I recently had to fill out a questionnaire for an online magazine called Sing Out! They wanted to feature Paul McCartney, but he wasn’t available…so they chose me instead.
(http://singout.org/folkfinds)
One of the questions got me thinking. They wanted to know who influenced me, musically, lyrically. And I had to do it in 500 words. I must be about 50 words or so into this missive, so 500 words on who influenced me….
Hmmmmmmm….
It took me longer to find the right 500 words for who influenced me than it takes a debutante to dress for her coming out party. I would like to think I have been influenced by every person I have gotten to know. Not just famous writers and musicians.
Such a question is tantamount to giving a small boy a dollar and sending him into the Russell Stover store and telling him he can buy any candy he wants.
Why…I fretted over that question considerable!
A couple of times I got concerned that my browser was going time out on me. I ate a ham sandwich with mayo , horseradish, and a thick slice of ripe tomato fresh from my garden, while thinking. Then, drank two glasses of tea and picked the ham out of my teeth with a toothpick…
But… I digress….
So, in the process, I over-engineered my thinking and left out one of my greatest influences.
Ahem…more on that dood later….
Influence. It’s a big word. Three syllables. I could bore you with the Old English Dictionary’s entry on the word, or I could tell you what it means to me.
I like influence. It’s a handy thing to have. You can make a snorting bull clear the path for you with the right influence. Without influence, he can use his considerable influence to remove you from the path.
Too many adult beverages will have you under the influence when driving home from a strip joint.
So, it moves things. Not just physically. But…Mentally. Emotionally. Lyrically. Musically. Well, you get the picture even though I am writing like a house painter wearing boxing gloves.
I try to influence my son all the time. Try to get him to focus on something productive, working toward a future. I try to influence my little dog to not crap on the floor. I try to influence a friend of mine not to put dobro on certain songs. Kalimba, maybe…dobro…no. AND DEFINITLY NOT HIS VIOLIN.
So, influence is one of the most critical elements for our existence. To say who influenced you in 500 words is like asking Hans Brinker’s Dutch boy to plug the leak in the dam with a Milkdud.
But…when you are given homage for some of your work, it is proper to give props to those who influenced you.
And I left out a great influence in my lyric writing and critical thinking. Little Eddie…Ed…XXXXXXX (the dubious 7-letter name on a file I have of his work on my computer desktop)…finally, he also goes by the curious moniker of…edro.
Thanks bro, for inspiring me to be better.
And thanks for telling Kyo to take that damn dobro off the song!!!
Little Eddie and the Eagle 