As a musician there are many people that have influenced my guitar playing and songwriting. Most of them have influenced me in other ways to - sense of humor, outlook on life, and sometimes for good or bad - lifestyle choices.
To me, someone that can move me with their music is like some kind of superhero. I can't put my finger on it but I want what they got. I want to play music like them - I want to wear my hair like them - I want to wear clothes like them - I want to be laid back like them - I want to be intense like them. When I was a kid - I wanted to be them.
Many of my musical influences were local musicians. I got to watch them up-close and study them. One such musician was Warren Eisenstien who played guitar bands with White Clover and Cocky Fox. Both bands were out of Topeka. Being from Hays, Kansas it was a treat to see musicians from Topeka come play our small town. I always thought Topeka musians had the funniest sense of humor and seemed to have "that something special" when it came to music. Warren was from New York but moved to Kansas to attend college and play music.
Warren played a black Gibson SG through a Marshall amp. I only saw him with White Clover a few times but saw him with Cocky Fox many times. He played loud, He played with attitude, and he played with style. I used to stand in front of the stage as a teen ager and watch how we played. Cocky Fox also put out a 45 vinyl record called "And When." I learned that song note-for-note and we covered it in our band. It was the 70's and not just anybody could record and produce a record like today. It was a cool thing to know a band that made a record.
Cocky Fox had the coolest poster. It portrayed the band standing in front of a magazine rack and each member was reading a magazine that had some funny feature article. It remains the coolest band poster I have ever seen.
That is Warren - second to the left. 3rd from the right is Jeff Glixman - He went on to be the sound engineer and the producer for the band Kansas. On the right is Greg Curry - besides dressing like a girl he went on to work in some cool recording studios in New York. On the far left is Dave Wilson - I am not sure of his whereabouts.
But - This shows the kind of band I liked. They played great music, and the had a great sense of humor.
Well - as history would have it - White Clover went on to become the band Kansas. Warren kept in school and became an ophthalmic optician. And recently this month. He was able to play with his old band mates once again. and he continues to impress me. Check him out on the video below. He has a solo towards the end. Not bad for a teen age werewolf.
Check him out:
To me, someone that can move me with their music is like some kind of superhero. I can't put my finger on it but I want what they got. I want to play music like them - I want to wear my hair like them - I want to wear clothes like them - I want to be laid back like them - I want to be intense like them. When I was a kid - I wanted to be them.
Many of my musical influences were local musicians. I got to watch them up-close and study them. One such musician was Warren Eisenstien who played guitar bands with White Clover and Cocky Fox. Both bands were out of Topeka. Being from Hays, Kansas it was a treat to see musicians from Topeka come play our small town. I always thought Topeka musians had the funniest sense of humor and seemed to have "that something special" when it came to music. Warren was from New York but moved to Kansas to attend college and play music.
Warren played a black Gibson SG through a Marshall amp. I only saw him with White Clover a few times but saw him with Cocky Fox many times. He played loud, He played with attitude, and he played with style. I used to stand in front of the stage as a teen ager and watch how we played. Cocky Fox also put out a 45 vinyl record called "And When." I learned that song note-for-note and we covered it in our band. It was the 70's and not just anybody could record and produce a record like today. It was a cool thing to know a band that made a record.
Cocky Fox had the coolest poster. It portrayed the band standing in front of a magazine rack and each member was reading a magazine that had some funny feature article. It remains the coolest band poster I have ever seen.
That is Warren - second to the left. 3rd from the right is Jeff Glixman - He went on to be the sound engineer and the producer for the band Kansas. On the right is Greg Curry - besides dressing like a girl he went on to work in some cool recording studios in New York. On the far left is Dave Wilson - I am not sure of his whereabouts.
But - This shows the kind of band I liked. They played great music, and the had a great sense of humor.
Well - as history would have it - White Clover went on to become the band Kansas. Warren kept in school and became an ophthalmic optician. And recently this month. He was able to play with his old band mates once again. and he continues to impress me. Check him out on the video below. He has a solo towards the end. Not bad for a teen age werewolf.
Check him out: