By Rhys Lett

Which Musician Do You Want to Play Like?

This week I asked the teachers of the Eastern Suburbs School of Music which musician they would most like to be able to play like. Read about the musicians that influence them in their playing and teaching.

Rhys Lett – Guitar – Boronia/Carrum Downs

The musician I would most like to be able to play and sing like is Ian Moss. He is the guitarist from Australian band Cold Chisel. He plays solos that are equally blues and rock influenced. He has a great smooth vocal tone. I have been lucky enough to meet Ian a couple of times at shows.

Bruno Jambrecina – Guitar – Carrum Downs

Guthrie Govan is the musician I wish I could play like. He has amzing tone, incredible melodies and sounds he gets out of his guitar are fascinating.

Genevieve Matthews – Violin – Boronia

There are a lot of great violinists out there. One of the more contemporary musicians I quite admire, and a lot of my students tell me is their inspiration for taking up lessons, is Lindsey Stirling. She combines violin with electronic dubstep and dance in a number of fast and gorgeous pieces.

Geoff Fullgrabe – Guitar/Banjo – Boronia

It would have to be George Harrison. Not necessarily because I want to play his style or sound just like him, but rather because I want to approach music in the same way that he did. Harrison was only ever concerned with serving the song that he was playing, making sure that all the elements required were there to make it a perfect experience, and ignoring anything that could detract from that. That’s the sort of musician that I aspire to be.

Hayden Blaby – Guitar – Boronia

The player i’d like to play like most would be John Mayer. His blend of blues, rock, soul, funk and pop is really unique and he delivers every time. Definitely a player that you can study and learn heaps from as he covers so many styles and techniques.

Alex Gooding – Drums – Boronia

I would love to be able to play like Ahmir ‘Questlove’ Thompson. I’ve been playing a lot of hip hop recently, and he’s the king of hip hop drumming. He’s one of the greatest groove players going around.

David Hartney – Guitar/Piano/Singing – Boronia

Omar Rodríguez-López. His lead guitar lines are unusual but work in a unique way. His chords are also harmonically complex. His work with the band ‘at-the-drive-in’ is phenomenal (listen to any of the songs on their album ‘Relationship Of Command’) and the first two albums of his other band ‘The Mars Volta’ (‘Deloused In The Comatorium’and ‘Francis The Mute’). He is a unique composer and he is also a film maker, writer, and producer. After I listened to his style it was hard for me to not want to try playing like that.

Troy Eckhardt – Drums – Carrum Downs

Gregg Bissonette is one of my biggest influences. Gregg’s ability to adapt from hard rock to Latin and even big band jazz is great. One of his best sayings is, “Good composers borrow, great composers STEAL”. Check out his solo from a tribute to Buddy Rich. It covers it all.

Luke Shore – Drums – Boronia

The musician I would like to be able to play like is drummer Dave Eltich. He is best known for playing in the Mars Volta but has also done work with Justin Timberlake and Miley Cyrus.

Elzna Mynhardt – Piano/Singing/Violin – Carrum Downs

For piano this would be my third piano teacher, Mr. Oberholtzer.  He was a jazz piano player, and absolutely amazing what he could do with the piano.  Up until him I only had a classical background but since, he was my teacher, I knew I wanted to teach and play just like him.  Not just music and notes but the soul of the music as well.  He was a really funny character all together, he would lite his pipe put it in the side of his mouth, put his feet up and somehow use them to keep time on the piano, and then put his hands up and play as if he was having an afternoon nap.

Daniel Lijnders – Bass – Boronia

The most obvious one for me is Victor Wooten. He is the epitome of a great musician and one of the most innovative bass players of all time.

Dan Slater – Drums – Boronia

My drumming tends to be closer to a typical 60s/70s loose feel, given my love of rock and study of jazz. It would really nice though, if I could flick a switch and play with as much technical command and tightness as Terry Bozzio.

Jason Fados – Guitar – Boronia

The musician I would love to be able to play like would be Derek Trucks. He creates such beautiful melodies with his slide playing.

His sense of melody and phrasing is absolutely incredible and don’t get me started on his killer tone. Wow. 

Noel Tenny – Drums – Carrum Downs 

I would love to have the back beat & “pocket” of Mickey Curry, best known as Bryan Adams drummer. During the 80’s & 90’s he was one of the most in demand drummers for recording, laying down tracks from Dio, Bryan Adans, Hall & Oates, and many others.