Every musician has to go through certain phases before establishing their sound. Many artists analyze their musical heroes’ styles and rhythms to form their unique tunes. As for guitarist Derek Trucks, his career started with idolizing one of the household names of rock. The musician recently talked to Guitar Player about the influence the late guitarist Duane Allman had on him.
Trucks had the chance to play with The Allman Brothers Band as a young guitar player. He was the nephew of the band’s drummer Butch Trucks, and the talented guitarist joined the band when he was only 19. This journey allowed him to play with the iconic band as the act was co-founded by a figure he idolized, Duane Allman.
Derek discussed his early career and influences as he explained how he had found his initial sound as a guitarist. He exclaimed that he was lucky to start from a young age. The guitarist said that meeting with various other people influenced him. Trucks would listen to what other musicians were working on and what they recommended. So he could pick out his favorites and be inspired by them.
For Derek, the more a musician listened to other’s works, the better they would manage to establish their unique sound. Trucks explained that musicians would start discovering new combinations from then on. And that was the starting point for creating memorable tunes.
The guitarist revealed how he drew inspiration:
“I started out when I was so young, so I was kind of lucky in that regard. By playing and meeting a lot of people and listening to what they were doing and recommending to me, I found things that really moved me. And that was where I drew inspiration from.
The more you listen, the more you find what moves you, and at some point, you stumble across combinations that no one’s really come up with before. And that’s the entry point for discovering your own unique thing.”
The guitar player then emphasized the importance of how being familiar with the works of Duane Allman affected his starting point. Trucks was born into the musical ‘waters.’ Of course, the Delta blues and cult musicians, such as the three Kings, influenced him alongside Allman’s guitar riffs.
He commented on Duane Allman’s influence:
“Obviously, Duane Allman and being born into those waters were the starting points for me, followed by Delta blues and the three Kings.”
Even when Duane Allman was long gone when Derek Trucks joined his band, Allman’s guitar riffs inspired the guitarist to discover his unique tunes. Trucks felt lucky to have started his career from a young age. The guitarist appreciated other musicians’ works and drew inspiration while establishing his sound.
