"She may be the hardest-working, most consistent musician I’ve ever been around": Needtobreathe on what they learned from Taylor Swift

Needtobreathe studio portrait — (Image credit: David Od)

For 22 years Grammy-nominated South Carolinian rockers Needtobreathe have built a serious following with their singalong heartland rock and hard-touring work ethic.

They’ve regularly topped the US Rock, Alternative Rock and Christian Albums charts, and now opulently produced, anthem-heavy ninth album Caves is doing the business.

Below, singer Bear Rinehart talks ambition, the “Christian thing”, and lessons learned from Taylor Swift.

You’ve said Caves is an “ambitious album”. In what way?

These days in music, cheap is the new expensive – everything is deconstructing to nothing. But we love records that were big, where bands put everything in there, so we thought, what if we just went all the way and just made ourselves happy? Listening back to Caves it feels like that, feels big. We really went for it.

You’ve always had a catchy edge, and that has really been amped up on the new record.

Yeah, we’ve always wanted people to like the music. We built ourselves up as a live band, and didn’t want people looking at their shoes when they’re at our show. But this record’s less about the commercial success and more about allowing ourselves to do it. I always hear the song How Wonderful We Are and think Steven Tyler’s singing it, you know? We thought: “What if we just did this like Aerosmith?”

That track and Temporary Tears are both testimony to the band’s southern soul vibe.

That stuff just seeps in. We grew up in a very small town in South Carolina, my dad was a preacher in a diverse church with loud music, where I learned to play. The gospel thing with rock’n’roll elements added, that’s always been what’s turned me on. Early on my favourite band was The Black Crowes, and favourite singer was Joe Cocker. That ‘feverish’ thing is what we’re after.

The Christian angle must be tricky for a rock’n’roll band to navigate?

Yeah. The Christian thing’s been very commercialised, especially in America. We hate it when people say: “You’re a Christian band”, because sadly the term really just means you suck! But as for faith, that story’s playing out in my life all the time, with my kids and my wife, and the way we treat our people on the road. That’s incredibly valuable.

You supported Taylor Swift on a stadium tour twelve years ago. What did you learn from that?

We learned a lot about what we did and didn’t want. She may be the hardest-working, most consistent musician I’ve ever been around. We’re not the kind of band that’s gonna rehearse exactly what we’re gonna say in an empty arena, then say it that night. But she is, and that’s to her credit, because all those audience members get the best show every night from her. We’re a little more freewheeling.

You’re touring Caves. Which records end up on the tour bus or dressing room stereo?

Before every show we have a twenty-minute pre-game thing. Our piano player Josh [Lovelace] DJs, stuff like Skynyrd, Black Crowes, and any of the Kings – Freddie, BB, Albert. But we just listened to the latest Post Malone record, and when Beyoncé has a new one we’ll take it in together. We all love music still, which is such a blessing, because it’s not true with every band.

Caves is out now via Drive All Night.

A music journalist for over 20 years, Grant writes regularly for titles including Prog, Classic Rock and Total Guitar, and his CV also includes stints as a radio producer/presenter and podcast host. His first book, 'Big Big Train - Between The Lines', is out now through Kingmaker Publishing.