Creativity Quote by Matt Sharp

Matt Sharp’s line lands with the plainspoken clarity of someone who’s watched a vibe become a worldview. “I really do believe” is doing quiet work here: it signals conviction, but also a soft defense against the rock-myth expectation that artists are self-made meteors. He’s not selling destiny or raw genius. He’s arguing for atmosphere, for the way rooms, cities, tour vans, rehearsal spaces, and friend groups shape what you think is possible.

The phrase “influence of your surroundings” reads almost clinical, which is part of its power. It drains the romance out of “inspiration” and replaces it with something more material: who you’re around, what you can afford, what noise you’re steeped in, what kind of encouragement or friction you’re constantly absorbing. For a musician, that can mean the difference between writing a song that sounds like your heroes and writing one that sounds like your block, your basement, your scene.

There’s subtext, too, about control. If surroundings influence you, then changing them becomes a strategy, not an accident: move cities, switch collaborators, break a band, join a new one, go on tour to shock your instincts awake. Coming from Sharp’s era and lane of alternative music, it also nods to scene culture as an engine - not just a backdrop. The quote is modest, but it’s also a permission slip: if you feel stuck, it might not be your talent. It might be your air.