Mike Donehey
, lead singer for Tenth Avenue North (GMA’s reigning “New Artist of the Year”) interviews new Essential Records sister act Tal & Acacia.
Mike Donehey (Tenth Avenue North): Hey, everybody! This is Mike from Tenth Avenue North. I’m on the phone with a new artist on Essential Records called Tal & Acacia. How are you guys doing?
Tal & Acacia: I wanted to applaud when you said Tenth Avenue North!
Mike: Well, thank you for that warm welcome. Are you part of a big family, or are you the only siblings?
Tal & Acacia: There are four girls; we are the middle children. Our father is the most patient man. He’s a wonderful man…with four daughters. He’s a great man, so he can deal with it.
Mike: I have three sisters, so I can sort of feel it, but I’m coming from a different perspective. I read in your biography that you guys worked with the Salvation Army and spent a year in Russia. Can you tell everyone how that affected you and what you’re doing now?
Tal & Acacia: That was when the music first began. I didn’t see music as something I wanted to do until Russia. I was a big sports player, but we met these kids who played music. We started this band, and it awoke something in me. When the other guys [in the band] went back to America, I started writing songs; and so that’s how it started. I feel the influence of ministry has always influenced how we write [and] the topics we write about—being wholehearted for Christ and living with no compromises. Living to the best of your ability and doing the things God has called you to do—it comes out in our writing.
Mike: What can we expect on this new album? It’s called Wake Me. I listened to it and loved it. I dance to it in my car! Musically, I like the grooves. What can people expect? Musically, lyrically, what’s important to you about it?
Tal & Acacia: Musically, people can expect… It’s a quirky pop genre. We are still finding a genre in this world. Some influences are Feist, Imogen Heap and Regina Spektor. People say we’re a cross between—and I think this is generous—Jason Mraz and Ingrid Michelson. We tried to keep it accessible. We hope it will refresh people. We want people to be woken up spiritually. The lyrics come from different lessons in our lives that we’re still learning. We hope people can be drawn closer to Him and lifted up.
Mike: If you had to pick a favorite song from the album, what would it be?
Tal & Acacia: It’s so hard. They are so different. Lyrically or musically?
Mike: One of each.
Acacia: I would pick “Swing Song” for the musical one. [It’s] just kind of fun to produce and have fun with. And lyrically, I wrote “Warrior Child” for my mom, so that one has special significance. That message for me is that the Lord hasn’t forsaken the warriors who are on their knees for their kids or people in their lives. I felt His presence when I wrote.
