Ty Segall Picks His Favorite Guitarists

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Ty Segall is the kind of artist to let his guitar do his talking. Quite literally—the most recent time I saw him perform in London, he failed to say a single word to the audience, eschewing banter in-between songs in favor of rupturing eardrums and boggling brains with his fretwork for the entire set. The prolific SoCal musician is also fairly selective when it comes to interviews. With the rapid rate in which he writes, records, and releases albums, you’d think the sheer volume of interview requests that come with the territory would no doubt be a deterrent. Shucks, by the time this interview’s eventually published he could have very well announced another new album. A bit heavy on the hyperbole, for sure, but you can’t rule out that being the case.

“I’m not the biggest fan of interviews because I really don’t like talking about myself. That’s the main thing really,” Segall tells me from his moving car, as he and wife Denée carry out family errands—a fitting scenario for an artist who’s seemingly always moving on to his next venture. “The vibe when I make music is like ‘Hey, let the music speak for itself,’ but I know that’s not fair. I’m down for some interviews.” The opportunity to wax lyrical about his own guitar heroes was obviously too good to pass up.

Since the garage rock revivalist’s 2008 eponymous debut album as a solo artist, Segall has become a prominent torchbearer for classic rock. Flitting between garage rock, psych, prog, proto-metal, and glam rock, his own irrepressible creativity is steeped in the legacy of the artists he embraced from a young age. As Segall’s career has unfolded however, he’s continued to plunder weirder depths. 2024’s Love Rudiments, for instance, was an odd, percussion-oriented album—an anomalous entry into the musician’s expanded universe. But with his forthcoming 16th studio album Possession, Segall has picked up from the woozily hypnotic thread of 2024’s acid-laced Three Bells. It’s an album richer in lush orchestration and fuller in narrative cohesion than any of his previous work.

Greg Ginn

Ty Segall: I’d probably say it was a Black Flag song that inspired me to pick up the guitar. Probably “Nervous Breakdown,” because I thought it was one of the coolest songs ever made. It still is. That style I’ve kept in my back pocket throughout my entire career. That free psycho chaos. People talk about the jazz thing with him, his jazz style of soloing. Just as much as someone’s style or riffs, it’s the sound. I definitely thought it was the sound that inspired me.

Paste: You learned drums first, so was Ginn instrumental in you switching to the guitar?

I got into punk music, and it went from being into Sabbath or hard rock that was all about proficiency or being able to do crazy riffs. Then you get into punk and it’s about attitude. It’s inclusive, in the sense that if you don’t know how to play, you still can. It was a great way to get into the guitar, as I only had to really learn three chords.

Tony Iommi

Tony Iommi is a huge, huge influence. Well, Black Sabbath in general for all the instruments I play. I don’t remember when I started tuning my guitar down, but I feel like he’s the reason why I tune my guitar down. Somebody else I saw tune their guitar down to D standard. I definitely know that Sabbath tuned their guitars down, but I’m not sure if it’s D standard. I tune my guitar to D standard. Long story short: I’m really into how the tension feels and specifically how heavy it is. I just love melodic heaviness. Iommi, the riff master.

What was your first exposure to Sabbath?

It was “Paranoid.” I was 11, it was the Napster times. I was like, “Okay, what’s Black Sabbath like?’ and started listening to “Paranoid” and just kept going. I had this neighbor across the street—I’ve told this a bunch of times before—she was a kind of an older, rocker hippie. I grew up in Laguna Beach. Orange County, it’s beautiful. Laguna Beach has always been an affluent place, but it used to be a big weirdo hub. Whether it’s artists, musicians, whatever—during the ‘60s with Timothy Leary and the Brotherhood Of Eternal Love… a lot of weird stuff. Anyway, my neighbor, she was moving so gave me a stack of records saying “listen to this.” It was David Bowie: Low; Black Sabbath, Sabbath Bloody Sabbath, the Who, Alice Cooper. That was my big Black Sabbath moment. Then I was obsessed.

Is there a particular Iommi riff you’re into?

There’s a million. “Supernaut” was a big one for me. The “Black Sabbath” riff is obviously an iconic riff. There’s so many. “Snowblind.” I’ve been digging back into Master of Reality, all the riffs are insane. I don’t want to officially claim what is “the best Black Sabbath album,” but at this moment in my life I’d say Master of Reality. Every day it changes.

You’re not sticking your neck too much on the line there…

I’ve got a Vol. 4 tattoo on my arm, you know. It depends on the day.

Emmett Kelly

I’ve really gotten into John McLaughlin, who played with Miles Davis. His Mahavishnu Orchestra records are really great. I wanted to mention some electric jazz guitar players. When we were the Freedom Band, playing next to Emmett [Kelly] specifically has really opened up my guitar playing. Ben [Boye] and Emmett have turned me on to a lot of different kinds of music. Playing with them, they’ve worked a lot in the jazz world.

Is it Emmett’s playing style or his influences you’ve absorbed?

To talk about modern guitar players, I’ve been fortunate enough to work with such incredible people in my band. I’d like to throw Emmett and Charles Moothart into the conversation here, as guitar heroes. If there’s guitarists that influence me, it’s them. Emmett’s a Swiss Army Knife. He can do anything on the guitar, play anything—go from playing something beautiful to playing the noisiest, most screwed up shit ever. It’s pretty cool.

John Fahey

Thinking about older guitarists that have influenced me: Fahey. I would like to say that I don’t really consider myself a real guitar player. I’m some weird guy that stumbled upon what I do. I don’t consider myself proficient in the way that guitar players do. I just wanted to say that my influences are standard. I love the music as much as how they play. Fahey got me into folk and finger-picking. He’s the god of that. What’s cool about Fahey is how he combines folk and classical, but makes it weird. Dissonant, beautiful. He’s a really interesting character.

Robert Fripp

I love songwriters. Thinking about styles and weirdos, I love Robert Fripp. But I love King Crimson. I love what he does, but I love the whole thing. I think about specific moments that have influenced me. On Lizard, there’s this style of his soloing that’s really roomy. I’ll take that and think about how to record a solo. It’s hard to talk about the influence of a guitar player without thinking about their whole thing, their band. Fripp and King Crimson have definitely opened up my mind to more progressive music.

Is there a specific era of King Crimson that resonates with you?

That first record, I love so much. Then the three records with Bill Bruford. Red, Larks’ Tongues in Aspic, I forget what the third one’s called. But Red is one of my favorites.

Daevid Allen

Daevid Allen from Gong. I like how he’s light, funny and goofy, then gets really heavy and nasty. He has a great sense of humor.

You mentioned how much you admire songwriters, rather than straight-up guitarists as such. How influential has Marc Bolan been on your songwriting?

Everyone mentions T. Rex to me. I wish I didn’t do that record now. He was very influential, but he isn’t anymore. He hasn’t been for a long time. Someone can be really influential to me, but for a minute. I move on pretty fast. Hendrix, too. I was obsessed with Hendrix when I was like 15. Once every five years I’ll come back and put on Electric Ladyland. It’s the best. Same thing with T. Rex. T. Rex is that vibe for me. I’ll put on “The Slider” every five years, or something. There’s just so much music in the world. I just want to know more.

Mdou Moctar

I love Mdou Moctar. He’s great. I’ve got to see him, what a show. He’s one of the more exciting guitar players around.

You’re renowned for collaborating. Is that something you’d manifest?

Of course. He’s got such a wild style that’s so his own thing. I wouldn’t be sure how to get in there. If you know anyone? Mdou’s awesome.

Cole Berliner

Cole Berliner, his band is Sharpie Smile. I saw Cole play a solo acoustic show that was one of the best things I’ve ever seen a guitar player do. Shout out to Cole, he’s insane. They used to be called Kamikaze Palm Tree. I’ve known Cole since he was 14, or 15. That was 13 years ago. I met him as a young shredder, starting his band and getting deeper into weirdness. They were super Beefheart, the resident freak band.

Charles Moothart

Honestly, I’d say my friends are my biggest influence. My friends are doing really cool stuff. Emmett and Charles [are] the most underrated guitar players. I’m not just saying that as we’re friends. Charles, for instance, should really be an extremely famous guitar player that is filling huge arenas. He’s that good. I’m not just saying that as I’ve been in a band with him since I was 18 or whatever. It’s true.

Chris Gunn

Chris Gunn, his band is the Hunches. There’s this record they made called Exit Dreams. The guitars on that record really opened me up to how I wanted to stack guitars on recordings, to make it really dynamic and intense. He’s an amazing guitar player. He makes music with the Lavender Flu now.

In terms of Possession, was there anything you were listening to that affected how you recorded it?

[Love’s] Forever Changes. The chords on that record really influenced me on how to use different chords. I wasn’t listening to guitar stuff for the record, to be honest. I was listening to, yeah, Forever Changes, Smiley Smile by the Beach Boys.

Neil Young

Neil Young is a huge influence on me. Again, it’s his songwriting. The doing whatever he wants kind of vibe.

Is there a specific Neil Young riff you lock in with?

There’s a lot of good ones. “Cinnamon Girl” is a riff. “Down By The River.” “Cowgirl In The Sand.” There’s a lot. He’s got riffs, man.

Listen to Ty Segall’s Daytrotter session from 2010 below.

The Guitar Heroes of Ty Segall

Since his debut as a solo artist 17 years ago, Segall has become a prominent torchbearer for classic rock’s greatest instrument. With the release of his 16th studio album Possession nearing, the prolific SoCal shredder spoke with Paste about the pickers who’ve influenced him most.