O.k. Who would you say are your main influences as to where you are as a guitarist/musician today? Which guitarists, bands or maybe composers have influenced your style? Maybe you had a mentor, friend or family member who inspired you?

Anyway it would be cool to know so here is a carte blanche opportunity to list your inspirations. :)

When i started out as a guitarist i was a huge fan of Brian May but it was Randy Rhoads who got into classical stuff when i first learned about him and then when i found out about the neo-classical genre i just looked about for artists of the genre.

My main influences today would be

Jason Becker
Marty Friedman
Randy Rhoads
Yngwie Malmsteen
Nicolo Paganini

When i was a kid,i liked Metllica more than any other group,so my 1st influence was Kirk Hammett.I practice alot to be like him.And,as the time pases by i discovered other groups.In that time i had met a guy ho really plays great.he only plays neo classical stuf.He took me in that world of music.so i herad Some Malmsteen,Beckers songs and i almoust get heart attack :)
After,that guy teach me that kind of stuf,he gave me some books of troy stettina and i practice alot.
My today influences are:
Malmsteen
Becker
Vai
Satriani
and other.... :D

For me I listened to Classical music exclusively until I was 10 years old and loved Bach, Mozart and Beethoven amongst others. Then my Dad showed me a Hendrix video and that started my love of all things guitar related. I then got into Angus Young, Gary Moore, Brian May and Blackmore as well as all the usual metal bands of the time. I also started listening to guys like Segovia, John Williams, Julian Bream and Paco de lucia as their technique amazed me and also gave variety to my music library. When I first heard Yngwie he blew me away and that took my interest in the guitar to a higher level. My other two big influences from the shred genre are Vinnie Moore and Paul Gilbert.

I also think that events, be they joyous or tragic, that you experience through life and affect you emotionally have a bearing on you as a person and hence influence you as musician.

I pick up new influences and ideas from Albinoni to ZZ top everyday because as a musician you are constantly evolving and must continue to do so or else you're gonna lose that passion. :)

Jimmy Page, Angus Young, Dimebag, Zakk Wylde, Randy Rhodes, Dave Murray, Adrian Smith etc etc etc. basically any good guitarist in the past 40 years lol.

I always liked classical music since i was a child but my parents didn't care for it so my interest grew dormant. Then i played nothing but vid games in my teen yrs. so i became used to shredding synthisizers (or midi tracks lol). Then one day i heard Megadeth. Loved the heavy stuff they dish out. That got me into Rock guitar. I already had the concept in my head that somebody should mix classical music and modern rock (neo classical metal/rock, but i didn't know that!). So I wanted a guitar, but never expressed to anybody the desire, plus i couldn't make up my mind. So i kept "discovering" more guitarists. Until i came across Paul Gilbert and Jason Becker (after listening to Yngwie's stuff for awhile), did i make my decision and begin learning how to play neo classical shred. Then came Gambale and Vai. But yea in my personal style, its Vai, Gilbert, and Govan that influence me directly. (a thousand others too, but its just a list that probably would be too long anyway. lol)