Influence Part 7........

Forget Jimi Hendrix, he didn't really have an influence on my music until I was established. But back in my teethcutting days, the first guitarist that truly got my attention as a cut throat, take no prisoner, no holds barred guitarist was "Alvin Lee". I played everything I heard from Ten Years After. Over and Over again until I could play it note for note. I think I started with Slow Blues in a C. Compare that song to "Powell Street Blues". Of course the first thing you think of when you hear the name Alvin Lee is Woodstock and Unbeleivable speed on the Fret board. I guess that's how I got the nick name shredder. It makes perfect sense that Leo Lyons (Ten Years After Bassist) would say that he always enjoys my music. (God bless him)

Alvin was my role model during my formative years. (ages 15 - 19) So if you reach into the heart of the guitarist that I've become, you'll find Alvin Lee. This is both a gift and a curse though. It wasn't until I broke away from the Alvin Lee Influence, that I really became the guitarist I am. Yet even today, people that know Ten Years After can hear the deep rooted influence of Alvin Lee in my guitarmanship.