The first album I bought with my own money was "If You Can Believe Your Eyes And Ears" by The Mamas And The Papas. I've always been a major fan of tight vocal harmonies, and John Phillips was a Master. But that album didn't change my life at all - it just fed musical tastes that were already in place. The Beatles, most of the rest of the 'British Invasion', Motown, Simon & Garfunkle, Cat Stevens, all continued that trend. Led Zeppelin and Jimi Hendrix sounded bizarre to me at first, but they were soon absorbed into the musical landscape.

The one that ripped out all of the wires, and turned me into a raging Rocker was the self-titled >Grand Funk< album. This power trio changed the way a lot of people listened to live bands, and they certainly changed the way I played music. In fact, my last pro band was named Railroad, picking up the word discarded by our heroes when they shortened down their band's name from Grand Funk Railroad.

I just bought another guitar like the one I was playing back then. I was reminded of GFR when I was trying it out. Instinctively, I started playing the riff from "Inside Looking Out". Our cover of that tune was our signature song.