s**t that changed your musical direction

[DrewJD82]

You guys seem to be very young

None of these existed when my older sister came with this cassette:

View attachment 1191
And we listened to it in a player/recorder that was exactly like this one:
View attachment 1192
That did set the compass in the right direction. After that, I never wanted to listen again the Boney M records of my uncle.

And few years later...
View attachment 1195

Why use a tape recorder when you could have Teddy Ruxpin sing to you instead?



(I used to do this with The Wall and Momentary Lapse casettes…..ya wanna see freaky? Have Teddy Ruxpin sing “Empty Spaces” to you when you’re 8)

 

[JT]

You guys seem to be very young

None of these existed when my older sister came with this cassette:

View attachment 1191
And we listened to it in a player/recorder that was exactly like this one:
View attachment 1192
That did set the compass in the right direction. After that, I never wanted to listen again the Boney M records of my uncle.

And few years later...
View attachment 1195

That cassette player is what I used to crank thrash and speed metal through (in the year of our 1986 \m/). I remember turning down Reign In Blood when my mom came in the room because Altar Of Sacrifice. Among other feel good gems

Just gonna rattle off (in best chronological order that I can) artists that made me want to make a left turn musically as a creater and consumer.

Growing up in the early 90s in my third-world neighborhood, Gangsta Rap was the thing ( ). It was all around me and I couldn't escape it.

G-Funk caught me first and then the more musical acts stood out to me, Bone Thugs-N-Harmony, Bobby Brown, TLC, En Vogue.

Then for some reason I became obsessed with Weird AL Yankovic right around the time Bad Hair Day came out and they did the ALtv thing on MTV. It was like the serious world got flipped upside-down. I descovered RHCP from his parody of Give It Away.

As I got a little older (still not 10 yet) I got more attached to the guitars laying around the house and my pops got me into Sam Cooke, Sam & Dave, Creedence, Chubby Checker, easy songs to get me used to chord progressions. Then Aerosmith's Toys In The Attic, Hendrix, learning the Pentatonic scale.

Then I descovered a local band called Green Day, grunge got big, Soundgarden and Nirvana.

I started playing more acoustic and started writing songs as a preteen. Also got into Santana from my uncle and liked his phrasing a lot. Then SRV.

Later into Industrial and Nu-Metal, edgy and weird: Slipknot, RATM. I wanted to make all kinds of noises.. Papa Roach was another local-ish band that got big right after I heard them. Time to drop tune and get heavier strings. I was into Limp Bizkit as an edgy teenager, adored Wes Borland but couldn't stand Fred Durst after his shtick got old (fast), but listening to them led me to Primus and Korn through right around the same time I descovered Vai (probably due to the awe of a 7 string guitar). Came back to RHCP around Californication. Flea is the s**t.

Sum 41's Does This Look Infected? album has some very Metallica-esque songs on them, which they admit a few songs were straight ripoffs of Battery riffs so that's how I descovered Metallica, then Pantera, a whole section of metal I seemed to skip over and not know it.

Time to scoop the mids! Cannibal Corpse...I was also playing drums and attempting to record myself in my later high-school years so technical drums and production value started to catch me more than just guitar playing. Dream Theater's Train of Thought album, Blink 182's self-titled album, all great production and drumming.

Avenged Sevenfold's Bat Country was next. I was dying to hear some technical guitar in the mainstream at the time and they delivered.

Made some shitty choices with my life, became homeless, listened to more helpless and hopeless rap. Mac Dre, CUTTHOAT Comitte, Dre Dog.

At that point I reluctantly dove headfirst into the hardcore punk scene. I got into a band with some friends and we ended up taking over an underground venue, booking shows and eventually crazy jam sessions and raves, too. It saved my life from the f****d up situation I put myself in.

Deadfall, I'll Gotten Gainz, John the Baker, Nuclear Rabbit, MDC, all these artists I loved and shared the stage with at the same time. I interjected Tom Morello-ish sounds and Vai legato-tapping into hardcore punk as best as I could.

That's also the time/place I descovered clouddead, Why? Jel, Odd Nosdam, Boom Bip, the whole Anticon label.. Totally changed my idea of how music could be made. I really dove into recording and production. Also got heavily into Scientist.

Then I got back into RHCP because I have this bond with Funk that just won't quit. Stadium Arcadium has some bangers if you can get past the Tom Petty covers.

Some friends of mine ended up recruiting me for their band and they loved Deftones. Up until that point I could not stand Deftones no matter how many times they tried to make excuses for Chino. Diamond Eyes changed all of that. 8 string, what's that? Oh Steph listens to something called Djent? Wtf is Djent? Wtf is an Axe FX? (clicks tab)

And that's where things kind of drop off into dad cover band land of descovering songs from the past I've never listened to or tried to play.

Excellent write up. G-funk is I forgot about my parallel hardcore/punk phase. Went right alongside thrash and speed. Dead Kennedys, Circle Jerks, Misfits, Black Flag. Crusty tones and comparatively primitive in most case but still I also LOVED the Ramones. They pulled that old bubblegum vibe that I was too young to really appreciate on it's own and slapped the punk aesthetic on top. Great stuff.

Chilis and the funk vibe in general was HUGE for me for some time. By extension (and not really funky), Faith No More. Oh my god. Chilis were awesome up through BSSM but I hit a brickwall with them after that. Ugh. Nu Metal had all sorts of KILLER stuff provided you were open to it. I like Fred Durst rofl

I'm feeling a bit old here...

Way back before I could even read, I used to have to bring the 45's to my aunt to ask her which side of the record I liked (the "hit" side.) All I wanted to do when I visited my grandmother was play my Aunt B's records. Motown, Beatles, Guess Who. That got me started.

A few years later, after my Partridge Family and Osmonds phase, along with K-Tel's Hits of the 70's, I discovered Elton John. I always say Goodbye Yellow Brick Road was the first "real" album I ever bought as a kid. Wore it out, literally. Funeral For A Friend would just take me away! And I was 8!! Would take my record player outside with me while I played with my Matchbox cars in the dirt, and the sun warped the 2nd disc. But it still played! Haha Lost interest just after he fired Dee and Nigel. But I bought almost all his records from 1970 to ~1976.

Then my aunt got married, and my 'cool uncle' exposed me to Led Zeppelin. Which also made me pick up the guitar. Learned Stairway note for note. Loved, loved, loved Zeppelin!

Then it was, via the Columbia House Record Company, Aerosmith, Kiss, Frampton, etc. And I started buying albums galore! Fleetwood Mac, Yes, Pink Floyd, Rush, VH..., mostly classic rock that was on AOR at the time.

Nothing in particular..., well maybe Duran Duran, but I really got into all the 80's New Wave/Pop stuff of that era. Smiths, Cure, Furs, Missing Persons, Til Tuesday, U2, etc. Still love it all. Also had my 'hair band' phase mixed in there somewhere, which led right into...

...Stone Temple Pilots, Alice In Chains, Red Hot Chilli Peppers, Nirvana was all I listened to. Still remember almost falling out of my car when I heard Give It Away for the first time.

A band I used to hang out with would put Dream Theater Falling Into Infinity on their PA before their set, and when I heard New Millenium, I was like, WHO IS THIS?? I borrowed the CD only to bring it right back, because I was just going to go out and buy my own copy. Funny thing was, my cousin tried turning me onto them back when Images & Words came out, but it didn't do anything for me at the time. Been a huge DT fan ever since, and even though I pretty much lost interest in their songwriting the past few albums, they remain my favorite band of all time.

Other than discovering bands like Muse and Porcupine Tree, etc. in the past couple decades, I'm that guy who's sorta fallen away from discovering new music. I'm somewhat sorry to say that, but not much has really excited me in several years.

Good journey. DT, whether I am a fan or not; is a HARD act to follow. You definitely have to apply different criteria because those dudes are all superhuman. 80's pop and new wave was THE BEST era for radio imo. Probably because I grew up smack dab in the middle of it. But I'll take Duran, Depeche Mode, The Cure...on and on and on all day long. Great stuff.

 

[TSJMajesty]

*Throws Bush tabs in the trash

A "late" bloomer.

 

[HotRats]

Funny thing was, my cousin tried turning me onto them back when Images & Words came out, but it didn't do anything for me at the time. Been a huge DT fan ever since, and even though I pretty much lost interest in their songwriting the past few albums, they remain my favorite band of all time.

This happened to with metallica. I had friend that tried to turn me onto Metallica feeding with Kill 'em all but that record, at the time, didn't stick. Probably was too raw and different from what I was into. Few years later the black album hit me directly into my heart.

I had also similar story with Dream Theater. One day my great friend and drummer of our band asked somenthing about a sound in a song he was listening in his car, I can't recall the details. I remember that the record was live at marquee.
Few months later I've bought my first cd player and he gifted me with Images and Words.
They are among my favourite bands ever. Unfortunately the last record I have fully appreciated is Train of Thought.

 

[TSJMajesty]

Good journey. DT, whether I am a fan or not; is a HARD act to follow. You definitely have to apply different criteria because those dudes are all superhuman.

You're right about that- it sets the bar extremely high. Thing is though, I'm still a sucker for a great 3-chord, simple pop song. Taking those same 3 or 4 chords, and creating something fresh and catchy is one of the hardest things to do in music, imo.

80's pop and new wave was THE BEST era for radio imo. Probably because I grew up smack dab in the middle of it. But I'll take Duran, Depeche Mode, The Cure...on and on and on all day long. Great stuff.

Something about that era indeed! To me, DD was SO cool because of the 'tension' between the cutting-edge keyboards of Nick Rhodes, and Andy Taylor just wanting to make his Dual Rec's breathe fire! (And it kinda showed in Power Station. )

 

[TSJMajesty]

This happened to with metallica. I had friend that tried to turn me onto Metallica feeding with Kill 'em all but that record, at the time, didn't stick. Probably was too raw and different from what I was into. Few years later the black album hit me directly into my heart.

Weird how that happens sometimes.

the last record I have fully appreciated is Train of Thought.

Dat fucking TONE has such an edge to it!
JP was doing an interview one time, in the studio, showing all his IIC+ amps and few other Boogies, Mark V, etc..., and he was going on about how they all sounded great, yet with slight differences in the IIC+'s that he could hear. He said they're "varying degrees of awesomeness."

Which is how I feel about his guitar tone in general, but something about those Road Kings on TOT. They have just this extra bit of raw edge to them, to my ears.

 

[JT]

You're right about that- it sets the bar extremely high. Thing is though, I'm still a sucker for a great 3-chord, simple pop song. Taking those same 3 or 4 chords, and creating something fresh and catchy is one of the hardest things to do in music, imo.

Something about that era indeed! To me, DD was SO cool because of the 'tension' between the cutting-edge keyboards of Nick Rhodes, and Andy Taylor just wanting to make his Dual Rec's breathe fire! (And it kinda showed in Power Station. )

Me too. We saw DD here probably 2014-2015 mayyybe? They were AWESOME live. Same songs but more modern sound thanks to their equipment. At least on the percussion and guitar rig fronts. Very impressive.

 

[HotRats]

Weird how that happens sometimes.

Dat f*****g TONE has such an edge to it!
JP was doing an interview one time, in the studio, showing all his IIC+ amps and few other Boogies, Mark V, etc..., and he was going on about how they all sounded great, yet with slight differences in the IIC+'s that he could hear. He said they're "varying degrees of awesomeness."

Which is how I feel about his guitar tone in general, but something about those Road Kings on TOT. They have just this extra bit of raw edge to them, to my ears.

Train of thought is the best sounding DT album along with Falling into infinity, imho. I love it!

 

[TSJMajesty]

Me too. We saw DD here probably 2014-2015 mayyybe? They were AWESOME live. Same songs but more modern sound thanks to their equipment. At least on the percussion and guitar rig fronts. Very impressive.

I saw them in the 80's, and word was no one could get a babysitter in the entire MD/DC/VA area that night.
It was surreal, how LOUD the screams from all the girls were. It made me think, "This is what a Beatles concert must have been like back in the day."

But it was funny... At the Capitol Centre, they had this huge Jumbotron TV thing way up in the rafters in the middle of the arena. And the whole show, the camera would focus on each band member for a few seconds. Simon Le Bon: Screams. Nick Rhodes: Screams. John Taylor: SCREAMS.

Roger and Andy: crickets.

 

[jay mitchell]

"Axis Bold as Love" was a huge ear-opener for me:

Next it was Miles Davis and John McLaughlin:

I came across this ca. 1976:

Around the same time, I found Django:

 

[Iron1]

 

[Hapless]

MoP in the mid-80's started me on a much heavier path. Up until that point, I was mainly a Ratt, Dokken, and other hair metal player. Then CFH hit and it just went from there. I still dig the Ratt/Dokken stuff along with the Beatles, Zep, Floyd and whatnot, but my daily listening consists of stuff like Periphery, Meshuggah, Slipknot, Twelve Foot Ninja and the like.

 

[Bruce]

I was 16 when this bomb dropped. Still chasing it.

 

[metropolis_4]

It all started with Gary Busey:

My parents had this album and I was obsessed with it. When I was 4 I wanted to go see Buddy Holly for my birthday. 50s Rock & Roll has held a special place in my mind ever since and would later influence my guitar playing a lot.

Next came this:

My mom had a Yamaha fg 140 and I used to watch her play and sing John Denver songs and I was completely enchanted by the instrument. Ever since, I've had a love for acoustic instruments and folk music, and an appreciation for good songwriting.

Later, at the start of my teenage years this came along:

As I started learning to play the guitar, my parents got me a Beatles songbook with guitar chords. I found this album in their record collection and quickly became obsessed. I learned most of my first chords through that book and this album. I also developed a love for 60s pop, rock, and psychedelia. When I went shopping for my first electric guitar I wanted a Telecaster because I'd seen pictures of George Harrison playing his rosewood one.

A couple years later I was introduced to this:

These changed my musical life completely. I was a weird one who loved both metal and grunge/alternative. I instantly latched on to both and started exploring both in my guitar playing. Nirvana led me down the path of experimenting with sonic textures and effects, and taught me to let more emotion come through in my playing. Metallica led me down the path of working on my lead work and chugging.

Metallica soon led to this:

I loved metal and as a music student I was starting to like more complex music. As a drummer I loved polyrhythms, odd time signatures, heavy grooves... Dream Theater fit right into that perfectly. This album blew me away and sent me down a huge shred spiral as a guitarist. I wanted to play fast so bad at this time. In hindsight this was a good thing and a bad thing. I did develop some good speed and accuracy, but I also got so focused on speed that I lost sight of other more important aspects of my playing like harmony and melody, and finding parts that fit songs.

Next came an unexpected detour:

A buddy got me a great gig with a local country artist. I had no interest in country at the time, but it was good money and I was a poor college student so I took it. I almost instantly started to love the aesthetics of country guitar playing. I heard players using scales and harmonic ideas that I had never thought of before and it blew me away. Brent Mason's work was a particularly huge influence. Sure he could play fast, but the thing that really blew me away was his melodic/harmonic ideas. He had such an amazing ear for finding the coolest sounding lines that worked so amazingly well in the songs... I instantly started adopting tons of country ideas into my playing.

Another unexpected detour:

I got another really great gig with a singer-songwriter who was very jam-band influenced. The guys in that band turned me on to Dave Matthews and I instantly fell in love with the music. I immediately bought every single album and learned every guitar line to every song he ever wrote! It had a huge influence on my playing. As a drummer, I was really drawn to the percussive and rhythmic aspects of his playing, and I kept a lot of that with me over the years.

Last one that led me to where I am today:

This wasn't the first theater show I played, but it was the one that cemented my love for the music. Bernstein's work on this is so amazing, and performing it with a full orchestra was one of the most amazing and rewarding musical experiences of my life. This album also sent me deeper into jazz guitar. Jazz wasn't new to me, but I had primarily been interested in it as a drummer. This started a more serious interest in it as a guitarist.

One last honorable mention:

I've always loved funk. David Bowie was my introduction to Nile Rodgers and I've been a huge fan ever since. I took a ton of ideas about chord structure and comping from his playing that has become a big part of my own playing.

 

[JT]

Nile's playing and his sig strat are both

 

[DrewJD82]

Something I didn’t add to mine but had the biggest impact on my direction was home recording.

Previous to ‘07, I had only been recorded by other people, aside from the Fostex 4-track days in high school. In ‘07 I moved in with my buds and they had a killer home studio set up, live drums already mic’d up and ready to go, V-drums in another room, vocal booths, etc. I only really knew how to get a signal into Pro Tools, I knew nothing else.

One day I had a riff I wanted to record, so I recorded the riff in Pro Tools, then realized how to get the V-drums working in there so I put down a drum track. By the end of the day I had a full song tracked and it was written entirely on the spot. That day changed everything for me because while I knew I could play drums, knew I could sing, etc, I didn’t realize I could put it all together and write/record them on my own.

From that day on, live performance took a back burner position because nothing was more thrilling than having a blank canvas to fill up with whatever I wanted. I went from writing 3.5 minute, basic structure songs to writing exactly what I heard in my head. I learned more about myself as a musician from that one day than the previous 15 years leading up to it.

That was easily the biggest changing experience of my musical life.

 

[Iron1]

Something I didn’t add to mine but had the biggest impact on my direction was home recording.

Previous to ‘07, I had only been recorded by other people, aside from the Fostex 4-track days in high school. In ‘07 I moved in with my buds and they had a killer home studio set up, live drums already mic’d up and ready to go, V-drums in another room, vocal booths, etc. I only really knew how to get a signal into Pro Tools, I knew nothing else.

One day I had a riff I wanted to record, so I recorded the riff in Pro Tools, then realized how to get the V-drums working in there so I put down a drum track. By the end of the day I had a full song tracked and it was written entirely on the spot. That day changed everything for me because while I knew I could play drums, knew I could sing, etc, I didn’t realize I could put it all together and write/record them on my own.

From that day on, live performance took a back burner position because nothing was more thrilling than having a blank canvas to fill up with whatever I wanted. I went from writing 3.5 minute, basic structure songs to writing exactly what I heard in my head. I learned more about myself as a musician from that one day than the previous 15 years leading up to it.

That was easily the biggest changing experience of my musical life.

I can totally echo this, but it was when I got a MacBook with GarageBand. My brother Rob (RIP) had a studio at his place years ago and he recorded a lot of stuff for us, but it wasn't til I got GarageBand that I could really make the songs in my head a reality.

 

[JT]

Why use a tape recorder when you could have Teddy Ruxpin sing to you instead?



(I used to do this with The Wall and Momentary Lapse casettes…..ya wanna see freaky? Have Teddy Ruxpin sing “Empty Spaces” to you when you’re 8)

I always wondered if someone else thought to try this

 

[DrewJD82]

I can totally echo this, but it was when I got a MacBook with GarageBand. My brother Rob (RIP) had a studio at his place years ago and he recorded a lot of stuff for us, but it wasn't til I got GarageBand that I could really make the songs in my head a reality.

Bro, I’d be scared to see inside your head with the stuff you come up with!!

 

[KHAAAAAAANNNNNNN!!!!!!!!]

Kiss Alive!

Rush: All The World's A Stage

Hendrix: Smash Hits

The Nuge: Double Live Gonzo