How to go
What: Needtobreathe in concert with special guest Foy Vance
When: 8-11 p.m. Saturday. Doors open at 7 p.m.
Where: The Underground, 1140 Smiley Ave., Forest Park
Cost: Advance tickets are $25 general admission and $40 for 6:45 p.m. early entry general admission (through June 6.). Day of show general admission tickets are $32. Open floor venue with limited seating.
More info: www.TheUG.com or (513) 825-8200
Artist info: www.NeedToBreathe.com and www.FoyVance.com
There’s a buzz from music fans about Needtobreathe’s latest endeavors — a new released album and an extensive, worldwide summer tour. Locally, the South Carolina-based rock band and special guest Foy Vance will make a stop at The Underground on Saturday.
Bassist Seth Bolt talked with us in a recent telephone interview about the group’s motivation, as he shared about what’s behind their newfound zeal. He said songs on the band’s new album, “Rivers in the Wasteland,” reflect a renewed energy and a fresh passion for what they love to do.
“I’m really fortunate to be in a band with two brothers that are really hardworking, competitive guys, and crazy talented songwriters,” Bolt said. “I guess where we are coming from this time around is that like brothers, as they have done historically in rock bands, they started to fight. They fought a lot, and it got to the point, we were forced to take some time off, and it was really tough. We had to get some things back in check. We started chasing success, and valuing that over our love for one another, our music and the reasons why we started the band in the first place.”
As a result of overcoming those challenges, the GMA Dove Award winning band, comprised of Bolt, along with brothers Bear Rinehart (lead vocals) and Bo Rinehart (guitar), is now in a season of joy and gratitude, he said.
“We feel lucky that we’re still a band. It felt like that was all going to come to an end. So, each night, we’re taking the stage with a much different approach. I think we all feel humbled by that experience, honored, and really just grateful that we’re able to play music for a living,” Bolt said.
In reflecting upon the songs from the new album, Bolt started with “Wasteland.”
“ ‘Wasteland’ is a song about hope. There’s a line in the song that says, ‘There is a crack in the door, filled with light, and it’s all that I need to get by.’ Bear said he wrote that because he was getting to a place where he was pretty desperate for something, and he didn’t really know what it was at the time,” he said.
“Eventually, that became the reconciliation with his brother, a renewing of his faith, and a shifting of mindset, from chasing the moving target of success to releasing it, like taking his hands off of the reigns and giving that back to God, and that being more of the way we actually started the journey, where there wasn’t some sort of bottom line that we were trying to get to, we were just trying to write honest songs,” Bolt said.
The 11-song collection on “Rivers in the Wasteland,” chronicles the band’s journey of becoming more like-minded, being on the same page and being inspired by where their experiences have taken them.
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