Influences

Below you can read about the people that have influenced me, in one way or another.
Not just guitar players, but various musicians and friends.
In no special order, here they are:
(Get ready for lot's of reading...

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Christian Johansson

So, I will start of by mentioning my very good friend Christian Johansson.
We first met at Mattias IA Eklundh's Freak Guitar camp in 2001.
After the camp we decided to keep in touch. We did, and now he is one of my best friends.
We make music together under the name "In Focuz". Lot's of soft acoustic stuff that I
really enjoy playing.
Christian is a great guy in every way, and he always pushes me to do my best.
He is also one hell of a player.

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Magnus Olsson

Next up we have another good friend of mine.
I met Magnus many years ago, when I started taking private lessons from him.
After a while our "Teacher - Student" relationship turned out to be a real friendship instead.
Magnus has guided me in many ways with my playing. He is a true source of information,
and he have helped me in so many ways.

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Ron Thal - Bumblefoot

The first time I heard about this amazing player was when Mattias IA Eklundh told me to
listen to Ron's album "9.11". Mattias did a guest solo on the song Don Pardo Pimpwagon,
and I fell in love with the song immediatly.
I started to check out more of Bumblefoot's music, and he came to be one of my all time
favorite players.
I finally got to meet him in 2005 after some years of e mailing back and forth.
Got some one on one lessons from him that was so inspiring.
He is a true musical genious, with a unique approach to his instrument.

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Allan Holdsworth

I first heard of Allan when a friend of mine put on Allan's "hard hat area" album in his
cd player. At first I really didn't like it at all, it just sounded strange and weird in my ears.
Some years later I came across his album "The 16 men of tain" at a local record store.
I decided to give Allan another try and bought the record.
I got home and put in my cd player, and it started to grow on me.
Allan is a one of a kind player, and he is now one of my favorite players ever.

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Joe Satriani

Well, what is there to say about this man that hasn't allready been said?
Joe is Mr Melody, plain and simple.
I always get in a certain mood when I put one of his albums on.

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Shawn Lane

When I was about 19 years old, I was very into Yngwie Malmsteen's music (still is).
I was in a music store looking for some Yngwie instructional videos, when the shop
owner told me to check out an instructional video with a guy named Shawn Lane.
I had no idea who Shawn was, but I bought the video "Power licks" and like many
others I was blown away.
Not only did Shawn had one of the most scary techniques known to man, but his intonation
and phrasing was so amazingl.
His album "Powers of ten" contains some of the most beautiful music I have ever heard.
Shawn was and will alaways be a huge influence of mine.

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Mattias IA Eklundh

Around 1999 I went to a guitar clinic in my hometown held by Mattias.
I had heard his band Freak Kitchen before, but never really payed much attention to his playing.
At the clinic I completely dropped my chin. I couldn't belive what IA was doing with his guitar.
All those weird noises, crazy tapping stuff etc just floored me.
I got to know Mattias during the following years, and I took lot's of lessons from him.
I also visited his annual Freak Guitar Camp three times.
Mattias is a great guy and a unique player. He made me to look outside the "typichal"
way of playing guitar.

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Lalle Larsson

I had heard the rumours about a keyboard/piano virtuoso that actually lived in my hometown.
His name is Lalle Larsson. I knew who he was, but I had never really heard his music until a
couple of years ago.
Lalle has become a good friend of mine, and he is really gifted beyond this earth.
His playing as well as his whole approach to music is inspiring to say at least.
Check out his stuff and get ready to be impressed.

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Dave Martone

I first heard Dave on an album called "The Alchemists" released on Liquid note records.
I thought his playing was really different and original, so I bought some of his records
and got more and more into his music.
I've been in cintact with Dave during the past years and he is a really cool guy.
His music is always suprising and new inventing.
Dave is also a very gifted producer and his albums have a really high quallity sound to them.

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Guthrie Govan

Guthrie is a true mystery to me. It sounds to me that the guy has no limits on the guitar.
Great tone, technique and awesome song ideas.
I think the sky is the only limit for this guy.
It's hard not to be impressed when you hear Guthrie play.
It all sounds so natrual.... just scary.

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Yngwie Malmsteen

Not mention Yngwie as one of my influences would be a huge insult to the man.
After hearing his album Rising force I spent nights and days to practice my tecnique.
I spent countless of hours trying to play his stuff, and it improved my playing a lot.
His vibrato is the most musical and natrual thing I have heard.

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Steve Vai

Steve is also one of those guys that would be an insult not to mention.
I think his album Passion and warfare has influenced so many players around the world,
that it's almost scary.

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Greg Howe

I started to listen to Greg pretty recently and I really dig his playing.
There is a certain float in his playing that I really enjoy. It sounds so natrual.

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Joe Bonamassa

I discovered this amazing player quite recently.
Joe's approach to blues music on the guitar is quite different in many ways,
The use of techniques that are not very common in this style of music is
really cool. And he's a great singer too.

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Frank Zappa

Zappa for me is pure magic.
Great arrangements in his songs, polyrythmic meters that make you want
to turn your head inside out.
His music was so clever and full of suprises. I notice new things every time I listen to his
songs. I studied his music some years ago, and it really helped me to understand and learn
about odd time signatures and polyrythmics.
Does humor belong in music? ---- I think so.

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Django Reinhardt

Many heavy metal guitarists are talking about attitude.
You need to have attitude in your playing. And that's what I hear in Django's playing...
Attitude.
Maybe not the thing you compare with gypsy jazz. But there was something really
special with Django's playing. Not only the limits he had with his fretting hand, but the way he
played all the notes. It's hard to explain with words...

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Michael Romeo

Michael Romeo is the guitar player in the progressive metal band Symphony X that
I just love.
He is a great songwriter, and a really gifted player.
Romeo was the guy who first introduced me to tapping arpeggios.

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Marty Friedman

When I was 16 years old, my father bought me Marty's album "True obsessions".
I had heard Marty's playing before with Megadeth, but this was different.
His phrasing, use of exotic scales and his bendings really spoke to me.
My favorite album with Marty is "Scenes". The music on that album is just amazing.

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Paul Gilbert

I guess most of all shred guitar players have been watching Paul's "Intense rock" videos..
Well so have I, and along with Yngwie, Paul made me start to work on my picking technique.
All those three note per string licks, made me frustrated when I was a young learning guitarist.
Also his use of dynamics in his playing is really cool.

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