The Asking are an indie folk-pop vocal duo made up of the husband and wife team Greg and Kate House. The pair met while leading worship together at Hiawatha Youth Camp in Michigan’s upper peninsula and have been leading worship together ever since. Their passion for using music to point others to Christ led them to start writing music together as The Asking in 2014. They released their debut EP in 2015. After a successfully funded Kickstarter in March 2017 they released their first full-length album in June 2017 to critical acclaim.
“With Call The Ships Home, The Asking presents a gem of humble worship. It’s sweet, it’s contemplative, and it draws the listener deeper the further they dive into the album. It’s incredibly refreshing how explicitly the songs draw from scripture and it’s an excellent first full-length offering!” — Dave Wonders, 104.3FM The Pulse (in MN)
“This is love at first listen. The lyrics are scripturally strong and offer the listener an intimate time of worship & reflection. I love when this kind of album is made – good people making good music.” – Dave Trout at UTR Media
“Brimming with excellent songs and well produced, The Asking’s Call The Ships Home is a highly recommended release. Fans of Jenny & Tyler will find a lot to like here.” – Larry Stephen at The Phantom Tollbooth
Drawing from the influences of The Civil Wars, James Taylor, and Josh Garrels, The Asking’s unique sound comes from their mix of scriptural lyrics and haunting harmonies. Kate’s background in studying and writing poetry led her to write lyrics. “I really wanted to make sure that they were scripturally sound and biblically based so a lot of the lyrics come from my own personal devotional time,” she says. Together, the duo take those lyrics and craft a theme for the melody and dynamics to help enhance the message. “It’s a partnership that brings about these songs,” Kate shares.
With their latest release, Call the Ships Home, the duo explore themes of the meaning of home, stepping out in faith, and finding hope at the end of it all. “A lot of our songs come from what we see happening in our church family. Struggles and stories from the students we work with in student ministries as well as how we see them stepping out in faith in ways that are new for them,” Greg shares. This is evident throughout the album but perhaps most clearly on the tracks “Walk on Water,” “End of Your Unwind,” and the title track “Call the Ships Home.” “Walk on Water” uses the story of Peter walking on water to explore the journey of stepping out in faith as a lifestyle. While “End of Your Unwind” examines the ways that worldly things will always fail to live up to expectations. “Call the Ships Home” echoes the answer of the real hope that God “will make all things new.”
Through the years, the duo have performed everywhere from coffee shops to music festivals like Unity Fest and Escape to the Lake. They also lead worship regularly both at their home church in Lansing, MI as well as guest leading at other churches. This fall, The Asking have been on tour playing mostly house shows. “House shows are a great format for our music and where we are right now because they allow us to connect with the audience in a unique way,” Kate explains. “It creates this intimate space where we share the stories behind the songs and are able to hear from those attending as well.”
“There’s something really wonderful about God using a song He’s given to you to touch other people,” Greg says.
Their music is available now on iTunes, and at www.mkt.com/theaskingband