Guitar wunderkind Grace Bowers has been the face of the new school of guitarists who have exploded beyond the confines of social media – and well into every nook and cranny of the music industry.
From her recent link-up with Coldplay’s Chris Martin at the Grammys to her never-ending string of TV spots and onstage appearances with the likes of Dolly Parton, Marcus King, Bob Weir & Wolf Bros, and the Allman Betts Family, the guitarist is well and truly securing her future – while, at the same time, paying homage to the past.
Now, in a new interview, she has named her biggest inspiration.
“Leslie West is probably my favorite guitar player of all time,” she tells Guitar Player. As the co-founder, guitarist, and co-lead vocalist of Mountain, West was known for his vibrato with days-long sustain, thick, commanding tone – and of course, his penchant for a P-90 loaded Gibson Les Paul Jr.
“This [referring to Climbing] was Mountain's first-ever record, after they played Woodstock, and it had Theme From an Imaginary Western on it. The solo that Leslie takes on that is one of the most perfectly crafted guitar solos ever. His tone – not even just on this album, his tone in general – was so good. He's one of those players you can recognize right away. It's that distinct.”
As for why Bowers looks up to West so much, her reply is simple: he wasn't just a shredder – what made him stand out was his inventiveness combined with feel.
“He didn't play really fast, but when he did play he meant it. He almost played with, like, punctuation if that makes sense – his phrasing was so unique and original.
“A lot of people try to imitate that now, but I feel like he was the first guy to really play like that. Obviously, he drew from a lot of blues players, but he had his own way of doing it.”
Aside from Bowers, a gamut of guitarists have credited West for influencing their playing, among them Randy Rhoads, who called the Mountain guitarist's style “melodic but mean.”
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