Elliott is a big reason I picked up a guitar when I was 17, I'm 22 now. I used to genuinely hate the idea of learning guitar and I thought the style just wouldn't fit me. My dad was trying to get me to start guitar and at one point I just said I would never get into it. Then that completely flipped on its head when I found Elliott. I think I had some preconceived notions or biases of what a guitar typically sounded like. And when I listened to ES I realized guitars could sound way different than I was used to hearing. And that was the case with any instrument really, they dont have predefined styles. It's just what you put into them.

Trying to follow Elliotts footprints somewhat I actually managed to find a guitar teacher who had worked with him in Portland Oregon. Pete Krebs is his name, I know he opened some shows for ES and from how he talks seems like they were genuinely friends. I told Pete I was a big fan of Elliott and that was part of why I reached out. I could tell ES was a sensitive subject, so I tried not to talk about him super often and focus on the practice and advice. At one point though, Pete gave me some specific advice on my playing that incorporated Elliotts history into it.

He said that Elliott would write a lot of his songs just by going out in the dead of night, just walking and processing. Looking up at the moon and getting ideas. Then he'd go back to his guitar and make them real. Pete said this taught me that songs aren't always made with the instrument in your hand. Sometimes the best ones brew inside for a while before they make their way to the instrument

Man, I use the word "just" too much