Faith Holt Interview

Faith Holt Interview

Faith Holt is a singer-songwriter born and raised just outside of Nashville, TN. After releasing an album in 2013, she found herself putting more focus into school. However, time has changed and so has her music and vision for it. After finding herself inspired by different kinds of artists than she was exposed to when she was younger, she’s in the midst of working on new projects. The most recent release is Three Years, which is a 10 song album of old songs that were about to go unused. Most of these songs were recorded as live guitar/vocal takes in a bedroom. Currently she’s working on a new LP.

Where are you from?

I was born and raised in Lebanon, TN. It’s about 35 minutes east of Nashville.

How long have you been making music?

I started taking guitar lessons when I was around 13. Shortly after that a friend and I would write songs and try to record them with really crappy head set microphones when my parents weren’t home. If we could find any of those songs now, we’d probably get a kick out of it. From there I started playing in the youth band at my church when I started high school, which is also when I started writing more seriously on my own.

How many songs /albums have you released to date?

In 2013 I released a full-length titled Move. There was also an acoustic EP and a couple singles, but Three Years is my most recent release.

Can you tell us about your latest release and the background and inspirations behind it?

Three Years gets its title because almost all of the songs are from around three years ago. These songs were important to me when I wrote them and still are, but musically they didn’t fit the direction I felt I was going in anymore so I had shelved them. It had been a while since I released much of anything so I decided to put a more recent spin on them. I recorded 8 of them as live guitar/vocal takes in my bedroom which gave them a different vibe than they used to have. “Backseat” is the main exception because it was a track being worked on a couple years ago for a project I scratched. However, I wanted to still release it due to some friends who played on it. In the end, I was really happy with how all of these songs came out and kind of fell in love with a few of the songs all over again.

How have you ended up in the music industry?

From as early as I can remember, I’ve just always been drawn heavily to music. My mom took me to my first concert when I was in 5th grade and I was even more hooked after that. I feel like I’ve always been counting down to album releases and shows. I like to think I probably got the music bug from my grandmother on my mom’s side. She plays piano and used to play guitar. She has stories about going to the town square and playing for the troops when they’d come home and what not.

What do you think of the music industry in 2016?

Over the last couple years, music streaming has become a factor in how things are moving. Some have been discouraged by that I think. There are always people saying popular music isn’t what it used to be and it’s all turned out like a machine. However, I’ve only been encouraged at seeing how supportive the local scene can be of each other. There’s still a lot of heart out there. I can’t say I’ve been to tons of house shows, but I feel they’re one of the many examples of that. There’s something moving about a living room full of strangers listening to a bill of bands they’ve probably never heard, but still paying 100% undivided attention.

Who do you think the most influential artist?

Jon Foreman of Switchfoot has definitely been the most influential for me. “Meant to Live” came out when I was in 5th grade which led to me wanting to play guitar in the first place. The Beautiful Letdown was the first album I really fell in love with. I love that Jon, as well as the whole band, wants to inspire people with a message while also being honest about life in general. He’s affected me past music even due to how he sees the world and for that I’m quite grateful.

How do you think you differ from other artists?

I’m not entirely sure how to answer that. I’ll say I’m just trying to be 100% honest and not filter things. As a listener I know I love songs that come from places of complete honesty, no matter how uplifting or difficult of a place that is. As long as an artist is honest in that sense and honest with themselves, I believe they differ from everyone else because no one is the same person. We can all sing about the same thing but we could say it in a totally different way that affects a different group of people.

Dead or alive, who would be your dream collaboration?

This takes me back to Jon Foreman. I think it would be quite the experience to get to work with him on anything.

What was the first album you bought?

When I was a kid I was obsessed with Leeann Rimes. However, the first CD I bought with my own money was Millennium by The Backstreet Boys.

What’s your favorite song at the moment?

Assuming we’re talking about newer stuff I’ve heard I will say “Made of Stone” by Daughter or “I’m Losing Friends” by Tanner Swift.

If you had to sell your music collection tomorrow, what album would you leave in your draw?

This question is almost impossible to give an exact answer. I’m going to have to say I can’t choose just one and say in my current mindset it’s a tie between Bear Creek by Brandi Carlile and Threads by Now,Now.

What is your favorite saying?

I find I say, “It’s all good,” extremely often.

What other hobbies or interests do you have?

I don’t have any other huge hobbies but I do have a weird thing in that I’m obsessed with pictures and videos taken of abandoned theme parks. My uncle started that with me. I also used to have nerf wars weekly with some friends. Unfortunately it’s been a while since we’ve had one.

Do you have any tattoos or piercings?

I don’t actually have any.

Tell us more about your upcoming project or this new project?

Although I did release Three Years, I’m currently working on a new album I’m really excited about. During spring break last year I visited a friend and her family in Mississippi. Some things happened that were basically life changing for me and is responsible for getting me into writing again since Move. All of these songs are based on the experience I had there or things that happened as domino effects.

What’s in the pipeline after this project?

Currently I’m working on starting to play out again because it’s been a while since I’ve done so.

Thank you for your time and may you carry on making great, fresh music.

I’d like to thank you a ton as well!

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