Influence and role models

Merriam Webster says that influence is the power or capacity of causing an effect in indirect or intangible ways.

My influences as a musician are as far flung as they could possibly be. Id like to think I love all genres of music. I believe there is good and bad music in all types. You can be your own judge on good vs bad.

Early on, I loved the look and sound of KISS and strived to learn all their songs and get down some stage presence from seeing them on TV. Very soon after, I came under the influence of Black Sabbath, of which I still cant escape from. Their ability to make all things heavy and ominious still chills me.

I think its very important to have influences in your music that shine through. All music is the combination of your influence and role models.

A role model is a person whose behavior in a particular role is imitated by others

My friend, Terry wrote something on his myspace page where he said some nice things about me being an influence on him. At the time, I thanked him in a blog, which I promptly posted. Since then Ive done a lot of thinking on the subject of influence and being a role model in music and in life.

My father passed away when I was very young and I spent a good deal of time like many young men rebelling against authority, convinced that I knew everything. During my teen years, with my mother raising her family alone I didnt have many male role models.

I was interested in being in a band and although I had one with my friends, I joined a summer school music education program called Stairway To Stardom, produced by Skips Music in Sacramento, California where you are matched up with a band and an adult music professional as your coach. My two coaches, Larry Schiavone and Larry Gosch were huge influences on how to conduct band practices to be efficient, how to work songs within the parameters of players and their ability.

I was also hugely influenced by Steve Wall, Michael Rowe and Michael Gregory, three monster guitarist/songwriters from Sacramento who I loved to watch play and be inspired to be great. I also learned some huge lessons by talking to singer/songwriter Brent Bourgeois. Although my exposure to these people was limited to picking their brain or the occasional guitar lesson Id like to think I learned a lot about conducting myself as a man as well.

Three years later, I became the first Stairway To Stardom student to become a coach. Over the years I tried to be an influence musically, drawing from my own and a role model to the younger musicians. The last year I coached in 2005 I came into contact with four young musicians who, despite their ages, would introduce me into a whole new world of influencing and role modeling. The aforementioned Terry, Stephen, Thomas and Dalton. At the end of the program, Stephen, Thomas and Dalton approached me about continuing to work with them to become a band called STD.

I see in them the curiosity and desire to learn about music, the music business and life that I had at their age and still have at mine. I think this is what makes the group so good.

I feel it is our responsibility to share with other musicians and non musicians the sum of our influence when we play and perform. It is also our duty to be good role models as musicians and humans to continue the tradition for generations to come.

As always, we welcome your ideas and feedback