Goldpine Music Interview

Here is my interview I did with a music duo called Goldpine Music. 

Q. What was life like for you growing up?

A. Kassie: I grew up in a small town in Somerville, AL we lived in the country like you couldn’t even see your neighbors lol We’d drive 30 mins to a Walmart. I was a mama’s girl for sure. We did everything together. I was really involved in sports, choir and any extracurricular activities. I loved doing anything social. My mama and daddy were hard workers and I had an older brother, Kevin who was always picking on me We went to the River a lot on the weekends to boat, swim and camp. My daddy died when I was 19. From a burst Brain aneurysm. That was sudden and really traumatic for our family. I ended up moving to Nashville afterwards and my mama came 6 months later then my brother.

A. Ben: I was blessed to have a childhood where my parents were nurturing and caring. My parents are also believers, and so they raised all of us kids in the knowledge and ways of Jesus. My dad is a golf professional, and so the whole family grew up golfing. That was what we did to spend time together. I grew up (mostly) in a smaller town called Oskaloosa Iowa. That’s where I graduated high school and I still have very close friends from that part of my life.

Q. How did you come to know and learn about God?

A. Kassie: I didn’t grow up in a Christian home. I had a teacher and choir teacher Mrs. Peavahouse that lived on the same road as me and ask and offered to pick me up and take to me Vacation Bible School. My parents said yes and I thought cool I get to leave the house every day for a week. I didn’t know what VBS was but I was happy to go. That’s how I was first introduced to Jesus. It’s been the seed where planted and continued to grow as I grew. I’m so grateful for Mrs. Peavahouse for her kindness and willingness to take me and pour into my life.

A. Ben: My parents raised all of their kids in the knowledge and teachings of Jesus. I feel very blessed to have had this. We always went to church growing up, and so I also took in a lot from Sunday School classes, church youth group (where I played in the praise band!), and Sunday services. Even though I grew up in the Christian faith, there still has to be a point where a person takes it on as their own. For me, high school was the time when a desire to know God in a deeper way began to really flourish inside me. And, in the last 10 years, that has grown exponentially. There has been something amazing about the last decade, in that I feel like I’ve had so much spiritual revelation of God’s character, our identity, and Christian application. It’s weird how timing is. I don’t know why certain seasons of life flourish more than others, but I’ve felt so humbled in the last several years.

Q. When growing up, did you have any struggles? If so, what were they and how did you learn to overcome them?

A. Kassie: I never knew my biological father. He and my mama divorced when I was a baby. Then my mama remarried my daddy, James when I was 5 or so. It was hard not understanding why my biological father didn’t want us. I was too young to know or understand but always curious about him. Even though he was not a good man. And it was the best that he wasn’t around us. I still felt abandon. I loved my step daddy but then he died suddenly when I was 19. That was so hard on all of us. Losing a parent that young is devastating. I again felt abandon. I was able to work through my Abandonment issues when I realized that our Heavenly Father isn’t like our earthy fathers. He will never leave us. He’s always with us. But not having a relationship or knowing Jesus as a child I couldn’t understand that. It was a process to learn and truly understand that. It was so freeing once I realized that.

A. Ben: Off the top of my head, my biggest struggle growing up was my inclination to isolate myself. Honestly, I still like to be alone….and that can be a strength in some circumstances (especially for an artist), but it was many times a weakness for me growing up. I found it hard to be vulnerable to people….to be present in a situation….to really confide and invest in people. I suppose I have learned as an adult to be more present, especially with the passing of a good friend not too long ago. And I’m even still learning to invest in people more. That’s what Jesus was all about anyway! I think that I could have saved myself heartache and also lived more up to my potential if I had learned these things earlier. It’s funny how the things we struggle with growing up are still sometimes a struggle when you’re an adult. I would say that I’ve come a long way on these things, but I find I’m still growing.

Q. Was music something you always wanted to do? If so, what got you started in music? If not, was there something other than music that you wanted to do?

A. Kassie: Honestly, I didn’t realize that I truly had a gift in music till my freshman year of college. I knew I loved singing but didn’t realize I wanted to pursue it till later in life. Believe it or not I actually thought I’d own my own gym and coach cheerleading. I cheered all through school and loved it so much! It was my life. Isn’t it funny how we think we have it all figured out and then God’s like naw you don’t even know what I have in store for you.

A. Ben: I actually did always want to do music. When I was about 12 years old or so, I started to write poetry, and then my brother taught me a few guitar chords on our grandpa’s old Sears acoustic guitar. I then started putting my poems to music. I always was drawn to the beauty of putting lyrics with music. What a powerful combination! I think my inspiration for continuing in music is the idea that I can speak into people’s lives in such a powerful way. Music creates and fosters such connection. Connection between people. Connection between a person and their thoughts, motives, desires. Connection between people and the divine.

Q. Who would you say, inspired you to get into music and singing?

A. Kassie: My daddy James always played the guitar and sang. He’d always encourage me to sing with him. So, I’d say he’s what kinda got me interested in singing. When we’d go to a friend's house, he’s always get me to sing and I was so shy. You’d have to practically make me. I eventually got over that ha. When he died my mama gave me his guitar. It hung on our studio wall for years and Ben surprised me and sanded it down and refinished it. He put a racing strip on it. My daddy use to collect and restore old muscle cars. That guitar is so special to me because I used to sing on it with my daddy and now, I sing on it with my husband.

A. Ben: Well, I remember being very moved by Counting Crows album “August and Everything After”! I can still feel the same thing I felt when I was listening to that album back in high school…..out by the fairgrounds in my Ford Ranger, just letting the music wash over me….it was such emotion, and authenticity, and desperation. It really just moved me in a way that I wanted to speak to people through my songs like that music was speaking to me.

Q. Where would you like to perform if you could and why?

A. Kassie: Honestly, I wanna perform anywhere where there’s a listening crowd. But beyond that I’d love to play at the historical Ryman in Nashville.

A. Ben: I’d love to perform on the Ryman stage in Nashville someday. Actually, we already performed there for a song contest back in 2013 (didn’t win)…but I’d love to perform a ticketed show there. It would be such an honor to do that….and in my home city!

Q. When did you first realize that you wanted to do this for a living?

A. Kassie: I moved to Nashville at 19 and was fearless (back then not anymore ha ha). I knew what I wanted to do and I was going after it. I had no doubts. My daddy had just passed away and I was determined to move and chase my dreams. I knew then what I wanted to do. We have been doing music full time now for about 10 years and that was a hard leap but we trusted God to provide and He did and still does. It wasn’t easy. I was cleaning houses for extra money and Ben was doing sound for different venues in town. But we decided to go all in and pursue it full time. It’s been a wild ride. It’s not always easy but it’s so rewarding. I love that we can do music full time and make a living. And I get to do that with my best friend, my husband.

A. Ben: I think I knew I wanted to make music my career back when I was in early high school. I really got inspired when the youth band that I was in recorded a 5-song CD at a local recording studio. I was hooked on the studio then! The atmosphere was moody and electric and inspiring. I actually began to think about audio engineering as an alternative career, or really as a companion career to music performance.

Q. Were there any fears that you had when you first started out in making music?

A. Kassie: Like I said in the prior question I was just fearless when I was getting started. I was so young and naive. I had no idea what I was doing:) Then as I got older and decided that this was something that I wanted to do full time and forever the fear would sneak in. Wondering if we could financially do this and could we make ends meet. But we just trusted in the Lord to provide for us and He did and continues to do so.

A. Ben: Oh yes, there is always that nagging fear….”what if I spend all this time and money, and it doesn’t pan out in the end?” At first, that is honestly why I also went into audio engineering….it was kind of a plan-B career. It ended up working out great, because it only helps, as a musician, to know audio engineering too. But there are also the age-old fears like “will people think these lyrics are corny?” or “will people come out to our shows?”. And sometimes I find that the fear comes from a deeper place actually. Sometimes, I identify myself with my music so closely that I am unable to think and react clearly to real-world issues when they come up. Lately, I’ve been telling myself that “music is not my life”. My art is not who I am. I am valuable outside of my work just because of who I am. And when I’m in that mindset, then I am more effectively and clearly able to handle work-related challenges and fears.

Q. Was there any doubts that you had when you first started out in making music?

A. Ben: Oh, there have been doubts the entire time. It seems, especially as we progress in our career, there are strong doubts about so many things. Doubts about how we spend and divide our time. Doubts even about doing music at all! That sounds crazy, but I think it happens with so many people. A music career is very difficult to manage at times, especially an independent artist. And that leads to thoughts like….”I wonder what it would be like to work 9am-5pm, and then just go home and enjoy the evening”. So, doubts are a normal thing…but the important thing is what we do with them. Maybe, for some people, they actually should listen to our doubts and choose another career path. But we have just continued to choose to not listen to our doubts.

Q. Is there a story behind the name Goldpine music? If so, what is it and how did the name come to be about?

A. Ben: Yes. So, Kassie grew up on Pines Road in Alabama, so “pine” is representative of the past. “Gold” is the lasting and valuable element and is representative of the future. “Goldpine” is the past and future combined. We just made up our own word. Also, it’s fun to say fast…goldpine!

Q. Where does the inspiration for a song like Wander Away come from? What helps motivate you to write the songs and is there a special meaning behind the songs?

A. Wander Away is a song that's a kind of public service announcement for mental health. It's easy to let the weight of life and worries and uncertainty get heavy in your life....it almost seems natural! It takes some purposeful moves to let that stuff roll off your back. That's what Wander Away is about. For me, I take a lot of walks in our Nashville neighborhood....to clear my mind, to pray, to be quiet. Getting away from worries can be such a healthy thing. In the last verse, the song talks about setting our eyes on something more glorious, which is like letting go of our own self-absorption and putting our sites on our Creator.

Q. Who would you like to collaborate and go on tour with one day and why?

A. We’d love to go on tour with War and Treaty. We have a lot in common. Similar spiritual vibes, husband and wife duo and we both are folky soul! They seem like just solid wonderful people and we think we’d be a great fit together.

Q. If you were to pick a song of yours to perform anywhere, what song would it be and where would you like to perform it at?

A. I want to perform a song we've never released....a song called Stumbling Stone. I'd like to perform that song in a super old stone cathedral somewhere. A cathedral with tons of natural reverb.

Q. Where did you start out performing when you first started out in music?

A. Kassie- I started out singing in my Papa’s church and school choir.

A. Ben: the main place I started was in my youth band at church youth group when I was growing up in Iowa. We called ourselves FREED. I suppose that’s the only full band I was ever a member of!

Q. Is there a piece of advice that you would give to those who are either writing music or writing in general?

A. ….I think that longevity is a big factor in success. If you can keep writing more and more, you won’t be able to help but get better at it. Making it a point to write regularly (sometimes even when you don’t feel it) can make a huge difference when you look back on your material after a few years.

Q. Has there ever been a time where you thought of giving up because you didn't know how things would be?

A. Of course there are hard days but we just push through. That’s the beauty of having a duo. We are always here for each other when we have a bad day. Reminding one another why we do this and pressing onward.

Q. What is one of your favorite scriptures or passages in the Bible?

A. Joshua 1:9

Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.