This used to be a list of music artists who shaped my own sound and also those I'd admired but who maybe weren't so obviously heard in my own material.

Now it seems more appropriate to list ALL those who have influenced me and and been a part of my journey to this point. That not only includes musicians but anyone who has had a profound impact on me as a person, which afterall, follows on through my music. Although these are all figures in the public eye - I don't believe in celebrity - it is not so much them being famous that matters but that they have used their positions of influence for the benefit of mankind that is important to me. Here they are:

Bob Marley - he is certainly the musician who has had the most profound impact on my life. I got heavily into his music in 2005 and have listened to his albums regularly ever since. In fact, there was one period where I pretty much only played his music for a year solid. Everything else seemed trivial and meaningless compared to the power and message in Bob's songs.

Musically, I love the addictive simplicity of his melodies and the layered arrangements. But there is kind of power hidden in the music. His core message is essentially what I have found to be true within myself now. Of all the musicians who have had a message he seems to have lived it wholeheartedly.

John Lennon - John seems to have stumbled upon the same thing sometime during the mid-60s with The Beatles and followed through during his solo career. He expressed it in his own way and his honesty as a person has rarely been seen at that level of fame. Again, deceptively simple songs and there is something real and haunting in his voice. He's been a big influence since I was 18.