My Fellow Musicians

Hello again everyone out there in prog land, i was wondering what song or band inspired you to take up music and what instrument you guys play and for how long you have been playing?

 I had a rather perculiar journey as far as music is concerned. Gryphon's 'Red Queen to Gryphon 3' was the record that inspired me to go into music. Because of Gryphon's medieval influences however, i was intent on learning Lute. Of course lutes cost over £600 and so i settled for mandolin. later i started listening to Hatfield and Caravan and that got me into Jazz. As we all know, mandolins have no place in jazz so brought a Bass Guitar tat i have played ever since. 

Crazy Diamond wrote: Hello again everyone out there in prog land, i was wondering what song or band inspired you to take up music and what instrument you guys play and for how long you have been playing?

Prog Band = Pink Floyd (influenced me to write music)

Rock band = Iron Maiden (Maiden influenced me to buy a guitar)

Album = Dark Side of the Moon (influenced me on concept work for my debut album)

I play bass, guitar, write, produce, edit and write lyrics.

Been playing on and off for 10 years, been writing on and off for 7 years. 

Take a listen www.area39project.com/SelectTrack.htm  or www.myspace.com/area39

 

My mother forced me into piano and I guess Led Zep got me into guitar.

AC/DC's 'Touch too Much' got me into wanting to play guitar.
David Gilmour, Alex Lifeson and the almighty Jimmy Page made me actually pick it up and start.
I've been playing for 20 years and I'm still crap....

When I was 10 doing something in music was a school requirement. You had to either be in the wind band, in the orchestra, or in the choir. At that time clarinet seemed like the most attractive instrument from the options I had, and that's what I started playing (and I've been playing it ever since).

Guitar wasn't really anything special, when I was 13 there was this guy in my school who played guitar, and at a talent show he, along with a bassist and another guitarist, did a terrible cover of an already terrible song (though when I was 13 I thought it was good), Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit." I didn't particularly like the song and I didn't particularly admire the guy, but I started thinking, "hmmm... maybe I should try that," and since my dad's a guitarist who gets occasional jazz gigs he was able to teach me a few things to get me started, and I've been playing ever since.

I started playing tenor sax this summer, and again it wasn't so much "I heard this fantastic Coltrane solo and I knew from that day that I HAD to play sax," it was that in the past 2 years I've become more and more interested in performing music, and it was also the convenience of already having a top quality sax at my disposal, a Selmer Mark VII which my dad used to play but hasn't played in about 6 years, and also the fact that, given my ability to play clarinet, taking up sax would not be like starting all over again and instead would simply take one or two months to adjust rather than years to learn from scratch.

Flute, however, was the one that prog really drove me into playing. It's a very prominent instrument in prog, and I'm a very big Jethro Tull fan, and it's simply impossible to listen to Ian Anderson, not to mention Thijs van Leer, Peter Gabriel, Didier Malherbe, Mauro Pagani (PFM), Joe Farrell, Rahsaan Roland Kirk, and Anna Holmgren (Anglagard) without wanting to do that. Because the fingering is exactly the same as that of the sax I've been able to get used to it quickly and develop a lot faster than I thought I would be. I still need to make my tone better, but my technique is pretty good for someone who's been playing for a week! I can play Return to Forever's "What Games Shall We Play Today," Jobim's "The Girl from Ipanema," and the solos from Dream Theater's "Octavarium," Genesis's "Firth of Fifth," and The Moody Blues's "Nights in White Satin."

Played trumpet in High School. Loved playing, though I wasn't a prodigy by any stretch. I wanted to buy a fluegal horn like Chuck Mangione. I also took up flute playing. I was inspired by Moe Koffman and several other jazz flute players. Then I got a mild case of Bell's Palsy. For those that don't know, Bell's Palsy causes a paralysis of facial muscles. So... that was the end of trumpet playing. Flute playing was difficult.

Neil Young inspired me to pick up the guitar. I've been playing since Christ was a cowboy. On a good day, when the planets align properly and my fingers are loose and dexterous... I'm mediocre. Actually, I'm comfortable playing as good as I play. I won't be able to blow anyone away with my playing but that's ok. For prog, I've played Jethro Tull's "Wond'ring Aloud". Always wanted to play "Mother Goose" but I've never been able to for some reason.

Lately, I haven't had time to play guitar too much. I have a job where I'm occasionally the only one alone in a large building (great acoustics!). This gives me lots of time to relearn flute. I guess my face has rehabilitated over the years that allow me to play flute again. For inspiration, I'm listening to a lot of prog that features flute; Tull, Genesis, even Tangerine Dream, although they don't feature flute in their music.

I've been playing violin since age 8... I stopped in my 20's for a while and have been back into it for about 8 years.  I had been classical only until I was asked to join an Irish rock band!  It was FUN! 

Then, I started looking for alternative styles to play...

I was in a 'kirtan' rock band for a while, then started playing spacerock.  That was IT for me!!!  I started making friends with spacerock bands, such as Gong and Spaceseed.  Before I knew it I was on tour with Spaceseed with Nik Turner!  One thing led to another and I began recording tracks for Systems Theory and then got the VIPER.  I went on tour with Spaceseed again this year, this time they were hosting Harvey Bainbridge..

After getting the electric violin, things really accelerated for me.  I have recorded a full-length Viper CD, which made it into the Top 100 CDs of 2005 on the Gagliarchives and have played live on the radio 3 times with Philly spacerock band Scattered Planets within a year, and once on WPRB doing a solo set. 

Lots more stuff coming up too, including session work and another Viper CD...I have soundfiles at my CD Baby and Soundclick sites and would welcome feedback...  

Cyndee

Well since nobody in my family has a musical background I kinda had to find my own way. I play guitar and have since i was 6. I know for when I was younger, it was ACDC that got me into the wole rockstar fantasy. When i learned theory and started to improve, I learned alot of Zep tunes and some Floyd. Mostly radio staples. Now since most of the music i listen to is very proggy, thats mostly what I play. I still play all the Zep, but now I play Yes, King Crimson and more Floyd. I would learn some Gentle Giant, but those songs are very difficult to master.

I encourage everyone to keep playing!

-Justin

a lot of floyd zeppelin got me into guitar.  hearing echoes made me want to learn guitar.  unfortunatly i cant play now cause my left wrist is broken