Ask the Experts | June 26, 2024
Q: Who is your biggest musical inspiration? We’d love to hear a story if you’ve had the opportunity to meet or jam with them.
John Bohlinger
This summer, I played the James Burton and Friends show at the London Palladium. I performed with Burton, Brian May, Ronnie Wood, Albert Lee, Jeff “Skunk” Baxter, Steve Warner, and more. These players really shaped me when I was learning to play, so it was pretty surreal. I was glad I was playing pedal steel for that show. I would not want to play guitar in front of that crew of icons. They were all incredibly kind, fun, funny. It was beautiful.
Elle Cordova
There are so many, but my biggest inspirations are actually all old dead authors. Virginia Woolf and Sylvia Plath have had more influence on my songwriting than anyone on the radio. But if have to cite a strictly musical inspiration, I'll go with Regina Spektor. An incredible lyricist and storyteller, and a great piano player to boot. And she recently followed me on Instagram, so I guess I won't be posting there ever again.
Sean Daniel
Elliott Smith all the way. Falling in love with his music coincided perfectly with picking up the guitar in general. His acoustic arrangements are SO good! The perfect amount of stuff that will challenge and inspire you no matter what your skill level is. Sadly he was gone before I ever had a chance to meet him, but his ex-girlfriend did flame me in the comments of one of my YouTube videos if that counts.
Steve Howe
Chet Atkins. After playing for two years, I heard then bought his albums and was inspired by his versatility. I met and spent some treasured times with this great person. By the way, few people have played so lightly on their guitar strings.
Jimmy Leslie
On the acoustic side my biggest inspirations are Jimmy Page and Leo Kottke. I’ve never had the pleasure of meeting Jimmy, but I’ve met and spoken with Leo on several occasions. What’s cool about Leo is that he’s very much the same hilarious cat that doesn’t take himself too seriously that you see telling tall tales on stage. What he does take seriously is the endless pursuit of playing and sounding his best each and every night. I’ve witnessed him labor over soundcheck, trying out different pickups and stage positions to get perfectly situated to the room. He’s not resting on his laurels or settling for good enough. He’s always on the hunt for perfection, as elusive as it may be on any given occasion.
Brooke Ligertwood
Paul Simon, probably. And no, I’ve not met him! I did get to play support for David Bowie many years ago though, which was very special.
Zach Meyers
Too many. U2 for being fearless musically, Tom Petty for fighting this system in the name of artists and writers, and Taylor Swift for doing the same. As far as guitar players go, David Lindley, Stevie Ray Vaughan, and Gary Moore. The first times I got to play with Buddy Guy and B.B. King were pretty surreal and wild. Something I'll never forget as long as I live, honestly.
Steve Miller
Paul McCartney, and yes, I have met and collaborated with him.
Paul Riario
Too many artists and bands to list. If you are receptive, musical inspiration can be a continual journey of enlightenment. By simply listening to new music and observing talented musicians, you can draw from these experiences and grow as a musician.
SamuraiGuitarist
There have been so many musicians who have had a huge impact on me as a musician, but the guy I always go back to is Stevie Ray Vaughan. I did not meet him as he died when I was 3.
Mary Spender
KT Tunstall. I watched her perform her song “Black Horse and the Cherry Tree” on TV one evening. She was alone on stage, incredible on the acoustic guitar, playing percussively, she was looping too, had this incredible voice. I was just blown away and thought, “That’s what I have to do.” I’ve had the privilege of meeting her twice, and she was gracious enough to let me interview her for my YouTube channel really early on. She’s spectacular and kind and open and talented and prolific. She’s been a great role model, one of the songwriters that’s influenced me most. They say don’t meet your heroes, but I’ve been very lucky to get to know KT – I'd love to collaborate one day.
I was also so inspired seeing Nerina Pallot perform in my hometown of Salisbury, supporting Suzanne Vega. She just had the audience absolutely spellbound with these incredible songs. I queued up to buy her CD afterwards and told her I sang and played piano and guitar too. She asked me how many original songs I’d written (none) but I went home and wrote my first song that night. I’ve gotten to meet her a couple of times since, and even filmed an interview in her home studio. She’s an inspiration because she’s fiercely independent, like me, and it’s so encouraging to see more musicians taking their destiny into their own hands, with no exploitative labels or middlemen.