For My Sunday Song #425, we are talking American Authors incredibly beautiful song “Neighborhoods”. The song is off their 2019 album ‘Seasons’ which was released on February 1 of that year. What drew me to the song was that it featured Bear Rinehart who is the lead singer of one of my favorite bands Needtobreathe. The song was written by an army of people Matthew Sanchez, Zachary Barnett, James Shelley, David Rublin who are all apart of the band as well as Scott Christopher Stevens and Gabriel Simon. There was a video for the song, but not sure if it was a single or not.
The song is about growing up and leaving the place where you grew up. The lyrics are very nostalgic and though the person is going off to try and find a better life, but the neighborhood is who they really are and makes them who they are today. Go out and explore the world, but never forget who you are or where you came from. Stay humble. The neighborhood will always be your home. It is really a great story and message that is delivered in those lyrics.
The song itself is a slowed down tempo, starts off with an acoustic guitar and lead singer, Zac Barnett, on the first verse. And what a voice it is. So emotive, so brilliant. Second verse is Bear and damn, this is why I love his vocals. Can he feel a song or what. Zac does most of the chorus with Bear on backings as well. It all sounds so slick and cool. Musically, a great tempo and I love the mandolin (I think) and they even have some whistling. The music feels like home and is as nostalgic feeling as those lyrics.
For the 2022 Insiders Club, Needtobreathe changed things up. They were no longer going to release a physical product and only do the Digital Songs only. I stopped being a member right then and there as I want a physical product. Well, I think the backlash was swift and loud as a few months in to the year, that all changed. They decided that there will be a new tier level in the Insiders Club, more expensive of course, but a physical product would be given. This time around instead of only a CD, you will get an autographed vinyl copy as well. They still have the digital songs, which are different then the ones on the vinyl. The new CD and Vinyl are now a Best of The Insiders giving us the 9-10 songs from the 8 years of The Insiders CD series they had started 8 years earlier. The 1st Edition came in March 2023 almost a year after the announcement, but the band was smart as they went ahead and worked on the 2023 Edition at the same time they were working on the 2022 Edition. We received this vinyl in April 2023. Then in February 2024, we got the 3rd Edition and a year later in February 2025, we get the 4th Edition. And I have them all…
This time around, we get 9 songs but you have to remember they are trying to fit them on easily on a vinyl with only a set amount of time, so I’m okay with only 9 songs. We did get the CD again which is unsigned but that gives me all four of those as well…
For the 2022 Insiders Club, Needtobreathe changed things up. They were no longer going to release a physical product and only do the Digital Songs only. I stopped being a member right then and there as I want a physical product. Well, I think the backlash was swift and loud as a few months in to the year, that all changed. They decided that there will be a new tier level in the Insiders Club, more expensive of course, but a physical product would be given. This time around instead of only a CD, you will get an autographed vinyl copy as well. They still have the digital songs, which are different then the ones on here. The new CD and Vinyl are now a Best of The Insiders giving us the 10 best songs from the 8 years of The Insiders CD series started. The 1st Edition came in March 2023 almost a year after the announcement, but the band was smart as they went ahead and worked on the 2023 Edition at the same time they were working on the 2022 Edition. We received this vinyl in April 2023. We reviewed the 1st Edition last week so now it is time to review the 2nd Edition.
This time around, we only get 9 songs but you have to remember they are trying to fit them on easily on a vinyl with only a set amount of time, so I’m okay with only 9 songs. We did get the CD again which is unsigned bunch of other goodies including a calendar, some magnets of the band members and even a small notebook and a turntable mat. Lots of cool stuff, but nothing more cool than the autographed copy of the vinyl. Like the first one, this is a very limited quantity as it was exclusive to the Insiders Club VIP group which is more expensive so you figure there are fewer people. Let us get to the music, shall we…
For the 2022 Insiders Club, Needtobreathe changed things up. They were no longer going to release a physical product and only do the Digital Songs only. I stopped being a member right then and there as I want a physical product. Well, I think the backlash was swift and loud as a few months in to the year, that all changed. They decided that there will be a new tier level in the Insiders Club, more expensive of course, but a physical product would be given. This time around instead of only a CD, you will get an autographed vinyl copy as well. They still have the digital songs, which are different then the ones on here. The new CD and Vinyl are now a Best of The Insiders giving us the 10 best songs from the 8 years of The Insiders CD series started. This is the 1st Edition which means there will be more (and there is because 2023 is doing the same thing and it is the 2nd Edition).
I bought this immediately after the announcement when out to make sure I got a copy. They sent a bunch of other goodies as well right away, but the album didn’t show up until March of 2023. That is due to the fact they had so much backlash and had to create this from scratch and with vinyl pressing times so slow, it took quite a long time to come. The CD came back in the fall, so it was much quicker. But what was great is they did give updates on the vinyl, but it showed up unannounced and made for a great surprise. Well, almost surprise. I saw someone had already stuck one of these for sale on eBay for $250 and I thought…”Hey! How did they get their’s already?”…little did I know, that a few hours later mine arrived at the door. BTW…they still haven’t sold it yet. I hope they do, because that price would be sweet!
Needtobreathe is one of my all time favorite bands and one of the few bands I have to everything they do and in that search I came across this beauty. It is the E.P. called La Diferencia. It was only available on the DRIVE ALL NIGHT TOUR 2013. If you went to a show on that tour and you placed a pre-order for their upcoming album ‘Rivers of the Wasteland, you received a pre-order card AND got the BRAND NEW EP called La Diferencia on CD. I actually missed that tour so I didn’t have this and I do now. The EP contains four previously unreleased live tracks and the title is quite misleading because it would make you think their were some Hispanic language songs on here but there are not…which is fine as I don’t speak Spanish anyway. The cover art I am sure was done by band member Bo Rinehart as he has been the artistic brain behind most of their visual side of the band.
The opening track, “Difference Maker” might be the best song the band has ever written. There is such a sadness and longing in the song and lyrically, it is splendid. For me, it raises question as to why are we here in this world and what is our place in that world. Is God the answer? I think that is for each of us to decide as I find faith and religion to be a personal choice. This song helped me take a longer look at myself and I believed has helped a lot. The song is not quite a demo. They call it a “work tape” so at this point it was a work in process but damn, it is so good.
I am so glad to be back to live shows and one of the first shows back is Needtobreathe who are one of my favorite bands of all time. Yes, last week I saw Ace Frehley and Alice Cooper which were both spectacular, but this is Needtobreathe. And being my fourth or fifth time seeing them, they did not disappoint as usual. The played for over 2 hours and right up to curfew at the venue and were ready to finish even if they turned off the power because when Needtobreathe (NTB) come to play, they come to play. They are going to give you all of themselves until the a ready to drop and that is exactly what they did.
The band makes a grand entrance with portraits of themselves on the screen and as each member walks out Tyler Burkum on guitar, Randall Harris on drums, Josh Lovelace on keyboards, Seth Bolt on bass and Bear Rineheart on vocals the roar of the crowd grew louder and louder and then the band kicked in to “Alive” and the band was rocking the place down with so much and energy and power. And then when the went in to the song “Great Night”, you knew it was going to be just that.
For me, it was one classic song after another. You get the driving force of “Drive All Night” and then the rebellious “The Outsiders” which I did video the song for my wife as she was sidelined with a migraine and she wanted me to capture some of it for her so I did. At this point, Bear finally took a breathe between songs and then spoke to us for a brief moment before going in to the church revival feel of “Washed By The Water” which ended with parts of their song “Lay ‘Em Down”. It was like going to church.
At this point, the band showed a movie trailer. Yep, a movie trailer. On November 3rd, for one night only, movie theaters will show the documentary ‘Into the Mystery’ which is about the band and the making of their new album during covid. The band quarantined together in a house for three weeks and recorded the album. They said what would normally take them 3 years, they did in 3 weeks. And after the trailer, they played two great songs from their new album. The first was “Sunshine” and the second was “Into the Mystery” which actually included an opening of “Free Fallin'” by Tom Petty first.
They played a few more songs before they took another break and showed a different video. This one was about the charity they work with called For Others which works with a lot of charities in your own city (Charlotte in this case for me) and NTB asked for anyone that could to please donate. So while they played “Multiplied” and “Difference Maker” you could text the number below that they shown on the screen. They were told that it would never work and people wouldn’t do it, but the band had raised over $500,000 on the tour from the fans for the charities and as I said the money stays in the community in the town they played. Something you wouldn’t expect at a show, but cool nonetheless.
After that, the band did some acoustical numbers with the song “Banks” which happened to have a couple in the front row get engaged during the show. Their names were Ashley and Jeremy as the band saw it happened and commented on it. Bear said that after getting engagements, there can be an awkardness but not for those two as they started making out immediately after. The next song “Carry Me” had a special guest. Jon Foreman from Switchfoot came out and sang with Bear and the Band. It was cool how a NTB Tour was like a family event and this wouldn’t be the last time someone came out and sang with them.
The show then kicked back in to gear with the heavier, more upbeat tracks such as “Hang On”, “Hard Love” and “Ridiing High” which got the energy going again and everyone having a good time. If that wasn’t enough on the next song, “Honky Tonk Women” the mic was turned over to the drummer, Randall Harris, who got the crowd in to a wild frenzy as everyone loved the Stone Cover. It was wild time where each band member got up and did a little something to be highlighted. Lots of fun.
After that wild time, the band played one of my all time favorite tracks, “Who Am I” and followed it up with “I Am Yours” which I found rather funny as the titles work well together. Then we get to the final song before the encores and this time the whole family was there. Switchfoot and The New Respects all came out for a wild jam session on the song “When the Levee Breaks”. It was a hell of a good time with so much to look at and let me just show you…
Switchfoot’s Jon ForemanThe New RespectsEveryone
Then we get to the Encore as the crowd were banging the backs of the plastic chairs to make as much noise as they could. The band came out and played “Midnight Special” mixed with “Mercy’s Shore”. They then played a song for the first time on this current tour. Well, we are in North “Carolina” so they player their song “Oh Caroline” and the crowd went nuts. It is a fun song to be played live as it really gets the crowd singing along. As we are now coming up on 11pm and the event curfew, the band was worried they wouldn’t finish and said they will keep singing and playing even if they turn off the sound. They played one of their biggest songs, “Brother” with full crowd participation. What a feeling that must be to have the crowd sing back your song. Luckily the sound was never turned off and the band finished the song with a quick goodnight and over 2 hours of playing and 23 songs. It was another magical night with Needtobreathe.
Here is the setlist…
Alive
Great Night
Drive All Night
Outsiders
Washed by the Water / Lay ‘Em Down
Sunshines
Into the Mystery (Free Fallin’ opening)
Forever On Your Side
Keep Your Eyes Open / Testify
Something Beautiful
Multiplied / Difference Maker
Banks
Carry Me (w/ Jon Foreman)
Hang On
Hard Love
Riding High
Honky Tonk Woman (The Rolling Stones Cover w/ the drummer singing)
Who Am I
I Am Yours
When the Levee Breaks (Memphis Minnie & Kansas Joe McCoy Cover with Switchfoot and The New Respects)
Midnight Special / Mercy’s Shore – Encore
Oh, Caroline (first time played on tour) – Encore
Brother – Encore
And did I get some Merch? Yep, I finally bought my first NTB Concert Shirt. I don’t know why I hadn’t before…probably too cheap.
And I took a bunch of pictures so here are a few more to take you out. Thanks for hanging around…
Okay, I’ll leave at that…thanks again for stopping by.
In my quest for getting everything on vinyl for Needtobreathe, there were four 7″ Singles I had to get and I am glad to say, I now have 3 of them. There is still one elusive one that I need for the song “Keep Your Eyes Open”, so if you see it let me know. For now we are going to talk about this single for the song “Brother”. The song is actually off the album, ‘Rivers in the Wasteland’ from 2014. However, the songs on this disc are not on the version on the album.
The disc is a limited edition release with only 2,000 copies and I have one so there are only 1,999 left out there for you to find (yes, I know how to subtract). It is on a very beautiful transparent blue vinyl and it is gorgeous. It comes in a lovely jacket with a cool picture of Bear Rineheart on the front and his brother Bo Rinehart on the back which is significant which we will discuss later.
The package also comes with an insert with details about Side A and Side B and it is formatted in that same flowery motif. It is quite nice.
The next 7″ Vinyl Single I have from Needtobreathe is an Insiders Exclusive Single. It was only offered out to paid fans who are signed up for their Insiders Club (Yes, I am now a member, but wasn’t back then). As you can see from header picture, the packaging was limited to a die-cut paper sleeve, inserted in a clear vinyl sleeve which has a barcode sticker attached to the outside of the vinyl sleeve. Pretty plain but cool in its simplicity.
From what I gather, the vinyl was supposed to give us the unreleased track “Happy If You Could” which you can get the demo of the song on a digital E.P. called Cercas Blacas E.P. from 2013. I can’t find a ton of information on it, but it looks like it was recorded for the “Rivers in the Wasteland” album but not used. And here is the interesting part of all this. The song “Happy If You Could” isn’t even on this release. I am sure it was a mistake, but the song on Side A is actually the band’s cover of “Go Tell It To The Mountain”. Did someone not bother listening to the test pressing???
Back on November 25, 2016, Needtobreathe released a two song 7″ Single to celebrate the band’s chance to record for Paste Magazine at their Paste Studio. And this is the only way you can own these songs is on the vinyl option. Otherwise you have to stream them. The band recorded the songs the previous Summer in Midtown Manhattan and the band set up to record the songs acoustically which we already know the band does so well. The band was promoting their current album at the time, “Hard Love” which is one of their best albums.
I was finally able to get my hands on a copy and not pay too much. The band has only released 4 vinyl 7″ singles and now I have 3 of them and this is the first one I was able to get. The packaging is stunning and even comes with a double sided insert with one side being the track listing and all the credits and the other side artwork that continues the theme of the packaging for the single and the album. The single itself comes in a solid black sleeve to match the color the vinyl as well.
As you know if you visit my site, one of my favorite bands is Needtobreathe. I have everything they have put out on vinyl and now I am going after everything they have released on CD (that they don’t have on vinyl). And the CDs I want the most are the exclusive fan club CDs they release each year.
I had never joined prior to the 2020 year so getting my hands on these has not been easy as it is not cheap. I am looking for the right price and most of the time it is too high. I finally grabbed my first one at a price less than the membership fee which was Insiders LP Vol. 2 for $40 and 9 months later I got one even cheaper which was Insiders, Vol. 5 and it was only $25. And then a couple days later got another for $27 which was Insiders Vol. 3. Sorry we aren’t going in order, but we are going in order of when I receive them. And I just joined the 2021 Insiders Club and this time I am getting a T-Shirt and you guessed it, A Mask!! The CD for Insiders Vol. 8 will be out by January 2022. For now, we are discussing Insiders, Vol. VII from 2020 which this time it did cost me the cost of the club because I got tired of tyring to find all these. I still need volumes 1, 4 and 6 if you have them and want to sell.
Who is Needtobreathe you may ask and I will tell you. Needtobreathe is a rock band from South Carolina who mixes rock, folk, southern rock, country and whatever else they like all with a great message or story to tell. Currently the band is…
2 Loud 2 Old Music 