Johnathon Ford, the bassist and songwriter behind Unwed Sailor, shares the artists who helped shape the band’s music.

Label: Current Taste

Ford is an Oklahoma-born bassist, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and producer best known as the founder and creative center of Unwed Sailor. He grew up around Tulsa, left Oklahoma in the early 1990s looking for a life in music, spent time in Portland and Long Beach, and eventually settled into Seattle's underground scene. He has described that period as his "punk rock era" — touring hard, living communally, and learning how to function as a working musician. Here is his list of artists that influenced Unwed Sailor, in no particular order.