Ben Weinman: How B.B. King inspired Dillinger's sound

The Dillinger Escape Plan guitarist Ben Weinman has paid tribute to B.B. King – saying his band wouldn’t sound the same without the late blues icon’s influence.

King died on Thursday, aged 89, after a career spanning 66 years highlighted by his trademark guitar style.

Weinman tells The Metal Hammer Magazine Show’s Alexander Milas at Rock On The Range: “When I first started playing guitar, all I did was play blues. I had a teacher and we learned the basic blues styles, then he’d send me home to listen to B.B. King, Stevie Ray Vaughan and Eric Clapton. I really cut my teeth on those things.

“B.B. knew how to use space. Where he didn’t play spoke to you more than where he did play. That’s what really brought the feeling.”

And that lesson helped Weinman develop his own band’s sound. “That’s what I’ve always thought about with Dillinger,” he says. “Some of the less complex moments speak to you the most, because of everything around them that’s so crazy.”

He cites King’s early hit The Thrill Is Gone as a prime example of his work and adds: “With him it was all about that space. It really showed you the different between him and players who were just constantly playing notes.”

Hear more from Weinman and Rock On The Range via The Metal Hammer Magazine Show through the coming week.

Not only is one-time online news editor Martin an established rock journalist and drummer, but he’s also penned several books on music history, including SAHB Story: The Tale of the Sensational Alex Harvey Band, a band he once managed, and the best-selling Apollo Memories about the history of the legendary and infamous Glasgow Apollo. Martin has written for Classic Rock and Prog and at one time had written more articles for Louder than anyone else (we think he's second now). He’s appeared on TV and when not delving intro all things music, can be found travelling along the UK’s vast canal network.