We The Kingdom is a new multi-generational family of musicians, including producers and songwriters Ed Cash, Scott Cash, Franni Rae Cash, Martin Cash and Andrew Bergthold. Ed Cash is well-known to Christian music fans as a producer, songwriter and engineer who was GMA Producer of the Year four consecutive years (2004–2007). The group has a fresh, interesting cross-genre blend of folk, Americana, worship, and roots music. Let’s get to know the band better as they answer our questions.

Artist Name:
Ed Cash
Age:
48
Hometown:
Franklin, TN
Hobbies/Interests Apart from Music:
Riding 4 wheelers, time outdoors, riding bikes
Last Netflix Binge:
Hmm. Been a little while since a binge but I just watched 1917 the movie – WOW – so fascinating and well done!
Musical Influences:
Stevie Wonder, Fleetwood Mac, Sting, James Taylor, Ella Fitzgerald, Beethoven
Very First Musical Purchase:
Roland Juno 106 keyboard in 1984

Artist Name:
Scott Cash
Age:
37
Hometown:
Franklin, TN
Hobbies/Interests Apart from Music:
Spending time with my family, hiking, reading, coffee, driving on country roads
Last Netflix Binge:
Cheer
Musical Influences:
Coldplay, Jimmy Eat World, 90s rock/pop, 60s/70s folk, early Switchfoot
Very First Musical Purchase:
Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch “Good Vibrations”

Artist Name:
Andrew Bergthold
Age:
30
Hometown:
Franklin, TN
Hobbies/Interests Apart from Music:
In my free time I love to kayak and enjoy building things.
Last Netflix Binge:
My last Netflix binge and probably next binge is The Office
Musical Influences:
I grew up listening to artists from Shane & Shane to Mute Math. Now I love listening to a collection of worship music and pop music from bands like Bethel Music, Coldplay and Charlie Puth
First Musical Purchase:
I found a cassette of Jesus Freak at the thrift store and wore it out!

Artist Name:
Franni Cash
Age:
22
Hometown:
Franklin, TN
Hobbies/Interests Apart from Music:
reading, being outside, picnics, game nights!!
Last Netflix Binge:
Love Is Blind
Musical Influences:
Chris Tomlin, lots of jazz, Ella Fitzgerald, anything Motown, Gospel, Stevie Wonder, Coldplay
First Musical Purchase:
My Nord keyboard and speakers

Artist Name:
Martin Cash
Age:
20
Hometown:
Franklin, TN
Hobbies/Interests Apart from Music:
ultimate frisbee, ping pong, sociology/culture
Last Netflix Binge:
That 70s show
Musical Influences:
Steve Jordan, Aaron Sterling
First Musical Purchase:
1971 Buddy Rich Slingerland kit

CCM: If you had only five words to describe your new album, it would be…?
WTK: Rootsy, authentic, vulnerable, fresh, hopeful

CCM: Do you have a favorite song from the new album? Why?
Franni: My favorite song on the Live Acoustic Sessions EP is by far ‘Dancing On The Waves.’ That song was written in one of the most challenging seasons of my life and it felt like God was reaching down and healing me through that song. It’s always been special to me, but when we went to record the acoustic session my voice started going away. I’d had some vocal issues and it was really flaring up that day. I felt like God said ‘Franni just close your eyes and just dance with me.’ So I started dancing with God and I really didn’t feel present in the room, I just felt like I was totally dancing with God and it was a really special moment for me. It’s one of my favorite vocals that I’ve ever done; which just goes to show that it was really God taking over when I was in a really bad place.

CCM: What led you to pursue a career or ministry in music?
Ed: From a very young age, I was exposed to a lot of great music, mostly through my parents. They were always playing songs in the house, either on the record player or themselves with their instruments, my dad played guitar and my mom played piano. My first memories that I have as a kid were splashing in the bathtub dancing to the rhythm of my Dad playing guitar while he sat beside me. There’s just something that’s always been very fascinating to me about rhythm, melody and the beat of music. When I think of God I think of music and when I think of music I think of God. To me those two are not separate things they are very connected. I feel like He has given me the ability and the passion to pursue that as a life career. I’ve never had a thought that I would pursue anything else. It’s always been the thing that has brought me the most joy, that I’ve had the most passion for and for that I’m super grateful. I know not everyone has the privilege to do, for a living, what they love most. I try very much not to take that lightly and I thank God often for that. I try to be a good steward of the gifts He’s given me and to do my best to use the powerful gift and tool of music to communicate real truth, vulnerability and reality and to not be afraid to talk about my own struggles and weaknesses. I think all of that is a way that we can use the gift of music to ultimately point it back to God who gave us the gift in the first place.

CCM: What was the last book you read?
Franni: The Meaning of Marriage by Tim Keller. I’m getting married in July and cannot wait. I’m learning so much!

CCM: What has been interesting to you musically lately? Perhaps something new to you in terms of listening habits or influences?
Franni: I’ve been listening to a lot of Spotify jazz playlists lately. I love it because I really don’t understand it. I love music theory, but most jazz is really deep. So I feel like I can just tune everything out and relax, instead of thinking ‘why didn’t I write that’ or ‘what is that tempo’ or ‘what song is that’ I can really just get lost in it.

CCM: How did you arrive at the name of your new album?
Franni: For years our family has had a close relationship with Young Life. My grandparents were on the board and I grew up with my Dad leading worship camps at YoungLife. Scott and his family do an assignment each summer for about a month where they go and play music for YoungLife. We love Young Life! Our first song that we wrote as a band was at a YoungLife camp in Georgia called SharpTop. We even wrote ‘Dancing On The Waves’ there around the hot tub late at night. We love SharpTop, we have a lot of rich history there over the years and the name of the clubhouse is called wheelhouse, which is how we came up with the name Live At The Wheelhouse, our previous EP, because we recorded it at the Young Life camp

CCM: Who are your biggest musical influences?
Franni: I think one of the really fun things about our band is that it doesn’t really fit into one genre. There are a lot of different sounds and styles that we pull from because we each come from a different decade, so we each have a different decade of music that is influencing what we write and how we write. For my Dad, he grew up with The Commodores, Stevie Wonder, Motown, Earth, Wind & Fire, James Taylor, etc. Scott grew up loving 90s rock, Jimmy Eat World for example. Andrew listens to his own type of music, while Martin and I pull from different artists as well. It’s been cool to see how our music is heavily influenced by the music of the decades, which has been really inspiring.

CCM: What was the songwriting process like on this record?
Franni: For our songwriting process, it looks different every time, but there is this chemistry when all five of us come together to write that is unexplainable. It’s so cool that I’m in a band with my Dad, brother, uncle and cousin. We all bring something to the table and it’s so inspiring whenever we come together.

CCM: How important is your faith or spirituality within your music?
Ed: Honestly, I don’t know where I would be without God, in fact, I have a pretty good idea that I would either be dead or in jail. Without God, I was running so hard trying to find significance in so many things that were really destructive. Ultimately that landed me in many different treatment centers, going in and out of jail and dealing drugs to support my habit. By the grace of God alone and His mercy, I have been clean and sober for many years and I’m so thankful for that. It’s just a part of my native language now that the way I think about God and the way He interacts with my daily life, He is not just a Sunday morning God to me, He’s a moment by moment God. I don’t always call on Him and lean on Him like I wish that I would in my heart, there are still times where I start to take the reigns and think that I can do this on my own, but He is so kind to remind me and bring me back in when I get off the rails and say ‘hey, hey come back over this way.’ My daily walk is about seeking God, making sure that I’m doing my best to hear His voice, listen for His guidance, stay connected with other people who are in a similar flow, reading His word, singing about it and praying. I need God in everything I do. I feel like that just naturally comes out in what I work on art wise. Whether that’s a love song about my wife or a straight-up, high praise song about God or a song about the darkness of life and what it means to fight. It just overflows into, hopefully, every area of my life.

CCM: What message do you hope listeners will take away from your music, regardless of what they believe?
Andrew: I believe there is something in our music for all ages and tastes. We are all such different ages and have a huge span of musical influences so it’s really fun to create together and see what happens. Sometimes we get a ballad, sometimes we get a gritty acoustic driven song and so on! The bottom line is the fact we all love Jesus and want all our music to show people His love.

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