I don’t know what got me into playing guitar. I’d always been drawn to music, though. In fact, my first band I was in I was recruited as the drummer. Before that, I didn’t even belong in the band, really. My best friend was the bass player and I would just come and hang out. They had some real issues with keeping solid drummers, and on those frequent occasion when the drummer would never show up, I’d fill in. After the third drummer quit, they looked at me to fill the spot, which was freaking awesome. I couldn’t believe it.
I transitioned to guitar at some point, but I don’t know why. I think because I wanted to play Metallica songs. Then I heard my first David Gilmour solo and I was forever changed. Really opened my eyes to what could be done with the guitar.
Then I heard John Petrucci. He was the one who really inspired me to learn theory, technique, and to become the best player I can be.
As far as recent inspirations, I’ve really been inspired by Mikael Akerfeldt and Opeth. Mikael is such a virtuoso on guitar, the man can play anything and make it sound beautiful and evil at the same time. I’ve been learning a lot of Opeth tunes because it’s a style of playing I’ve never seen before, and it’s been really inspiring when playing the guitar.
