now - (2007 and beyond) barley - guitar/vocals, chad-bass, steve-drums, briar - backdrop visuals/video commander and mastermind (when and where available) - then (original line up 1999-2005 more or less) barley-guitar/vocals, jake-guitar, chad-bass, jeremy-drums/extra vocals
Influences
a fascination with tinnitus and headaches, a fondness for feedback and amplifiers, cymbal crashes, snare drums, being bored, chillin, and a whole bunch of other stuff like that.
BIO (as gloriously written by j. snyder...we're not nearly this well spoken or self-adulating) - It's not everyday a band like Rebreather comes along. With a sound that
mirrors the complexity of the breathing process itself, the unit has been
exhaling distorted, molten hymns since 1999. While often categorized as an
offshoot of the doom metal genus, the fact remains that Rebreather has been
developing into something far more intriguing. They draw from the
thunderous volumes of Cavity and Floor as much as they do from Barkmarket's
twitchy finesse and Hum's melodic rumble. To say that Rebreather simply
mimics any of these acts is sorely missing the point. While some bands are
happy to move small chunks of ground by following their contemporaries,
Rebreather takes the tomes of the elder gods and completely rewrites them.
Rebreather was built in Youngstown, Ohio, in 1999 with the introduction of
Barley Rantilla (guitar/vocal) and Jake Harnett (guitar) to Chad Fondak (bass)
and Jeremy Koerber (drums). In a commitment to make the simplest yet heaviest
music possible, they soon recorded their first 4 song demo, which was
immediately followed by their second demo, Longplay. After Jake left the band
for the west coast, Infernal Racket Records (Philadelphia, PA) put out
Rebreather's first national release, "Need Another Seven Astronauts". Deep Send
Records (Hanover, MA) directly succeeded this by releasing the bands first
two demos together as one album, "Half Speed Ahead", in 2003. 2004 brought a split
ep on Twin Earth Records (GA). Between periodic chunks of downtime, Rebreather
replaced their founding drummer with veteran player, Steve Gardner. "Sunflower",
their newest full length album, was released on "Nice Life!" (Columbus, OH) in
2008, as was a vinyl release on "Heavy Slab Records" (Brooklyn, NY), featuring
songs from each release and also including 3 never officially released tracks.
Call it organized chaos. Rebreather shows that they are creating more than a
barrage of stark noise and earthen sludge. They are creating songs; glorious,
winding songs that allow dissonant, harmonic guitar/bass tones to soothe as well as strike, drumming to build as well as batter, and vocals to adopt a
powerful sense of shimmering vulnerability as well as slice through concrete. This is music to enhance the
senses. This is music to darken the mood as well as uplift it. This is
attention to detailed melody within fury. This is Rebreather and they wouldn't
have it any other way.
Totally awesome that you are going to be at Carabar tonight. I have the weeknd off and coming to see you all!! I always have to work weekends and miss your shows. Not this weekend! Going to be awesome!!
If I could, I'd share my breakfast with you. I'td be OK, Donnie's on the soy milk too. He'd share! I just drink whatever has the most calories as a matter of principle. Don't want me getting any smaller, do we? There are times when I wish I had a 'husky' type physique as well just so I could skip a meal without worrying that I'll disappear!
I'm sort of a word geek too, as well as a grammar nazi. Just yesterday I was begging this guy to take the apostrophe out of "tattoo's" for fuck's sake, as the tattoos do not OWN or POSSESS anything dammit!!! I see signs like that all the time and cannot believe some moron got paid to design them with incorrect grammar. As a kid I was lovin' the made-up languages as well, like pig latin, tho we had many variations 'round these parts.
I think growing up poor is much better for the soul. Just look at the spoiled pampered little brats we have these days, with DVD players in the car and everything. WTF? Do kids not entertain themselves with their minds any more? Nooooo. They have to have it all done for them and presented in digital HD. It's bullshit, no wonder many children are obese and unhealthy, not to mention spoiled, these days. It took me until I was 23 to realize that we had pancakes for supper because we were POOR, not just because it was FUN, so here's to growing up broke! It made us more creative and resourceful people. (I know I sound like Grandpa saying "i had to walk 12 miles up-hill both ways in the snow to school every day..." but it's so true!)
you're right. i will not give in to this generational stereotype. to hell with that ham. good thing it was taken too because incidentally i was planning on stealing it myself. just saved me the trouble. oh thank you wise and benevolent Rebreather, for showing me the error of my ways. how can i ever repay you? ham?
you read much more serious shit than I do! I totally feel like a moron- I'm over here with my simple little Charlaine Harris mysteries! I haven't read anything too heavy since the time I tore thru 1000 pages of Marquis de Sade all at once. I was depressed for weeks! I did read hubert selby jr, though (requiem for a dream, rules of attraction) .. his syntax is hard to understand but once you get into the rhythm and get used to the lack of punctuation it's all good. If you like books that are sort of strange 'cause of syntax, phonics, etc, try Chuck Palahniuk's "Pygmy". I had begun speaking communist "Engrish" like the main character by the end of the thing! I love Chuck, he's awesome.
Other favorites: Aldous Huxley, George Orwell, Kurt Vonnegut. Anything with failed utopian societies just sucks me in.
There are both: Tropic of Cancer and Tropic of Capricorn. I know of them but have not read them.
I think it's hilarious that a couple of stoners like us bother eating healthy stuff for breakfast. I've been on a shredded mini wheat kick lately but still with the whole milk. I needs my fat calories, you know!
mmmm... cocoa pebbles and wine! Breakfast of Champions.
I'll have to check out the other songs you've listed- chances are DB has them on CD in our collection. He's definitely a huge Tom Waites fan. I tried to get him tickets once, drove to the ticketmaster early only to be informed that the ticket sales are internet-only! No fair! I even had my mom trying to buy them from her computer at work, but it didn't work out.
My Saturdays are like the video at times, only instead of the magazine or internet, I'd have a book.. and I'd use milk on my cereal. And I get the laundry done somehow, too. I have managed to devour about 6-7 books a month since the beginning of the summer and always end up back on the couch with one, no matter what I do.
At least I would have been of legal age to get on the tour bus! That makes it OK. Too bad, though.. now that I'm all married and shit, I've lost my chance at ever becoming a skanky Rebreather groupie. It's nice to know that I could have, though! ;) I'll have to settle for "girl who used to book Rebreather whenever she got a chance".
Hope you're enjoying your Tom Waites. My favorite Waites song is "cold water". It's a great hangover song, even tho I've never had a hangover.
Here, I found you some on YouTube. I don't like them at all, but apparently a lot of people do. Personally, the guy's voice is too whiny for me.
As for you guys being cult heroes, that does have it's upside. For one thing, if you were huge and famous and all, you wouldn't bother bullshitting with a nobody like me! :)
Hahaha, kid playing the guitar looks to be about ten. When I was his age I was all about watching Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and riding my bike. Shit.
wow! Tim from Clutch already owned all your CDs! I hope the stains in your pants washed out... I would totally have shit myself if I were you! The Metallica thing is major props for you guys as well. I honestly have no fuckin' idea why Rebreather is not the Next Big Thing, up to your necks in money and skanky groupies. You really should be. I've been lovin' the preview tracks- as always, heavy and utterly beautiful and still good when played over and over and over. That, to me, is the mark of a really good band- I don't get sick of it the umpteenth time I hear it.
Speaking of things you get sick of after hearing them over and over, I totally wish kings of leon would just fall off a cliff, already! The CD player in my car is busted and I am so fucking sick of kings of leon on every station. Having my car broken down has been good in that I haven't listened to the radio and have been leon-free for about a month now.
Wesley's favorite method of greeting was indeed the head-butt. I didn't get one, but that's OK. I am not sure I would have enjoyed it.
Today's been damn good except for waiting for the lady to call and schedule my next (hopefully final) attempt at hysterectomy/exorcism. I've always gotten those calls on Thursdays before so I'm constantly checking my phone. How 'bout you?
HEY!!! WE HAVE NEVER HEARD FROM YOU!!!?! WHAT THE EFF YO! lol hey check it out weve been busy we signed Martha Beck New song Posted on our page. Betray Your Own is now on iTunes and We also have BYO shirts for sale for $10 on chokeemrecords.bigcartel.com Also come to our page and hear another new artist we signed called An Aborted Memory! They are sick. So please stop by and comment us back. Lets be friends!
oh yes.. xanax + sweet plant life = bliss! I try not to take the pills unless I'm completely freaking out, can't sleep, or too anxious to eat. I want to get over this panic thing for good so becoming too dependent on meds won't help in the long term. But- when I do break down and take the pill.. oh, sweet relief! It only takes 0.25mg to knock me out so I think I'm doing OK. I wish I'd had some for my wedding!
I've heard the guys from Clutch are mostly small guys- people I could look straight in the eye, almost. Hard to believe the singer can make so much noise out of such a little body. I'm glad to hear that they are genuinely nice guys (just like this other really great band I know from Ytown) and not too full of themselves. I was always very disturbed any time I'd discover that one of my musical heroes is, in fact, a complete jerk who screws 16 year old girls on the tour bus, shoots heroin, eats puppies, etc.
My Clutch ticket was for House of Blues, not at all like the wonderful little club shows I wish I'd seen. Donnie ended up in an opera box with some friends after much squabbling over tickets due to our other friend losing his. Apparently all I missed was a giant mess and our friend lost and drunk in a parking garage. Typical night in Cleveland! I don't much get manhandled at shows but the tallest guy there always seems to stand right in front of me. I punch/kick/elbow any manhandlers and that normally solves the problem.
I miss Nyabinghi. Seeing Wesley Willis there was the highlight of 2003 for me- right before he kicked the bucket! Sometimes I'm a lucky girl.
I'm doing better today. I think my space heater fan was infested with germs or mold because every time I'd come to work and turn it on I'd get sicke
love the Clutch video by the way. I hope I get another chance to see them someday, and then have the fortitude to actually go. I had a ticket in August but gave it away.. this is before the appearance of xanax in my life, obviously. I think I could do it if I tried again, now that I have a way "out", so to speak.
you callin' my el Camino unreliable? The engine's just shot.. what's unreliable about that??
Once it's been replaced it will be like a brand new car, since I've already replaced everything else in the fucking thing!
I really do hope everything will be ok. I keep getting sick again every time I go back to work. I'm thinking the problem might be something at my job, maybe?
Yes, it is a giant load of shit happening all at once. It was just a series of colds and the flu, but the flu gunked up my lungs pretty good and all my stressed-out cigarette smoking only made it worse. the anesthesiologist listened to me breathe and said "nope, not going to put you under until this is better". Hence the antibiotics and the delay. So, looks like it's time to quit smoking cigarettes. When everything else in my life fucking sucks, why not add nicotine withdrawal to the list?
The el Camino should be on the mend soon. The new engine is ordered and paid for and we're just waiting for it to arrive at the mechanic's. Once it does, we'll have the car towed there and Howard the car genius will get to work. No telling how long that will take, but after paying for the engine all I have to do is make him a batch of brownies when he's done. No, not special brownies.. regular ones! With my luck, my car will be all better just in time for me to actually get neutered and not be allowed to drive it!
I keep telling myself that this can't go on forever. It has to end sometime. I shouldn't bitch too much since I've been lucky in so many other ways.
