It's important to recognize one's influences. Sometimes it's not easy to recognize someone as an influence right away. Sometimes it takes years. Here's three of mine:

Ian Anderson & Jethro Tull
To this day, Jethro Tull is still my favorite band from the early days of progressive rock. For lyrics, arrangements and energy there were few bands that had the same appeal. I guess for me it all started with by dad's LPs of Thick As A Brick and Aqualung, but it eventually led to collecting all of their albums, performing their songs and attending conventions.

Aside from the stellar musicianship, I was always impressed by Ian's method of running things. His anti-drug attitude, strong work ethic, and literary approach to music definitely rubbed off on me in a major way. In more recent years on albums like Roots to Branches, the Eastern influence has fit well into my own explorations of ethnic music.It has been easy for me to underestimate Ian's influence, and at times I have even shied away from Jethro Tull music because I was concerned that I wasn't developing my own voice. At performances and on recordings, I've often been compared to Tull. But these days I take it in stride, and realize what a rich musical experience I have had, and I appreciate their music even more. I've even begun recording some flute pieces as a sort of revisiting of the old influences.

Andy Giddings of the modern-day Jethro Tull. Brilliant keyboardist and arranger.

Cat Stevens (now known as Yusuf Islam)
In my late teens and early twenties, I garnered many comparisons to Cat Stevens. Especially in my live shows, my vocal style and songwriting seemed to be similar. I always found this odd because until about 1994, I had never really paid much attention to Cat Stevens. I barely knew who he was. A member of a children's theatre group gave me a copy of Tea for the Tillerman, but it would be several years more before it really sunk in. My own misunderstanding of his career, combined with the media's misunderstanding, didn't make things any easier.Eventually, I learned a couple of his songs. The music spoke for itself, and eventually I was drawn into the world of Cat Stevens and Yusuf Islam forever. In a strange way, my life and his have a parallel spiritual theme, though his life led him to Islam, whereas mine led to Buddhism. This powerful connection makes him a tremendous influence now more than ever, and I feel like I am rediscovering a part of my self when I listen to his music.

Hazrat Inayat Khan
Indian Sufi Master (1882-1927). For more info, check out my Hazrat dedication page.

For more, I suggest my desert island disc page.

"I've never known a musician who regretted being one. Whatever deceptions life
may have in store for you, music itself is not going to let you down."
-- Virgil Thompson