Growing up I always enjoyed listening to music, good ole AM and then FM radio, liked many songs without knowing who the group or players were, my Mom played piano and there was an acoustic guitar hanging around the house, so I used to noodle around on both every now and again.
Then in the late 70's early 80's I went over one of my classmates house, He played bass and gtr and his brother played drums ( they were twins no less....lol ) and he asked me what instrument I wanted to play, I said bass it has less strings so it must be easier ( LOL if I only knew then what I know now.....boy was I wrong !!)
so he showed me how to play some Hendrix, Black Sabbath, Neil Young, UFO and I was hooked.
He had a Rickenbacker ( or it might have been the Ibanez copy) so I bugged my parents to get me a bass, it was a jazz bass copy then a Ibanez Musician ( their attempt to copy an Alembic) and now here I am.........;o) so I'd say my main influences are John Paul Jones, Geezer Butler, John Entwistle, Leon Wilkeson, Geddy Lee, Chris Squire, Jack Bruce, Billy Sheehan and so many more including just about all of the ones mentioned in the prior postings, its going on 25 years now for me and the art of bass playing has come a long way and I've moved on to 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 & 12 string basses, fretted and fretless, electric upright, bass pedals, some keyboards and I'm trying the Chapman Stick............what a long strange trip it has been !!
LOL
Bruce
oh I have a few guitars but they usually sit in the case, Bass will always be my first love !!