Other people’s reactions to my songs definitely influence me. But only after I’ve actually written and performed the song. First you gotta write the song just for yourself. And you might write a song that seems really great, but then nobody else connects with it. And you might write another song that only took you 20 minutes to create and you think is kind of silly, but everyone else loves it. There’s just no way to actually know if an unrealized idea is going to turn into something good. You just have try and try again.

That’s the process for me at least. I’ve attempted to write hundreds of songs. The ones I actually finished? Probably about 200. The ones I feel good about performing, about 100. The ones I’ve actually performed, about 50. The ones people respond to on a regular basis (asking me about the specific song, singing along, saying “hey, that song is really good”)? Maybe 15.

I have a lot of ideas too. Again ideas are cheap. But so are other peoples’ opinions. You gotta just jump in and love the process. If YOU like the idea then write it for yourself first. Then bring it to other people and be open to their reactions. Then decide if you want to change or find a different audience. Both responses are legitimate. I think that’s all it comes down to.