Breathing Space

There have been two bands currently performing under the name Breathing Space. (1) A six-piece progressive/pop rock band from York, England (2) A metal band from the UK The York-based band was formed in 2005 by keyboardist Iain Jennings to tour his first solo album Breathing Space featuring Olivia Sparnenn, who had sung all the lead vocals on the album. They then became a band in their own right with Mark Rowen on guitar, Paul Teasdale on bass and Iain's brothers Andy and Ben on drums and keyboards. Andy Jennings left the early in 2007. After a couple of live appearances with Olivia's father Howard standing in on drums, the band recruited Barry Cassells as his replacement. This lineup recorded the 2007 album Coming Up for Air. John Hart, who'd played Sax as a guest musician on the album, joined the band for the tour promoting the album, expanding the band to a seven-piece. This band gained a higher profile, including support slots for The Reasoning and the first of several appearances at the Cambridge Rock Festival. John Hart and Mark Rowen left in 2008 and 2009, and they recorded the follow-up album Below the Radar, released in 2009, with Mostly Autumn's Liam Davidson playing all the guitars. After a couple of live appearances with Liam, the band toured with Mostly Autumn's Bryan Josh as guitarist as a stand-in while the band sought a permanent replacement guitarist. In April 2010, Olivia Sparnenn left the band to become the new singer of Mostly Autumn, and in July the band announced their new singer as Heidi Widdop, most recently a member of The Secrets, and also in a very early incarnation of Mostly Autumn. Adam Dawson joined the band as guitarist. This incarnation of the band made their live debut at the 2010 Cambridge Rock Festival. Unfortunately the band announced at the beginning of 2011 that they would be disbanding, although some members would be working together on future projects. In February came the announcement that Heidi, Adam, Paul and Barry had formed a new band named Stolen Earth. Visit the band's website at www.breathingspaceband.info or their MySpace page (www.myspace.com/breathingspaceband) for more information. The story of the other band named Breathing Space began in March 2004. The band consisted of Nick Kelly (Guitar), Paddy Kearney (Vocals), James Henderson (Drums) and Chris Lowe (Bass), all aged 16 and 17. Having recently lost lead guitar player Adam Stephenson, Breathing-Space were looking for a new direction. It was decided that a 2nd guitar player was needed to add volume to the band but also to bring new inspiration. After trying out a couple of local guitarists, the band stumbled upon Dale Shepherd, a 6th form friend of drummer James. Dales heavy metal influences came from the likes of Metallica, Megadeth and Pantera. The first jam was an immediate success with Dale fitting in well and bringing a new heavier, meatier sound. It was decided after the first session that Dale should be a permanent member and to the joy of the rest of the band he took them up on the offer. It was from here on that the band started developing a heavier sound. Riffs were faster, harsher and dirtier than ever before. 2004 saw the first proper recordings of Breathing-Space, produced and mixed by Rob Ashworth. The songs quickly became dated to the band and no longer fun to play. The band again changed their sound as they started to gain influences from heavier established bands. This is when they “found their forte”, so to speak. The material they were writing was becoming challenging for them to play, which made them feel something they’d never felt before. The guitars and drums were becoming much more complex and the satisfaction the band were getting from playing their own material was immense. From here on, the material is getting more and more challenging and more and more interesting. 2006 has seen the latest release of Breathing-Space tracks in the form of the Kequality EP. With support slots coming in for various bands, including a support slot for the established “Bring Me The Horizon”. Visit Breathing-Space at www.myspace.com/breathingspace Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.