You influence your surroundings every bit as much as they influence you.
I think the great thing about art is that you can create it anywhere. I made a record of cover tunes on my laptop in hotel rooms throughout Europe last year and it is still very much a "Kasey Anderson" record.
Portland has influenced me in that it is very much where I feel most "at home" in the world. I grew up there. My family is there, my closest friends are there; my favorite bookstore, record store and coffee joint are there. Portland changed a lot during the eight years I lived in Bellingham but, every time I went back, it always felt like home.
Inspiration is everywhere - film, television, newspapers, novels, overheard conversations, whatever you can tap into. It's out there, and I've been at this long enough to know that it won't always just come to me; sometimes I have to go get it.
I don't really have a set-in-stone process or formula. Sometimes the melody is there and I have to chase down the lyrics. Sometimes, the song is there and I have to make the melody fit. What I've learned so far about songwriting is that I can't force a song. If I try to do that, it's hollow, and people know a hollow song when they hear it. It's the song they stop listening to and forget about. I'd prefer not to write those kinds of songs.
