On March 29, artist, songwriter, and worship leader Cait Plage is releasing All We Have is Now, her new EP. The release “shares what God has placed openly on her heart.” Cait describes herself as a bubble-tea-sipping singer-songwriter who once voiced Japanese anime and loves a good seaweed salad.” I was blessed to have an opportunity to correspond with her about music, faith, and anime.
A: These songs are definitely different than my previous album, but they are all recent stories of my life… I have literally cried and laughed writing them, and they are all true stories, representing who I am from a very honest place. The songs reveal how God continues to pursue me and use me despite my weaknesses for His glory.
During the past few years, I’ve had a lot of experiences… and I have grown more in the past few years than ever in my life as I’ve learned (sometimes the hard way) what is truly important in this life. I’ve been feeling the pressing urgency more than ever to tell the world about Jesus. I am not promised another moment in this life and I need to make every second count for His Kingdom. So this record is really a compilation of stories from my recent years, the good and the bad, and the message God has placed on my heart to share right now.
“Pieces” is a story about the heartache and frustration that goes along with falling for someone who is only in it for the rush of the “chase” and can’t quite seem to commit. I think a lot of us have a tendency to always see the best in people, which can ultimately lead to a false reality and false hope… Through this experience, I learned the necessity of actually taking the time to get to know people for who they really are (facebook profiles aside!). “Pieces” is also about having the courage to close a door when you know in your heart it’s not right.
“Loaded Gun” is a very unique song to me in that I wrote the entire song in one sitting. It came 100% from my heart and 0% from my head… and I cried, a lot, as I wrote it. This song is about the heartbreak of being disobedient to God. To put it bluntly, I fell in love with someone who was not a Christian, knowing it was not what God wanted. It fell apart, of course, and completely shattered my heart. I wrote the song the night I found out he was seeing someone new. One good thing about heartbreaking situations is the best songs seem to naturally flow out of them!
Both “All We Have Is Now” and “Live Love Loud” are about what God has been putting heavy on my heart lately – I don’t know how much time I have left on earth. In light of eternity, I’m here for a split second. So I need to impact as many lives as I can for God right where He has me!! All I really have is now!
To live a successful life actually means to die to myself. True Success is caring for orphans and widows (James 1:27), feeding the hungry, visiting the prisoners and the sick and needy. There is so much suffering in the world and God wants to use us to be a part of something so much bigger than ourselves – something that will echo into eternity! When I’m eighty years old, I want to look back at my life and know I was successful in the true sense of the word. But I’m not even guaranteed tomorrow; I need to make every second I have count.
Some of the lyrics to “All We Have Is Now” reflect that urgency – “every second counts in a world that is fading…and if your lifetime was only a day, and your second chance was just a breath away, would you take it or waste it? Why are we waiting? ‘Cause all we really have is now.” …and… “start loving with your heart wide open, holding nothing back, start making a change, living today like it’s your last” … “don’t spend your whole life waiting on a better day to come around, ‘cause all we really have is now.”
A: Actually, I didn’t intentionally write such personal songs! It just always turns out that way. I’ve always admired artists like Damien Rice and Brandi Carlile, who really make the listener feel and experience the stories of the songs for themselves because their writing is so vulnerable. Honesty in songwriting is so crucial in connecting with the audience and make a lasting impact.
A: Absolutely. Jesus tells us that the world will hate us (John 15) and that in order to truly follow Him we need to deny ourselves, take up our cross and follow Him (John 16). To truly allow the Holy Spirit to lead our lives means we must die to ourselves (selfish nature) and put others first, always. It is SO INCREDIBLY DIFFICULT. But the more we do it, the more it becomes a habit, the more “fruit” we bear, and the deeper our roots grow in the “good soil” of walking with the Lord that Jesus talks about in the parable of the sower (Matthew 13 — check it out, one of my favorites).
A: Of course! I was involved in an online voice acting community for many years of my young adult life (middle school through high school) and had such a blast making friends with people all around the world, with the common purpose of dubbing anime into English while still being true to the original script and meaning. This sounds crazy, but I met one of my best friends to this day in the “VA” world — she’s a singer/songwriter too — Kimly Hoang, check her out! 😉 But yes, I wouldn’t take back those years for the world; I am definitely a huge nerd for life and wouldn’t have it any other way!
I’d say my favorite role was definitely getting to voice Usagi and Minako from Sailor Moon because they were my heroes growing up. Alcione from Magic Knight Rayearth was fun too, because of her sultry/deep/evil voice… and
evil laughter! Mua ha ha!
I like video games too
Final Fantasy
A: Too many!!! Probably something that was more of a weird noise I had to make! Haha!
To buy the EP and find out more about Cait, visit the following links:
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