Inspiration Revealed: Frank Turner, Sharon Isbin, Enter Shikari, Dry The River & Walter Trout Pay Homage To Their Heroes
Five wildly different but hugely successful guitarists reveal their inspiration as Guitar Planet reflects on an incredible 2012.
2012 won’t be remembered fondly by everyone as troubling economic news and brutal bloodshed battled for headline space with Usain Bolt and the Olympic Games, but beneath the gloom the music industry continued to provide inspiration. A host of artists reached their commercial and creative zenith this past year and will no doubt serve to inspire a new generation of wannabee guitar heroes. So as Guitar Planet waves goodbye to another year, we’ve decided to ask five of our favourite guitarists to discuss the music that get’s their creative juices flowing.
Inspiration is an abstract and confounding business. Influence and taste rarely flow directly downhill and sometimes the most disparate sounds can share surprisingly sturdy common ground. In this week’s column we’ll see how indie folk upstarts can be spurred on by post-rock noise, how a band whose music is often dismissed by critics as crass and thoughtless take inspiration from the rock world’s most revered intellectuals, and how a 19th century composer is making a mark on today’s electric guitar world.
How It Works: We’ve asked each artist to pick out and discuss a track that has had a tangible influence on their creative process and as they fill us in on their idols, we’ll give you the low down on how each interviewee faired in 2012.
- Frank Turner - Photo Credits Dan Griffiths
Frank Turner
His 2012: It’s been a tumultuous twelve months for Britain’s favourite “folk punk” superstar. When Guitar Planet sat down with Frank Turner in February he talked excitedly about his then impending headline date at Wembley Arena and less favourably about journalism and politics stating clearly: “there's a massive, craven centre-left groupthink that I have very little time for, and that certainly does not reflect my politics at all”.
Despite making his view point clear (and stressing that he didn’t want to alienate potential fans with his political opinions) that didn’t stop the Guardian whipping up a frenzy with Micheal Hann’s lightening rod article: “Frank Turner: Turns Out He Was Rightwing All Along”.
The “rightwing” affair had little to do with the Frank’s actual music but nevertheless served to make the star one of 2012’s more controversial figures. Thankfully no amount of controversy could diminish another year of breakneck progression that was topped off, not by a Wembley set, but by opening the Olympic Games in front of a global audience.
Frank Turner: I didn't grow up with acoustic or country music; I discovered it later in life. This song is a big deal for me, especially the solo live version. It's so maddeningly simple, and yet so perfect. The guitar work is delicate and fluid, uses basic chords but somehow makes them sound fresh. The lyrics are flawless, not a syllable out of place, and the message is pure poetry. Townes' voice is haunting, rich and tinged with sadness, a small moment of stillness in the middle of a maelstrom. When I heard this for the first time I realised how powerful music could be even if it was quiet and restrained. Definitely a song I'll have played at my funeral.
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