Whether it is a tasty overdriven solo or
a solid crunchy rhythm guitar that is well executed, I have to admit I love
heavy music and a well played dirty guitar tone from heavy blues and blues rock
to 80’s metal. Sure, an acoustic guitar
is pleasant and can sound beautiful, but there is just something organic and
visceral about a humbucker guitar run through a tube amp cranked to the hilt
and how the player, guitar and amp meld together into an expressive sonic
explosion that, when well executed, can be exciting and really draw an audience
into a show. Of course, this is probably
evident from my previous posts detailing some of my gear choices, but it’s
something that has been on my mind lately.
As I look back at the guitarists that
have been some type of influence on me and my playing (I am sure there are many
that I’ll overlook). Some will be familiar
to most while others may be a little more obscure, but here they are in no
particular order:
Ace Frehley – Even though he’s best
known for his work in KISS, Ace is one of those guitar players who unabashedly
tries to be nothing but himself. I was
more of a fan of the band that KISS became in the 80’s with Bruce Kulick and
Eric Carr (and later Eric Singer), and it is more the later solo career that
Ace took on that really got my attention.
Songs like “Rock Soldiers”, written about his battle with addiction and
finally getting sober show his determination and dedication to his craft and
that he can be a force in the songwriting business as well as just a guitar
player. His take on the classic song
“The Joker” plays homage to the original while leaving his mark on it in a
tasteful manner.
Tommy Shaw / James Young – One of my
earliest memories of listening to rock music was buying Foreigner’s Double
Vision LP. The second was getting Styx’s
Kilroy Was Here album. While that album was more keyboard driven, it
did introduce me to the work of Tommy Shaw and James Young. As I dug into more of Styx music, I found
that the driving force of a dual lead guitar team is quite possibly one of the
coolest things on earth. The songwriting
of these two and their near seamless interplay stills stands today as a
hallmark in rock music to me and will likely stand the test of time through
future generations. Tommy’s style is a
bit more like that of a singer / songwriter with big chords and arpeggiated
rhythms. Meanwhile, JY’s style is a bit more rock oriented with tasty solos and
driving rhythms that weave in and over the foundation of Tommy’s songwriting.
Phil Collen / Steve Clark / Vivian
Campbell – Of what would be termed “Hair Bands” of the 1980’s, Def Leppard
seems to have transcended those beginnings and maintained their staying power
when many of their contemporaries have been lost in history. Quite possibly one of the greatest dual lead
guitar attacks in rock history, the original “Terror Twins” Phil Collen and
Steve Clark laid down many huge riffs and soaring solos in the early days of
the band. Steve Clark’s masterful riffs
set the platform from which Phil’s soloing and lead breaks launch with an
impact seldom seen prior to this team.
Filling the shoes left by Clark’s untimely passing, Vivian Campbell has
done an admirable job playing the classic songs with conviction while still
imparting his own sense of style and tone to them. He has also added further dimension to the
band’s new sound and songwriting.
Richie Sambora – Probably known best as
the lead guitarist for Bon Jovi for nearly 30 years, Richie Sambora has written
and played on dozens of hit singles and several platinum records. His blend of styles cover everything from
Clapton influenced blues to Les Paul like jazz to Zeppelin-esque hard
rock. It is his body of solo work that
really tells the tale of his many styles.
From the blues inflected “River of Love” from the Stranger in this Town
album through the psychedelic “You’re Not Alone” on Undiscovered Soul to anthemic “Taking a Chance on the Wind”
on the Aftermath of the Lowdown
effort, Richie covers so much ground in his songwriting and playing.
Bob Hartman (Petra) / Oz Fox (Stryper) /
Michael Sweet (Stryper) – In the conservative church setting I grew up in, the
music we incorporated in our worship services was always geared toward
corporate or choral singing to piano or maybe a an organ was thrown in there on
occasion, but it what was considered “proper” at the time. My first introduction to anything outside of
this was hearing my first Petra songs.
The blues influenced guitar of Bob Hartman on “Walkin’ in the Light” and
“Backslidin’ Blues” was a major departure and a revelation to me that “Christian”
music didn’t have to be what I had experienced while growing up in church. Fast forward about ten years and a new breed
of bands begin to hit the scene influenced by the hard rock bands around the Sunset
Strip in Hollywood. Stryper may not have
been the first of these bands, but I believe they were one of the most
influential. The opening riff to “Soldiers
Under Command” announced a new era in Christian music, one that showed that the
pharisaical hold of tradition in church music would be forever turned upside
down. To me, they were the gateway into
heavy music. The co-lead guitars of
Michael Sweet and Oz Fox (yes, there is trend here in two guitar bands, if you
hadn’t noticed), were also my introduction to Jackson Guitars and the now
venerable super-Strat style guitar. It
is here where the desire to build the ultimate super-Strat was born and this
turned into the genesis of Crucible Guitars many year later.
Kutless / Casting Crowns – From the early
days of Petra and Stryper then on to modern worship bands, Christian music has
been through many ups and downs. While I
don’t think that any of these bands would be considered strictly worship bands,
I do think they have had a profound impact on the music being played in today’s
worship services. Kutless is carrying on
the hard rock banner with heavier interpretations on classic worship songs as
well as songs of their own like Strong Tower.
Casting Crowns has brought worship music to a mainstream level and made
it accessible to many with their power pop style, driven by heavy guitar sounds
and throwing in a fair dose of violin and great vocals along the way.
Mark Lee (Third Day) – Mark Lee and Third Day have probably had the most influence on my playing and the music I play over the last few years. I’ll be honest, I wasn’t an early fan of the band. In a cynical youth, I had all but written them off as a band trying to capitalize on using Christian as a label. Fast forward several years, I join my current church family and as I start to play guitar more with some of the other members, we form a little outreach band playing covers and our drummer brings us several Third Day songs to use. As I investigate the band and the lyrics more intently, I found that these guys are the real deal. I have come to really appreciate their music and Mark’s playing style and his use of hybrid picking which is something I am trying to incorporate more into my skill set as a guitarist.
Eric Eikenberry / Jim Riley / Scott
White – I would be remiss if I did not include these three guys in this
list. Few have heard of them, but they
all have played a significant role in my development as a guitarist (such as it
is). Eric had been a long time friend
from some of the earliest years of grade school and was really the one who introduced
me to the guitar. He’s a natural talent
on many levels and without our friendly “competition” over the years, I
probably would have never started playing guitar. Jim Riley taught me a lot about playing
within the context of a group. Early in
my days with my current church family, Jim would bring a bunch of us together
on Friday evenings and we would go through and jam on classic rock covers and
it was a great place for me to develop my ear and learn many of the intangibles
that only come with playing in the context of a group. I served the church family for about five
years as a sound engineer for our Sunday morning services and special
events. During that time, we
transitioned through a few different musical team iterations. At one point, there was a quite talented
guitarist come through named Scott White.
Scott and I hit on many common themes when it came to music and he
convinced me to step out from behind the mixing board and play with the
team. He and I hit on a chemistry as a
team that worked well. It’s kind of
interesting how God will lead these people into and through your life. Eric now lives on the left coast and we
communicate mostly through e-mail and Facebook.
Jim lives locally and still attends our church, but has a career that
prevents him from being able to continue playing music like he had in the
past. Scott has moved on to a new
congregation to serve through music.
None the less, I want to thank each of them publicly for the influence they
have imparted to me through the years.
