DiSTANToblivion

That's very interesting, never thought about that. It should be obvious though having a band being interviewed about what artists they like or who influenced them. It's like you said where it could be something as simple as seeing John Frusicante wearing a Charles Mingus t-shirt for you to be interested in what they listen to. hmm...

I don't think I came across like I wanted to. I just meant has anyone changed what they listen to out of their own accord after listening to what you do? Their not being forced to drop everything and listen to your tastes. Maybe I should've worded it better?

lucifer_sam

1. My father:

Obviously the most primal of all influences, it was my dad who actually forced me into listening to music when I was a kid. There was probably an equal proportion of newer songwriters to trudgy dad rock. I can remember listening to stuff like U2 (nothing after Achtung Baby though), Jeff Buckley, XTC, Dead Can Dance, and Natalie Merchant in addition to the stereotypical stuff you might find in a fifty-something's collection: the Dead, Allman Brothers Band, Yes, Genesis, etc. A few of these I've carried with myself through my teen years, but the majority of them I've tossed out (like the horrid '80s output from Peter Gabriel that he was so fond of). In addition I probably passed a few of mine out to him.

2. My brother:

Back when I was a kid and all I had to grow on was the local radio (and their tragic obsession with Nirvana), my brother had the only alternative in his obscene collection of grunge, alt rock and other '90s bores. In retrospect it was nothing special at first, but he started to reorient himself as he got older, passing on quite a few of his favorites to me, among them Pavement, Cannibal Ox, the Flaming Lips, Spoon, and plenty of others. Even today I'll go to concerts with him occasionally / whenever I go back home and I try to listen to bands that he hypes.

3. My best friend:

As fortunate to count myself as someone who can make this claim, my best friend and I have VERY different tastes in music, and I'd say he complements mine more than influences it. While he still revolves around the current indie scene, there's been more than a few artists I've picked up off him and plenty more that we both share a passion for: stuff like Built to Spill, the Flaming Lips, Dinosaur Jr., Spoon, Pavement... And though I don't think we'll ever connect on an artistic level (as much as I've tried), I've picked up and bounced more ideas off him than anyone else I've been involved with.

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mr dave

no worries. i have odd views on music, it's ok haha

i'm sure listening habits have influenced those around me and vice versa but generally speaking i don't hang around people who would need any level of major musical reshaping haha

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Astronomer

What influences my music taste?

My interests. I am a musician, and so I love finding music that can contribute to my growth as a musician and my knowledge of music. I love experiencing music that requires a high level of musicianship or talent for this reason as well. I also love going out to see live music so I like music that can hold my interest at a live event, music that can make me feel.

My mood. Depending on how I am feeling I will gravitate towards what reflects how I feel and what acts as a catharsis of sorts, to an extent.

My friends. Most notably, my fellow band members and I are always sharing music and experiencing each others tastes. They are always introducing me to new bands or musicians that I wouldn't have heard of otherwise, and sharing music like this makes us also grow as musicians.

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TheCellarTapes

My taste in music has been influenced by a few people over the years. My Dad's constant playing of The Faces, Billy Joel and my mums playing of Neil Diamond certainly didn’t really make a positive impression on me at that young an age, but now at 26, I can say hand on heart, that their taste in music was not that bad back then.

In my early teens, Noel Gallagher in the mid 90's had a huge impact on the direction my taste in music was going to take. As a keen Oasis fan back in the 90's, I hung on every word the man said, particularly his championing of bands like The Beatles and The Rolling Stones. Not to dismiss ALL new music, but Gallagher probably shot himself in the foot with these statements, because he showed to me how poor modern music was compared to those of the records from the past.

A few mates of mine back in Salford became infiltrated by The Blues whilst in my college years, and I mean really so, they are called Hard Luck Child and can be found here Hard Luck Child on MySpace Music - Free Streaming MP3s, Pictures & Music Downloads . There constant banging on about people like Muddy Waters and Jimmy Reid certainly has left an impression on me, they are probably the most important factor behind my Blues in The Cellar videos on Youtube.

However, in the last few years, my taste in music has been shaped by certain albums, record labels and publications. Shindig! Magazine, combined with Rev-Ola and Sundazed Records, with a huge pinch of Nuggets, have not left me short of material to track down and listen to. You can guarantee that despite never hearing the artist before, any release off Sundazed and Rev-Ola will be stunning.

So yeah, that’s me

ClayMike

Elvis Presley was my first look into music becouse my mom and sisters just loves him,so i was raised on his music.Also i like just about all music and i am a big Green Day fan.

DiSTANToblivion

A lot of really good in-depth replies here. Its great.

Most people say their father or brothers got them started and they shaped their influence from there.

Wonder how different your taste in music might be without the headstart?

mr dave

i don't want to hog the thread but that's kind of how it boiled down for me, which is an odd thing for most people to consider since my father was a musician as well. but, being that i was the oldest child and that he wasn't offering a helping hand i turned to what was available. lucky for me i found RHCP before i got too far into Bon Jovi and Extreme hahaha.

it's interesting to talk to him about music now though, seems we share a lot of the same attitudes on the creative side but we're polarized in terms of modern attitudes towards performance and the realities of playing music in this day and age.

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Remedy

My older sisters got me into music, I grew up listening to random punk and ska bands. I know it sounds lame, but I got into electronic music from a game called stepmania. Its basically a Dance Dance Revolution remake that you play on the keyboard, and only contains tracks people(illegaly) make into songs playable in the game. That got me going on crazy breakcore and jungle, which got then got me into DnB, which got me into trip-hop, which got me into hip-hop and jazz, etc, etc... So now I'm listening to all kinds of "weird" music that no one else around me seems to "get". It does suck knowing that I will probably never get to see the majority of my favorite artists play live. Orlando's music scene is pretty much dead.

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