How NEEDTOBREATHE’s Unplanned Record Became Frontman Bear Rinehart’s Favorite of His Career (Exclusive)

NEEDTOBREATHE didn’t set out to make a record. It just happened to them.

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That’s what frontman Bear Rinehart told American Songwriter during a Zoom call in support of the band’s latest LP, The Long Surrender.

“It’s a record that happened to us. I don’t know if I could have said that about any album that we made before,” Rinehart said of himself and bandmates Josh Lovelace, Randall Harris, and Tyler Burkum. “There were no plans to make a record at all.”

The whole thing started with one song—”Momma Loves Me.” Rinehart was doing an event with The Red Clay Strays, and decided to play something new for his old pal, Brandon Coleman, backstage.

“I was like, ‘Would y’all ever want to…?’ He was like, ‘Yeah, why don’t we do it now?’ He’s that kind of guy,” Rinehart said of The Red Clay Strays’ frontman. “They were working with Dave Cobb. Next thing you know, we’re down in Savannah cutting that song.”

Bear Rinehart Discusses Working With Dave Cobb on The Long Surrender

While there to record the collab, Rinehart decided to show Cobb, a well-known producer, what he’d been working on. Cobb wound up giving the musician “some belief that what I was uncovering as a songwriter was important to get out now.”

Rinehart didn’t stop sending Cobb material, and soon NEEDTOBREATHE was back in the recording studio. Still they weren’t knowingly “making a record.” As the songs piled up, though, the project became undeniable.

“It felt like the whole band was having a similar reaction to different situations. We’re all similar ages and we have kids and all this stuff,” Rinehart said. “We all kind of were fighting through the same thing, so when we started talking about that in the songs, it started going like, ‘Whoa.’”

With that, Cobb, who happens to be the Chief Creative Officer of MCA, stepped out of the room to make a call. Five minutes later, NEEDTOBREATHE was officially making a record.

“It was like what happens in movies,” Rinehart marveled.

What to Know About NEEDTOBREATHE’s New LP

As they officially began the process, the band agreed they weren’t going to “fabricate” anything.

“This has to be real. This has to feel like natural to us. It has to feel right,” Rinehart said of the band’s promise to each other. “That had a huge impact to me, us being available and ready for that when all these things started locking into place. It was like, ‘Yeah, of course that’s what we’re gonna do next.’”

The Long Surrender followed. The LP was officially released on March 27.

“I feel positive that it’ll be my favorite record that we’ve ever made, I think because it feels like a gift,” Rinehart said. “… I’ve been doing this a long time. The industry’s tough. You kind of start thinking, ‘Who’s gonna hear this record? How are they gonna hear it? What kind of spectacle are we gonna make to get people to pay attention?’”

“It’s like, screw that, dude. Just play. Play the music that’s coming to you,” he continued. “You write the thing that’s you, and if it’s meant to find the audience, it will.”

As much as the album means to the band, Rinehart said that he hopes fans find an even greater connection to it.

“I hope they feel seen,” Rinehart said. “… I do think that this sentiment that people don’t feel alone and [know] that it’s OK to be not OK, that’s the spirit.”

NEEDTOBREATHE Is Hitting the Road

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Fans will get to experience that spirit in person when NEEDTOBREATHE sets out on The Long Surrender Tour this summer.

For their amphitheater trek, the band is changing their production style “a lot,” Rinehart said. Video screens and extra content will be a thing of the past, as the guys turn the focus to the reason fans buy tickets—the music.

“This band is a good live band. We want it to be human, real, intimate,” Rinehart said. “… I think it’ll be a fun, different experience.”

Rinehart is particularly looking forward to playing the uptempo “Say It Now,” which he described as “an anthem for the losers,” on tour. There’s also “Spread the Ashes,” the album closer that they’ll perform at the end of the night to get a singalong-at-a-campfire vibe going strong in the crowd.

“I’m really glad that the record is out there, and it has time to live… The record needs to take some time to get into the hearts of people. I think that’s that’s important for the tour,” Rinehart said. “I’m excited about that process happening alongside us getting ready to deliver music and, I think, the best tour we’ve done before.”

Photos by Alyssa Gafjken