My parents have definitely been very inspirational to me, musically. My dad was a professionally trained singer, and my mom was a DJ. Music has always played a huge role in my life, and my parents have always been encouraging and supportive of my endeavors. I owe them a lot as well for giving me an extremely varied taste in music. And I've been singing as long as my earliest memories, so I owe a lot to my parents for the voice I have now. I'm no Freddie Mercury of course but I can hold my weight, haha smile

That aside, I had a mentor of sorts in high school who I'll keep unnamed. Even when I was a teenager without much talent in my own eyes, he always pushed me to make music. Having someone see something in you is a beautiful thing, and even though he's moved physically and career-wise to better and bigger things, he was the first person to give me really solid confidence in my musical capabilities.

Cheers,
Deryk