I'm currently writing and recording music for my next album, and constantly looking for sources of inspiration. Tonight I went to a small cookout with my neighbors and met a bunch of new people, several of which were artists. Just hearing about their work, not to mention seeing some of it, really inspired me to sit down and start writing music. I've realized that I'm most creative musically when I'm not thinking of music. Lately, my biggest creative influences include stories by Franz Kafka, paintings by Picasso, the book "The Life And Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman," Cardinals baseball (although not too recently, they've lost something like 8 games in a row... yet are still in first place in the NL central), and even a combination of spam email and the movie "Dazed and Confused." It's as if I articulate my thoughts better through music, but if I'm thinking about music specifically, I'm not articulating my own thoughts, rather repeating someone else's.So for all the artists or creative types out there, what inspires and motivates you to create?