Alex Lifeson, Steve Howe, David Gilmour

And I spent the FIRST 50 years of my life being a KEYBOARDs wanna-be!
The axe is so much more portable.

Hell, I even make the same facial expression sometimes.

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1984 Squier Contemporary Stratocaster
1986 Peavey Envoy 110
1967 Kingston Acoustic

These guys would be the ones that got me going.

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Dennis in CR
Rockin' since 1963

Well this has me thinking way back (25 to 30 years)! I originally wanted to play drums, but lacked the room.

I grew up during the 80's. I think, what made me want to start playing guitar was MTV. Watching videos, and watching the girls go wild over the singer and lead guitarists. The drummer was on the back of the stage, the lead guitarist was up front with the singer.

I would have to say, Eddie Van Halen. Especially after seeing the Hot For Teacher video. I started playing with tabulature. Hell, my first guitar was a red strat copy, that I later covered in stickers. Still have it also.

Then would probably be C.C. Deville and Richie Sambora. My first tabs were Eruption, Nothing But A Good Time, and You Give Love A Bad Name. The first song I learned all the through was Somebody Save Me by Cinderella! So simple from today's standards! I remember being out in the yard, trying to throw the guitar over my shoulder like they used to do!

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2000 American Deluxe Stratocaster
2011 Gibson Les Paul Trad Pro 50's
2007 Epi Les Paul Custom
90's ESP Eclipse
JH-1B Jimi Hendrix Crybaby
Analogman KOT
Korg Pitchblack
Boss NS-2 PH-2
Blues Deluxe Reissue
1999 & 2007 Marshall TSL 100 w/1960BV cab

As a six-year old kid, I loved Waylon Jennings and that awesome phase-affected Telecaster...

Later, it was Keef Riff-hards and his killer riffs...

...and when I finally decided to start playing, it was Billy Gibbons, Muddy Waters & Bob Margolin that gave me the shivers...

Later, Jimmie Vaughan was the main man to keep me goin', but there's always been a place in my heart for his baby brother...

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Good Vibes To Y'all!



Screamin' Armadillos
Texas Roadhouse Music
Guitar/Slide Guitar/Harp/Vocals

I've had many favorites. Hendrix, Clapton and Richards to name a few but Jimmy Page is my #1 reason for getting serious with guitar.

The reason i picked up a guitar was The Beatles, my inspiration was and is, Eric Clapton as far as guitar. John Entwistle IS my inspiration on bass, notice my screen name?

I started playing as a 10/11 year old, on a classical guitar. I had wanted to learn the piano, but the house was too small and pianos too expensive. I had classical guitar and music theory lessons for about 5 years, so my early heroes were classical players - John Williams and John Zarradin I didnt really start to listen to the electric guitar till I was about 15 or so.

The first electric players I admired were Davey Johnstone and Caleb Quaye from Elton John's band. I was (still am I guess) a big Elton fan. But after getting into Deep Purple in a big way, Blackmore quickly became a big inspiration, and so did Bill Nelson from Be Bop Deluxe. Later on, it was probably Brian May. But I wasn't playing the electric guitar with any seriousness then. I had some crappy SG copy one around the house but barely picked it up. Then I saw Rick Wakeman playing on the TV and he blew my mind. So I bought a few synths and taught myself keyboards. Those were my rock n roll instruments really..

I didn't start to play the electric guitar seriously till I was in my early 40s. But even then I was still referring to Blackmore/Nelson/May, but have picked up Clapton, Beck, SRV and Gary Moore since then. Mainly blues players as you can see. Knopfler's playing fascinated me for a while too. I'm very old school!

But the wheel turns and now I'm back to playing Classical guitar again. The circle going round and all that. There's a modern classical guitarist I love at the moment, a guy called Gary Ryan who's compositions for the instrument are soaking up blues, jazz and country stylings into the disciplined classical format. So maybe he's my latest inspiration!

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Fender Highway & Classic 60s Strats, Fender Toronado, Telecaster, Gretsch Projet, Charvel 3, PRS SE Soapbar II & Custom 24, Burns Batwing and many others!

kurt cobain, even though he sucked, he got me into it and i also play drums and wanted a new instrument for songwriting, been playing 4 years now. if it wasnt for hendrix, david gilmour and cobain i would never of got into guitars or at least fenders (the best guitars ever made)

also how could i forget the surf rock king dick dale, hes one of my guitar idols mainly for making fender create the first ever 80 watt and 180 watt amps. cause i was and still am a drummer i play really rhythmically which is why i like funk and blues so much now.

lucky my first guitar is an arctic white fender strat i got for my birthday a year after i started and my 2nd guitar is a fender tele i got about a month ago on my fourth year of playing. In between i had an epiphone SG 400 that i hated and sold for my tele. I feel bad for owning the two best guitars right from the start yet so many people started on cheap epiphones or other beginner brands.

Epis are nice if you get the right one.

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1984 Squier Contemporary Stratocaster
1986 Peavey Envoy 110
1967 Kingston Acoustic

My favorite Guitar player of all time is Randall William Rhoads. After hearing Mr. Crowley LIVE off of "Tribute" from 87' I nearly fell off my chair! God rest Randy Rhoads; my next favorites are John Petrucci and Andre Segovia as well as Kirk Hammett.

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“The guitar is a small orchestra. It is polyphonic. Every string is a different color, a different voice.”


- Andreas Segovia

I too am into many of those artist you mentioned. Here in the states not many know of Bill Nelson. I saw Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers open up for BBD back in the late 70s on The Modern Music Tour! If I ever get to go to England I would like to check out Nelsonica!

Epiphones are nice guitars.

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Favorite bands:

Melvins
The Jesus Lizard
Cows
Big Business
R***man
Minutemen
Flight
Minor Threat
Big Black
Shellac
Karp
Scratch Acid
Wipers
Pixies