Mr. John Rhys has a blog and this was his first impression upon hearing me play. He wrote ; ... "I first heard this voice. I was fascinated as I listened to his intricate guitar work and poetic lyrics. I decided to have him come to the BluePower establishment and do an interview. Barry played four excellent songs. His style is unique and exciting. His vocal abilities are also on par with his playing. The combination of both are daunting and considering the fact he played the songs live during the interview, awe inspiring. I do hope you will enjoy listening to Barry Cullison as I find his songs intellectual and poetic. Not to mention very "today." OK. The bass sounds like it distorts on my computer speakers when you play a clip. I can guarantee you that the bass does NOT sound flabby on the CD. Stereo or headphones are the way to listen. The digital world can't handle my bass man. I love anything that has to do with the guitar. I get acoustic inspiration from listening to electric guitar. My dad wanted to sound like Hank Williams and I wanted to sing like Stevie Wonder. Oh well...what ever. Here are a few of the bands that have been making my jaw drop for a while. The musician who has most informed my guitar playing for this CD a Long List of Tragedies is The Raw Dawg, Eric Gales. He is a master at burning a track up. His spontaneity of playing is pure. I love anything he does. I’ll never be as good as he is but I might be able to steal some of his chords… so I went to see him live four times… He plays the guitar lefty, up side down and backwards. So I had to stand on my head and look in a mirror to learn just a speck of what this man can do. His “That’s what I Am” album is older now but still one of my favorites. The guy who influenced me the most when I was younger was the great Jimmy Page. I learned everything I could from him by clumsily dropping the needle on my stereo albums over and over to learn his different riffs. His way of recording and mixing acoustic guitars with electrics is still the gold standard. Everything Zep did sounds like it was recorded just last week. He uses his sixth string as if it were a chord. Eric Gales does the same but his first string is our sixth string. I had never listened to Rush until about a year ago when I got their “Power Windows” CD. I was floored. The first song “Big Money” both lyrically and musically is a masterpiece. I was surprised to find that we share many of the same ideas about song construction and how to create drama. I love the lyrics on this CD. A band with vision. I also adore the band Army of Anyone. They are the Stone Temple Pilots DeLeo brothers with the lead singer from the band Filter. Their sonic adventures are huge in scope and subject matter. And once again they have a very unique way of putting a song together. Who am I listening to now and freaking out over? (I used to tear up over Steely Dan’s tones.) Well now it’s The Winery Dogs. They are a fearsome threesome with shocking technique and creativity. Some how they never get in each other’s way. They can do any genre and put their dynamic spin on it. Each player is a virtuoso on their instrument. Their chord progressions are straightforward rock & roll but with their break neck, down hill finesse. They are a super pleasant discovery made through my Guitar Player subscription. I do look for inspiration in music that I listen to, mostly to get me up and inspire me to work out. These bands, along with a couple 3 thousand others, have given me joy and inspiration. Seve Stills - Steve Salas - Jimi Hendrix - Richie Kotzen - Hank Williams - Jimmy Page - Johnny Winters -