Who are your influences?

That was the one question I am embarrassed to say I was not ready for during an interview for a staff writing position at a publisher here in Nashville. I managed to come up with a few names that got me through however it made me realize I didn't really know who my influences were as a writer. Sure, I've got songs I like and I've got a few singers I like, but what songwriters do I like? John Maxwell is a Christian-based author and he writes a lot about leadership. He spends quite a bit of time studying coaches and heads of companies and dissecting what they are doing so we can model that in our own lives. It works. If you do what successful people do long enough, you too will be successful. With that in mind you can see how important it is to find a few writers you just totally love and study the heck out of them. Right now I'm in a Rivers Rutherford phase and I'm really enjoying getting inside of his head and learning what chords, rhythms, and subject matters he likes to use. And I'm not ashamed to admit it, I'm also studying him because he flat-out gets cuts. After a few weeks of Rivers (or maybe months) I'll move on. I did not get that staff writing position, but I did walk out of there knowing I needed to know who my influences were and without a doubt that has made me a better writer.