So my wife was fiddling with my Package........

[darottens]

...CD's and on one particular track she said that she could tell Nick was a KISS fan. Well that got me to thinking (no really), outside of KISS what other bands does Package consider to be influences on their music?

So I'd like each of the Package guys to list those artists/bands that most influenced them and list a Package song that they feel displays that influence.

And for those not in Package, if you had your own band who would you list as your biggest influences?

For me the list would be:

The Beatles
KISS
The Police
The Tubes
The Eagles
The Guess Who
The Rolling Stones
Aerosmith

[Micah Robinson]

This is a hard question to answer because when I play with Package, I conform my playing to the song at hand. My style of guitar playing is very malleable that way.

So if you listen to the solos of "Porn""Cauterized""Action Jackson" and "Spring Break '85" back to back, they sound nothing like the same person.

And I'm not one of the "main" songwriters (I'm more like the Harrison/John Paul Jones/Entwistle guy), so it's hard to point to songs that encompass "my" influences.

Especially, since you only have "Sea of Problems" to go on.

But I can name a few off that record.

"Cauterized" is one that reflects my personal sensibilities well. I love Middle Eastern music, and I wanted to add something to reflect that on the intro, so I added some sitars and tablas. Also, the solo uses some exotic scales but in a heavy way....which was my attempt to be like Marty Friedman, former lead guitarist for Megadeth. The man was/is a genius at combining exotic scales/sounds and metal guitar.

"Nails" is another one that's a reflection of my influences. The opening riff was my attempt at a Zakk Wylde-era Ozzy Osbourne riff, with the screaming harmonics. The solo is a combination of Zakk Wylde and Slash.

But my overall influences....that's a long list, and you'll hear more of it both on the upcoming THE ALL-DEVOURING BEAST (http://www.chud.com/package/adb.htm) and on my solo record, Darker (http://www.ampcast.com/music/albumdetails.php?id=564).

Here's a short list:

Queen
Primal Scream
The Stone Roses
Blur
Killing Joke
Marty Friedman
Dead Can Dance
Ozzy Osbourne
Failure
The Police
The Cure

...and that's a short list.


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To hear the best in Micah music, click here (http://www.ampcast.com/darker)

[Nick Nunziata]

My Kiss inspiration can be tracked to STEAMS vocals and my bassline for the end of Hot Corner but most of my music comes from a different place.

Bands that influence me (at least consciously):

Van Halen - My keboards on New Kind of Therapy in particular, except unlike Eddie... I am best served spending my time on keys while he needs to stick to guitar.

The Stray Cats - My bass for To See Tomorrow was created on happy thoughts from those freaks.

Dire Straits - Always present. In fact, the Nightstick song Exploder is basically a metallic Dire Straits song. Also, Sold has a DS feel.

Kiss - The main riff for Nails, the one that the verses are set to, is a Kiss-esque lick. Steve really comes up with great stuff that reminds me of their older stuff.

Metallica - A few of the tunes on "Chains" have a Metallica vibe.

Corrosion of Conformity - My bass for Walk in Blood has the same groove crunch I love from those fellas.

Faith No More - My bass riff for Parole sounds like it could be one of the rawer tunes off of "King for a day...".

Mr. Bungle - Listen to our stuff a while, and you'll see.

Red Hot Chili Peppers - Femme Fatale, Action Jackson, and more.

Creedence Clearwater Revival - All over.

Ween - All over.

[Forklift81]

What, no King Diamond?