 As a child he was exposed to the musical influences of his mother's family – listening to country and bluegrass – and his father's family who were more attracted to pop and classical music.Kirtley's first exposure to guitar, at age 5, was hearing guitarist and composer Spider Rich (writer of many tunes for Chet Atkins, including Yakety Axe) in a small recording studio where Kirtley's father worked as a part-time assistant.Rich was playing fingerstyle in the style of Chet Atkins, and Kirtley says from that moment, he wanted to learn guitar.