Definite Influences/ Inspirations to Go On Playing

Index

Well, there's certainly no question that to see bands such as Yes, Pink Floyd - and even our local boys, Aerosmith - STILL making records (well, CDs) which strike paydirt - these great many years later - is inspirational, to say the least.

I must have seen YES in concert at least 25 times. And every single time - except for that little stint they did with the singer from "Buggles" (God, he sucked) they were awesome every single time. Even that particular concert had its redeeming values, though.

Ditto, with Aerosmith. I must have seen them close to 20 times over the years - the first time, at Roseland in Taunton, Massachusetts - a stage where my own band opened for Steppenwolf a few years later - a venue with a capacity of about 1800, if I remember correctly - right up to seeing them most of the times in huge arena concerts. They were great most of the time, too. Only one time really disappointed me. That was when they were doing the tour for the Live Bootleg album and Joe Perry was so wasted that Brad Whitford had to play all of the lead guitar parts. He and Steve Tyler were making jabs at each other all night long into the mics, and I found this to be pathetically unprofessional. It really pissed me off, actually. Otherwise, though, they've been really inspiring, too. It's amazing that they're still at it, as well. And, they're just as good as ever.

I saw them at Great Woods Performing Arts Center in Mansfield, Massachusetts - now called the Tweeter Center (how quaint) during the mid 90's, and they ripped. The mixture of "old" and new material was really kewl, too - but - like the tour which YES did for their "Big Generator" album - in the late 80's - what really struck me again was the mixture of ages in the audience. A real "cross-generational" thing going on there. And I think that is SO KEWL whenever that happens.

But, yeah - I think the first time that this "phenomenon" struck me was at that Big Generator concert. I guess that "good things" (and no, I'm NOT Martha Stewart - although friends of mine DO know her, personally) NEVER phase out of "style." And if they do, even briefly, they always come right back around again.

Overall, I guess it's not a bad thing - getting to be a little bit "older" now ... It offers you the chance to have experienced these things - to realize these things. I guess that the first time I really noticed things which I remember my parents saying when I was a kid was during the late 1980's when we were at the beach. I remember my parents saying things like "ever notice how they're using all of the songs from 'our times' for the commercials on TV now...?" And also talking about how the styles - clothing, hairstyles, etc. - all go around to something different, then always come right back to the same thing ... I didn't know what the hell they were talking about back then, but I sure as hell know now ...

On the beach, in the late 80's, all of a sudden the "thing" was flourescent colors again. About 80% or more of the people there were wearing one or another "day glo" colors. Well, this was the stuff of the late 60's and early 70's - no question about it. This was the first time that my friends and I noticed something like this - the styles having come full circle and back to something which had been popular in a previous time. I pointed it out, but my friends agreed. We were in our 20's then.

I believe that the next thing was "You say you want a revolution ..." A BEATLES song, yet - for a Nike or Reebok commercial - I forget which now, offhand. That was pretty strange to see/ hear that occur, and to remember "hey - that's what my parents used to say about THEIR music being used for TV commercials ..."

That friggin' Yoko Ono. (just kidding) I remember that lots of people didn't like this woman very much (or Linda McCartney, for that matter). I don't know WHO "sold" that to Reebok or Nike, but I do know that it somehow seemed very inappropriate for anyone to be using a Beatles song for something like that. Maybe Michael Jackson sold it to them, who knows. I haven't the time to look it up right now.

Now, another way to look at this is that it's inspiring that the Beatles' music is even still around. I mean, let's face it, their last work - in 1970 - was THREE DECADES ago.

Once you've made a recording, written a book, made a movie - it's there FOREVER. THAT, in and of itself, is inspiring. It's a piece of you that you leave behind once you depart for greener pastures ...  to the Happy Hunting Ground ... Well, you get the idea.

Anyone can leave behind love letters or a journal even.
It's somehow so much cooler to be able to leave behind recorded music which you created.

In the future, even if the listener thinks it sucks, clips from across my whole life practically - all the different bands and projects I've been involved in - will be there for them to cast into the nearest fire. And that makes me feel really good that I can leave that behind. Especially if they decide to play it more than once ... No matter who "they" are ...

I usually listen to 94 WHJY when I have the radio on - it's a local station which plays a combination of "classic" rock and new "alternative" stuff. Once in a while, when I go surfing through the channels, I'll hit upon a "soft" rock station. It's equally amazing and inspiring to hear that they are still playing the "softer" Beatles love songs, the James Taylor songs from way back when, the Cat Stevens songs - even Fleetwood Mac stuff, which is, amazingly, from 25 years ago now ...

Good music endures ...

I guess, for eternity (if there's any such thing) because look at how many times Beethoven's "Fur Elise" has been used in movie soundtracks ...

You get the point.
 

The Beatles; Badfinger; The Rolling Stones; Chicago;
Creedence Clearwater Revival; Three Dog Night;
The Animals; The Guess Who; Blood, Sweat and Tears;
Janis Joplin; Jimi Hendrix; Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young;
Grand Funk (Railroad); Rod Stewart / Faces; Led Zeppelin;
The Who; The Doors; Procol Harum; The Moody Blues;
Savoy Brown; Steve Howe; Carly Simon; Carole King;
George Harrison; John Lennon; Paul McCartney;
Simon and Garfunkel; Steppenwolf; Uriah Heep;
The James Gang; Joe Walsh; Rare Earth; Rick Wakeman;
Neil Young; Stephen Stills; Graham Nash; David Crosby;
Aerosmith; Deep Purple; Styx; Queen; Jethro Tull;
Emerson Lake & Palmer; Electric Light Orchestra (ELO)
Pink Floyd; Santana; Kansas; Heart; David Bowie;
Harry Nilsson; Mike Oldfield;
Alice Cooper; Black Sabbath; Elton John; Argent;
Mott The Hoople; James Taylor; Ten Years After;
The Grass Roots; Eric Burden and War; America;
The Allman Brothers Band; Todd Rundgren;
The Doobie Brothers; Jackson Browne; The Eagles; Cat Stevens;
Rush; Supertramp; Al Kooper; Chick Corea; Al Jarreau;
Ted Nugent; Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band;
Bad Company; Jeff Beck; Jon Anderson; Blue Oyster Cult;
Boston; The Cars; Cheap Trick; Rainbow; Dio; Pat Benatar; Asia;
AC/DC; Bryan Adams; Foreigner; Peter Frampton;
Foghat; Fleetwood Mac; Genesis; Marillion; Sammy Hagar; Wings;
Iron Maiden; Starship; Journey; Judas Priest; King Crimson;
Krokus; Meat Loaf; Rick Derringer; Ronnie Montrose;
Ozzy Osbourne; Stevie Wonder; Jimmy Page; Robert Plant;
Patti Smith Group; The Police; Queensryche; Quiet Riot;
Trevor Rabin; Randy Rhoads; Ritchie Blackmore; Scorpions;
Survivor; Thin Lizzie; Triumph; Robin Trower; Van Halen;
Whitesnake; Z.Z. Top;
 

Def Leppard; Dokken; The Verve Pipe; Dishwalla; Live;
Seven Mary Three; Soundgarden; Bush; Radiohead;
Flaming Lips; Loud Lucy; Nine Inch Nails, Tonic, Creed;
Third Eye Blind; Red Hot Chili Peppers; Semisonic; Fuel;
Faith and the Muse; Stone Temple Pilots; matchbox20;
Temple of the Dog; Pearl Jam; Sass Jordan; Blind Melon;
Gin Blossoms; Cracker; Nirvana; Metallica; The Nixons;
Bush; The Goo Goo Dolls; Filter; Foo Fighters; Candlebox;
Collective Soul; Counting Crows; Better Than Ezra;
Ben Folds Five; Beck; For Squirrels; Green Day; Oasis;
The Offspring; Orgy; Saigon Kick; Savatage; Dream Theater;
Silverchair; The Smashing Pumpkins; Soul Asylum;
Spacehog; Sponge; Stabbing Westward; Staind; Superdrag;
Toadies; Tool; Weezer; Incubus; Train;

- many others...

Other Ongoing Influences ...

Def Leppard; Dokken; Sass Jordan; Metallica; The Nixons;
Bush; The Goo Goo Dolls; Filter; Foo Fighters; Candlebox;
Collective Soul; Counting Crows; Better Than Ezra;
Ben Folds Five; Beck; For Squirrels; Green Day; Oasis;
The Offspring; Orgy; Saigon Kick; Savatage; Dream Theater;
Silverchair; The Smashing Pumpkins; Soul Asylum;
Spacehog; Sponge; Stabbing Westward; Superdrag;
Toadies; Tool; Weezer;

- many others...

...For a more PERSONAL PROFILE of Al's life, click here...
Darien3's (Al's) Home Page
...Also has a lot more music links...






Pentacle Records



To Profiles Index Page


To Covenstead Site Map

You are currently on the Definite Musical Influences /
Killer Musik Lynx Page

"Reach Out"
recorded at Twin Studios, North Carver, Massachusetts
early Autumn 1989
by