I have been practicing guitar again and I've also watched The Who Live at the Isle of Wight 1970 and Woodstock in the past week, so live music and inspiration have been on my mind.
I've expressed my disdain for the "Who is the greatest guitarist?" question in threads on the fediverse, and this isn't entertaining it by any means. There's a lot of nuance to that question, and as a data nerd, I can't accept comparing people from different decades and situations as if they're all on an even playing field. I will probably post about this more at a later date, so I'll stop here before this post gets totally derailed.
I don't know that I really had any inspirations when I started playing guitar at age 11. I just listened to a lot of punk and wanted to do that, so I got a very cheap knock-off strat and was an avid buyer of Guitar World for info and tabs throughout middle school. I think high school is where I really started thinking about guitarists and styles and whose matched the sound I'd want, since my music taste evolved into other genres besides punk during that time. Sitting here now 26 years later, I have a very clear list, so here are the guitarists that I am inspired by, in no particular order:
Pete Townshend: The Who became my favorite band when I was 14. I was a huge fan girl and had every piece of media I could get my hands on. There were 2 DVDs and 1 album that completely engrossed me: The Who Live at the Isle of Wight 1970, The Kids Are Alright, and The Who Live at Leeds. Both the Isle of Wight and Leeds shows were in 1970 and The Kids Are Alright featured a lot of footage from Woodstock (1969). Those couple of years were absolutely their best live years in my opinion, and I watched that Isle of Wight DVD at least once a week throughout high school because it was so mind-blowing to me.
Every member of that band was amazing to watch live. Pete's live sound and playing were a lot different than their studio albums; it was so much bluesier and harder (plus louder, haha). Some of the solos at those 3 shows were straight up mesmerizing. I swear that he becomes one with his guitar, and the by-product of it is a mix of so many genres before their actual existence. He doesn't get enough credit for paving the way for some of the sounds that rose to prominence in the 70s and 80s.
In some of his book notes from right before he passed, John Entwistle, their bassist, said that Pete's best live sound was with his Gibson SGs, which were what he played throughout those shows. I could not agree with him more! Those performances not only inspired the shit out of me, but they also solidified my love for Gibsons. My ex from 2002 through 2010 would probably try to take credit for the latter since he played a Les Paul, and to be fair he bought me my first Gibson (an SG with 3 humbuckers), but it was absolutely all Pete Townshend's live playing in 1969 and 1970 that did it for me.
Slash: I honestly don't remember how I first learned of Slash. It was definitely in middle school, maybe from Guitar World or something on TV. I just remember thinking he was sexy!
One of the things I love about Slash is how absolutely punk he is. I'm sure people would be like, "Huh? His music isn't punk!" and that is true; it's he who is punk. He has always done his own thing and stayed true to his creative values, never settling or making compromises in his music. He's in it for the love of playing guitar/music, and he epitomizes what rock and roll has always been about. He sees bands as a single unit where everyone has to work well and complementary with each other for them to succeed, with no one part more important than the others. You can see why GNR ended up falling apart like they did (Axl started treating GNR as his band and unilaterally made decisions without anyone else's input, including showing up to recording sessions and shows only when he wanted to).
He's said that playing guitar should reflect the player; that they should have their own personal spin on how they play, even if they're trying to learn other peoples' songs. I've always loved that, and it's definitely reflected in how Pete Townshend becomes one with his guitar, like I said above. Pete's live sound that I love is something Slash also excels at, and he has replicated it in studio albums. "Paradise City" is one of my favorite songs, and it's entirely because of his playing... and despite what anyone says, that song absolutely has punk in it. Listen to Duff's bass lines and tell me I'm wrong.
Slash is one of the few famous people I'd love to have a conversation with. We're on the same wavelength about a lot of music things; for example, we are in complete agreement about live albums/music being the true way to know if you like a band or not. He used Live at Leeds as an example of this, so you know I totally trust his opinions, haha. In a guitar magazine I saw a quote that said, "The only way I ever learned was by playing under somebody else. Even when I had my own band, I used to go out and jam. And I'm still working at it - there's always something new to learn." The latter especially is words to live by.
Tom Morello: Rage Against the Machine always had a lot of airplay on the local alternative rock station growing up, so I feel like I've always known of them. I really became aware of them as people after the 2000 MTV VMAs protest, though. I thought, "Who are these crazy motherfuckers?" I have never forgotten their names since.
I've been hearing Tom's show on SiriusXM for a lot of years at this point, and I find him absolutely fascinating. Between his family background on his father's side fighting against colonialism in Kenya, to his mom's dedication to teaching and social justice that made him who he is, I can't help but feel that way. His attending Harvard on a full ride and fighting to change the place for the better despite the potential for losing that is inspiring. He's another of the few famous people I'd love to converse with, being as incredibly knowledgeable yet still down to earth as he is. I could listen to him talk on his show for hours and wish it were longer, or at least recorded more than once a week.
His guitar playing really reflects him as a person, too (Slash was right again!). He's completely turned the guitar playing status quo upside down with the experimentation and sounds he's managed to create. So much of the sound he's gotten would've required synthesizers had it been anyone else - a lot of the sound effects in RATM songs are actually his guitar. Music traditionally is kinda like math in that there's rules to follow and structure that supposedly can't be strayed from. Tom coming through and basically saying, "fuck you, I won't do what you tell me" (yes, I went there) and going way beyond those confines has had a huge impact on how I look at playing.
Tom is also in it for the love of music and playing guitar. He's like me in that he is into and inspired by so many different genres that defy the stereotypes of what people who are into one thing - like rock, hate - like disco. He has a few stations that are giant playlists of his making on XM, and sometimes even I'm surprised at some of the songs/artists that come on. I couldn't be happier finding a kindred spirit in him.
Sister Rosetta Tharpe: Sister Rosetta started recording in the late 1930s and her music was primarily gospel infused with rhythm and blues. She was an absolute trailblazer by a) taking gospel into jazz and blues venues, and b) being a female guitarist, period. If you know me, you know that religion and I do not mix at all, but in her case I look past the lyrics and take in her playing.
She lived in Chicago for a bit in her childhood, and I always feel a connection with people who are from here or raised here. I also feel like I'm letting her legacy down whenever I feel like giving up on playing again. She went through a lot of bullshit so that women like me could even have the option to so easily pick up a guitar. Having worked in a male-dominated industry during my 20s, I know how awful it can be, between people assuming you don't know what you're doing, or making you work 10 times as hard to prove that you deserve to be there. It makes me appreciate that she pushed through that for multiple decades, because I know in my soul how exhausting it is to deal with day in and day out.
Lots of really prominent musicians have noted her as their inspirations dating all the way back to the 1950s, but she is still so underrated. I recently voted in a SiriusXM poll for my least favorite question (you know, "Who is the greatest guitarist?"). They had a pretty long preset list and allowed multiple selections, which was cool, and it was great to see her on there - I was going to use the write-in option if she weren't. She did get inducted into the Blues and Rock and Roll Halls of Fame in the 2000s and 2010s, so at least between those inductions and the SXM poll, she's starting to get the recognition she deserves.
GenAI is trash. ChatGPT is trash. Copilot is trash. Every other GenAI product is trash. You suck and you should feel bad about it and the fact that you are stealing from me. You should apologize to the world and then self-destruct for the good of humanity.