Top 5 Guitar Influences?

I know there was already one of these, but it was 3 years ago, so I though't I'd see what people would say now. This list should not be affected by how good you think the players are.

Here's my list, from most influencial to least(although the top 5 for any of us are probably hugely influencial, as they are with me), with the band that I had in mind:

1) Pat Metheny (Pat Metheny Group), for a) his soloing, which inspired me to learn about alternate and exotic scales to use in solos (such as chromatic or whole tone based licks in a normal chord), and b ) for his compositional style, which helped me learn how to vary rhythms and progressions in a whole new way. He also inspired me to take a much more creative approach to composing.

2) Michael Romeo (Symphony X), for both his rhythm and lead playing, which affected my style a lot. I was most strongly affected by his tapping arpegios, which I think can sound really cool with the right tone.

3) Alexi Laiho (Children of Bodom), for his dark playing style, interesting rhythms, and sometimes very creative playing (although the fact that he plays with only an EMG at the bridge is kind of lame).

4) Marty Friedman (Megadeth), because I've always loved how he's able to break free from the metal environment that he's playing in and just be completely free in his solos, which are brilliantly fluid and very creative.

5) Adam Jones (Tool), whose overdriven but still clear tone has influenced my sound a lot. His use of artificial harmonics and dynamics showed me that guitar playing can still be great without having much to do with techniquem though he can be a very technical player. He, and Tool overall, introduced me to an entirely new world of rhythm overlapping. See "The Grudge" off of Lateralus, where, near the end, they overlap several different rhythms that circle around to make one of the most epic crescendos ever.

(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EiR1hmpk-x4 - starts at about 6:30)


Anyway, that's my list. Please feel free to share yours.

Another Long-term Injury Situation

Hey GMC.

I'm new here, and I thought I'd make a post about this and see if we can get something going where we share information or advice.

Here's the deal with me: in around August 2008 (so almost 2 years ago (coincidentally, right after I got out of high school)), I hurt my left wrist playing guitar, which developed into tendinitis, which eventually led to some problems with scar tissue, which led to tension problems, which has now led me in a strange circle of problems that left me more or less unable to play guitar seriously since I first injured myself. I can play slowly for ten or fifteen minutes now, but the muscles get tired easily. I'm working up to it slowly, though I think the main source of the problem is in my neck, where there is a lot of tension, which radiates down to my arms. I am not sure if there is still an injury (which I will hopefully find out in a few days after I see a specialist again), but there is still the problem of tension. If anyone can share some advice on how to alleviate tension and stress, then I would be very grateful.

At this point, despite all the ideas I have about what may be wrong with me, I'm a little exhausted and confused. I really don't know what to do about the problem overall, as I have been more or less stuck for 2 years. I ended up having to drop out of college, where I was using computers a lot (designing video games), because my hands couldn't handle it. A big part of it, I'm sure, is that I kept using the computer and playing video games throughout that time, as well as playing guitar, which may have prevented an injury from healing. The reason for that is because, on many occasions, I thought that it had healed, only to have another problem come back. I have stopped almost all activity now, and I am focusing completely on healing so that I can get back on my feet and start doing things again.

I'm sorry if that sounded all over the place, so here's a tl;dr: I need advice on staying loose while playing, building up forearm muscles, and what to do if there is still an injured part. Perhaps you are experiencing a similar problem, or have overcome an injury in the past, and would like to share your story. If you have any advice at all, I would appreciate it very much.

Thanks