My Musical Influences - A Journey Through Time
- Dan Turner
- May 11, 2020
- 8 min read
We have all seen these things on Facebook where you have to post 10 albums over 10 days with no explanation. Kind of pointless. My friend Paul decided to take this concept but post albums that have been an influence to his playing and song writing. He also nominated me to do this. I had a lot of fun thinking about this and listening to stuff from my youth. I think I got a good mix of music from my past along with a couple of recent editions that have had a huge impact on me. I cheated a bit along the way but who really cares? :)
I thought I would pull these all together and share them here. I found this an interesting exercise and would recommend this to anyone who has some time on their hands.
At the end I have also included a few honorable mentions that didn't quite make the cut.
The Weakerthans - Reconstruction Site
I'm going to start with Reconstruction Site by The Weakerthans. One of my favourite albums of all time and a huge influence musically. For me this is a perfect album, I love the continuity between the first, middle and last tracks, mixing up the same melody to make the whole thing feel cohesive. The Weakerthans never saw huge success and neither has John K Samson since going solo but to me the music is beautifully written and performed and frankly I never get tired of it.
This is an album I am confident I will be listening to until the day I die. I got rid of the majority of my CD's not long ago but this is one I simply couldn't part with. Even though I listen to it on Spotify.
IDLES - Joy as an Act of Resistance. Post punk brilliance.
A relatively new album but one that has had a huge impact on me. Visceral, open and honest. I love everything about this album and the people who made it. Despite the heavy subject matter, especially the song June, the band manage to have fun with what they do. Often not taking themselves to seriously.
Alkaline Trio - Good Mourning. The dark side of pop punk.
It took me a while to choose an Alkaline Trio album. Initially I thought Maybe I'll Catch Fire, then Crimson but I finally settled on Good Mourning. My copy of this album is incredibly scratched just because of the sheer amount of plays it has had. It was in my car for months after release. It also has (potentially) my favourite track, All On Black. I got into Alkaline Trio when they released From Here to Infirmary and had the video for Stupid Kid on Kerrang! TV. It wasn't until this album that I truly, madly deeply fell in love with this band. There isn't a bad track on this album. Some highlights for me being We've Had Enough, Every Thug Needs a Lady and the finale Blue in the Face.
Your coffin or mine?
Reuben - In Nothing We Trust
Reuben have an incredible back catalogue and I was absolutely gutted when they called it a day. I had the pleasure of seeing them live quite a few times including at The Twist in Colchester supported by Engerica!
While their first two albums are amazing it's the third and final studio album, In Nothing We Trust that sticks in my mind. This album is both heavier and more melodic than the other two and it definitely shows the band maturing.
The first track, cities on fire starts with a single guitar with a bit of overdrive playing a pretty chord progression before punching you in the face when the distortion hits and the rest of the band join. This works to give a good indication of what is to come.
I would definitely say that Jamie Lenman has had a influence on the way I play guitar and I am so happy that he is still making music as a solo artist.
Pinegrove......
I have cheated at bit (a lot) with this one. Pinegrove are my new favourite band. I have well and truly fallen in love with their music and there are so many great things about each album that I couldn't choose. The albums here are:
Everything So Far from 2015 which is a compliation.
Cardinal from 2016 which includes Old Friends which is their most popular track, it also contains a personal favourite of mine, Size of the Moon.
Skylight from 2018, highlights are Rings and East Enough.
Marigold from 2020, I have already listened to this album many more times than I probably should for how long it has been out. The Alarmist and Moment stick out to me.
This band have had an impact on the way I think about chord progression, structure and lyrics. My life is better for having them in it.
Gun to my head, if I had to choose a favourite album I'd go for Skylight.. But then again........
City and Colour - Little Hell
Pretty much any City and Colour album could go here with the exception of Sometimes or the live stuff. Nothing against Sometimes but it is the start of a journey that improved with time. I went with little hell for a few reasons. For a start it is when City and Colour turned into more of a band than an acoustic side project, in sound at least. It is still very much driven by Dallas Green. Secondly it contains one of my favourite songs, Grand Optimist, which definitely reminds me of my mum and dad. Thirdly I remember it playing during the meal at Paul and Jennies wedding so it brings back fond memories. Lastly the artwork is amazing! So much colour!
I wish I could be more like Dallas
Engerica - There are no Happy Endings
One of my favourite bands of all time. Back in the day I was obsessed with these guys. I found out about them initially when they supported This Girl at The Twist in Colchester (it may have been the Soundhouse at the time). Engerica were amazing, This Girl, not so much. I remember visiting their website on a regular basis and consuming everything they put out. I still have all the MP3's stored safely with some amazing tracks that didn’t make it to the album like Deutschmark! For me the release of the album was the icing on the cake of what had already been an amazing output. Getting to hear better produced versions of older tracks along with the amazing new song ‘It Was a Goddamn Suicide’ made me happy as a pig in shit.
Engerica has a unique style, combining punk rock and metal with theatricality. Often being way over the top and just right at the same time, especially vocally. Dave Gardiner is an incredible vocalist and an underrated guitarist, writing parts that fit the song well rather than simply showing off, knowing exactly when to pull it back and when to go for it. Engerica were a huge influence on my guitar playing, more so when playing in The Moth Patrol and The Monroe Connection but even now in the dynamics I try to get when playing acoustically.
I was gutted when Engerica announced their split in 2006 only months after releasing this album. A big group of us went to the last gig at Chinnery's in Southend. As it was Halloween it was fancy dress. We attended as The Village People. I was the cowboy, Paul was the Police Man, David White was the Indian, Chris Staples the construction worker and Frog was the army man. Honestly one of the best nights of my life!
If I recall correctly Dave Gardner was a vampire, Mike Webster was Mel B from Bo Selector, complete with skin tight leopard skin dress 😂 and Neil-Ross Gregory was a Banana...of course 🤣
Years ago Paul and I did an acoustic cover of Trick or Treat in my parents bathroom. It’s still on YouTube, on my old channel, if you are curious haha
After Engerica Mike Webster went on to form the amazing BADDIES with his brother and a couple of other guys. They just got back together for a 10th anniversary gig recently. How about a 15th year anniversary of There Are no happy Endings next year? 😉😍😜
Joy Division - Substance
I picked this album for one track, but what a track! Love Will Tear us Apart. Originally released as a single in a June 1980 a month after the untimely death of Ian Curtis. It didn’t appear on either of Joy Divisions studio albums, Unknown Pleasures and Closer.
Substance was released in 1988 in order to capture all the singles and B-sides that hadn’t previously had an album. There are some incredible tracks here including Dead Souls and Transmission.
However, Love Will Tear Us Apart has a special place in my heart. Ian Curtis had a low voice but made it work for him. I’m not going to pretend my voice is anywhere near as good as his but it did help me to realise what I can do and this was the first song I did a cover of that I felt comfortable singing all the way through and was actually happy with the sound.
Echo and Bunnymen – Ocean Rain
To me, this album is a masterpiece. I first heard this band when I saw the film Donnie Darko. Killing Moon is now one of favourite songs of all time. I had the opportunity to see them live at Reading festival many years ago, they were headlining one of the tents on the Sunday night while Iron Maiden played the main stage. I'm sure Iron Maiden were amazing but they wouldn't have had the impact on me that Echo did. I can still remember the night vividly, nobody else wanted to come and watch them with me and we were all back at the campsite early that night after being pretty burnt out from the weekend. Eventually I thought fuck it and battled through the crowds to get back to the arena. I was rewarded with one of the best live bands I have ever heard. Everything was on point. Ian's voice was immaculate, before playing Killing Moon they announced they were about to play the best song ever written. They weren't far off! haha. I'm not going to pretend that this band have directly influenced my guitar playing or singing but they have certainly influenced my taste in music and left a lasting impact on me.
Finch - What it is to Burn
What it is to burn by Finch had a huuuge impact on me back in the day. I had this album on repeat for months and know each song inside out. The title track is a personal favourite, the opening riff is huge! I had the chance to see Finch at Brixton Academy a few years back for the 10th anniversary of this album and it was a cracking show. The played the album in full, obviously! and it was soo cool to hear some of the more insure songs from the album in a live setting along with a few newer tracks which, in my opinion are not as good but still worth a listen.
To give you an idea of how obsessed I was with this band, at one point in time I had a tattoo of their logo! This is now long gone thanks to a lazer and a half sleeve but I still have the memory.
I took a lot from the guitar playing in this band, specially the rhythm guitar. The Moth Patrol had a song that was heavily influenced by 'Without You Here', although this was subconscious.
To me this album still hold up today and is well worth a listen.
A few honorable mentions:
The majority of the bands on here need no introduction. Unfortunately a few of them no longer exist. There are many bands/artists who have influenced me in so many ways but these are the ones that come to mind. If I kept thinking about it forever the list would probably be never ending. Blink 182 is another one I haven't included but should probably be up there! I was obsessed with them back around Enema of the State/Take off your Pants and Jacket time!
Here are a couple of links for bands/artists that currently hold my heart:
Comments