Musician Survey CORRECTED

Another Facebook note I stole from a friend...well, not really stole, I WAS tagged!

Anyhoo....

** This one's for all you musicians out there. Answer the questions below, then tag your other musician friends so they can do the same! **


(Well, a huge segment of my friends are musicians, so rather than tag everyone...you know who you are.)


What is your main instrument?
Guitar

Other instruments?
Bass, some piano, some blues harp

Any instruments you want to play but never tried?
Theremin

How many years have you played your main instrument?
22

Did you take lessons or teach yourself?
Guitar/bass -- self-taught, although I recently took a fingerboard theory class.
Piano -- took lessons throughout college.
Blues harp -- took several blues harp classes.

Do you read sheet music or play by ear?
I CAN read sheet music and tablatures, but very slowly. I prefer by ear.

How many hours a day do you practice?
Not enough, that's for sure.

Do you write your own music?
Yes.

Do you prefer to play solo or in a group?
Usually solo, mainly because I don't have a band! I would love to have free access to an orchestra, though, because I have an arrangement of "Cuddle Up" I'd love to record some day. And most of the stuff I compose I have an entire band in mind.

In one of the blues harp classes I took, the beginning of class was an electrified jam, complete with a three-piece band. It's REALLY COOL to have a band back you up as you play Little Walter tunes on a harmonica.

Are you currently in a band?
Nope.

What was the name of your first band?
If you count the Joliet Catholic liturgy committee music group as a band, we called ourselves "Holy Jam" because we thought that name sounded cool.

If you count the band idea I have in my head that currently only has one member, no gigs, and only incomplete material, then Scattered Frog.

Who is your favorite all-time artist/band?
Artist -- Brian Wilson; band -- Beatles

Who is your favorite current artist/band?
Artist -- I would love to say Logan Whitehurst, but he died a few years ago at the age of 29, so I don't know if he counts as "current." Band -- Wondermints, although they haven't really released an album in a while.

Who is/was your greatest musical influence?
Wow...too hard to articulate...I'd love to say Brian Wilson or Lennon/McCartney, but none of my stuff sounds anything remotely like theirs. Recently I've been getting some ideas from John Prine and some local groups.

Who is your favorite musical innovator?
The staff at EMI Studios at #3 Abbey Road, circa 1962-1969. Flanging, artificial double-tracking, backwards music as an instrument, tape loops, Leslie speakers on everything...

Favorite female vocalist?
Time to embarrass a friend: my friend Bridget. Amazing voice!! She sang at my wedding. Seriously, I was more nervous asking her to sing at my wedding than I was asking Lisa to marry me!

Favorite male vocalist?
Hmmm...dunno...definitely not ME! Possibly Stevie Wonder. I'd love to have the pipes of Carl Wilson, or even a really really young Frank Sinatra.

Favorite guitar player?
Too many to pick from...Dick Dale is definitely up there, and perhaps one of the most amazing guitarists I've ever seen, either in person or on record (and in this case both), is Phil Keaggy.

Favorite bass player?
Carol Kaye, James Jamerson, and because people yelled at me for not including him the first time around, Paul McCartney

Favorite keyboard player?
Dunno; never really followed keyboard players...

Favorite drummer?
Keith Moon, by far.

Most underrated artist/band of all-time?
Wondermints

Most underrated current artist/band?
Any band Stew happens to take part in.

Most overrated artist/band of all-time?
Led Zeppelin, post-Syd Barrett-era Pink Floyd

Most overrated current artist/band?
Rascal Flatts

Which artist/band would your friends be most surprised you like?
Justin Timberlake -- at least, the hits from Justified. That stuff sounds like classic Stevie Wonder infused with Michael Jackson's Off The Wall.

Which artist/band would your friends be most surprised you dislike?
The Raspberries. Most of my Brian Wilson fan friends gasp in shock when I express my extreme loathing of that whiny-ass music. Then again, I think it's more that there's this Beatles envy among Beach Boys/Brian Wilson fans that drives people to attack anybody who mentions the Beatles and saying they're off-topic in the online fan discussions, yet threads about the f**king Raspberries go on for days.

They'd probably also be mighty surprised that I dislike Jan & Dean. I'm sorry, but the singing was just horrible. (Well, actually, I'm not sorry at all.) Off-key and too nasally. I tried to force myself to like Save For A Rainy Day but not even that has a listenable moment for me.