling people that Firefall should have been as big as the Eagles.
I honestly believe that.
I met Jock Bartley after a show at a casino in Arizona 20 years ago, and chatted with him for probably half an hour.
He did not elaborate on much of anything except the baby blue Paul Reed Smith he was playing.
Built in 1985, if I recall.
He got it brand new.

 

[sonar1]

My first guitar was actually fairly decent.

Mine was a horror to be overcome

The “pickup“ -such as it was- acted much like a reverse Dolby: it removed anything musical, and amplified the hum!
An atrocity to learning, sent by the debbil

 

[Sunflake]

This guy. No question. I fell in love with his CSB Gibson. Coolest thing I’d ever seen in the ‘70’s.

 

[Leumas]

Slash. Not this one...

This one...

 

[Rocco Crocco]

Jimmy Page, EVH, Metallica.

 

[Leee]

Jimmy Page, EVH

See, this has probably been touched on before.
Many times.

In the 70s, now and then, I could pick a song apart on my acoustic as long as it was in standard E tuning.

Steve Miller Band comes to mind.
A couple of Foghat songs.

But where I could pick out a riff or a few lines, I had zero aspirations for trying to play the leads.
I always presumed this was far and above and beyond any talent or skill I would ever have.

Ace Frehley made me a fan.
Paul Stanley made me want to play guitar.

Pete Townshend of The Who, I could pick a few of his riffs out but there’s no way I could do everything he did.

So Jimmy Page and Eric Clapton and EVH and all of those killer lead players did not inspire me at all to play guitar.
They inspired me to shut up, quit posing, put down my cheapo guitar, and just listen and appreciate their genius.
Be a FAN.

The kids that I knew who thought they were a lead player?
They were pathetic.
Terrible.
It was embarrassing to watch them even try.

And as far as I know, every single one of them gave it up after they couldn’t keep a band going, and they walked away from the guitar.

Over the years, I have sat in with a few bands just to play rhythm parts.
I’ve never been paid a penny.
I have a day job and no aspirations of ever being a music star.
I’m still happy to be a fan, and every now and then I’ll shake the pictures off the wall in my own living room.

 

[Leee]

I would definitely play rhythm guitar behind Mark Knopfler.
Absolutely!

 

[Seven]

Eddie when I saw Van Halen open for Black Sabbath back in '78.

 

[Leee]

I never saw Black Sabbath live.
But I cannot imagine them following Van Halen.

 

[QuicksilverSS]

Roy Clark was probably the 1st. I grew up watching Hee Haw. Then Jimmy Page and Ace.

 

[Uncle Vinnie]

Hendrix definitely. That Olympic White Strat and maple fingerboard really put the hook in me.

 

[WaywerdSon]

Ace, without a doubt. He made me want to play, and play a Les Paul in particular.
View attachment 648276

For almost everybody born from 1960-1966, it was these guys that really made us pick up guitars. Several big-name guys have admitted exactly that. As much cheese as exists in that band, they truly did inspire a hell of a lot of kids to learn the instrument

 

[Uncle Vinnie]

But it was a drummer turned guitarist and frontman that got me to finally do it.

This guy?

 

[45WinMag]

I got a guitar after I saw Mick Mars play live in 1985.

 

[Sunflake]

As far as country legends these two have to be top of the list.

 

[CB91710]

Ted Nugent
Jimmy Page
Tom Scholz
EVH

Pretty much in that order.