I remember as a kid reading and watching interviews of artists and inevitably they’d get asked who their influences were. The artist would rattle off a short list…usually including The Beatles.
Then I’d go listen to their music and the music sounded nothing like The Beatles.
It turns out the question the artist was really answering was ‘who are you inspired by’.
Influence has to do with things that have an effect on you…so everything from last night’s pizza, to a friend’s birthday party, to a hip hop beat you heard ten years ago that stuck in the recesses of your subconscious can be very influential.
Inspiration has to do with getting filled with desire to act, to go, to make…so last night’s pizza doesn’t fall into that category. But those artists that you listened to growing up, even though your music doesn’t sound like theirs, they’ve inspired you on a pretty deep level.
Not everything that has influenced you has inspired you.
Everything that has inspired you has influenced you.
»» And often (not always) the question the interviewer means to ask is ‘what other artists music is comparable to your own?’
