NEEDTOBREATHE
Parachute, Drew Holcomb
Fri, September 28, 2012
Doors: 7:00 pm / Show: 8:00 pm
The Wellmont Theatre
Montclair, NJ
$25.00 Advance / $30.00 Day of Show
Tickets
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NEEDTOBREATHE
“We wanted to make an important record in the way that people used to make
records. Bands rarely have the time that allows them to create a game-changing
album like Born to Run, Rumours, or Damn The Torpedoes. So we said, ‘Let's
set ourselves up to do that. Let's believe in the songs enough that we're willing to
take the time they need and really push ourselves. It may sound naïve, but we still
have a dream that we're going to make a record that's going to change everything
for us.”
When NEEDTOBREATHE’s Bear and Bo Rinehart set out to write the songs
that appear on the band’s new album, The Reckoning, they felt something
bigger awaited them. It wasn’t just commercial success either. The band’s last
album The Outsiders hit No. 9 on Billboard’s Rock Albums chart, went Top
20 on the Top 200, saw the band sell out venues such as Nashville’s Ryman
Auditorium and Chicago’s House of Blues, and score an impressive number of
placements in blockbuster films and numerous prime time television-shows. Bear
explains “There was always this creeping reminder that we needed to show what
the last ten years on the road had taught us. If we couldn't do that, everything we
had worked for was meaningless.”
With their reputation as a must-see live act built from non-stop touring, the
Rinehart brothers, pastor’s sons who hail from the rural South Carolina town of
Possum Kingdom, along with drummer Joe Stillwell and bass player Seth Bolt,
were determined to create a statement-making album that truly captured the
magic behind this genuinely appealing rock band.
“We considered every note, every sound, and every lyric that went on this album,”
Bo says of their fourth album The Reckoning, which was co-produced by the
band with Rick Beato (who worked with the band on their records The Heat and
The Outsiders), and was recorded over seven months mostly at their Plantation
Studios in Charleston, SC. “Everything was put through the ‘Do we really believe
in this or not,’ filter. We never settled. We were looking for a spark. Sometimes
in the studio you’ve got to keep searching until something happens that feels
magical. We were waiting for that moment to strike on each song before we called
this album finished.” Bear adds, “At one point, we had done 10 different versions
of the same song, but that process is what the record came to be about. We felt
like no one could take this moment from us. I think you can feel the pressure we
put on ourselves in every note of this record. The songs and the album became
something much bigger than us ... something we had to live up to.”
Lyrically, all roads lead from the album’s title, which Bear says has several
different meanings, one of them being the justification of accounts. “I like the
idea that you put in all this work and at some point it comes to a peak -- that’s the
reckoning time.”
What the band emerged with is a timeless-sounding album rooted in classic
American rock and roll, unafraid to veer off into unexpected directions. Songs
such as “Maybe They’re On To Us” address the paranoia of wondering whether
people know too much about the band. “It also asks, ‘Are we still driven in the
same way?’ We’re always questioning ourselves,” Bear says. Even the songs
that may sound light-hearted on the surface, like “White Fences,” “Slumber,”
and “Drive All Night,” explore serious themes. “’White Fences’ is about the
American dream of growing up in a big house with a white picket fence, but when
the dream is broken and things don’t pan out the way you planned, asking who’s
going to fix it,” Bo says. “’Slumber’ is meant to be about how beauty is all around
you but you just can’t see it because of the funk you’re in,” Bear says. “It speaks
to something that we really care about which is giving yourself a chance.” And
there’s “Drive All Night,” a galloping barnstormer that Bear sees as a statement
on the false idea that one can run away from one’s problems. “The truth is, the
more you run away, the worse it gets, whereas if you embrace the things around
you, the more joy you’re going to have,” he says.
With their intriguing melodies and bright choruses, the songs on The Reckoning
are certain to translate in the live setting, something that is crucial to the
band. “The worst thing that could happen is you get done playing and people
don’t think about you again. We’ll do whatever it takes to force people to make
a decision about our band, whether they love us or not. It makes for more
passionate fans.”
“We've always bought into the fact that anything worth having is going to cost
you a lot, so I think we were prepared to lose everything. The Reckoning is
our investigation into everything we believed to be true and a justification for
everything we still do.”
records. Bands rarely have the time that allows them to create a game-changing
album like Born to Run, Rumours, or Damn The Torpedoes. So we said, ‘Let's
set ourselves up to do that. Let's believe in the songs enough that we're willing to
take the time they need and really push ourselves. It may sound naïve, but we still
have a dream that we're going to make a record that's going to change everything
for us.”
When NEEDTOBREATHE’s Bear and Bo Rinehart set out to write the songs
that appear on the band’s new album, The Reckoning, they felt something
bigger awaited them. It wasn’t just commercial success either. The band’s last
album The Outsiders hit No. 9 on Billboard’s Rock Albums chart, went Top
20 on the Top 200, saw the band sell out venues such as Nashville’s Ryman
Auditorium and Chicago’s House of Blues, and score an impressive number of
placements in blockbuster films and numerous prime time television-shows. Bear
explains “There was always this creeping reminder that we needed to show what
the last ten years on the road had taught us. If we couldn't do that, everything we
had worked for was meaningless.”
With their reputation as a must-see live act built from non-stop touring, the
Rinehart brothers, pastor’s sons who hail from the rural South Carolina town of
Possum Kingdom, along with drummer Joe Stillwell and bass player Seth Bolt,
were determined to create a statement-making album that truly captured the
magic behind this genuinely appealing rock band.
“We considered every note, every sound, and every lyric that went on this album,”
Bo says of their fourth album The Reckoning, which was co-produced by the
band with Rick Beato (who worked with the band on their records The Heat and
The Outsiders), and was recorded over seven months mostly at their Plantation
Studios in Charleston, SC. “Everything was put through the ‘Do we really believe
in this or not,’ filter. We never settled. We were looking for a spark. Sometimes
in the studio you’ve got to keep searching until something happens that feels
magical. We were waiting for that moment to strike on each song before we called
this album finished.” Bear adds, “At one point, we had done 10 different versions
of the same song, but that process is what the record came to be about. We felt
like no one could take this moment from us. I think you can feel the pressure we
put on ourselves in every note of this record. The songs and the album became
something much bigger than us ... something we had to live up to.”
Lyrically, all roads lead from the album’s title, which Bear says has several
different meanings, one of them being the justification of accounts. “I like the
idea that you put in all this work and at some point it comes to a peak -- that’s the
reckoning time.”
What the band emerged with is a timeless-sounding album rooted in classic
American rock and roll, unafraid to veer off into unexpected directions. Songs
such as “Maybe They’re On To Us” address the paranoia of wondering whether
people know too much about the band. “It also asks, ‘Are we still driven in the
same way?’ We’re always questioning ourselves,” Bear says. Even the songs
that may sound light-hearted on the surface, like “White Fences,” “Slumber,”
and “Drive All Night,” explore serious themes. “’White Fences’ is about the
American dream of growing up in a big house with a white picket fence, but when
the dream is broken and things don’t pan out the way you planned, asking who’s
going to fix it,” Bo says. “’Slumber’ is meant to be about how beauty is all around
you but you just can’t see it because of the funk you’re in,” Bear says. “It speaks
to something that we really care about which is giving yourself a chance.” And
there’s “Drive All Night,” a galloping barnstormer that Bear sees as a statement
on the false idea that one can run away from one’s problems. “The truth is, the
more you run away, the worse it gets, whereas if you embrace the things around
you, the more joy you’re going to have,” he says.
With their intriguing melodies and bright choruses, the songs on The Reckoning
are certain to translate in the live setting, something that is crucial to the
band. “The worst thing that could happen is you get done playing and people
don’t think about you again. We’ll do whatever it takes to force people to make
a decision about our band, whether they love us or not. It makes for more
passionate fans.”
“We've always bought into the fact that anything worth having is going to cost
you a lot, so I think we were prepared to lose everything. The Reckoning is
our investigation into everything we believed to be true and a justification for
everything we still do.”
Parachute
"With you I still have hope/That this could be my year." "The New Year"
Mixing full-throttle rock with dollops of blue-eyed soul, vintage R&B and melodic pop radio anthems in-the-making, Parachute has arrived.
The band's debut Mercury/Island Def Jam Music Group album takes off from the individual members' shared histories, from "She Is Love," the ballad torch song and first single, with its Van Morrison-like scatting by lead singer/songwriter/guitarist and piano player Will Anderson, to Nate McFarland's chiming, The Edge-styled chunks of guitar laced through "Back Again," "Under Control," "Ghost," "Words Meet Heartbeats" and "All That I Am."
Will has been playing with drummer Johnny Stubblefield, bassist Alex Hargrave and saxophone/keyboardist Kit French since they were high school classmates in Charlottesville almost five years ago. Will met Nate while attending University of Virginia together, and the guitarist joined the band two years ago.
"I remember seeing them at Starr Hill, which is the big venue in town, and they came on to the 'Mortal Kombat' theme," he remembers. "I never would've imagined myself playing with them, let alone becoming a member of the band."
"It's really gone downhill since then," teases Will.
With a diverse selection of influences ranging from old-school legends like Stevie Wonder, Elton John, Paul Simon and Journey to newer acts like U2, Coldplay, Weezer, Ben Folds, Maroon 5, John Mayer, Jay-Z, Kanye West, The Fray and the Arcade Fire, the group began to attract a rabid local following under the name Sparky's Flaw.
"It's a cool music scene," says Will about Charlottesville. "There are so many different types of bands. There's just such an incredibly eclectic group of people there."
"While we were still in high school, we used to see a lot of different groups at local venues that inspired us to want to play," adds Johnny.
That range is reflected in the songs on the band's debut album, largely produced by Grammy winner John Shanks (Bon Jovi, Liz Phair, Sheryl Crow, Jane's Addiction, Stevie Nicks). With songs like "Back Again," one of several tracks fueled by Anderson's chill-inducing falsetto, and the revved-up "The New Year," interspersed with more introspective numbers like the single "She Is Love" which was used as part of a national TV advertising campaign for Nivea.
With an eye towards creating music for the radio, Parachute is unapologetic about aiming for popular appeal.
"If no one's going to listen, why even play?" asks Will. "For us, melody is king."
Anderson's songs are unabashedly emotional affairs that try to work out the difference between romantic ideals and the frustration of reality ("Words Meet Heartbeats"), dealing with love lost ("For Liz (She)"), longing ("Under Control"), regret ("Mess I Made"), guilt ("Blame It on Me") and obsession (the creepy "Every Breath You Take" stalking of "Ghost"), questioning what went wrong ("All That I Am") and trying to put the pieces together for the future ("The New Year").
"I tend to write about things I know, that are happening to me," says Will. "If it's not really true to us, it doesn't make sense. We try to make music that people can relate to, that they're going to want to hear. We question things, try to get to the bottom of it all."
"Will's always been good at writing radio-friendly pop songs," adds Johnny, a self-proclaimed "pocket drummer" who adds his own industrial solo to "All That I Am," citing DMB's Carter Beauford, the Police's Stewart Copeland, The Roots' ?uestlove and session veteran Matt Chamberlain as his personal favorites.
"We want to create music people like" nods guitarist Nate, who counts U2's The Edge and Coldplay's Jonny Buckland among his own influences. "I'm a very compositional guitarist. I try to make every note count in the service of the song, with a bunch of suspendeds and seventh notes to give it a little edge. We call it Tele-rock because I play the Telecaster a lot."
For those who question the group's motives in licensing a song for commercial use, Will comments, "It's simply a new paradigm," he insists. "Everybody's doing what they can to get their music out there. We considered it an opportunity. We're not going to give our songs to just anybody. Nivea approached us with the spot, showed it to us, and we felt it was tasteful."
As part of the campaign, the band played before more than one million people New Year's Eve at Times Square in bone-chilling sub-zero temperatures at the Nivea Countdown Stage on 46th Street.
"I could barely hold on to my drumsticks," laughs Johnny. "The guys were struggling with their fingertips, but it was so worth it."
"By the end, I looked down and had three strings left on my guitar," says Will. "My fingers were bloody, but I was happy as happy can be. That night, we realized exactly why we do this in the first place."
"We're doing a lot of new things we've never done before," enthuses Kit, the band's sax player and keyboardist. "Every day we're checking new boxes. Yesterday, we did this amazing photo shoot, with a production so elaborate I had to keep pinching myself."
In fact, the band prides itself on its live show, having toured with the likes of Jon McLaughlin, O.A.R., Switchfoot, Duffy and Matt Nathanson. Parachute's fan base is starting to swell on their Facebook and MySpace pages, while the distance they've traveled, how far they've come and still have to go, is beginning to register.
"I feel really blessed being around these guys," says bassist Alex. "It all started out loading our equipment in the back of two pick-up trucks, playing to family and friends. This has definitely been a very surreal and humbling experience for all of us. We've had a lot of help along the way, and we appreciate everyone for what they've done for us."
"We have our goals and they're pretty lofty," chimes in Will. "We're an ambitious bunch. It's a lot of fun to get to do this full-time now, but we're always fighting to get to the next rung, grab the golden ring on the merry-go-round. When we were in high school, we just wanted to play better venues. Attending college, we tried to attract label interest. And now, we're at the next step, building a national fan base. The joy for us is in winning people over with our music by getting in front of them any way possible. And have them spread the word to their friends."
In fact, the only down note has been their old friend Sparky's disappointment, when the band decided it needed a more mature name to reflect their own growth as musicians.
"Unfortunately, he used to pick up girls by telling them he had a band named after him," reveals Will. "I had to break the news to him when we decided to change it to Parachute."
"The name just clicked," says Will. "I think it fits our style of music. It's like my only hope is sitting right there on my back."
Make no mistake about it. Parachute is headed for a happy landing.
Mixing full-throttle rock with dollops of blue-eyed soul, vintage R&B and melodic pop radio anthems in-the-making, Parachute has arrived.
The band's debut Mercury/Island Def Jam Music Group album takes off from the individual members' shared histories, from "She Is Love," the ballad torch song and first single, with its Van Morrison-like scatting by lead singer/songwriter/guitarist and piano player Will Anderson, to Nate McFarland's chiming, The Edge-styled chunks of guitar laced through "Back Again," "Under Control," "Ghost," "Words Meet Heartbeats" and "All That I Am."
Will has been playing with drummer Johnny Stubblefield, bassist Alex Hargrave and saxophone/keyboardist Kit French since they were high school classmates in Charlottesville almost five years ago. Will met Nate while attending University of Virginia together, and the guitarist joined the band two years ago.
"I remember seeing them at Starr Hill, which is the big venue in town, and they came on to the 'Mortal Kombat' theme," he remembers. "I never would've imagined myself playing with them, let alone becoming a member of the band."
"It's really gone downhill since then," teases Will.
With a diverse selection of influences ranging from old-school legends like Stevie Wonder, Elton John, Paul Simon and Journey to newer acts like U2, Coldplay, Weezer, Ben Folds, Maroon 5, John Mayer, Jay-Z, Kanye West, The Fray and the Arcade Fire, the group began to attract a rabid local following under the name Sparky's Flaw.
"It's a cool music scene," says Will about Charlottesville. "There are so many different types of bands. There's just such an incredibly eclectic group of people there."
"While we were still in high school, we used to see a lot of different groups at local venues that inspired us to want to play," adds Johnny.
That range is reflected in the songs on the band's debut album, largely produced by Grammy winner John Shanks (Bon Jovi, Liz Phair, Sheryl Crow, Jane's Addiction, Stevie Nicks). With songs like "Back Again," one of several tracks fueled by Anderson's chill-inducing falsetto, and the revved-up "The New Year," interspersed with more introspective numbers like the single "She Is Love" which was used as part of a national TV advertising campaign for Nivea.
With an eye towards creating music for the radio, Parachute is unapologetic about aiming for popular appeal.
"If no one's going to listen, why even play?" asks Will. "For us, melody is king."
Anderson's songs are unabashedly emotional affairs that try to work out the difference between romantic ideals and the frustration of reality ("Words Meet Heartbeats"), dealing with love lost ("For Liz (She)"), longing ("Under Control"), regret ("Mess I Made"), guilt ("Blame It on Me") and obsession (the creepy "Every Breath You Take" stalking of "Ghost"), questioning what went wrong ("All That I Am") and trying to put the pieces together for the future ("The New Year").
"I tend to write about things I know, that are happening to me," says Will. "If it's not really true to us, it doesn't make sense. We try to make music that people can relate to, that they're going to want to hear. We question things, try to get to the bottom of it all."
"Will's always been good at writing radio-friendly pop songs," adds Johnny, a self-proclaimed "pocket drummer" who adds his own industrial solo to "All That I Am," citing DMB's Carter Beauford, the Police's Stewart Copeland, The Roots' ?uestlove and session veteran Matt Chamberlain as his personal favorites.
"We want to create music people like" nods guitarist Nate, who counts U2's The Edge and Coldplay's Jonny Buckland among his own influences. "I'm a very compositional guitarist. I try to make every note count in the service of the song, with a bunch of suspendeds and seventh notes to give it a little edge. We call it Tele-rock because I play the Telecaster a lot."
For those who question the group's motives in licensing a song for commercial use, Will comments, "It's simply a new paradigm," he insists. "Everybody's doing what they can to get their music out there. We considered it an opportunity. We're not going to give our songs to just anybody. Nivea approached us with the spot, showed it to us, and we felt it was tasteful."
As part of the campaign, the band played before more than one million people New Year's Eve at Times Square in bone-chilling sub-zero temperatures at the Nivea Countdown Stage on 46th Street.
"I could barely hold on to my drumsticks," laughs Johnny. "The guys were struggling with their fingertips, but it was so worth it."
"By the end, I looked down and had three strings left on my guitar," says Will. "My fingers were bloody, but I was happy as happy can be. That night, we realized exactly why we do this in the first place."
"We're doing a lot of new things we've never done before," enthuses Kit, the band's sax player and keyboardist. "Every day we're checking new boxes. Yesterday, we did this amazing photo shoot, with a production so elaborate I had to keep pinching myself."
In fact, the band prides itself on its live show, having toured with the likes of Jon McLaughlin, O.A.R., Switchfoot, Duffy and Matt Nathanson. Parachute's fan base is starting to swell on their Facebook and MySpace pages, while the distance they've traveled, how far they've come and still have to go, is beginning to register.
"I feel really blessed being around these guys," says bassist Alex. "It all started out loading our equipment in the back of two pick-up trucks, playing to family and friends. This has definitely been a very surreal and humbling experience for all of us. We've had a lot of help along the way, and we appreciate everyone for what they've done for us."
"We have our goals and they're pretty lofty," chimes in Will. "We're an ambitious bunch. It's a lot of fun to get to do this full-time now, but we're always fighting to get to the next rung, grab the golden ring on the merry-go-round. When we were in high school, we just wanted to play better venues. Attending college, we tried to attract label interest. And now, we're at the next step, building a national fan base. The joy for us is in winning people over with our music by getting in front of them any way possible. And have them spread the word to their friends."
In fact, the only down note has been their old friend Sparky's disappointment, when the band decided it needed a more mature name to reflect their own growth as musicians.
"Unfortunately, he used to pick up girls by telling them he had a band named after him," reveals Will. "I had to break the news to him when we decided to change it to Parachute."
"The name just clicked," says Will. "I think it fits our style of music. It's like my only hope is sitting right there on my back."
Make no mistake about it. Parachute is headed for a happy landing.
Drew Holcomb
Raised in Memphis and based in Nashville, singer-guitarist Drew Holcomb is, on one level, the sum of those musically iconic cities, a songwriter/performer able to balance feel and craft in a way that can only come from someone informed at once by the likes of Al Green and Steve Earle.
But the main catalyst behind Holcomb's musical voice has been the road. In the past four years, he has logged in more than 500 concert dates across the country from solo coffeehouse gigs to clubs, festivals, and colleges with his band, the Neighbors. He has also opened for Ryan Adams, Los Lobos, Susan Tedeschi, Marc Broussard, Sister Hazel, and the North Mississippi Allstars, to name but a few.
That Holcomb has sold over 10,000 CDs in the process is equally impressive given he has done it all without any major label or music industry support. Not bad for someone who laughingly calls himself a "recovering singer-songwriter."
Holcomb, 26, began playing the guitar and writing songs while a student at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville. Two school terms living abroad in Edinburgh, Scotland – a place of spellbinding beauty for the impressionable musician – sealed his songwriting fate.
"It's a magical place," he says. "I grew up reading Narnia and Tolkien. Edinburgh is one of those worlds . . . When I got over there, I had all this free time. I didn't know that many people, so I grabbed my guitar and wrote every day."
Those songs found their way on two records, a 2004 EP, Lost & Found, and the acclaimed follow-up, Washed in Blue (its track, "Long Gone Away," has been featured on the Lifetime series Army Wives). A concert album, Live in Memphis, came next, marking the end of his musical tenure in the Bluff City.
In 2006, Holcomb married his longtime friend and singing partner, Ellie Holcomb (née Bannister), and relocated to her hometown of Nashville – and the way her vocals wrap so knowingly around her husband's will inevitably earn comparisons to Music City's royal couple Buddy and Julie Miller. Holcomb's backing band, the Neighbors (guitarist Nathan Dugger, bassist Rich Brinsfield, and drummer Jon Radford) also lives in the same East Nashville area, hence the group name.
The fruition of Holcomb's many travels and life changes can be heard in his new studio album, Passenger Seat, a record of big songs, big gestures, and big heart that asks "How are you going to make it if you go alone?" For Holcomb the answer is, "You can't."
Explains the musician, ""Jeff Tweedy talks about why people go to rock concerts and it was an epiphany for me. He said people go to rock concerts because they feel alone and they want to go and suffer with other people. And I was like, yeah, that's why I love music."
"We're all looking for somebody, and sometimes you find that in music."
But the main catalyst behind Holcomb's musical voice has been the road. In the past four years, he has logged in more than 500 concert dates across the country from solo coffeehouse gigs to clubs, festivals, and colleges with his band, the Neighbors. He has also opened for Ryan Adams, Los Lobos, Susan Tedeschi, Marc Broussard, Sister Hazel, and the North Mississippi Allstars, to name but a few.
That Holcomb has sold over 10,000 CDs in the process is equally impressive given he has done it all without any major label or music industry support. Not bad for someone who laughingly calls himself a "recovering singer-songwriter."
Holcomb, 26, began playing the guitar and writing songs while a student at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville. Two school terms living abroad in Edinburgh, Scotland – a place of spellbinding beauty for the impressionable musician – sealed his songwriting fate.
"It's a magical place," he says. "I grew up reading Narnia and Tolkien. Edinburgh is one of those worlds . . . When I got over there, I had all this free time. I didn't know that many people, so I grabbed my guitar and wrote every day."
Those songs found their way on two records, a 2004 EP, Lost & Found, and the acclaimed follow-up, Washed in Blue (its track, "Long Gone Away," has been featured on the Lifetime series Army Wives). A concert album, Live in Memphis, came next, marking the end of his musical tenure in the Bluff City.
In 2006, Holcomb married his longtime friend and singing partner, Ellie Holcomb (née Bannister), and relocated to her hometown of Nashville – and the way her vocals wrap so knowingly around her husband's will inevitably earn comparisons to Music City's royal couple Buddy and Julie Miller. Holcomb's backing band, the Neighbors (guitarist Nathan Dugger, bassist Rich Brinsfield, and drummer Jon Radford) also lives in the same East Nashville area, hence the group name.
The fruition of Holcomb's many travels and life changes can be heard in his new studio album, Passenger Seat, a record of big songs, big gestures, and big heart that asks "How are you going to make it if you go alone?" For Holcomb the answer is, "You can't."
Explains the musician, ""Jeff Tweedy talks about why people go to rock concerts and it was an epiphany for me. He said people go to rock concerts because they feel alone and they want to go and suffer with other people. And I was like, yeah, that's why I love music."
"We're all looking for somebody, and sometimes you find that in music."
Venue Information:
The Wellmont Theatre
5 Seymour Street
Montclair, NJ, 07042
http://www.wellmonttheatre.com/
The Wellmont Theatre
5 Seymour Street
Montclair, NJ, 07042
http://www.wellmonttheatre.com/
