I have the pleasure of introducing you readers to a musician you probably haven't heard of, her name is Faith Holt. Below is my interview with her and you can also read my review of her new album "Move" here.
Can you give us a little background history on you got started as a musician?
I loved music early on. When I heard “Meant To Live” by Switchfoot, I wanted to play guitar. I was about 12 then. My interest was in electric, not acoustic. My parents surprised me with a guitar and that was the first song I learned how to play. Switchfoot’s album Beautiful Letdown was where it all began for sure. I secretly wrote songs starting around age 15. I made a band Myspace, which was funny because I didn’t want anyone I knew to know I sang. I recorded really bad quality recordings with any microphone I could come up with. My youth leader found it and asked about my song “Speak Through Me” because he wanted the youth band to play it. Flash forward nearly a year later and I was 16 and over the worship for the youth group. I only played guitar. I decided to just play “Speak Through Me” one night and got several compliments about it. People were surprised because I’d kept everything a secret until then. We soon played it on a Sunday and that’s what began the road I’m currently on.
How would you describe your sound musically, and what are some of your influences?
Lately I’ve been calling it “indie pop/rock”. I feel like there are a couple songs that push the genre boundaries at times. There are definitely a few that are more “rocked out” but most of them are kind of acoustic-based rock. Switchfoot is probably my biggest influence because they’re who made me want to start playing guitar. Lyrically, Jon Foreman is my favorite writer. Their latest album had came out shortly before we started recording Move so they definitely had some influence on the record. BarlowGirl is my other big influence. I saw them play days after their first album came out and was drawn to the fact it was a band of all girls because that’s a rare thing. The things they have stood for and talked about at shows have definitely helped me growing up. Some other notable influences are Paramore, Superchick, Krystal Meyers, Inhabited, Francesca Battestelli, Plumb, and Mat Kearney.
What is the main message that you are trying to portray with your music?
Ultimately, I want people to know they’re not alone and they don’t have to go through things by themselves. God is always there even when it seems like no one else is. Anyone can also be that voice to pass it on to someone else when it’s something they need to hear.
What is the inspiration behind your new album "Move"?
A few of the songs come from when I was in high school. The others have been written over the past three years since I graduated. We started recording early last year and “Move” was one of the two songs I wrote during the early part of this process. Probably two years ago I saw an interview with Jon Foreman where he said, “If a song’s not worth dying to sing, it’s not worth singing at all.” Since then it’s stuck with me. One day I sat down and the song started to happen very easily. For me a song that fits what he said is one that affects people. That’s what the song is about, getting out and affecting people. I knew almost instantly when I wrote it that I wanted to call the album Move because of this song. The concept deals with how we were created to live and affect people’s lives for better because that’s what God told us to do. He said to go out into the world. You don’t accomplish that by being still. You have to move. Overall, almost every song falls into that concept in some way.
If you had to pick a favorite song from your new album, what would it be?
“The Worst Part” is my favorite because of the story behind it and what I get to say at shows about it. It’s based off a conversation I had with someone when they told me they lost their best friend to suicide. They told me the worst part is “they don’t think anything’s worth living for including you.” That sentence hit me like a brick wall. I went home and wrote the song from their point of view as best as I could. Before I play it I make sure and say that no one has to go that far and they would be missed even though they may not think so. God loves them and so do other people even when they can’t see it. I will say "Hallelujah" is also worth mentioning because it's the best to play live and almost everyone who plays in my band says it's their favorite.
What is the best piece of advice you have ever been given?
Not to change anything about what you believe in or what you stand for in exchange for other people’s acceptance.
If you had one day to do ANYTHING, ANYWHERE, what would you do?
My best friend went back to Sydney, Australia in December and I’m not sure when I’ll see them again. So, right now I would love to go there just to hang out with them and see whatever it is they recommend. That would probably involve a trip to KFC there because for the last year I’ve heard all about how our KFC is apparently not as cool and she wants to take me to a “real” one.
Who has been the biggest influence in your life?
I would say my youth leader from high school. We had the whole music thing in common. He’s who got me to start playing guitar at church and singing my own songs. He also encouraged me to record my first demo and played bass and guitar on it. More importantly though, he’s been a great friend ever since and he’s good to get advice from. He’s had ways of encouraging me to stick to what I believe no matter what.
When you aren't playing music, what do you enjoy doing?
There’s stuff like watching TV shows I keep up with and movies. One of the best things to do is have Nerf wars with some friends. It doesn’t happen nearly as much as it used to, but it’s definitely a ton of fun. Over time we collected a lot of stuff for it. Some people have thought it’s weird but it’s nothing but fun. I also love going to other concerts whenever I can.
Five Random Bonus Questions:
1. What is your favorite color?
Blue
2. What is the last movie you watched?
The last movie I watched was Babes in Toyland. That would be because I work at a daycare and they don’t care if it’s actually Christmas or not. The last movie I watched for myself though was Twilight: Breaking Dawn Part 2.
3. Do you have any allergies?
Thankfully, no.
4. What is your favorite book?
House by Frank Peretti and Ted Dekker. I will say I'm not much of a reader. I've only managed to read 3 books outside of school simply because I want to.
5. What is something that you collect?
I don’t really collect anything. You might say I collect concert posters if they have actual show dates and stuff on them. If I go to a show that has one, I can’t help but buy it. However, I can say when I was a kid I collected small ceramic dogs and baseball cards. That’s the only thing that made the countless trips to antique stores with my parents and grandparents bearable when I was younger.
Thanks for taking time to do this interview. Is there anything else you would like to add?
I don't have much of anything to add other than a big thank you for chatting and checking out the album!
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