The most important band to you

[demoncore1031]

Just curious what band or artist has had the biggest impact on everyone.

For me it's Acid Bath. No matter how bad life gets, this band's music has gotten me through EVERYTHING for the last 30 years. I can't even put into words how therapeutic this bands music has been for me. The voice of Dax Riggs is perfect, and I love his dark poetic lyrics. He was only 20 years old when they released their first album (1994) and his voice still sounds exactly the same today. Musically they are all over the place. They are referred to as a "sludge" band, but I call them "Louisiana swamp metal." I really like the blues elements that they mix in. To me their songs are so beautiful but dark and somewhat morbid at the same time.

 

[Althetuna]

I have a lot of favorite bands but there's only one band I burn myself out on only to reuturn to after a long break and listen to every album start to finish.

 

[HFCS]

Maybe typical, but The Beatles.

In the 90s as a teen none of the grunge, gangster rap and pop connected with me like it did for most of my friends. I even would tell people sometimes "I don't really like music" which now sounds hilarious to me. One day some girl I was working on a group project with for school had Sgt Pepper and Abbey Road CDs playing, probably 1995. Not only did I fall in love with The Beatles but all sorts of other acts from mostly 60s but some 70s and 80s new wave. Even today when I discover relatively new modern music it kind of all goes back to that original "ah ha" moment of discovering what I like and that I could completely ignore whatever was currently popular to find my own thing.

 

[Cyclonepride]

It's hard for me to pick just one, as it ebbs and flows, but Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers has always been one of my favorites through every phase of my life. Easily the longest playlist that I have containing only one group's songs at 1 hour, 58 minutes, and there are a lot of songs not on that list that I still kind of like.

 

[Cycsk]

A few weeks ago, I learned about this video about the making of Steely Dan's Aja album. I didn't think I could appreciate them anymore, but this took it to another level. Crazy to hear them take apart Peg one-track-at-a-time and talk about it. Their genius is still unbelievable to me. Also, it was a super special treat to listen to some of the original musicians replay live versions of Peg and Josie in a tiny studio.

 

[Bewilderme]

A few weeks ago, I learned about this video about the making of Steely Dan's Aja album. I didn't think I could appreciate them anymore, but this took it to another level. Crazy to hear them take apart Peg one-track-at-a-time and talk about it. Their genius is still unbelievable to me. Also, it was a super special treat to listen to some of the original musicians replay live versions of Peg and Josie in a tiny studio.

Love that whole doc series. But the Steely one especially highlights their insanely high standards. I never realized how many session artists they had featured until I saw it. Everytime I hear Peg now I have to laugh.

 

[cayin]

Maybe typical, but The Beatles.

In the 90s as a teen none of the grunge, gangster rap and pop connected with me like it did for most of my friends. I even would tell people sometimes "I don't really like music" which now sounds hilarious to me. One day some girl I was working on a group project with for school had Sgt Pepper and Abbey Road CDs playing, probably 1995. Not only did I fall in love with The Beatles but all sorts of other acts from mostly 60s but some 70s and 80s new wave. Even today when I discover relatively new modern music it kind of all goes back to that original "ah ha" moment of discovering what I like and that I could completely ignore whatever was currently popular to find my own thing.

I'm 57, the Beatles really resonated with me at around 12 years old. I really got into their 1965 to 1970 stuff. The amount of great music, the creativity in that short amount of time is unrivaled. And they are a band I go back to time and time again and never get bored. I recently watched a documentary on the Beatles, Paul commented on it just got to hard to have not 2, but 3 great song writers in the same band. He said they were doing Abbey Road, George comes to the sessions with the two best songs on the album and he had other stuff too. How do you tell a guy that good that we only have two spots for you?

I'm also into a lot of new wave post punk bands. The Cure, Echo and The Bunnymen, The Church, The Joy Division, Husker Du, The Replacements, XTC, The Smiths, Cocteau Twins etc..

 

[Bewilderme]

Teens and twenties: TOOL - I remember sneaking out at midnight for the release of Lateralus and having my mind blown in a park at 2am. While I don't listen to them much in my 40s, they helped open my mind to spirituality beyond Christianity and made me really annoying to others for a decade or so. I get why people don't like Tool fans.

30s and 40s: King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard - After not listening to 'rock' music for a decade or so, when I discovered KGATLW it was a bit of a 'whoa, rock music still rocks' moment, and set me on a path to rediscovering guitar heavy music. I love how they lay down grooves, don't take themselves or their art too seriously, and truly practice integrity through their business model and interactions with fans. It has been the ride of a lifetime to go along with their insane album production schedule (they have 27? or so albums now). There's only a few I don't jive with. I also see why people don't like KGLW fans haha!

Can't wait to find my next favorite.

 

[JM4CY]

 

[Al_4_State]

Hard to pick one.

Probably Turnpike Troubadours, but the Stones, Pearl Jam, and Drive-By Truckers are all in the mix.

 

[coolerifyoudid]

The Offspring. The Smash album was the soundtrack for our spring break road trip in college. My wife and I have seen them several times and they are sorta "our band"

I like their early drum-heavy punk songs with hitting lyrics as well as some of their later songs that didn't take things seriously.

They definitely had some bad misses and forgettable songs, but I have a ton of good memories tied to a number of songs. Sometimes listening to them starts a photo album in my head.

 

[BWRhasnoAC]

Between the Buried and Me. Completely opened my mind to so many genres. Incredible technical ability but still has feel. Fearless to release what they want to release.

 

[TXCyclones]

I've gone through a number of musical "seasons" in my life: Prince, Beatles, Doors, Zepplin, Grateful Dead, Bob Marley, Slightly Stoopid/StickFigure/The Movement. But the one that has stayed with me since 1995 has consistently been DMB. I hate that so many see them only through the few studio albums because they are the best live band out there. Hell, the Grateful Dead bequeathed them their sound system realizing that they were the heir apparent in the live performance space.

 

[pourcyne]

A few weeks ago, I learned about this video about the making of Steely Dan's Aja album. I didn't think I could appreciate them anymore, but this took it to another level. Crazy to hear them take apart Peg one-track-at-a-time and talk about it. Their genius is still unbelievable to me. Also, it was a super special treat to listen to some of the original musicians replay live versions of Peg and Josie in a tiny studio.

AJA was my first Steely Dan album, recommended by a friend I was visiting in Denton, TX (go NTSU).
Went home and immediately bought up everything else Pamida had in stock.

They made jazz mainstream, IMHO.

And how many other bands had poetic lyrics about divorce (Haitian Divorce), drug deals (Glamour Profession), brothels (Here at the Western World) nuclear Holocaust (King of the World), and New Orleans (Pearl of the Quarter), just to mention a paltry few?

 

[StratCY]

311 & Eric Johnson.

311 was my first real favorite band, from middle school onwards. I've seen them live 6 or 7 times, their music always just does it for me. Even their new stuff still sounds like 311, love it. Of course there is a whole genre that 311 kind of fits into that I love (Sublime, Slightly Stoopid, The Movement, Dirty Heads etc), but 311 was the absolute start for me.

As I got into playing guitar Eric Johnson was the artist I always tried to sound like. He kind of pioneered his own tone, and nearly all of my gear has been acquired to emulate his sound. His techniques are that of a virtuoso; fast shredding, beautiful chord voicings, harp harmonics, and his koto technique are just a few. The man just does it all.

 

[Al_4_State]

The Offspring. The Smash album was the soundtrack for our spring break road trip in college. My wife and I have seen them several times and they are sorta "our band"

I like their early drum-heavy punk songs with hitting lyrics as well as some of their later songs that didn't take things seriously.

They definitely had some bad misses and forgettable songs, but I have a ton of good memories tied to a number of songs. Sometimes listening to them starts a photo album in my head.

I was 10 when Smash came out. My dad had it, and it absolutely blew my mind.

I remember putting “Bad Habit” on when my folks weren’t around and cranking it.

 

[cyfanatic]

Springsteen...no matter my state of mind or how I am feeling...there is a Springsteen track to accompany me in that moment...I can find a song in his catalog that understands me!

 

[HFCS]

311 & Eric Johnson.

311 was my first real favorite band, from middle school onwards. I've seen them live 6 or 7 times, their music always just does it for me. Even their new stuff still sounds like 311, love it. Of course there is a whole genre that 311 kind of fits into that I love (Sublime, Slightly Stoopid, The Movement, Dirty Heads etc), but 311 was the absolute start for me.

As I got into playing guitar Eric Johnson was the artist I always tried to sound like. He kind of pioneered his own tone, and nearly all of my gear has been acquired to emulate his sound. His techniques are that of a virtuoso; fast shredding, beautiful chord voicings, harp harmonics, and his koto technique are just a few. The man just does it all.

Being a teen living on both sides of the river not far from Omaha it was pretty cool having local 311 and Mathew Sweet both hit it big and see them on MTV in the 90s. I had no music aptitude but was always a visual artist and I actually think it helped nudge me that I could make art a real living career even from a small town in Nebraska.

 

[AgronAlum]

View attachment 165519

Samsies

 

[JP4CY]

You 311 fans, I saw them at Vibrant last year, they're still really good.