Zak's Musical Influences

Since it's a midweek point when I don't have any shows scheduled until Sunday (and you should plan on seeing me on 2/8 at 3:00 at Cafe Diego, by the way), I thought some of you would enjoy checking out an actual complete list of the musical influences of Zak Claxton. I've never put this out in any comprehensive way before, but I certainly don't mind going on record with this stuff; if not for the musical inspiration of these people, I have no idea how my life would have turned out. They deserve the mention at the very least.

You may note there aren't many modern artists on the list. That's not because I don't listen to new music or I'm not continually influenced by new songs I hear... I do, and I am. But to qualify for the list below usually takes years of exposure. I'm sure more artists/bands form the '90s and '00s will make the list in years to come. And another note: though these bands/artists all may be influences, it doesn't mean I listen to them all the time. But they were certainly big for me during my formative years as a musician.

And the most important note: some of these artists had a huge influence over my styles of performance, or songwriting, or singing, or guitar playing, or arranging, or music production, or whatever. Others may have only had a song or two I enjoyed, but still found their way into my subconsciousness enough to influence my own music. Yet others may have influenced some specific aspect of my music, like my guitar leads, or my bass playing, or background vocal technique, rather than an overall influence that I get from bands like the Beatles, or Neil Young, or Joni Mitchell. In any case, though the order is alphabetical, the priority certainly isn't.

Aaron Copland
AC/DC
Aerosmith
Alan Parsons Project
Alice in Chains
Allen Holdsworth
B-52s
Bach
Bartok
The Beatles
Bee Gees
Beethoven
Billy Joel
Brahms
Bob Dylan
Bob James
Bob Marley
Boston
Boz Skaggs
The Byrds
Carly Simon
Carole King
The Carpenters
The Cars
Cheap Trick
Chic
Chicago
Chuck Mangione
Cole Porter
Crosby, Still & Nash (& Young)
David Bowie
Debussy
The Doors
Duran Duran
Earl Klugh
Earth, Wind & Fire
Elton John
Elvis Costello
Fleetwood Mac
Frank Zappa
Genesis
George Benson
George Gershwin
Grateful Dead
Handel
Iron Maiden
James Taylor
Jimi Hendrix
John Williams
Joni Mitchell
Kenny Loggins
Led Zeppelin
Metallica
Michael Franks
Missing Persons
Motley Crue
Mozart
Neil Young
Nick Drake
Nirvana
Noel Pointer
Ozzy Osbourne
Pat Metheny
Pete Townshend
Pink Floyd
The Police
Prokofiev
Queen
The Rolling Stones
Rush
Soundgarden
Steely Dan
Stevie Wonder
Stone Temple Pilots
Stravinski
Tchaikovsky
Ted Nugent
U2
Van Halen
Vince Guaraldi Trio
The Who
Yes