I was going to put this in the stringed instruments section, but I think it belongs here because then other musicians such as drummers and what not can comment. What or who made you pick up your first guitar or pair of drumsticks or start piano lessons or whatever it is that you do, and why do you continue to play, if you do?

Bob Dylan.

I guess, it´s because of 3 things, why I picked up the guitar at the age of around 10:

- My English teacher frequently playing guitar and singing during lessons.
- Me devolping into a huge Beatles-fan
- Watching "The kids are alright" for the 1st time.

What made me practice several hours a day as a teenager was Ozzy´s/ Randy´s "Tribute"-album along with several Van Halen- and Yngwie-records.

And I´m still playing because I love it so much and appreciate expressing myself with my playing. Plus, I enjoy getting paid for something, which I´d also do for free.

Atari Teenage Riot coz they've created some new kind of music style!
Alec EMpire coz he's the king!
Reverend Bizarre coz it's totally amazing
Beethoven & Mozart coz their symphonies are so great
Aube & Lustmord coz they create so dark ambiances!

and i'm trying to mix all of that in a new style but i can't manage it

Jean-Michel Jarre...

damn ! it's a forbidden composer !! !
you can't mention it!

Well I had a cd in my cd player, the power button was right there... I guess what inspired me to play it was that I wanted to hear it. What other reason is there?

flea and hillel slovak

i saw the video for jungle man on tv when i was 14. it was like nothing i had ever seen or heard before. flea's bass line completely blew my mind and when slovak's guitar slipped in on top it put everything back together but nothing was ever the same. and within those 20 seconds i KNEW i wanted to play music.

Well....i guess i should say Dave Grohl (guitar) cause foo fighters was the first real rock band i got into. This was around 1996. Oh, and i almost forgot. 'Norwegian wood' and 'here comes the sun' also had a major impact on me in terms of wanting to play the guitar.

JoJo insipred me to start singing.

Johnny Cash, The Police, Eddie Van Halen, Led Zeppelin, Gordon Lightfoot, Marty Robbins.