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Post by jwills57 on Sept 10, 2014 20:13:19 GMT
Hey, Guitar Friends--At college, or university as you say in the U.K., I liked to browse the bargain bins at the local record shop. One day I found two records by some guy named John Fahey, probably had been there for years. I bought them both for a total of three dollars. I'm sure the owner was thrilled to get rid of them. I couldn't believe what I heard when I put them on my player in the dorm room. The other guys in the dorm didn't seem to like Fahey at all (that was more of the AMERICA, EAGLES, AC/DC, KISS time). Fahey had a profound effect on me, however, as I'm sure he had on many others. I don't play like him now, at least not so much, but he was really the first guy to show to me that the steel string guitar could be a serious solo instrument. At that stage in my life I also ended up listening, somehow, to a lot of Bert Jansch and John Renbourn and Leo Kottke, all truly great and inspirational players. Cheers and Best, Jack
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mandovark
C.O.G.
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Post by mandovark on Sept 10, 2014 20:48:16 GMT
Maybe not an obvious one for a thread like this, but one of the biggest influences on my playing for a long time was Eva Cassidy. Not because she was a great player - she wasn't - but because she was the first artist that really made me start to see how a well-constructed accompaniment can support and enhance a vocal. There's no great technical wizardry in her playing, but her accompaniments to her own voice on songs like 'Over the Rainbow', 'Time After Time' and 'Danny Boy' are perfectly suited to the songs. I eventually discovered players like Martin Simpson and Phil Beer and started to see what more technically accomplished players could bring to accompaniments, but it was Cassidy's music that first made me think about accompaniment as more than just rhythm.
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Post by andyhowell on Sept 11, 2014 10:31:33 GMT
Maybe not an obvious one for a thread like this, but one of the biggest influences on my playing for a long time was Eva Cassidy. Not because she was a great player - she wasn't - but because she was the first artist that really made me start to see how a well-constructed accompaniment can support and enhance a vocal. There's no great technical wizardry in her playing, but her accompaniments to her own voice on songs like 'Over the Rainbow', 'Time After Time' and 'Danny Boy' are perfectly suited to the songs. I eventually discovered players like Martin Simpson and Phil Beer and started to see what more technically accomplished players could bring to accompaniments, but it was Cassidy's music that first made me think about accompaniment as more than just rhythm. I think that is very fair comment. Accompaniment is a real art in itself and you just have to see Simpson working with June Tabor to appreciate that. I've started using Simpson-type tunings for all my performances these days. They can sound great even when stripped back and made simpler, indeed, I would hazard the view that you can cover a Simpson song more effectively if you strip the arrangement back a bit so that you are more comfortable and fluid. Phil Beer is a great example but watch Steve Knightly solo and you see how he can do it. Or watch Ralph Mctell live a deceptively simple style which really accompanies his songs real well. Another act worth watching is Chris While and Julie Matthews, great songwriters who build lovely accompaniments to their tunes. They have a new album out and will be on tour this autumn/winter. Worth checking out.
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walkingdecay
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Post by walkingdecay on Sept 11, 2014 11:21:19 GMT
On acoustic, Jerry Garcia, Doc Watson, Norman Blake, Chet Atkins, Clarence White, Charlie Christian, Django Reinhardt, Tony Rice, Mickey Baker, Lightnin' Hopkins, Jerry Reed, Merle Travis and Grady Martin, pretty much in that order.
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