At first glance, NeedToBreathe is inspired by U2's glorious, anthemic power and the melodic pop rock of Collective Soul and Oasis. But the quartet colors its arrangements with splashes of spiritual music, tipping off a higher inspiration: God. Before their 2006 debut Daylight was released to the mainstream, NeedToBreathe rose through the contemporary Christian music ranks; they still co-exist in both the religious and secular music worlds.

Leading NeedToBreathe are two brothers whose trumpet-playing father and piano- teaching mother named them after the late Alabama football coach, Bear Bryant. Bear and Bryant "Bo" Rinehart were raised in rural South Carolina, where they played guitar and piano as kids, and discovered all sorts of music at the church camp run by their minister father. As teenagers, the Rineharts wrote songs and excelled at football.

In college, the John Mayer-meets-Peter Gabriel-voiced Bear set several school records as a wide receiver at Greenville's Furman University. In 2002, around the time he was starting NeedToBreathe with his friend and drummer Joe Stillwell, Bear was named the best college player in South Carolina. Meanwhile, Bo's football experience landed him in the 2003 film Radio with Cuba Gooding Jr.

After college, Bo joined NeedToBreathe, which by then included bassist Seth Bolt (who's also a recording engineer and studio owner). They recorded three CCM EPs at Bolt's studio before making Daylight in England with producer Andy Green (Keane, KT Tunstall). For their follow-up, The Heat, NeedToBreathe co-produced in Atlanta with Rick Beato and Collective Soul's Ed Roland. Beato was chosen for his work with Jump Little Children because the Rineharts wanted help in keeping their new, more sensitive songs from going over the top. Roland, meanwhile, drew out the inherent pop melodies in NeedToBreathe's driving rock & roll.

Provenance: Possum Kingdom, South Carolina

Latest Release: The Heat (2007)

© 2008 Nigel Music Media LLC. Used by permission.

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