Cassie a young artist from New York, is an ecstatic lover of God and talented musician. With her sweet and invasive disposition you as many others may call her friend right away. Her vocals much like the late 90's singer Elliot Smith are over dubbed in
a cinematic like experience accompanied by a pervasive and skillful guitar rift this worship singer pushes the boundaries to "christian music," in her own way. Looking foreword to hearing more music from my friend Cassie, here's her interview.
Interview With Cassie,
Me: Who is your hero?
Cassie: I don't wanna be super cheesy, but my hero is definitely Jesus. He's the only one who doesn't screw it up, ya know? I have people I look up to, yeah. But when it comes to a "hero," I want someone who is guaranteed to not let me down. Jesus is the only one who can do that.
Me: Where were you born?
Cassie: I was born it Johnson City NY, and lived in Vestal NY most of my life. It's funny, because I say I live in NY and people just assume I'm talking about New York City, when that's not the case. I was born and raised in Upstate New York, which is mostly countryside and smaller towns and cities. Not as big a deal, I guess. Haha
Me: Would you say the area you've grown up in has affected your music?
Cassie: I think that the area I grew up in effected my music to some extent, yeah. I mean, I think that where you grow up, and the atmosphere surrounding you always will have an effect, whether it's subtle or whether it's huge.
Me: Who inspires your work?
Cassie: Umm, I mean, God inspires my music a lot in the respect that I see things through that lens. My belief systems affect how I see the world around me. What I see in God, in myself, and in the world around me are what inspire me to write things, to kind of address those things.
Me: What would you say is your main message for your audience?
Cassie: I would say that my main message is definitely just hope. I've struggled a lot in my life with feeling depressed, lonely, and not good enough for God, for myself, or for the people around me. So I write a lot and play a lot of music that's addresses that. Feeling those things, but having hope in knowing that it's not true. That you AREN'T alone, that there is Someone who sees the best in you, and loves you for EXACTLY who you are. Someone who is okay with you not being perfect, and just wants to BE with you. I guess my message is to myself as much as it is to everyone else. A message of not being alone, of loving deeply and letting myself be loved deeply. That's the message I try to portray.
Me: What is your favourite song? How has it influenced your sound as an artist?
Cassie: Ahhh, favorite song. Hard question. My favorite song changes all the time! Um, I have a very wide variety of music that I listen to, whether it be, like, For Today and My Heart to Fear, or Paramore, or The Civil Wars and Mumford and Sons. I listen to a lot of folk and indie, which is funny because I went through a phase where I was an exclusive hardcore metalhead kind of person. So yeah, I would say that the stuff I listen to definitely affects how I say. And, I mean, I think people who have known me can tell, because as my music taste has changed, my sound has changed, too.
Me: What are you aspirations as far as your music goes?
Cassie: Aspirations.... I would say that I'm kind of an open book when it comes to where I wanna go with my music. I'm open to anything, really. I have a couple soundcloud accounts where I put some ghetto-home-recorded stuff. I lead worship and have played a few venues. I even have a facebook page, even though I haven't done anything with it in FOREVER. So I guess I'm putting myself out there to some extent in preparation for whatever comes my way. I really have a heart for traveling, and I also feel like ministry is kinda where it's at for me. I do some side project things outside of that... just some music for fun and stuff. But yeah. Hopefully traveling is in my future, as well as opportunities to just share some hope with people, ya know? I just want people to know that they aren't alone. That it's okay to struggle and not be perfect, to have doubts and fears and loneliness. And that there's Someone who looks past it to see us for the precious treasure and gift that we really are. I'm pretty passionate about the Lord. But even if someone isn't into Christianity. Either way, it's important for people to know that there's hope and love out there. So wherever I go, and whatever I do, I really just wanna be a positive voice for that.
