South Carolina alt-rockers NEEDTOBREATHE are currently on a pan-American tour, scheduled to play a date this Saturday evening, March 20, at First Avenue Nightclub in Minneapolis. We had the opportunity to chat with Bo Rinehart while en route to the Midwest, and he revealed some of his thoughts on the recording process, heavy touring, and his fondness for chics who love football.

Skelly : On your most recent record The Outsiders, you chose to work with three different producers to complete the album.  Why did you choose to do this, and were there ever times when you wondered if the record might turn out sounding like three EP’s crammed into one LP?

Bo Rinehart: I think that we definitely considered that and thought about it a lot.  Some of the producers would lean over and they would hear the other stuff that the other producers were working on and they’d say “are you sure you want to do this”?  We really wanted to pull and steal knowledge from as many people as possible.  We love the studio and we love the process.  We actually have our own studio in Charleston, SC.  It’s a converted house, and we have everything we would ever need there.  But we’ve always wanted to let a producer share their knowledge, because they’ve been doing this a lot longer than we have and they’ve always got something to offer.

This record was co-produced on all the songs, so the one constant was that we were co-producing with each of those three.  But I think from start to finish the record sounds like it may come from several different places.  We did some on the east coast and some on the west coast, and I think we want people to hear that when they listen to it.  We were very fortunate to use three producers that we chose, some of our heroes in that business.  In the end I think we love the process and the project, and we may do it the same way or we may do it differently the next time.  We haven’t figured it out yet.

[audio=http://borangutan.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/01-The-Outsiders.mp3]

“The Outsiders” by: NEEDTOBREATHE

Skelly: The Outsiders peaked at #20 on Billboard’s 200 chart and at #2 on Billboard’s Hot Christian Albums chart.  Do you guys consider yourselves a Christian band, and how does Christianity or Spirituality play a role in your music?

BR: I would say “not at all.”  We don’t like being called a Christian band, and our thing is that we don’t make music for Christians.  That’s not our goal, and it’s not anything that’s on our agenda.  Therefore, we’re not a Christian band, but some of us in the band are believers.  I think on our records there’s absolutely no agenda to fulfill the Christian market.  I think what we intend to do is make good music.  That’s the main thing, and the music can go beyond certain genres and certain markets, and so the idea is to make music that is for a larger group of people and not just one.  No offense to those who do it (play Christian music), and we have several friends who are in that market, but it was never our goal.  In fact, we turned down several Christian deals – actually all the major Christian deals.  We held out because that wasn’t what we really wanted to do.  Then we negotiated the rights to release the record in a Christian market.

We grew up preacher’s kids, and weren’t exposed to mainstream music till we were about 15.  There were some bands that it was okay for our parents to show us or (let us) listen to and those records made a big difference in our lives.  Collective Soul, Jars of Clay, and some of those bands that were relevant in a mainstream market were for some reason okay for us to listen to.  So we always thought it’d be nice that the music be accessible to more people.  That’s kind of the theme behind it.  But we’re happy for whatever fans we can get, and I definitely think that it is something genuine and real in our lives.  So if you’re being honest and genuine it’s going to come out in your music, and I think the most important music being made is music that is real and about something.

Skelly: NEEDTOBREATHE is currently in the midst of an extensive U.S. tour stretching from coast to coast with few breaks along the way.  As veteran road warriors, can you offer any tips to would-be touring bands out there on how to survive the perils of touring?

BR: I think everyone realizes they need to learn to fend for themselves, but it’s really the only way to develop a fan base.  You get to know your audience and your fans, and know what you’re doing good and what you’re not doing good.  And you create a connection with the audience that is not like one (created) with the radio.  If someone hears your song on the radio and the song moves them, they may go and buy the CD, but if you can get them to come out to your show and they love the live show, then they’ll be a fan for life.  It’s been a very slow, long, hard road for us.  We’ve been a band for almost eleven years now, but the one thing you can control above everything else is your live show.  I mean, you can get a break – you can get a radio break, or a spot on TV, or you can get all kinds of big breaks that may be around the corner, but the only thing that you can really put your hands on and control is your live show.  So that’s something we’ve always felt, and for us it has been a huge payoff.  It has taken a long time, but we’ve seen 10 people go to 50 people, and 50 people to 100, and 100 to 250, and 250 to 1,000 or 2,000 in some cities.  And I think largely it’s because we hit the road really hard.  There are some things that have helped us out along the way and we’re really grateful for those things, but touring is where it’s at, so no matter how you get it done it’s worth doing.

Skelly: So focus on the fans and they’ll keep you going?

BR: Yeah man.

Skelly: In your experience, what stretches of road in the United States reward bands the most for their hard work and effort?  Think in terms of scenery, roadside amenities, or food options.

BR: Not to gain any brownie points or anything, but we love the Midwest.  Something about the people there is very similar to people in the South.  They love the blue-collar rock, and they love to have a good time.  The crowds are always great there and the people are always great, and there is something to say about when you go to a town and most of the chics are really, really knowledgeable about football!  That’s important.  We also love the Northwest because it’s just gorgeous.  We think of things in terms of “are the roads good”?  And I would say, probably, the worst roads are in Texas.  You know, we love Texas, and Texas is great, but they need to get that figured out.

Skelly: But doesn’t Texas have a lot of knowledgeable football chics?

BR: Eh, they might be more knowledgeable in basketball.  But the girl from Madison or Minneapolis, they know their football.  Or just sports in general – the chics are very knowledgeable about sports.  It’s very endearing, when you’re meeting people after the show and they’re talking to you about “you know, we’re huge sports fans.”  Bear (Rinehart), my brother, actually played football for a university, and he was a wide receiver and broke all kinds of records there, and we’re actually named after Paul “Bear” Bryant, the Alabama football coach.  So it’s in our blood – we just love football and we love real sports in general, so anybody who loves sports we kind of feel a connection with.

Skelly: If you were to recommend to new listeners in Minnesota a couple songs off the new album that really communicated what NEEDTOBREATHE is all about, what songs would they be and why?

BR: I would say first off the easiest one would be the title track “The Outsiders.”  We sing “we are the Outsiders,” and it’s our story – it’s really about where we’re from.  We come from a really small town called Possum Kingdom in South Carolina, and there is not really a music scene there.  So there were no examples of “how do we get from one level to the next level”?  We felt a bit out of place when we got signed to a major record deal and we showed up there at the office and there were posters of Aretha Franklin and Led Zeppelin, and when that happened we felt like, we’re definitely “country come to town.”  And so it took us a little bit of time to really find our place and figure out who we were, and at this point we’ve really come to terms with it and we’ve really embraced it.  We’re proud of it, and I think our fans find a lot of similarities in that (story).  It’s really become something we wear on our chest now – we’re proud of it.  We’re the outsiders.  Plus it has got the banjo, and you can’t go wrong with the banjo!

I think “Wash By The Water” was a crucial song for us.  It was on the second record (The Heat), and that was also sort of a story song.  Our dad is a preacher and it tells a little bit about what growing up in the church is like, and that there are obviously some major problems with people in general.  We’ve come to know that the church can let you down, but it’s not necessarily the church – it is people.  That song is about tough times and that situation, and it has really come to mean a lot more than that to us in a lot of different situations.  That one is a fan favorite.

Skelly: You have a show coming up this Saturday night, March 20, at First Avenue Nightclub in Minneapolis.  What sorts of antics or surprises can concert goers expect to witness?

BR: We’re giving out free gold!  So that’s the first thing – if you want free gold, then go ahead and come on out, and we’ll try to hook you up.  This is the biggest tour that we’ve ever done, and the shows are literally doubling and tripling in size from the last time we were in town.  There’s an energy and excitement that people are going to bring to the shows that we can’t find anywhere else.  We feel like we have the best fans in the world, which sounds like a cliché thing to say, but our fans are completely into it, and I think that is a rare thing these days.  We’ve brought a big bus and trailer and we’ve stuffed it as absolutely full as possible with lights and sound, so we’re going to bring a big show.  We wanted to bring it out so much we have way more than we could possibly carry – we’re at the max weight limit!  So what you can expect is that we’re going to bring everything we possibly can and then we’re going to play as hard as we can.

NEEDTOBREATHE play First Avenue Nightclub this Saturday evening.  Tickets are still available at $16.25.  Show is 18+, doors open at 6PM.

Links

NEEDTOBREATHE – Website / Myspace

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posted March 18th, 2010 at 1:51 pm Interviews NEEDTOBREATHE, The Outsiders