Laura Bo talks with NeedToBreathe singer/guitarist, Bo Rinehart
Bo Bo Rinehart live at New York City's Bowery Ballroom 2010 (photo: Scott Vollweiler)
You are about to go on another tour, are you excited?
The tour kicks off in Columbia SC, and this will be the biggest tour we have ever done as a headliner. A lot of gear, lights, staging and sound, that is all crammed into a semi. Everything we take in we turn around and put back out. My favorite place to play changes every tour. Special moments, that happen live that you cant repeat every night. Seattle, San Diego, Madison Wisconsin, Tuscaloosa, come to mind as favorites on tour. We recently moved to Charleston, about two years ago, so maybe not so recent, but that is my favorite city ever.
Do you have plans after the tour is over?
We are going right back into the studio, anytime off this last year has been spent in the studio.
How was your time spent overseas?
We just got back from Europe a week ago, and had no idea what to expect. Our record isn’t out over there, not on the radio or TV, but it can be found online. How would people find out about a band from South Carolina in Sweden, or Germany. We didn’t expect anything, and it was like starting over as a band, brand new and fresh, felt like when the band was getting going, 150-300 people who had every album and knew every word, and had been waiting for us to come for years. We have a special connection with all those fans, they want the band to succeed as much as we do.
Which tour for The Outsiders was your favorite?
“I won’t look back tour” that tour was the culmination of a lot of things, a lot of excitement about the new record, fun to play new songs, a lot of excitement. The next time we came around, those people told all their friends, and the numbers from the shows tripled in a matter of 3 or 4 months. People legit liked the record, and felt it was important enough to pass around. The spark brought a ton of excitement. 400-500 people all the way to 2200 in a matter of months. The band anticipated it would be the most fun time in our career.
What is it like to be away from family?
Try to get our family to come out as mush as possible, and they all have jobs and lives. The band itself is very much a family, feels like the show Entourage from time to time. We hired all of our friends, and right now its working out. We try to have as much fun as possible and we are open and hard on each other, quick to critique. Bear and I are brothers, but it seems like the whole band has taken on that mindset, we have a special mentality. Knowing that we can say whatever we want and we are still brothers. No one is worried about stepping on someone’s toes. We can tell it how it is and it helps to sharpen each other.
What is your favorite part about being on the road?
Love making new fans. People seeing the show for the first time, seeing the music that has now come to life. Shock factor at first, and after a song or two they are always converted. Connecting with the people that enjoy the same thing you do. Fun to make something and create something that you love, and find out that other people do too.
What about your least favorite part about being on the road?
Never have a routine, all the things you would typically have, you don’t have. The grass is always greener… my job on the worst day is better than any other job on the best day. Normal conveniences are not always there, like showers, cabs, simple things. Simple pleasures.
Bo Bo Rinehart live at New York City's Bowery Ballroom 2010 (photo: Scott Vollweiler)
Do you guys have any pre-show rituals?
Rough each other up a little bit before we go on, slap and punch each other, not in a hateful way, but to wake each other up. Used to play a game, called the shame game. Phased out after a while. We all try to appreciate the moment. We are very grateful to show up and have people come out, and we get to do this for a living. I Don’t take it for granted it all. Bring it in and appreciate. We have fun, people can tell that we love what we do and it is contagious.
What would be the perfect time and or place to listen to this album?
There are a couple of songs that you need to listen to in a quiet dark place, and a couple where you have to be in a car blasting it. I love listening to it on headphones. Extra noise can take away from the sounds and the record. Listening to it for the first time with headphones makes it clear to hear how the record was intended.
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