Behind the Notes with Angie Goeke

Send Tim a Text Message.

Navigating the intersection of spirituality and artistry can often be challenging, but Americana and Folk musician Angie Goeke does it with grace.  Her story, which she shares with an open heart in our latest episode, is a tapestry of early choir experiences, the nurturing of her talent, and the strength to pursue her passion as a Christian creative in the secular music industry.  Angie shares her insights into creating music that combines cathartic lyrics, heartfelt storytelling and passionate instrumentation embodied by Americana, Folk and Bluegrass-infused tunes.

Angie also pulls back the curtain on the world of music production, giving us a peek into the relationships and partnerships that have shaped her journey. From the logistics of crafting an EP to the collaborative magic of studio recordings and the authenticity of live performances, Angie's behind-the-scenes stories underscore the importance of community and adaptability in the creative process. Her reflections on how her faith influences her work extend an invitation to listeners to consider the harmony possible between one's spiritual life and artistic pursuits.

Angie doesn't shy away from discussing the financial and promotional challenges faced by independent artists like herself. Her experience with crowdfunding reveals the communal effort required to bring creative visions to life, while her thoughts on mentorship emphasize the value of guidance and support. Angie's advice to fellow Christian creatives is a heartfelt reminder to view their gifts as acts of worship, encouraging listeners to embrace their creative spark as both a devotion and an intrinsic facet of their identity.

Episode concludes with Angie Goeke giving a touching acoustic performance of her song "Farewell".

angiegoeke.com

Episode Transcript

Tim Ristow (00:01):
Today on Creative Christians, singer and
songwriter Angie Gehke joins meto talk music, creativity and
faith.

Angie Goeke (00:09):
Being in a secular industry.
There is a fine line betweenfeeling like God is allowing me
to do this so that I bringpeople to Him.
There's a fine line betweenthat and just letting Him have
control of that.

Tim Ristow (00:26):
That's singer-songwriter Angie Gehke
Today on Creative ChristiansCreativity, faith, inspiration.
As Christian creatives, how isour creativity different?
Because of our faith.

Hohle (00:47):
You gotta believe in what you're doing.

Reid (00:49):
Listen and let the Holy Spirit lead you illis
Christ and have an identity inHim above anything else, I think
it's extraordinary.
you believe God's called you,you can't walk away from that.

Tim Ristow (01:01):
These are stories of creative Christians.
Welcome to another episode ofCreative Christians, the podcast
series that explores Christiancreatives, their talents, their
faith and what they're doing atthe intersection of both.
Legendary jazz singer EllaFitzgerald once said "Music is

(01:25):
the universal language thatbrings people closer together.
Mary Travers of Peter Paul andMary fame said Folk music has
always contained a concern forthe human condition.
A saying that is oftenattributed to Eleanor Roosevelt
is this A woman is like a teabag you never know how strong

(01:45):
they are until they're in hotwater.
Americana singer-songwriter andmusic producer Mary Bragg
recently was quoted as sayinge're all just trying to write
our next best song to connect.
and to have someone reach forthe Kleenex again.
There's healing in thatconnection and giving that to a
person is one of my biggest .

(02:07):
".
Reformer Martin Luther saidBeautiful music is the art of
the prophets that can calm theagitations of the soul.
It is one of the mostmagnificent and delightful
presence God has given us.
Fellow creatives clearly weretalking music in this episode,
in particular Americana and Folkmusic by a wonderfully talented

(02:30):
female artist.
All of the quotes I just readhave some kind of connection to
my guest today and you'lluncover those connections as you
listen to this interview.
I'm honored to have as my guesttoday singer and songwriter
Angie Gehke.
Angie is an Americana and Folkmusician who released her solo

(02:50):
debut music EP, titled Nuts,back in 2019, followed by her
first full length album, if IWere Honest, in 2022.
And at this moment, as I'mrecording this, she is hard at
work in the studio recording herlatest album, which will be
available sometime later thisyear, here in 2024.

(03:11):
Angie was born in Austin, Texas,grew up in a musical family and
even performed once for hermajesty Queen Elizabeth II when
she visited Texas.
Angie is also an artist haspublished a novel titled "A Girl
and Her War Horse, worked as atheater director, teaches middle
school art, serves as executivedirector of Not in Our City, a

(03:33):
nonprofit raising awareness ofdomestic sex trafficking, and is
the worship leader of a localchurch where her husband serves
as pastor.
But music is her passion.
Americana Highways wrote thisabout her music and talent,
saying Angie's emphasis is onher melodic appeal, smart words
vividly demonstrated, and she'sfilled her album with

(03:56):
heartwarming tunes and immersedthem in everything that is
essential to good songwritingand performance.
Angie attended and graduatedfrom my alma mater, Concordia
Lutheran College, now ConcordiaUniversity, exas.
Back in the day I traveled toHouston to sit down and chat

(04:18):
with her over a cup of coffeeabout music, songwriting,
creativity, faith and thechallenges and joys of an
independent artist breaking intotoday's increasingly complex
music industry.
Angie, welcome to CreativeChristians.

Angie Goeke (04:45):
Thanks, thanks for having me.

Tim Ristow (04:46):
You know, I can't remember if we've actually met
before.
I get the feeling we have, I'msure at Concordia or somewhere
at a church or something I justknow we have.

Angie Goeke (04:58):
I just can't pinpoint the exact time or when
that was, I think, probablyConcordia when I was at
Concordia.

Tim Ristow (05:05):
Most likely yeah.
What years did you go thereagain?

Angie Goeke (05:07):
1997 2, 2001.

Tim Ristow (05:14):
Okay so I .
was probably.
Let me Let I might I havebeen on staff there, I'm not
sure.
Anyway, you're a musician,singer-songwriter, but how did
music first become a significantpart of your life?

Angie Goeke (05:27):
Well, I grew up in a very musical household.
My dad was church organist,choir director, all of that.
My three older siblings wereall involved in music in some
way, and so it was around us allthe time.
Constantly, constantly.
Early on.
It was something that I took aninterest to and spent time

(05:51):
doing for fun, Right.

Tim Ristow (05:53):
What about the singing part?
Was that something that youwere drawn to early on as well?

Angie Goeke (05:58):
Well, I think that my parents got a little tired of
me singing to myself in thehouse when I was little and I
think I was first or secondgrade and my dad suggested that
I go audition for the AustinChildren's Choir that was housed
at a Concordia.

Tim Ristow (06:17):
I remember it well.

Angie Goeke (06:19):
So that was kind of the beginning of that.
I stayed in it till, I think,eighth grade and yeah, it was
pretty informative for me.

Tim Ristow (06:28):
Did you have a sense early on that this was
something you wanted to pursuedown the road?
Was this something that you hada passion for?
I guess I should say early on.

Angie Goeke (06:37):
Yeah, I think so.
I was the youngest of four, butby a lot, so there was a
tenured gap between me and mysiblings.
So there was a big section oflife where I was the only kid at
home.
I would go disappear in my roomand back when all there was
were cassette tapes, I wouldplay a cassette tape on one

(07:00):
thing, on the radio or boom boxor whatever and then have
another tape recorder andanother tape and I would record
myself singing harmonies withwhatever song I was playing on
the first one, and then you weremulti-tracking early on.
Yeah, I remember trying to writesongs just to fill up time.

(07:24):
I needed things to do andthat's just where I went with it
.

Tim Ristow (07:28):
So you had a sense early on that you were creative
or that you were interested increative activities.
How did you foster and developthat singing talent as time went
on?

Angie Goeke (07:38):
Austin Children's Choir was a big part of that.
I learned a lot about musictheory and things like that.
And then in high school I tookprivate lessons and participated
in choir and state and all thatkind of stuff and then, when I
got to Concordia, I continuedwith private lessons and took as

(07:58):
many classes as I could.

Tim Ristow (08:00):
And that's Concordia Lutheran College in Austin
right, yes.
Yeah, what was the mascot whenyou were there?

Angie Goeke (08:07):
It was already the Tornadoes, the Tornadoes.

Tim Ristow (08:09):
Okay, yes, see, I was the Stags.
How did you go there to study?

Angie Goeke (08:16):
I went because my dad taught there and that made
tuition nice, and I did notactually declare a major until
like the beginning of my senioryear.
I just took classes thatinterested me and then at the
beginning of that year, MikeMiddendorf was my advisor and he

(08:38):
was like Angie, you got to picka major.

Tim Ristow (08:41):
The time has come.

Angie Goeke (08:41):
Yeah, well, what am I closest to like, based on the
classes that I've taken?

Tim Ristow (08:46):
Right, there you go.

Angie Goeke (08:49):
So I have a liberal arts major in fine arts and
psychology, and then a minor inbehavioral science.

Tim Ristow (08:57):
Wow.

Angie Goeke (08:58):
So I just took the classes that interested me, and
that's kind of where I ended up.

Tim Ristow (09:02):
Okay, let's switch gears for a second and talk
about faith.
Obviously, that's a big part ofyour family.
Your family is well known herein Texas, particularly central
Texas area, and I think it'ssafe to say faith was a part of
your family, your upbringing,your life.
Tell me a little bit about that.

Angie Goeke (09:18):
Yeah, we grew up LCMS Lutheran and we're heavily
involved in church.
We were actually my family, mysiblings and I were talking
about this this past weekendthat it was never a question
whether or not we were going tochurch on Sunday morning.
It was.
It was just, it was the given,it was the assumed.

(09:38):
That's what we're doing.

Tim Ristow (09:40):
Right.

Angie Goeke (09:41):
And my dad found ways for us to not just attend
church but be involved and servewithin it, and I think that was
pretty instrumental in how weviewed faith that it wasn't just
something to consume but neededto be also there, needed to be
an outpouring, you know anexpression bringing the hands

(10:02):
and feet you know of Jesus and,you know, using that in creative
ways, being a creative andusing music or art is a way of
serving the church, is a way ofserving the community, serving
those who don't believe andbeing a means to, to introduce
them to Jesus.
Right, yeah, that really became,I think, foundational to just

(10:26):
how I view my faith and livingit out.

Tim Ristow (10:30):
Yeah, so jump back to music.

Angie Goeke (10:32):
Okay.

Tim Ristow (10:33):
So we're going to move forward quite a bit.
When and why did you decide tosuddenly make an album?
How did that come about?

Angie Goeke (10:42):
I have four kids and Bless you yeah.
Um, when my youngest startedkindergarten, you know, I all of
a sudden had a lot of time onmy hands.
For for most of that time whenmy kids were young, I stayed
home with them and you know, Ihad always had this passion to
do something more creative, towrite music, and recording too,

(11:06):
and like putting all the piecestogether creatively was a big
part of that motivation.
But when, when he went tokindergarten, I thought, well,
I'm not getting any younger andyou know I've only got so much
time left.
It's time to.
If I want to do this, I need todo it now.

Tim Ristow (11:21):
Jump off and do it.
Yeah, so Did you have someideas, kind of percolating,
already that you were like thisfeels like I've got some things
I want to explore.

Angie Goeke (11:29):
Yeah, I had been writing just for myself, you
know, at home.
So there were a few things thatI thought, you know, maybe this
would work, and it was more atthe beginning, more a curiosity
like how will other peoplerespond to this?
You know I like it because it'sjust been for me, but you know,

(11:50):
how are other people going tofeel about it?
Are they going to connect withwhatever the message was behind
an individual song?
You know, I was curious aboutthat.
You know People's response.

Tim Ristow (12:03):
Yeah, I think as artists, creatives in general,
we're always curious about thatand worried about that.
Do you consider yourself moreintroverted or extroverted?

Angie Goeke (12:13):
Definitely introverted.
Ah, yeah.

Tim Ristow (12:15):
See, of course, most creatives are, or many
creatives are.
And so I think there's thatfascination too with how people
respond to my work, whatever itmay be, and to explore that is.
I know some people think it's aprideful thing, and we'll talk
about that a little later too.
You know how you balance someof that in industries where
you're on stage and things likethat, but that's not always the
case.
It's just interested in seeinghow people respond to the ideas

(12:38):
and things you want to share.
I think that's a fascinatingpart of the process.
Your style has been describedas this Americana folk.
I think we've got some jazz inthere, probably some bluegrass
really sounds in there too,country.
I saw somebody even described alittle bit of world music, and I
could hear a little of that too, what would you describe

(13:01):
Personally your genre and style?

Angie Goeke (13:02):
I would say probably Americana folk, mainly
because they serve pretty broadterms.

Tim Ristow (13:09):
Yes, they are.

Angie Goeke (13:09):
For our genres.
So I feel like it kind ofencapsulates everything.
Right.
Yeah, I mean I definitely have.
There are some jazz influencein my stuff and it may be a
little bit of country, yeah, butI try not to focus too much on
the genre you know, just let itbe creative and you know, but I

(13:31):
do like that Americana and folkmusic is about storytelling and
you know depth of lyrics, notjust typical country, you know,
like riding in my truck kind ofstuff.
Not that there's anything wrongwith that.
It's just you know not where Iprobably land.

Tim Ristow (13:51):
Right, okay.
Well, now that age old question.
You know what artists and musichas influenced you?
I'm sure there's been some ofthose styles in those artists,
but you know who's influencedyou over the years.

Angie Goeke (14:05):
When I was in high school I was the weird kid
listening to like EllaFitzgerald, so I love her and
her singing style and you knowthe old classic country like
Willie Nelson, good, sad songs.

Tim Ristow (14:22):
Yes.

Angie Goeke (14:23):
And recently more recently, I've really been
listening and learning a lotfrom Eva O'Donovan.
She is, I'd say, americana folk, but lots of bluegrass
influence and just goodstorytelling and good mixture of

(14:47):
instrumentation too.
That's pretty cool.

Tim Ristow (14:51):
Yeah, very nice.

Angie Goeke (15:01):
I see you looking baby.
I see you want me to a littlebit what I got.
My guest today is Angie.

Tim Ristow (15:24):
Gehke, singer, songwriter.
You're listening to her song noMore from the Knots EP.
Well, let's walk through yourmusic here a little bit In 2019,

(15:50):
.
I believe it was you put outthe EP Knots.
Why that title?
And where did some of thosesongs and that music come from?

Angie Goeke (16:01):
Well, that was my first like we were talking about
earlier kind of first attemptto see, like, does anybody like
this stuff, you know, and kindof joke that like in the music
industry, if you don't have a CDthen there's kind of zero
credibility to do much.

(16:21):
It's kind of like having abusiness card, like it's a
staple You've got to havesomething to give somebody.
Now it's even weirder becausenobody has CD players.

Tim Ristow (16:32):
I still love physical media.
That's just me.

Angie Goeke (16:35):
Those songs were things that had been collected
over time.
You know, in my writing, justfor myself, I'm trying to
remember.
I think maybe Knots, it's thetitle, it's named after the
title song and I think that thatsong I wrote for the project.
Yeah, there were some other.
I'm trying to.

(16:55):
I'm like I'm recalling now, howdid that all happen?
Yeah, there were a few songsthat I think I wrote
specifically for that project,but overall the EP was supposed
to kind of explore thecomplexities of relationships,
and the song Knots is all about.
You know, it's a metaphor,analogy of marriage right.

(17:19):
Time the knot and how that canbe tricky Right.
And so, yeah, the songs inthere are trying to explore
maybe all of the parts ofrelationships and marriage that
nobody's really comfortable totalk about or admit, but
probably everybody experiences.

Tim Ristow (17:39):
And what a great way to explore music.
Of course is so wonderful to beable to explore things like that
and lyrics, which can have, youknow, layers of meaning to them
, because you can say things ina few lines of lyrics that can
give a depth of multipledifferent things that allow the
listener to explore and applythings to their own lives, as
well as get something out ofyour own story too.

(18:01):
So how did that process goabout?
How did you find a producer?
Did you self-produce?
How'd you find a studio?
You know how are some of thoselogistical things that have to
happen for now.
How did all that come to be?

Angie Goeke (18:13):
It was all God.
There was a couple in ourcongregation and I just happened
to find out through word ofmouth that he had some
experience in producing.
He was in town studying to bean entertainment lawyer, and so
I just asked if he would help,and so he ended up producing and

(18:35):
helping me.
You know understand what thateven meant.
It was a good partnership inthat I was able to somewhat
self-produce, but I definitelyhe was there to help with all of
it.
He found the studio.
I mean, he really helped out.
He's a good friend and helpedme understand what the process
even looked like, wow.

Tim Ristow (18:56):
Did you find that freeing in a way to finally jump
into, and I assume you recordedthis in a fairly short period
of time?

Angie Goeke (19:04):
Yeah, yeah, I think it took about a week, maybe,
maybe a little bit more thanthat, but, yeah, it felt good to
feel like I was actually takinga step in the right direction
for what I wanted to do, youknow, not waiting anymore.

Tim Ristow (19:17):
Right Finally jumping in, and so then I think
it was there four, four, sixsongs on that EP.
I'm trying to remember.

Angie Goeke (19:25):
Yeah, six I think Six songs.

Tim Ristow (19:28):
So you were able to finally produce some music and,
as we talked about earlier, youwere wondering about how people
would respond.
How did people respond to that?

Angie Goeke (19:37):
Positively.
One thing that I did not learnthe first go around was you know
, we made this thing.
I had it on a CD and I thought,okay, like there it is.
Right Now people are supposedto like, listen to it and love
it and share it, and you know.
So I did not understand all ofthe work that needs to go into

(19:57):
rolling out a new, you know,project and music.

Tim Ristow (20:02):
If you build it, they will come, doesn't always?
Yeah, exactly.

Angie Goeke (20:05):
So for the few people who heard it, it was
received well.
But that was definitely thebiggest learning that I got from
that experience was I have youhave.
There's a lot of work.
Making the music is only halfthe job.

Tim Ristow (20:20):
And then you have to Distribution promotion.

Angie Goeke (20:22):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah Okay.

Tim Ristow (21:33):
So then COVID comes along, and you obviously didn't
rest during that time.
You decided to still becreative.
Tell me about how you had aseries of singles that you put
out during that time.
How, how did that idea comeabout?
And you know how did you dothat.

Angie Goeke (21:52):
And it was about reinventing how to do things, I
think, for everybody in everyyou know industry, and so I had
made a new year's resolution in2020 to write a new write and
record a new song every month.
Part of that was holding myselfaccountable and knowing like

(22:13):
I'm just going to be sitting athome, you know, and a house full
of other people because we'renot going anywhere.
Part of it was just holdingmyself accountable and making
that public.
Then I couldn't, you know.

Tim Ristow (22:25):
Right, I had to do it then, yeah, you were
committed.

Angie Goeke (22:28):
Yeah, and so I mean that's how it kind of all
started.
Some of the songs had alreadybeen written but hadn't been
recorded, and so, yeah, we justdid it all remotely from in my
house and I would lay down mytracks and then send that to the
guitarist and he would lay downhis tracks and then, like

(22:50):
there's one song that the steelguitar player that I had found,
or the only one that I had kindof known about, was, I think, in
Florida, and he sent in hisstuff, and then I would send all
of those tracks to Nashville,to a sound engineer there, and
then he mixed and mastered andNice.
Yeah, it was really.
It was again a good learningcurve.

(23:13):
You know forced learning, butit was.
That was good.
I didn't quite make all 12songs.
There were a few months thatnothing happened but, I got
close.

Tim Ristow (23:25):
Yeah.

Angie Goeke (23:27):
Yeah, another silent back boot dinner.
No words, no touch, justchampagne.
But for what?
Just more of the same.
I'm thinking how I want out.
The flame here is dying.

(23:49):
A single tear rolls down.
Don't you care that I'm crying?
Okay, so then we get to 2022.

Tim Ristow (24:00):
You finally are able to write record and release
your first full length album.
I'm thinking how I want out theflame here is dying your first
full length album.
If I were honest, I got to.
I love this album.
I really do.

Angie Goeke (24:17):
Thanks.

Tim Ristow (24:18):
I was listening to it again on the drive in, as I
mentioned earlier, and there'sjust so many songs that stand
out for me on that album.
But tell me about the writingof that and how that album came
about.

Angie Goeke (24:30):
The producer for that album, Mary Bragg.
She is a singer, songwriter inher own right and I've always
admired her and her writing andher voice, like all of it.
And she was producing her ownstuff and I heard kind of
through the grapevine of all myfriends that she was starting to
produce for other people.

(24:51):
And I didn't know her all thatwell.
I mean, I knew, obviously Iknew of her, I had been at some
conferences that she was at, butwe didn't have a friendship or
working relationship at thatpoint.
So I just kind of on a whim,said I'm gonna reach out and ask
her if she'd be interested inproducing my next album.

(25:16):
I had zero songs, but it feltlike I needed to.
There's one.
I'm just gonna fake it till Imake it.
You wanna produce my next album?
As she said, yes, and so thenstarted the process of okay,
what songs are gonna, what arewe gonna put on here?
And so and Mary suggested thisto dig through everything that I

(25:39):
had ever written, evenpartially written things, go
back as far as I could and sendher anything that, even if it
was halfway done, anything thatI thought might have some legs
to it and then she kind ofhelped filter out through that
things that stuck out to herlike oh I think we could really
do something cool with this orsomething cool with this, and so
yeah, that's kind of how thathappened.

(26:00):
And there were a few holes thatneeded to be filled and so then
wrote some specifically for forthe project with that it in mind
.

Tim Ristow (26:11):
So that brings us to the creative process a little
bit.
Let's get into the nitty grittya little bit.
How do you write?
What is your creative processlike?
Do you start with the lyrics?
Do you start with the music?
Do you write both?
Do you write one or the other?
What is that process like foryou?
Obviously, I'm sure you know,as so many people and writers in

(26:31):
particular you know, there'sreal life stuff that you draw
upon.
But what is that process likefor you, and where are you
getting some of your ideas?

Angie Goeke (26:40):
The process has been different for me almost
every time.
But the more I do it, I thinksometimes there will be melodies
that come into my head and Iwill make a voice memo of a
random melody.
Sometimes, you know, I'm justgoofing around on the piano or
the ukulele and some kind ofchord, structure and melody just

(27:00):
happen.
I happen upon it, right.
So I record that and take alittle note of it.
And then, you know, sometimesI'll be watching TV and
something that somebody sayspops out and is like oh, that
would kind of be a cool hook,lyrically, you know, in a song,
or that's a cool twist of wordsor something like that.
Or I'll be in conversation, likeif I were honest, that came

(27:24):
about because I was sitting at atable with my husband and some
friends and we were just I don'teven remember what we were
talking about and we were alllaughing and joking and whatever
was being said.
I said well, if I were honest,I'd probably lie.
And my husband was like that'sa song title, write it down.

(27:45):
So I have you know all theseworking like documents and
places to store on my phone oftitle ideas, you know.
And so sometimes if I'mstarting with a title, I will
write the lyrics first and writeto that title.
But sometimes if I'm startingwith a melody, you know, going

(28:05):
back and listening to thatlittle voice note up, that will
inspire what the song should beabout.
Sometimes it's I've got thesewords, now I need a melody and I
listen, you know through thingsand they just, yeah, pairs
together.

Tim Ristow (28:20):
You brought up a great, great word when you said
inspire what inspires you.

Angie Goeke (28:24):
I mean I think life , life experiences, whether mine
, or things I'm observing withinthe church or with my kids, or
relationships, friendships Ithink good stories inspire me,
so sometimes it might be part ofmy story paired with somebody

(28:45):
else's story.
You know, that kind of getsmorphed into this unique story
in a song.
But I think there is a commonthread that runs through all of
us as human beings, becausewe're all a part of a story, and
so I think finding the thread,in different circumstances, that

(29:08):
everybody can connect to, evenif their story is not like mine,
you know what is the threadthat would connect to anybody?
I was at a songwritingconference and I heard one of
the speakers say think about the16 year old girl in the middle
of Iowa and all she has is herradio.

(29:32):
Like how can you connect to her?
You're in a completelydifferent stage of life than her
, but the universality of musicand song.
Yeah, yeah.

Tim Ristow (29:45):
Do you find yourself working through things, whether
it's issues or just differentmatters, through your song,
through your lyrical right?
I mean like you mentioned notdealing with marriage and things
like that.
Are there different things thatyou find yourself working
through in music, or is it justmore of an expression of events

(30:05):
or stories?

Angie Goeke (30:06):
or things.

Tim Ristow (30:07):
What does that like for you?

Angie Goeke (30:08):
I think there's definitely a component of it
being somewhat therapeutic.
You know, sometimes the realityof a situation can become a
little bit more present.
When I've filtered out mypersonal emotions or reflections
through song right, Then it'skind of like a little bit of

(30:28):
clarity, like oh well, you know,maybe it's not that bad.
Or yeah, exactly, you know, ormaybe I don't know this is an
area of concern all those kindsof things you know and maybe
that's why I like sad songs.
Sometimes, you know, writing asad song is therapeutic,
absolutely.
It's a way to get all of thatout and just like journaling or

(30:52):
you know tons of other ways towork things out, but there's
definitely that therapeutic sideto it.
That's a far to kind of elementto it.
I noticed that listening toyour album Driving In Again
today.

Tim Ristow (31:09):
There is a certain melancholy element to some of
the songs, which is nice,because your voice really works
well with that.
And you've got quite adifferent range of styles.
I have to say with your voice,because one song you can sound.
I think it's the first track ifI pray, is that?

Angie Goeke (31:28):
right, and so I pray.

Tim Ristow (31:29):
So I pray, thank you .
You know, you've got kind of adifferent sound there, and then
you get to leftovers and it's adifferent vocal sound.
But I love that.
You've really got this uniquestyle even from song to song
that fits the different but forlack of a better word, the
different styles of music thatyou're approaching on each song
and I love that.
But there's a number I noticedon that album that have this

(31:51):
kind of melancholy element tothat.
Was that intentional or didthat just kind of happen as a
result of the song?
You know the lyrics you werewriting and the music that came
out.

Angie Goeke (32:02):
I think it just happened.
Law of Averages.
I mean and I think if you askany songwriter, the sad ones are
always easier to write.
It's hard to write a happy song.
So you know, I'm just I'm notthat good to have an album full
of happy songs.

Tim Ristow (32:20):
Now the flip side of that is you do have some great
upbeat stuff on there too.
So I don't mean to make itsound like it's a depressing
album, because it's not, andthat's why I use the word
melancholy, because there'ssomething kind of bittersweet,
but you know there's somethingsweet about that too.
So I love that.
There's just some great, greatstuff on there.
And let's, you know, let's talkabout some of the songs real

(32:41):
quick, tell me a little bitabout I'll mention a couple of
songs and then tell me about youknow the writing behind that or
kind of how that came about.
And the first one I got tomention I told you about
listening to on the drive-in isLeftovers.
Silence turns into frustration.

Angie Goeke (33:00):
words get said with no filtration, holding new
wounds, return out the lies Justanother night with a fight,

(33:22):
like a baby crying for hismother.
We demand that much more fromeach other.

Tim Ristow (33:30):
Brothers, we will feel like we're getting smoother
.
I love that song.
How did that come about?

Angie Goeke (33:39):
So it's a weird story, it makes no sense.
Probably a little insight intomy brain.
So we were.
This was back when we lived inBuda.
There is a cotton field and youknow, every year during I don't
know the spring, I guess, whenthey would harvest all the

(34:01):
cotton, the smell, I mean it wasjust so overwhelming and we
would, with the kids in the car,we'd always drive with the
windows down so we could smellcotton, and then there was
always leftover cotton thatwould, you know, roll across the
highway and get caught in theweeds.
And so the idea of leftovers orjust the idea of things getting

(34:25):
left over, and just you know,cotton is such a sweet smelling
thing, but for there to be justleftover rolling across the
highway, getting run over bycars, it was an interesting
thought to me.
So that was kind of where itstarted.
And then when I started writingfrom that, that's where kind of
life crept in.

(34:46):
With four kids, you know,there's not a whole lot left
over at the end of the day forjust the marriage and
relationally friends, you know,anybody outside of the context
of those four people you know.
Yeah, that's kind of how thatall developed and I wanted it to

(35:12):
sound a little quirky andupbeat, because that's also like
what it feels like in our house, especially back then when our
kids were those ages, you know alittle chaotic, a little, but
fun you know, Right, yeah.

Tim Ristow (35:32):
Next one whiskey and a teacup.
That was one of the singlesright, and you did a music video
for that too.
So tell me about that wholeprocess as well.

Angie Goeke (35:42):
The song itself came about.
I actually had coffee withanother singer-songwriter, who
happened to be male, and I am anintrovert, and so we sit down
for this coffee and he kind ofjust starts telling me all these
things that he thinks that Ishould do for my career and I

(36:06):
kind of thought, hmm, I meanokay, but I didn't know, that's
why we were meeting for coffee.

Tim Ristow (36:14):
Thanks, but no.

Angie Goeke (36:15):
Right, and so I walked away from that meeting
upset.
You know, offended that.
Who does he think he is?
That you know.
So then I started thinkingabout.
You know, I'm gonna write asong.
I'm angry.

Tim Ristow (36:30):
Great time to write.

Angie Goeke (36:31):
Yes, and I was looking at some quotes about
women or about being anintrovert, and found a quote by
Eleanor Roosevelt that said andI'm probably gonna not say it
exactly right, but it wassomething about women are like

(36:52):
teabags, that you don't know howstrong they are until you put
them in hot water, and so that'skind of where the whole idea of
like whiskey and a teacup andI'm stronger than you think I am
came from.
And yeah, it kind of thenbecame my anthem as an

(37:13):
introverted woman, like justcause I'm quiet doesn't mean
there's not anything going on upin my head Exactly.

Tim Ristow (37:22):
I love that.
What a unique way for that songto develop.
Yeah, how cool.

Angie Goeke (37:26):
Yeah, the video.
Part of the strategic strategyfor releasing the album was to
make to have some videos, and sothat became one that we thought
well, that'll make a greatvideo.
And then another kind of Godthing the video ended up being
sponsored by Johnny WalkerWhiskey, oh nice, and so that's

(37:47):
why in the video there'sdefinitely a plug.
There's whiskey bottleseverywhere with their logo on it
, but it was just really coolthat that happened.

Tim Ristow (37:59):
Yeah, was that the first video you recorded?

Angie Goeke (38:03):
I did make a video for commitment down from the
Nazi EP.
Okay.

Tim Ristow (38:12):
What was?
What's that process like for amusician you know to step in and
make a music video.
You know it is part of the gametoo, but I know some musicians
don't like doing them.
What was that like for you andI know your family was involved
and at least whisking in ateacup right.

Angie Goeke (38:27):
Yeah, well, for whisking a teacup.
It was definitely a differentprocess than the video for
commitment down.
That was definitely like justtrying to pull together ideas
myself and low budget and howare we gonna?
You know, let's try to makethis happen For whisking a
teacup.
I worked with a company, and sothey formulated the plot of the
, which was as a creative,wanting to know what other

(38:51):
people think right.
It was really fun to see theideas that they can look.

Tim Ristow (38:56):
I wouldn't have come up with that plot how they
interpreted your song, rightyeah.

Angie Goeke (39:01):
Yeah, when I told them I'd love to have my kids
involved in it, I think thatkind of directed some of that
plotline and then it just kindof came together.

Tim Ristow (39:12):
What'd you film it at?

Angie Goeke (39:13):
My house, you did.

Tim Ristow (39:15):
Okay, how awesome.

Angie Goeke (39:16):
Yeah.

Tim Ristow (39:18):
I know there was the scene.
There was some confetti orsomething and lights and people
dancing and all that.
It looked like it was a lot offun, Like y'all had a blast.

Angie Goeke (39:25):
It was it was.
And it was great because I'mactually not in the video a
whole lot, except for singingthe song, and that was just kind
of edited in right.
So it was really fun getting tojust step back and watch my
family and friends, you know,receive direction from the

(39:45):
directors and I just got to be afly on the wall.
It was really fun.

Tim Ristow (39:50):
How many takes did you have to do All the way
through for your song?

Angie Goeke (39:55):
Oh goodness, I mean , it was a full day.

Tim Ristow (39:59):
Yeah.

Angie Goeke (40:01):
They were great directors, yeah.
So yeah, I mean, I don'tremember.
Usually it's a lot, yeah, itwas a lot, just cause they want
to get every angle.

Tim Ristow (40:11):
Yeah, okay, the title track.
If I were honest, why did youcome up with the title based
after all the songs, or did youwrite that intending it to be
the title?
Tell me a little bit about that.

Angie Goeke (40:26):
I selected that title for the album after the
song was written Because I alsothought well, it applies.
You know, if I were honest,these would be all the things
that I say you know, and for me,the album you mentioned earlier
, that like there's kind of allthese different genres that come

(40:48):
together in it and I felt likethe album being my first
full-length album, was a way forall the different kind of sides
of me to be represented, fromthe melancholy to kind of the
sassy.
You know whiskey drinking, youknow all of that coming together

(41:09):
.

Tim Ristow (41:10):
It encapsulates your personality.

Angie Goeke (41:12):
So the idea of you know if I were honest this is
all the different sides of me,take it or leave it you think I
can't find?
my voice, but I stay silent bychoice and I ain't gonna add to
your noise Cause I'm too damnrefined.
You're wrong.

(41:35):
What you see as weak Is potentand strong.

Tim Ristow (41:44):
Ooh-ee.
Developing the music is thatsomething that's really more
collaborative with a lot of themusicians, especially, I mean, a
little bit later we can talkabout live versus studio and
kind of the differentenvironments You've done both
and kind of or feel free tointegrate that here.
Whatever you feel best respondto.
But that collaboration with aproducer and with musicians,

(42:06):
what is that like?
Working with other people inthe collaborative process to
develop your music?
Do you find yourself wanting to, you know, especially early?
on your first efforts, wantingto wrestle controls.
You know, let's you know I wantto do it this way, or do you
find yourself much more open tothat collaboration?
Do you find the other musicianswhether it's session musicians
or whatever, contributing tothat, or do you find yourself

(42:27):
having to be more responsiblefor really coming up with the
music being?

Angie Goeke (42:31):
you know, I'm the artist.

Tim Ristow (42:33):
I need to develop this.
What's that like?

Angie Goeke (42:35):
Well, I think again .
I've learned a lot about thisand, like with my first EP, I
think I was so kind of new andgreen to that world that I just
let other people make a lot ofthe decisions because, I was
like, oh, they probably knowbetter than me.
In hindsight, I wish I wouldhave spoken up more about the

(42:56):
direction to take in some ofthose songs.

Tim Ristow (42:58):
Musically.

Angie Goeke (42:59):
Musically.

Tim Ristow (43:00):
Yeah, okay.

Angie Goeke (43:01):
Working with Mary.
One of the reasons that I wantedto work with her was because I
loved her music and I loved herstyle and I knew that whatever
she would put on my stuff, itwould be in the same vein, and I
knew, like, that's exactly whatI want.
And so we recorded it inNashville, and so the session

(43:22):
musicians were all amazing, andone thing that I really
appreciated about Mary'sapproach to producing was just
let them do what they hear.
I mean, there was some guidancein there, but so many times the
guitarist would lay down atrack and her response would be

(43:44):
like hmm, yes, let's lean intothat a little bit more, do it
again and just lean into that.
And then just these magicalmoments happen where you're like
, oh my gosh, that was amazing.
And so I think there has to bethis even balance between here's
kind of big picture where we'regoing with this this is the

(44:05):
feel, this is the sentiment, notthis more this but then being
completely open for the peoplewho I mean it's what they do to
just do their best and give themroom to be creative.
Because, then that's when stuffhappens.
You're like I would have neverthought of that, but that was so
good.

Tim Ristow (44:25):
Is that freeing in a creative sense to be able to
collaborate with people, like,saying, the studio, and have
moments like that happen?

Angie Goeke (44:34):
It's one of the reasons why I like to record.
It can happen on stage too, butI feel like you're usually so
rehearsed.
It doesn't happen as often asbeing in that environment where
we're like we're here to tryeverything, anything and
everything.

Tim Ristow (44:50):
And you can stop and redo a moment or on stage
performing for an audiencepretty much got to keep it
rolling along, although you canhave your flubs and moments
there too, but usually peopleare wanting a show, right?
Yeah, well, talk just brieflyabout that.
Live versus studio what haveyour live performances been like
?
And I know you've done a lotbecause you've done some

(45:12):
crowdfunding and of coursethat's part of the rewards and
we can talk about that in aminute too, but what do you
prefer?
Live studio?

Angie Goeke (45:20):
What for?

Tim Ristow (45:20):
you.
I know they both have differentpros and cons but what do you
enjoy most as a performer?

Angie Goeke (45:26):
as a musician, it's so hard.
I think I like them equally,but for different reasons.
So being in the like I said,being in the studio, just that
creative space and watchingthings come together, it's like
sitting down and puttingtogether a puzzle, like a little
.
You know this puzzle goes, youknow peace goes here and I don't

(45:48):
quite know exactly what thewhole puzzle is supposed to look
like at the end, but you get tosee it come together and it's
just I don't know, there's noother word for it it's magical,
I think.
So I mean, I really love thatand I love the collaboration.
I love working with otherpeople and being amazed at their
gifts.
They're doing something I can'tdo and I love that.

(46:12):
And then on stage, I just I lovethe interaction with the
audience.
You know there's in the studiothere's a disconnect between the
music and the people who aregonna hear it, and so being on
stage, being able to talk aboutyou know, the story behind the

(46:32):
song or you know to say a jokeabout it or whatever, that
engagement with the audience isspecial too, you know, and at
times can feel magical.
You know There've been somesongs, particularly the sad ones
, where at the end of the songyou can almost hear a pen drop,

(46:54):
because you know everybody's inthe moment and they're in the
story and they're feeling thethings that I'm hoping we, that
thread, you know we'reconnecting on that thread and
Getting back to getting thatresponse.

Tim Ristow (47:06):
So you're wondering how are?
People respond to it.
You get that on stage.

Angie Goeke (47:09):
Yeah, when those moments happen and there's deaf,
you can feel it.
There's a difference betweeneverybody's just bored and
they're not responding, orthey're so in and to it that
it's silent.
You know, you can just feel it.
You can feel that humanconnection right that we're all
on the same page.
And yeah, I mean, they're bothspecial, different things, right

(47:32):
I?

Tim Ristow (47:33):
think that's a great assessment of both Faith.

Angie Goeke (47:35):
Okay.

Tim Ristow (47:36):
How does faith play a role in your creativity?
The show is Creative Christians, it's all about how.
Christians use their creativity, but faith is a part of that.
How would you say faith is apart of your creativity and
creative process?

Angie Goeke (47:52):
Well, you know, growing up in the church and
being a pastor's wife for mostof my life, my gifts have been
used within the church, to servethe church, and I think that's
how it should be.
I think that's.
You know, whatever our giftingis, you know people who have the
gift of hospitality like, usethat gift to church.

(48:13):
You know people who have thegift of spreadsheets, use that
at church.
You know, if you're a plumber,use that at church.
You know there's always a needfor any of those things For me,
because that had been theprimary way for me to express my
gifts.
There came a moment when I wascurious about what the secular

(48:38):
world, how the secular worldwould respond to my gift, what I
consider a gift from God,because the thing about church
people is they're also reallynice and I don't know that they
would tell you if you stinkRight.
So there was a little bit oflike needing some validation,
like am I wasting my time doingthis, even if it's within the

(49:00):
church?
You know, do I need to be doingsomething else?
I think now, having been in thesecular music world and being
myself within that which isgoing to include my faith, I
think that God uses it in mejust being good news to other
people.
So even if it's, you know,offering help on crowdfunding,

(49:25):
you know, just because I've doneit and have been successful at
it, I'm still learning, butthere might be things that I
know that could help somebodyelse out.
They could pay somebody to paysomebody for that service.
You know, there's consultantswho you can, you know, pay them
a fee and they will help youwith your crowdfunding.
I just want to be good news andbe helpful, and I think there

(49:50):
is a fine line between feelinglike the goal or the purpose of
me being in a secular industry.
There is a fine line betweenfeeling like God is allowing me
to do this so that I bringpeople to him.

(50:11):
There's a fine line betweenthat and just letting him have
control of that.
I had gone to a counselingsession, right kind of, when I
was starting on this journey ofsecular music, and things were
going well and I was.
You know, I was getting somegood feedback and good rapport

(50:35):
with people, and it just sohappened at the same time that
there were some layoffs atchurch and so I was not working
in the church at that time, soit was a big shift for me.
I wasn't kind of doing both atthe same time.
And the counselor asked why doyou think God is giving you
rapport?
And my first thought, the goodSunday school answer, was so

(51:00):
that he can lead people to Jesus, you know.
So he's using me for thegreater kingdom and you know
that kind of thing.
And the counselor said maybe,maybe that's just a natural
byproduct, that just happens,but maybe God's goal in this is

(51:21):
to just love you.
That brings you joy, it bringsyou happiness, and maybe he just
wants to lavish you with lovebecause he loves you and he
wants you to be happy, he wantsyou to have joy.
And for me that was such a mindblowing thought that you know,

(51:42):
having grown up in the churchand it being all about serving,
which that's a good thing youcan, I think there's, it can be
twisted in our minds that God'sonly interested in us to use us
for his glory, and then we kindof start feeling like a used up

(52:05):
you know mop in the corner likehere's another spill, go clean
it up, here's, you know, and notreally valued.
The joy can kind of be lost inthat when we feel like we're
being just used by the church tooutput.
I think, especially ascreatives we are used a lot by
the church and I say that goinglike but we should also give our

(52:28):
gifts right.
But there's a fine line it canbe abused.
And so for me that was sofreeing.

Tim Ristow (52:37):
That's a wonderful sentiment, just to kind of gee,
maybe God is doing this just forme, to relish his love and to
be in the moment with him.
That's a wonderful, wonderfulsentiment and we don't think
about that often enough,especially in this day and age
of media oversaturation.
You know, we're all thinking weshould be here for grander

(52:59):
purposes, and we are.
But at the same time, what if?
What if through this gift, whatif through this moment?
What if through this album,this song, whatever it may be,
god just wants me to be knownthat I'm loved by him.
That's awesome.

Angie Goeke (53:13):
Yeah, I mean cause, honestly, he doesn't need me.
Yeah, he's God.
He can do whatever he wants,however he wants it.
I'm not so important or my giftis not so amazing that without
it he's not gonna stillaccomplish his will, and so

(53:34):
there's a humility that comeswith that that I'm not actually
needed as much as I think I'mneeded, and a freedom that's
just like you know what Cool.

Tim Ristow (53:46):
God chose you anyway .
Yeah.
Yeah, we're not needed.

Angie Goeke (53:49):
God chose us anyway .

Tim Ristow (53:50):
Yeah, that's beautiful, particularly
significant mentor for you.
I know you mentioned Mary Braggon your last album.
I assume that she was obviouslysounded like a pretty
significant mentor for you, orthere are others in the process
so far.

Angie Goeke (54:04):
Ken Gaines.
He used to be here in Houston.
He's recently moved.
Amazing performer, amazingsongwriter, has years ahead of
me but he used to like offerclasses and host a song circle
where everybody could come andlike share their songs and get
feedback and that kind of thing.

(54:25):
I remember I like specificallyasked him will you be my mentor?
So he's been good at some ofthe practical things and also
the balancing of you know, keepit fun.
Yeah, yeah, you know that's goodyeah, and then I'm going way
back.
I would even say Bernie Gassler, who started Austin Jones Choir

(54:49):
, jones, choir.

Tim Ristow (54:49):
I was gonna ask you about him early.
Yes, he was a foundation ofthat organization for so long.
What an incredible man he was.
You talk about getting intosecular music, right?
So you don't consider youralbums and I know this is all
labeling Christian albums right?
It's your music period.
Have you encountered anypushback from people, either in

(55:14):
the church or just, you know, inyour circles of influence, that
maybe have questioned that inany way?
Knowing who you are, knowingthat you're facing.
Why aren't you something likewhy aren't you doing Christian
music or something like that?
Have you had to deal with anyof that?

Angie Goeke (55:28):
You know there have been a few well-meaning, lovely
ladies in the church who justnot that you know.
Why aren't you?
But I'd really like it if youdid kind of you know, gentle,
nudging Right.
I find worship musicparticularly difficult to write.

(55:52):
My music when I'm writing doesnot often lend itself to be
overly like corporate singable.
I like crazy melodies andunique chord structures and that
kind of thing.
And so you know, worship musichas a different goal.
It needs to be super accessibleto anybody singing it, and I

(56:16):
find that more difficult towrite, just because when I sit
down to write I want to getsuper creative and find the
different thing to do here andnot maybe the predictable thing.
As far as pushback, I don'tknow that I've received pushback
.

Tim Ristow (56:32):
That hasn't been a big issue for you.
Yeah, that's good.
["pushback"].
I'm talking with Americana andfolk artist, angie Gehke.
Crowdfunding let's talk aboutthat for a second, because you

(56:54):
just I think this is the firsttime you've done this with the
album that you're working on.
Is that correct or was, if Iwere honest, also crowdfunded?
It also was crowdfunded, yeah,so this is a great question.

Angie Goeke (57:05):
I think it also was crowdfunded, yeah, so this is
my second time to do it.

Tim Ristow (57:10):
OK, so tell me about that process, both with, if I'm
honest, and now this currentalbum that you're actually at
work on right now, as Iunderstand it, so I will say
that crowdfunding is my leastfavorite thing on the planet to
do, but it's necessary.

Angie Goeke (57:27):
When you're an independent artist, there's no
label paying to help make thismusic or get it out to the world
.
I mean, it's an expensiveendeavor.
They warn you when you getstarted you will never, never
make your money back.
Yeah, but that's not what we do,right?
But it'd be nice to make moneyback.

(57:48):
It would be nice.
It's just so much work and it isso nerve-wracking.
The first time that I did itnot ever having done it I was
worried I'm not going to reachmy goal, Because if you don't
reach the goal, you don'tcollect any money and that's it.

(58:09):
You've got nothing.
Now, if I were honest, I hadalready made the album when I
did the crowdfunding, so themoney on a credit card was
already spent.
I did not have the money, butwe spent it to make it happen.
So the crowdfunding was reallyabout paying off the debt.

(58:31):
Paying off the debt and then ifthere was anything left over,
going towards promoting it andmarketing and that kind of stuff
.

Tim Ristow (58:39):
And it's expensive with all the reward side of
things too right, because youhave to figure that in to kind
of take care of that side of ittoo right?

Angie Goeke (58:47):
Yes, but I'm learning how to be smarter about
that.
Rewards that don't cost as muchor anything at all.
So experiences don't costanything.
The good thing about digitalmusic is that I don't have to
mail it.
There's no fee for it to gothrough the airwaves.

Tim Ristow (59:08):
Yeah, you don't have to burn a CD, manufacture it,
duplicate it, print it.

Angie Goeke (59:13):
This last time I was just again.
I think it's all God workingthings out, but some of the
rewards that I had were becausepeople heard that I was doing
this and, in the middle of thecampaign, reached out to me and

(59:33):
said, hey, how about we offerthis Concert here in my venue
and with all of these things?
And so those things didn't costme anything.
They were essentially making adonation.
It just happened to all workout.

Tim Ristow (59:52):
That going down to the wire?
Do you feel confident whenyou're in the midst of it?
This is going to have.
I know, somebody's going toswoop in at the end and do this,
or is it much more tense thanthat?

Angie Goeke (01:00:05):
Oh, it's so tense, especially this last time, on
the last day of the campaign,when I woke up in the morning I
think that we were only 49%funded, so I roughly needed to
raise $12,000 in six hours orsomething like that, 10 hours

(01:00:27):
maybe.

Tim Ristow (01:00:28):
Did you think this was happening when you woke up?

Angie Goeke (01:00:31):
Yeah, and I was OK, what's plan B?
Ok, I could open up anothercredit card, I could be somebody
else, I could make up a nameand be that person and donate
the rest, so that I at least getwhat I've raised so far.
I mean, there were all kinds ofthoughts going through my head.

(01:00:52):
How can I make this happen?
But yeah, I was trying to thinkOK, what friends do I have?
I could just really.
I know you have a lot of money.
Can you just loan me some andI'll pay you back, but it was
down to the wire, I think thelast 45 minutes still needed, I

(01:01:17):
think roughly around $3,000 toreach the goal and I was like 45
minutes, this isn't happening,and two people actually swept in
with the exact amount that wasneeded, so I ended up making
more than the goal.

Tim Ristow (01:01:33):
That's great.

Angie Goeke (01:01:35):
Yeah, it was.
I was sitting at our kitchentable for that entire 10 hours
like texting people, emailingpeople, calling people.

Tim Ristow (01:01:47):
You're not just sitting there watching the
computer.
You're active during that wholeprocess, aren't you?
Yeah?

Angie Goeke (01:01:51):
It is a ton of work and asking people to give is
hard.
For me it's not a comfortablefeeling.
You know what I mean.

Tim Ristow (01:01:59):
Well then, on the flip side, then, after you've
got it done, the rewards, eventhose that don't necessarily
quote unquote cost, but it costsyou time.
You have to do the performancesand stuff like that.
Is that a challenge, then,after the fact too, to fulfill
all of that?

Angie Goeke (01:02:13):
Yeah, and I think some of that is just staying on
top of it.
I mean, you're doing all thiswork and you're doing less work,
and then you make the goal andit's very easy to just oh, relax
and kind of like yeah, I thinkI'm done.
Staying on top of it to fulfillthose rewards is hard.

(01:02:36):
It just becomes a part of thepuzzle.
It has to be done.

Tim Ristow (01:02:40):
Let's talk about the streaming side of things.
I remember while back you hadshared on social media a little
bit at one point about some ofthe frustrations of how artists
aren't fairly compensated andI've heard this a lot from a lot
of different artists before too.
This is kind of a common thing,but whether it's iTunes or

(01:03:00):
whatever the streaming platformmay be, getting compensated for
your work is pretty minimalthrough these platforms.
Right, talk to me a little bitabout that, because you've
learned about that side ofthings too that a lot of others
may not know about.

Angie Goeke (01:03:15):
Streaming an artist makes fractions of a penny on
one stream.
You've got to get millions ofstreams to even get close to a
number that could potentially benot require you to have to have
another job or two on the side.
It is the way that it is, likethere's not a whole lot as

(01:03:36):
artists that we can do about it,and so it just requires there
to be a whole another layer tothe business.
And I've had to look at mymusic endeavors as I'm starting
a business, because it costs alot of money to make a record,
it costs a lot of money toproduce this stuff, and so just

(01:03:57):
getting creative with otherproducts and how can I sell
merchandise at shows or online,because just selling the music
on streaming isn't gonna make it.
And even I think artists arealso not everywhere but under

(01:04:20):
compensated for even live music.
The whole adage about like well, you're getting exposure.

Tim Ristow (01:04:28):
Free promotion, free promotion.

Angie Goeke (01:04:30):
That's probably the most insulting thing you could
ever say to a professionalmusician or artist.
It's hours of practice, hoursof work, hours of creating and
writing.
If I usually play out with aguitarist or if I have a full
band, like I gotta pay thoseguys.

(01:04:51):
This is their meat and potatoes, it's feeding them and so it's
just a nobody's in it.
To make money, I guess, is mypoint?

Tim Ristow (01:04:59):
Yeah, and too often, as you mentioned or alluded to,
it's accepted that way byothers too, as opposed to
compensating artists for whatthey're worth.

Angie Goeke (01:05:10):
Yeah, just simply thinking about the amount of
consumption of music and oneperson's daily life.
Even if they don't turn on theradio in the car, even if
they're not streaming music,they're going to the grocery
store and consuming music whilethey shop Any department store
right, there's music.

(01:05:30):
If they go home and watch TV,if they watch Netflix, there's
music and all of that stuffright.
And so I think understandinghow much the average person,
whether they are a live musicfan or you know right, they
don't listen to music for ahobby or enjoyment they are
still consuming.

Tim Ristow (01:05:51):
Yeah.

Angie Goeke (01:05:52):
My product.
So at what point?
Then, do we get compensated forthat?
You know.

Tim Ristow (01:05:59):
Exactly.
And yet is streaming kind of.
Do you need it kind of, or isthat something?
Even your evaluation?
Is it necessary for promotion?
How necessary is streaming toan artist?

Angie Goeke (01:06:14):
It's important, very important.
Same with social media, socialmedia numbers.
It is hard to get booked for agig if you don't have a certain
social media following, if youdon't have a certain number of
streams online, and this iswithout anybody ever listening

(01:06:34):
to your music.
They won't listen to your musicuntil you have those numbers
right.
And so how do you get there Ifyou can't get the gigs?
You know, how do you?
I think it's something thatevery kind of emerging
independent artist struggleswith.

Tim Ristow (01:06:51):
Well, thanks for sharing about all that Cause I
think a lot of people will beinterested to be able to hear
and just know that they're notalone too.
I'm sure there's many others inthe same position.
["singers, songswriters andChristian Creative Angie
Geikey"].
Singer, songwriter andChristian creative Angie Geikey

(01:07:13):
is talking with me today oncreative Christians.
You're creative in more waysthan one.
You're a visual artist.
I know you've done painting anddrawing.
Is that correct?
And you've also written a novela girl and her war horse
correct?
Creative in a number ofdifferent ways.

(01:07:34):
You're a creative in severaldifferent modes and means and
methods.
Tell me about those aspects ofyour creativity too, and how
those are a part of you.

Angie Goeke (01:07:42):
Well, the book is just a really random thing.
It happened to come about fromcounseling sessions where the
counselor said you shouldjournal and all this kind of
stuff, and so I spent a yearjournaling and reflecting and
handed it to her, kind of like Idid my homework.
Here it is.

(01:08:03):
And then, about a week later,she called me and asked if I'd
be willing to share it in bookform.
So that's kind of how that allhappened.
I don't even consider myself awriter because, like I don't
know if I would ever sit downand write another book.
It was definitely that seasonand that time and place kind of

(01:08:24):
thing.
As far as visual art, that isdefinitely therapeutic for me.
I have to do it at least once aweek.
I can tell when I have it in myjust demeanor towards other
people and my generaldisposition changes.

Tim Ristow (01:08:40):
What media do you work with?
Tell us a little about that,and what do you create?

Angie Goeke (01:08:43):
Well, I like to do a lot of watercolor and a lot of
just kind of free drawing likeZentangle, basically doodling.
I do like to do some ceramicsalso.
That just takes more time andmore space.
So I teach art middle schoolart part time, so I get to kind

(01:09:06):
of use that as a way to-.

Tim Ristow (01:09:09):
Express yourself.

Angie Goeke (01:09:10):
I express myself and engage in that and it's fun.

Tim Ristow (01:09:13):
You've talked a lot about your experiences here in
music and creating music.
What's maybe kind of anoverarching word of advice that
you can give to other Christiancreatives who are listening
today, either about musicspecifically or just about
expressing your faith throughyour creativity.
What are some words of wisdomyou might have to share with our

(01:09:35):
listeners?

Angie Goeke (01:09:36):
Well, I think what's been pivotal for me is
that conversation that I hadwith that counselor that God is
not interested in using yourgifts and squeezing you out like
a sponge.
He gave you those gifts for thebetterment of the world, and
that means joy and happiness.

(01:09:59):
And Jesus said he came so thatwe can have life and have it to
the fullest, and that's part ofbeing creative.
Does that mean other peoplewill see Jesus through that?
Probably that's just gonna be anatural byproduct, right?
I don't know.
My advice would be not to getso fixated on that being the end

(01:10:21):
goal and to just be in themoment and enjoy it and be
thankful.

Tim Ristow (01:10:26):
Are you gonna play a little tune for us today?
I can sure that would beawesome.
We're gonna have you play usout of the show today, so what
song are you gonna sing for ustoday?

Angie Goeke (01:10:37):
I don't know yet.
I've been trying to narrow itdown.
It'll be a surprise.

Tim Ristow (01:10:42):
Well then, I'm gonna turn it over to you here in a
second, and this is Angie Geikesinging a mystery song.
Yeah, ["Candlelight"].

Angie Goeke (01:11:03):
The candlelight is dimmed.
In glow, the stars and mooncall me home, the crickets hum
their goodnight song, theshadows tread and play along, I

(01:11:34):
don't know how to end.
Follow the sun behind us bent,and then again the day is over.

(01:12:02):
Night has come.
Its gentle kiss Keeps till dawnTo say goodbye Ways my heart

(01:12:24):
into the depths Sweeped sorrowspart.
I'll store it all fragrantinside.
Till tomorrow Shines its light.

(01:12:46):
I don't know how to end.
Follow the sun behind us bent,and then again the day is over.

(01:13:15):
Night has come, its gentle kissKeeps till dawn.
["candlelight"] To say goodbyeWays my heart into the depths

(01:14:04):
Sweeped sorrows part.
I'll store it all fragrantinside.
Till tomorrow shines its light.

Tim Ristow (01:14:30):
As Angie finished singing Farewell, a song she
closes her live shows with, Ilooked up from monitoring the
recording.
There were tears in her eyes.
On January 7th 2024, angie'sfather, theodore Zock, passed
away.
She had just attended thefuneral for her father four days

(01:14:51):
before we recorded thisinterview and song.
Had she been singing Farewellto her father?
I had offered to reschedule ourinterview, but Angie, true to
her dedicated spirit, said shewanted to keep the day to
schedule.
It would be good to get back towork.
She told me Angie's favoriteEleanor Roosevelt, a tribute to

(01:15:13):
saying, came back to me.
A woman is like a tea bag younever know how strong they are
until they're in hot water.
Indeed, angie Gakey is aninspiration to us in her
strength, her faith, hercreativity, her music, certainly
through all the gifts God hasgraciously blessed her with to

(01:15:36):
share with us.
I know her father would beproud.
I'd like to dedicate thisepisode of Creative Christians
to Ted Zock, who passed away atage 87 on January 7th 2024.
Professor Zock, as many of usformer Concordia Lutheran
College of Texas students knewhim, was a kind, gentle spirit

(01:15:57):
who loved teaching.
I had the opportunity to take ageology class with him while at
Concordia and his passion forall things rocks was very
apparent.
But Ted was also a creative.
He loved music.
He played the organ, was achoir director and had been a
director of theatrical dramasand musicals at several Lutheran

(01:16:19):
schools.
To Professor Ted Zock, god'sblessings and from all of us
here at Creative Christians, ourthoughts and prayers are with
Angie and all of her family.
Bye.
Well, let's find out how toorder her book A Girl and Her

(01:17:03):
War Horse.
Much of the music you heard intoday's episode are samples of
tracks from Angie's albums, bothher EP Nautz and her full
length album.
If I Were Honest, I'd highlyrecommend you checking them out
on iTunes, spotify and so manyother streaming platforms.
I'd also encourage you to checkout one of her live shows If
you do tell what you found outabout her here on Creative

(01:17:24):
Christians.
If you haven't yet, be sure tosubscribe to Creative Christians
to catch each and every newepisode of the show.
I'd really appreciate it if,after listening, you'd take a
moment to rate the show.
Helps me to gauge feedback andin rankings for the show.
If you're really feelinggenerous, a brief review is
always appreciated as well.

(01:17:45):
Let me and others know what youlike about Creative Christians.
You can also email me directlywith your feedback, comments or
questions at tim at timristocom.
I'd love to hear from you.
I'm Tim Risto.
Until next time, stay creativeand stay in God's Word.
Blessings.
["the Greatest God in theWorld"].

(01:18:09):
Creative Christians is producedby yours truly, tim Risto.
Special thanks to my guest,angie Gehke and Angie Gehke
Music.
As always, a shout out to mylovely and supportive wife,
tracy Risto.
Creative Christians is an audioproduction of Tim Risto
Productions.
Visit timristocom to learn more.

(01:18:30):
That's T-I-M-R-I-S-T-O-Wcom.
["the Greatest God in theWorld"].