If you are a musician, or even if you're not a musician...

Who are or would be your musical influences?

It doesn't even have to be people you sound like, could just be inspiration via musical intention, attitude, approach or style.

It's something I've been thinking about more than ever these days... now that I'm walking the "solo" path.

Mine for now: arthur russell, marine girls, antena, colleen, ariel pink, nick cave and the bad seeds, pj harvey, astrud gilberto, syd barrett, david sylvian, sam prekop, holly golightly, sheila jordan, tortoise, rufus wainwright, brian eno, philip glass.

I should note as well that this differs from your "favorite artists" as you may really love them but realize that you would never realistically incorporate anything from them---e.g. I love the Stooges but will probably never make any music that is anywhere near what they do.

Call it your "patron saints".

jeff buckley
beatles
radiohead
u2
the cure
smashing pumpkins
misfits

haven't wrote songs in a while (years), but heartbreaker-era ryan adams was an influence on 2001-2003 stuff.

Shrimp Boat, Willie Nelson, Gram Parsons (for their approach to "no genre" music... it's all just music, the same 12 notes.)

And more direct, stylistically: Nick Lowe, The Kinks, Guided By Voices, Johnny Cash, Hank Williams, Hüsker Dü, The Move/Roy Wood, Shrimp Boat (again), Gram Parsons (again)

EDIT: Those were songwriting influences.
GUITAR-PLAYING influences: Robert Quine, Ira Kaplan, Richard Lloyd, Peter Hook (yes, the bassist), John Squire, The Edge, and of course... Jimi Hendrix

Dulli.

christ...2 biggies i forgot...shame on me, but hey its early

tom ze.....whoops just kidding


dulli and pollard --> both of those dudes are gods

Influences for me are Nick Drake (for sound), Mark Kozelek(for melodies/how he phrases things within a song/song structure), Jim Croce(lyric writing ability).

I have said it before and I will say it again, I have a serious macrush on Mark Kozelek.

i'll approach this question perhaps a little differently, from a dj's perspective.

i wouldn't be a dj if i hadn't read about the soundsystem battles between afrika bambaataa, kool herc, and grandmaster flash. i've never heard recordings of these battles and i'm not even sure they exist, but the idea was a major impact on me.

and the first dj night that i attended regularly remains a huge influence on me, even though i haven't been to one of their events in almost two years. that was making time/sorted in philadelphia. i still play staples from those nights. and my mixing techniques developed from their styles.

and then there is the northern soul scene's impact on what i play. i know that i have to play what will appease the people, but what i really love is playing obscure tracks that hardly anyone knows. that's when i can spot the real connoisseurs.

You tell me

http://www.myspace.com/philplaysbass