'Your' band

[Bluewine]

29 minutes ago, YeastieB said:

Definitely Rush. I remember listening to the start of "The Trees"  and knowing that I wanted to play bass from then on.  They always felt like "my band" in particular because no-one else seemed to like them.

 

On point,

 

I think this is a good example of what the OP is getting at.

Blue

[roceci]

44 minutes ago, Bluewine said:

On point,

 

I think this is a good example of what the OP is getting at.

Blue

I dunno, the OP says "the band that come to mind when when you think of who had the greatest impact on you" which is a different topic to "the band who first blew your mind". For me there's several who all have equal stake in what I regard as timeless, peerless & by extension as a musician, have fed the most into how I approach & play bass to this day.

Mine probably goes KISS (up to '81 - yes including Unmasked & Music From the Elder for those in the know ) > Zep > Doors > Stones > Steely Dan > P-Funk > Pink Floyd > Bowie. They've all blown my mind the most, they're all still my go-to music when everything else gets tedious, I've learned tons of their songs & elements of what they do/did still come thru in my playing & writing. Many other bands & artists in many other genres have challenged them from time to time & a few are a close second to the list, but these guys win out equally for me when all's said & done.

& yeah, music was so much better in the very late 60's & the 70s despite me being too young to enjoy it then  

Edit - I missed the bit about the "your band" thing Blue. True enough.

The first three definitely felt like my bands & no one else's - I was pretty unique poncing around a Cardiff council estate in the 80s with big hair, flairs & a Jim Morrison complex. Definitely fostered a private siege mentality that probably only I was aware of!

Edited November 27, 2017 by roceci

[ZilchWoolham]

I'll have to list a few, for different reasons. 

Elvis Costello because My Aim Is True is my first musical memory, and my first musical enchantment. The cover got so worn out you could take the record out from all sides. That's where it all started for me. In fact, some of my earliest memories altogether are of listening to Elvis Costello. 

Devo because they got me through my later childhood and early teenage years. I took to the whole concept, and they gave me the strength and motivation I needed to Be Stiff and not bend over.  

Jethro Tull because I started listening to them just as I had become decent enough at guitar to give songwriting a try, and because they opened up a new world of music to me. No one has had as big of an influence on my songwriting and acoustic guitar playing as Ian Anderson. Playing Tull songs is also how I first started singing - as it turns out, my range is very similar to that of Mr. Anderson, although I can't reach quite as low as an A1! My favourite band, still. 

[Bluewine]

3 hours ago, roceci said:

I dunno, the OP says "the band that come to mind when when you think of who had the greatest impact on you" which is a different topic to "the band who first blew your mind". For me there's several who all have equal stake in what I regard as timeless, peerless & by extension as a musician, have fed the most into how I approach & play bass to this day.

Mine probably goes KISS (up to '81 - yes including Unmasked & Music From the Elder for those in the know ) > Zep > Doors > Stones > Steely Dan > P-Funk > Pink Floyd > Bowie. They've all blown my mind the most, they're all still my go-to music when everything else gets tedious, I've learned tons of their songs & elements of what they do/did still come thru in my playing & writing. Many other bands & artists in many other genres have challenged them from time to time & a few are a close second to the list, but these guys win out equally for me when all's said & done.

& yeah, music was so much better in the very late 60's & the 70s despite me being too young to enjoy it then  

Edit - I missed the bit about the "your band" thing Blue. True enough.

The first three definitely felt like my bands & no one else's - I was pretty unique poncing around a Cardiff council estate in the 80s with big hair, flairs & a Jim Morrison complex. Definitely fostered a private siege mentality that probably only I was aware of!

In terms of my playing I've been influenced by a lot of bass players. But it all started with Paul McCartney for me. Them too for that matter.

Blue

[Bluewine]

3 hours ago, roceci said:

I dunno, the OP says "the band that come to mind when when you think of who had the greatest impact on you" which is a different topic to "the band who first blew your mind". 

Well Yeastie said it was Rush that got him playing bass. And it was Paul McCartney that got me started on playing bass.There's not too much of a impact higher than the decision to start playing an instrument..

Blue

Edited November 28, 2017 by Bluewine

[fleabag]

Probably has to be Steely Dan.

I have at least 6 CD's of theirs, which is more than any other band in my collection.  I cant think of many bands

that have so many albums out that all sound great.

[Bluewine]

Wow, age has so much to do with influences.

There are bands mentioned from the 60s through the early 2000s.

Blue

[silverfoxnik]

Good thread... And it's an easy question to answer for me;

David Bowie & The Spiders from Mars.

 

[Bolo]

Maybe Ministry had a greater impact on me with the psalm 69 album. You can always wake me up for some Bolt Thrower though, the music just rings true. Also love their integrity and DIY attitude.

[lowdown]

6 hours ago, fleabag said:

Probably has to be Steely Dan.

I have at least 6 CD's of theirs, which is more than any other band in my collection.  I cant think of many bands

that have so many albums out that all sound great.

Yeah I agree. I only went for the one band, but Dan are right up there for me as well.

Another band full of great arrangements/harmonies/melodies and plenty of improvising. Also they have had some terrific players in their band and on the recordings.

[Woodinblack]

7 hours ago, Bluewine said:

Wow, age has so much to do with influences.

Obviously - there was always a point between the time before you were interested in music, and then after. The group that took you across that line had a bigger impact then any other group can have really, whoever they were.

You never get a first group again!

 

[dmccombe7]

Up until Bowie bands including Sweet for me were just good songs on the radio that stood out from the usual mundane stuff on Radio 1.

Bowie was probably the first band that i bought albums and really took an active interest in him, the band and most important the music.

Rush was the stepping stone from popular music to a more Prog style rock music. 

The musicianship on those albums from 2112 was superior to mainstream rock on the radio and created a whole new world to indulge in. 

Dave

[Conan]

23 hours ago, TorturedSaints said:

 Tim Esau is an occasional poster here, he plays some cracking lines, as did John Jowitt when he was in the band.

Tim lectures in Music Production at Newcastle College.  He teaches my son. Small world...

 

"My band" is Rush. No contest. Apart from Marilliion perhaps. And maybe Level 42 for a period.... 

[Dr.Dave]

Slade for me - no way I'd have ever picked up a guitar without Slade.

I played a lot of Thin Lizzy stuff early on which helped me figure out how to sing at the same time and playing along to 2112 era Rush brought me on as a player leaps and bounds. I learned how to play blues from John McVie with the Bluesbreakers and through him got into Fleetwood Mac in terms of crafting grown up pop tunes and how best to support them as a bassist. Before any of that the first thing I remember being aware of as a little kid that made me wonder about the possibilities of being an entertainer was the Black and White Minstrel Show. My Dad had all the records and I used to sing and dance around to them but it never occurred to me to learn an instrument until several years later when a bunch of ugly looking noisy clowns came on telly with 'Take me bak 'ome'. It was like the camera focus pull shot in Jaws when Brody reacts to the shark attack on the beach.

No idols for me - we all put our socks on the same way - but no Slade = no Dr.Dave because I'd just never have got interested without them.

[KevB]

On 26/11/2017 at 09:58, Burrito said:

A little known UK band from the late 80s called The Dogs D'Amour. They caught me at just the right time and made me want to be a musician and not just a listener. For those not in the know, they always looked the biz, had the coolest instruments and sat somewhere between the Stones, the Faces, T-Rex and Hanoi Rocks. 

Saw them in 87 in a tiny club in Nottingham, Tyla was off his tits half the gig even then. Think he did some songs completely lying down. Happy days...

[beely]

Wishbone Ash.

Saw them in the Caird Hall, Dundee circa 1972. My first ever "big" concert.

Aged 16, I had not long started learning to play guitar and was totally overwhelmed by the experience.

Martin Turner is still one of my favourite bass players.

[josie]

Eric Burdon and the Animals.

Brought up on classical music, sort of got into the early Beatles a bit because all my friends were, but the thunderbolt that changed my taste in music forever was House of the Rising Sun, and the first record I bought was the 1966 "The Best of the Animals" (to my mother's horror. I was probably 12 at the time.) I never really got into the Rolling Stones - there was something raw and harsh and powerfully real about the Animals that just took me by the scruff of the neck and blew my musical world open. I still love that stuff.

[Bluewine]

1 minute ago, josie said:

Eric Burdon and the Animals.

Brought up on classical music, sort of got into the early Beatles a bit because all my friends were, but the thunderbolt that changed my taste in music forever was House of the Rising Sun, and the first record I bought was the 1966 "The Best of the Animals" (to my mother's horror. I was probably 12 at the time.) I never really got into the Rolling Stones - there was something raw and harsh and powerfully real about the Animals that just took me by the scruff of the neck and blew my musical world open. I still love that stuff.

I wish you would have shared your age. For this thread I wish everyone would share their age.

I'm going to guess your over 60.

Blue

[josie]

2 minutes ago, Bluewine said:

I wish you would have shared your age. For this thread I wish everyone would share their age.

I'm going to guess your over 60.

Blue

Correct. 62.

[Bluewine]

3 minutes ago, josie said:

Correct. 62.

Cool, our age is probably the most significant factor in terms of what might define "your band".

I'm 64, no way could for example RHCP be "my band".

Blue

[bazzbass]

The Beatles

 

I was there in 1964 when 300,000 Adelaideans turned out to greet them outside the town hall

 

I was 3 in my pram. Mum was a huge fan, I still have her early EPs.

 

Then one day a mate played me Yes Roundabout. 'What's making THAT sound?" I asked

 

That's a BASS guitar....and the journey started

[thumperbob 2002]

On 26/11/2017 at 09:58, Burrito said:

A little known UK band from the late 80s called The Dogs D'Amour. They caught me at just the right time and made me want to be a musician and not just a listener. For those not in the know, they always looked the biz, had the coolest instruments and sat somewhere between the Stones, the Faces, T-Rex and Hanoi Rocks. 

I bought a rig from them. Massive fender valve power amp, pre and fender 4x10 and 1 x 15. Filled the van!,

[Storky]

Squeeze for me. Lots of reasons why I think they’re good, but they just resonated with me at that time. Age has a lot to do with it (I’m 55.)

[martin8708]

For bass , The Police  .

For guitar , Dire Straits ,  Mark Knofler was my "Hendrix " 

Both bands pulled me through my late teens / early twenties when I had to grow up quickly .

[tauzero]

T Rex, and Tyrannosaurus Rex (that's the order I encountered them in). A little later on, Alice Cooper.