Jon Griffin

I started playing guitar when I was 7 years old and haven't looked back since. After I had some facility with the guitar I started listening to a lot, and I mean a lot, of progressive rock and fusion. My early influences were early Genesis, Gentle Giant, King Crimson, and of course ELP and Yes. I also listened to a LOT of Frank Zappa and even got to play with him in 1978 (I will write a post about that sometime, but it is R rated). I loved Mahavishnu Orchestra and that got me into Paco DeLucia and Flamenco music along with the Phrygian major mode! I also tried to keep up with Larry Carlton and Lee Ritenour.

I didn't grow up in a vacuum of eclectic tastes though and also listened to most of the rock at the time. I listened to a lot of southern rock and blues players like Duane Allman and Johnny Winter as well as Lynyrd Skynyrd. And then I went to Grove school of Music and Cuba...

Anyway, I could go on forever, but Cuba changed my whole musical mindset and I ended recording many songs there. I got married there as well, which makes me somewhat Cuban, and life hasn't been the same since.