Who YOU Influence

[Naga]

Right now, having a moment with my nephew, I can tell he has the basic theory of music. This is proven by him tapping his finger at every 2nd beat of every song I'm playing, even when the song's beat pattern changes! And ultimately, it just makes me wonder how many people we influence day to day with our own influence and those that influence us

Who do you most directly influence?

[FrigoRecording]

So cool, man! My son, who is only 21 months old, has been moving in time to a beat since he was under a year old. When drummers come into the studio, he is so fascinated by it. My daughter, who is 7 and a half, has been able to carry a tune on key since I can remember, even humming along on key since before she could talk at under a year of age. I'm thrilled that my kids have strong musical tendencies already, and can't wait to see how they develop. They both seem very interested in the studio and how things work there, too.

My wife is currently teaching our daughter piano, but I think we may need to get someone else to teach her, since they seem to butt heads a bit during the lessons. I know some pretty talented drummers who might teach my son in trade for some studio time, so I'll have to think about that in the next couple of years!

[Naga]

Awesome! I'm planning on getting my nephew his first instrument soon. Debating drums or guitar at this point. He's 3yrs old. Or maybe even a little keyboard, but who knows... Heh

[Colton]

I'm not really sure, but I hope I influence in return everyone who influences me.


Wow, wish I had a better story for this one.

[joltinjeff]

All three of my kids are into music. My sons (15 and 12) attempted at playing drums my oldest switched to guitar a year or two ago, but my youngest quit playing because of his ADHD plus he hated to practice. My daughter played the clarinet or flute, I cant remember, but now takes after me and likes to sing.

[Banned]

This is very significant because they look up to you guys. What example are you setting?

[KeithReynolds]

Here is an older pic of my son when he wasnt even a year and a half. He is now 2 and a half.
He showed interest in instruments when he realized thats what daddy and his friends used to make all that noise on practice nights. Jacob wanted to make that noise too!

[joltinjeff]

This is very significant because they look up to you guys. What example are you setting?

They know they come first, however they also know and try to understand that when it comes to dealing with band rehearsal, gigs, meetings, learning lyrics, whatever that is important as well. I am trying to teach that they can have careers, families and fun in whatever they want to do as long as one does not override the other. There must be an equal balance in life. When I was single and in the Army, I didnt have anyone in particular to answer to except Uncle Sam, my free time was MY free time. When I got married, I put working in a band for a long time, no matter how bad I wanted to be in one. Now, they are older and don't need as much as they did when they were little, I take dedicate a little more time to No Guarantee

[RFBuck]

I got to know someone online 8 years ago who became a good friend and she told me her son was playing guitar. I started chatting with him and giving him little hints and tips. This year, I went to visit them and to sit and jam with him in person for the first time. It was a great experience.

This past weekend, he came down here (from New York) to visit for the weekend, and besides seeing a Rapid Fire show we spent the next two days jamming and I took him to Pittsburgh to the Hard Rock Cafe. He's now 21, and has come a long way with his playing which he credits a lot to me although I don't see where I did that much other than nudge him in the right direction. I guess that was enough. We now plan on visiting on a regular basis.

[felix'apprentice]

my one neighbor is like 13, i think thats how old he is. but he found i play guitar and ever since he asks me about guitar stuff all the time. i gave him a guitar and practice amp this summer and showed him a few things. and recently he's been interested in playing bass. im actually heading down there tonight to string up a bass for him.

but i think its cool to have younger kids interested in music. i will do anything i can to help them out as long as they are willing to listen to me. i may not have much to offer them, but i can show them what i know and hopefully they can build on that. i love workin with kids. its funny, everytime i see him, he asks me when im gonna give him my strat ... haha. someday i will build him one.

i know i have a lot of seasoned musicians, even here on rockpage that i look up to. so its cool to have at least one person look up to me for some musical guidance.

- kayla.

[brian's girl]

my story is more of some one who influenced me rather than the other way around. when i was younger i sang in church groups and school chrous and had learned how to play piano. as i got older and was working and having my own kids i got out of playing and even though i missed it, i didn't get back into it. it wasn't till i met my fiancee that he showed me that i could do and be a working mom. my band is still really new and getting our act together but i couldn't have done it with out him. so my thanks is to him!

[joltinjeff]

my story is more of some one who influenced me rather than the other way around. when i was younger i sang in church groups and school chrous and had learned how to play piano. as i got older and was working and having my own kids i got out of playing and even though i missed it, i didn't get back into it. it wasn't till i met my fiancee that he showed me that i could do and be a working mom. my band is still really new and getting our act together but i couldn't have done it with out him. so my thanks is to him!

I can vouche for Chris and the influence that her fiancee has on us as a band. He lets us know when something sounds good and bad. A couple of weeks when we played our first gig, I asked him about some things and he told me honest answers, from a musical standpoint not as a bandmate of Chris' or as a friend.
We have influences and influence someone out there, it is our goal as musicians to set good examples for everyone we come in contact with on and off stage.

[dbdrummer89]

I'm the oldest cousin on my mom's side of the family, (next oldest is 3 years younger). I first started playing when I was 16, and he picked up the drums shortly after. I don't know if I was a great influence on him or anything, but I like to think I exposed him to the drums as an instrument. He's getting pretty good too...just needs to switch up his practice routine a bit

[guitarslinger]

Both of my children are into music. I taught my daughter how to play some basic beats on the drums. She plays the drums occasionally but is really into dance, which requires alot of timing also. My son who is turning 2 in a couple of weeks, loves to beat on the drums. And he also pretends to play his play guitar while I am playing mine. My nephew asked me to show him some stuff on the bass a few years back. He caught on very quick and turned out to be a really good bass player. We played in a band together for about three years until recently.

[songsmith]

I don't think I've influenced a lot of people, but the few I have, I'm very proud of. I taught Doug Forshey guitar when he was 11, and wrote lots of songs hanging out at his house later... now he's a songwriter in Nashville for nearly 15 years. BadDazeRob claims my old rock band and myself influenced his long career. Butch Woodward told me once he decided to be a musician at a Thin Ice show when I urged the all-age audience to follow their musical dreams. My last guitar student (Doug was the first) went on to switch to piano, and did quite well.
Still I've learned more than I could ever teach, and people still influence me tremendously. I feel like I've taken more than I've given.--->JMS

[Naga]

Heh... A once g/f's brother got a guitar, but after seeing me play, he picked up more. He ended up hating me though

A few of my closer friends who didn't play want to (one recently got his first guitar), and several who didn't play much picked up more with me. Small stories, but still

The idea is, music doesn't have to be given as much as taken. We all take a little, and pass it on to others who take a little from a lot of people as well, and make it their own, developing their feel

[Brian of the Clan Plush]

I know I've influenced my daughter, I have hundreds of pictures of her playing my drums when she was still in diapers, in my studio as a little girl singing Disney princess songs through my PA. She always loved when my bands played festivals and all-ages shows instead of bars, so she could come and watch. She's now 15 and is an accomplished singer and actress in musical theater, being recruited already by UCLA and GWU. This past summer, we sang onstage together for the first time at the Summer's Best Music Fest in State College. The other day as a school assignment she asked me for my "bucket list". I told her I wanted to hang out on her tour bus when she's famous.

[bassist4life2004]

my son started to talk when he was really young, younger than most kids when they start talking. Anyway, I would sit down with him while he was in his high chair and sing songs and play guitar. he would actually start singing along and harmonizing, and it got to a point where i could play the first 2 or 3 notes of a song and he would be able to tell you the name and the artist. He still loves to sing and is really into any kind of music. He can really harmonize well, has a great voice, and im teaching him how to play guitar. he is 6 years old now but really has an understanding and huge appreciation for all kinds of music. I dont really restrict him from any kinds of music because he knows what hes allowed to say and not say, and I also remember what it was like to be restricted from certain music, and thats half the reason i feel like i missed a lot of cool shit growing up