I CAN ONLY BE ME

Anyone who knows me (and admits it) will know my obvious influences. But there are some guitar players that I admit to not mentioning so much. It’s not from lack of respect, it’s just that they slip my mind at times. I am going to fix that right here.

You ready for some names you might have forgotten?

Akira Takasaki of Loudness comes to mind. I always dug him more than who was popular at the time (EVH, Randy, Lynch, etc) because he had his own thing going and still does. He’s not super-original, is a good synthesis of a lot of his heroes but you know it’s him. I recommend listening to Loudness albums such as DISILLUSION, THUNDER IN THE EAST and the self-titled 1992 album (that one is SO heavy!!)

Ronnie LeTekro of TNT slips past me too but when I hear his band on Sirius, I tell myself “Oh yeah that’s right, he was pretty wicked!” Was compared to Yngwie for the Swedish thing as well as playing brutally fast but, let’s be honest, TNT had better songs. Check out the album KNIGHTS OF THE NEW THUNDER if you want to watch your jaw crash to the floor.

Vito Bratta of White Lion was an excellent guitarist who was, in my eyes, unfavorably compared to Eddie. Yes he looked like him a bit, and definitely did the tapping thing but he was more like Brian May to me. Very melodic, tasty but when you’re not looking, he can peel the paint off the walls. Go listen to FIGHT TO SURVIVE (PRIDE is great too) for some ferocious stuff!

I could easily mention Vernon Reid of Living Colour but he definitely is more known than the other guitarists mentioned. Still VERY quirky and you have no idea where his licks will go. And that’s a good thing. But this is about guitarists that I rarely mention so let me think of another one…

Andy Summers of The Police (You must be thinking HUH?) was a big influence on me. How? His use of 9th chords and chorus/flanger effects really inspired me. Along with Jamie West-Oram of the Fixx, he had a very arresting guitar sound. Wasn’t a big soloist but his rhythm work was melodic enough to almost be solo-like. Any Police album is worth listening to; there’s only five so dig in!”

And one more: Alex Lifeson of Rush. While this seems obvious because I’m a Rush fan, I need to talk about Alex more because he was another big influence on me. Whether he was playing Zep-type riffs or Police-style runs, he was still himself. His solos were not typical, yet there was a familiarity to them. Of course, listen to MOVING PICTURES!!

As a guitarist of 100 years, I always strived to find my own unique voice. It’s easy and then not. When others think very commercial-minded and want you in a box, I refuse to be slotted. Which is why I bristle when I hear things like “You need to play more like Eddie” and “Dude, Michael Schenker is where it’s at.” I like them but never jived to them, you know? Being esoteric doesn’t win you awards but virtue DOES get rewarded eventually.

Excuse me while I learn some weird licks…