I am looking to record an EP for myself and a song I am considering recording is an obscure Idina song "It Only Hurts When I Breathe" which she performed at Joe's Pub and Ars Nova in 2001/2002 pre-Wicked days. Does anyone know who I should contact or maybe a rep of hers? Not sure where to direct this. Any help?
Maybe check with ASCAP or BMI? I know they handle public performance rights to a pretty large catalog, though I don't know how it works if you want to record a song for public release.
I'm not sure how many songs contain the lyrics you mentioned, but you're probably thinking of the song titled simply "Breathe", which I know as made famous as sung by Melissa Etheridge. Good song that was heard on the radio by her in 2004. But after a little research, both M.E. and probably Idina were covering this song apparently written by 1 or more members of a group called Greenwheel. They released the original version in either 2001 or 2002, which fits the time frame you mentioned. The info is at the wikipedia link below. Maybe knowing the shorter title, group name, and the songwriters' possible last names (band members from link) can help with your search? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greenwheel
"I'm not sure how many songs contain the lyrics you mentioned, but you're probably thinking of the song titled simply "Breathe", which I know as made famous as sung by Melissa Etheridge."
That's not at all the song he's referring to (though a wonderful song!). Idina wrote a completely different song by the same name - she debuted it at her Joe's Pub performances in 2001. She recorded it for her independent "Here" EP, but it was not included on the release.