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10 Questions with ... NEEDTOBREATHE
October 23, 2006
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NAME:NEEDTOBREATHE
Brief Career Synopsis:
Line-up:
Bear Rinehart (lead vocals, guitar, piano)
Bo Rinehart (guitar, backing vocals)
Seth Bolt (bass, backing vocals)
Joe Stillwell (drums/percussion)
Label: Atlantic/Lava, Sparrow
Discography: Daylight (2006)1) Briefly introduce the band members, using musical history and personality traits.
Bear Rinehart: began playing guitar in his youth group worship team; focused, driven and passionate
Bo Rinehart: taught himself to play guitar and took over leading worship when Bear went to college; creative, funny and energetic
Seth Bolt: drummer turned bassist who runs the band's home studio; tech-savvy, bold and raucous
Joe Stillwell: began playing drums when he was 12; friendly, relaxed and cerebral2) Can you offer a brief history of the band?
Joe and I formed NEEDTOBREATHE while in college at Furman University. After a few changes in members, Bo and Seth cemented the line-up about five years ago. We toured the Southeast heavily, even playing 80 shows a year while we were still in school. We recorded a couple EPs in our home studio, which we sold at shows, and we managed to sell over 15,000 copies. Our fan base started to grow steadily and we eventually attracted interest from major labels. After doing several showcases, we signed our record deal in the spring of 2005.
3) What's the story behind "Shine On"?
Bo wrote "Shine On" directly after one of his dad's sermons called "Shine." He spoke about a defining moment that Moses had with God (found in Exodus 33). Moses told God that he didn't want to go into the Promised Land without God's presence. He had blessings waiting on him on the other side but he knew it meant nothing if he didn't have God's favor. As the story goes, Moses went up the mountain, had an encounter with God, received the Ten Commandments and came back down the mountain with his face radiant, glowing from God's presence. The lyrics are spoken from God's perspective as a charge to all of us. We believe God wants us to "shine on" and get our "victory" as the song says, but most importantly he wants to know that we will remember him.
4) What is the underlying message to DAYLIGHT?
The main point we wanted to convey with this album is that every moment in life is a chance to turn it all around. Sometimes life can seem hopeless, but if you stay strong and continually seek God's will, He will always come through for you.
5) How do you guys convey your faith in the day-to-day?
When we're playing mainstream shows, it doesn't take people very long to see that there's something different about us. There's a certain lifestyle that people expect to see from a rock band, so it surprises them sometimes when we don't act that way. We just try to be real and honest with people, and that opens up a lot of opportunities for us to share our faith.
6) What are your favorite songs to play live? Why?
We all have our own favorites, but everybody loves playing "Don't Leave Just Yet." It's got a different feel from most of the other songs, so it's a nice change-up in the set.
7) Any interesting or funny radio experiences thus far?
Our favorite part of being on the air is trying to force the stations to let us play DJ for a while. We also sometimes make up a huge dramatic story about how we got there to get sympathy. (This isn't one of those stories.)
8) What were your first and second thoughts when you heard "Shine On" was going to be used in the movie "Employee of the Month"?
My first thought was, "I wonder what scene they'll use it in." My second thought was, "I wonder what I'm gonna wear to the Oscars."
9) What do you do when your van catches fire? And how many vans have you been through this year?
We're only on van No. 2 for the year, thankfully. The first thing to do when your van catches fire is run out of the van in a panic. The second thing you do is stand there with your jaw on the ground thinking, "Is our van really on fire right now?" Then you take pictures and video so you can prove to people that your van actually burned to the ground on the side of the road.
10) You're all Southern boys, so what's your favorite home-cooked Southern meal?
It's hard to beat good fried chicken. There's a place in our hometown that has the best fried chicken in the world. Also, we're from South Carolina, so there's a special place in our hearts for shrimp 'n' grits.
Bonus Questions
1) Who would be a dream artist to record with in any genre?
Keb mo', Lucinda Williams, Travis, Pearl Jam
2 ) What is your favorite city to visit?
What city do you live in?
4) Musical guilty pleasures?
Enya
5) Any practical jokes on the road?
Sometimes we put smoke bombs under the tour bus to make people think there's a big problem.
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