Wednesday, December 8, 2010
Friday, November 26, 2010
Lifehouse
Early Life of Lifehouse Lead Vocalist Jason Wade:
Lifehouse front man Jason Wade grew up with an unusual childhood. Wade’s parents were missionaries and frequently moved from one Asian country to the next. Disliked by local children, Wade found it difficult to make friends. When Jason was 10, his family moved back to the United States where his parents soon divorced. After moving to Seattle with his mother, Jason Wade began writing poetry as a way to help cope with the difficulties of divorce. Finding his mother's guitar, Wade began to teach himself to play. He started writing songs as he put his poetry to music and soon began recording his own demos.
Lifehouse Band Members:
* Jason Wade- Lead vocals, Guitar
* Bryce Soderberg- Bass, Background vocals
* Rick Woolstenhulme- Drums
Formation of Lifehouse:
In 1995, Jason Wade moved to Los Angeles. The 15-year-old grew to be friends with next-door neighbor and bassist Sergio Andrade, who eventually became one of the early members of Lifehouse. With a few more musicians, Lifehouse officially formed in 1996, although initially they called themselves Blyss.
Quick Rise to Stardom:
Playing gigs throughout L.A. for years, Blyss was eventually signed to DreamWorks and officially changed its name to Lifehouse in 2000. The band's major label debut, No Name Face, hit record stores in fall of the same year. In early 2001, the first single, “Hanging By A Moment,” began to pick up some scattered radio airplay. By spring, the record was soaring up playlists throughout the country, and “Moment” went on to become radio’s most played song of the year. This instant fame helped Lifehouse gain spots on successful tours with the likes of Matchbox Twenty and 3 Doors Down.
Quote From Lifehouse Leader Jason Wade:
From an interview with ConcertLiveWire on Jason Wade's favorite music:
"I've really fallen in love with the older music. The Beatles, Simon and Garfunkel and Elton John - great songwriters. I'm attracted to singers - songwriters and if they happen to be in a rock band.”
Lifehouse and the Christian Rock Market:
Early on Lifehouse appealed to the Christian rock market. Wade and Andrade first played together in their church youth group, and many of the band’s songs clearly contained Christian content. However, Lifehouse received criticism from the Christian community during their breakout success due to MTV sponsorship of an early tour. Jason Wade also has that, although he considers himself a Christian, he does not want Lifehouse to be known as a Christian band. Many faith-based radio stations have boycotted the band’s music, and many Christian music retailers refuse to sell the group’s work.
Mainstream Pop-Rock Success:
Fall 2002's Stanley Climbfall, the second album from Lifehouse, unfortunately did not duplicate the success of No Name Face. However, the band was still able to tour and draw strong crowds, as little time had passed since their breakout success. In late 2004, Lifehouse entered the studio once again to record their self-titled third album. This time around the group was able to prove they did not catch lightning in a bottle as the stripped down lead single “You and Me” became a top 20 pop hit and topped several adult contemporary charts.
Continuing the trend of an album release every couple of years, Lifehouse unleashed Who We Are in June, 2007. In an attempt to change pace and help their sound evolve, the group entered the studio without having recorded any demos, and instead had only lyrics from Jason Wade. This new method worked if the success of lead single “First Time” is any indication. The track climbed well into the top 40 of the pop singles chart. As of November 2007, Lifehouse was in the midst of a nationwide tour.
*Credits to:
http://top40.about.com/od/l/p/Lifehouse.htm
Lifehouse front man Jason Wade grew up with an unusual childhood. Wade’s parents were missionaries and frequently moved from one Asian country to the next. Disliked by local children, Wade found it difficult to make friends. When Jason was 10, his family moved back to the United States where his parents soon divorced. After moving to Seattle with his mother, Jason Wade began writing poetry as a way to help cope with the difficulties of divorce. Finding his mother's guitar, Wade began to teach himself to play. He started writing songs as he put his poetry to music and soon began recording his own demos.
Lifehouse Band Members:
* Jason Wade- Lead vocals, Guitar
* Bryce Soderberg- Bass, Background vocals
* Rick Woolstenhulme- Drums
Formation of Lifehouse:
In 1995, Jason Wade moved to Los Angeles. The 15-year-old grew to be friends with next-door neighbor and bassist Sergio Andrade, who eventually became one of the early members of Lifehouse. With a few more musicians, Lifehouse officially formed in 1996, although initially they called themselves Blyss.
Quick Rise to Stardom:
Playing gigs throughout L.A. for years, Blyss was eventually signed to DreamWorks and officially changed its name to Lifehouse in 2000. The band's major label debut, No Name Face, hit record stores in fall of the same year. In early 2001, the first single, “Hanging By A Moment,” began to pick up some scattered radio airplay. By spring, the record was soaring up playlists throughout the country, and “Moment” went on to become radio’s most played song of the year. This instant fame helped Lifehouse gain spots on successful tours with the likes of Matchbox Twenty and 3 Doors Down.
Quote From Lifehouse Leader Jason Wade:
From an interview with ConcertLiveWire on Jason Wade's favorite music:
"I've really fallen in love with the older music. The Beatles, Simon and Garfunkel and Elton John - great songwriters. I'm attracted to singers - songwriters and if they happen to be in a rock band.”
Lifehouse and the Christian Rock Market:
Early on Lifehouse appealed to the Christian rock market. Wade and Andrade first played together in their church youth group, and many of the band’s songs clearly contained Christian content. However, Lifehouse received criticism from the Christian community during their breakout success due to MTV sponsorship of an early tour. Jason Wade also has that, although he considers himself a Christian, he does not want Lifehouse to be known as a Christian band. Many faith-based radio stations have boycotted the band’s music, and many Christian music retailers refuse to sell the group’s work.
Mainstream Pop-Rock Success:
Fall 2002's Stanley Climbfall, the second album from Lifehouse, unfortunately did not duplicate the success of No Name Face. However, the band was still able to tour and draw strong crowds, as little time had passed since their breakout success. In late 2004, Lifehouse entered the studio once again to record their self-titled third album. This time around the group was able to prove they did not catch lightning in a bottle as the stripped down lead single “You and Me” became a top 20 pop hit and topped several adult contemporary charts.
Continuing the trend of an album release every couple of years, Lifehouse unleashed Who We Are in June, 2007. In an attempt to change pace and help their sound evolve, the group entered the studio without having recorded any demos, and instead had only lyrics from Jason Wade. This new method worked if the success of lead single “First Time” is any indication. The track climbed well into the top 40 of the pop singles chart. As of November 2007, Lifehouse was in the midst of a nationwide tour.
*Credits to:
http://top40.about.com/od/l/p/Lifehouse.htm
Lifehouse Interview With Bryce Soderberg
I had the opportunity to sit down and talk to Bryce Soderberg, bass player with Lifehouse in March 2010. The band were in Nashville prepping for an upcoming tour with Daughtry. They have just released the album Smoke and Mirrors and the song "Halfway Gone" is climbing at top 40 pop radio.
Bill: For long-term Lifehouse fans, what's new here on theSmoke and Mirrors album that they might be looking for?
Bryce: One of the differences from this record compared to the last is it shows a lot of growth in the band while still maintaining that Lifehouse sound. We explored new directions. We tried to kind of raise the bar on this record and try out some synth sounds.
We did some co-writes on this record with different artists. Jason wrote with Kevin Rudolf and Chris Daughtry. We just took a year and a half on this record. We took our time to develop the band and try and make the best record that we could. So it's not exactly the same. You can't keep making the same record over and over again.
Bill: How did connecting with Kevin Rudolf to work on the album come about?
Bryce: It was actually our producer Jude. He listened to that song "Let It Rock" by Kevin Rudolf, and we all liked that song. He seemed like a guy that had this cool hybrid of pop and rock, and Jude e-mailed him and he responded right away. He said he would love to write a song. We got together and "Halfway Gone" was born and "Falling In." They were written in the course of like half an hour each. He's just great.
What happened is our record Smoke and Mirrors is kind of a hybrid of the live organic rock stuff and also the radio-friendly pop. That song ("Halfway Gone") is kind of a perfect blend of the two.
Bill: And you worked with Chris Daughtry too?
Bryce: Yeah we worked with Chris. He's been a friend of ours for like a good two years. Our band is friends with his band. He invited Jason to write a song for his record awhile ago. After they got together the chemistry was good, and he invited him to write with us for our record. He wound up singing a song on the record, and it turned out to be great.
Bill: You've got your first lead vocal on this album, right?
Bryce: Yeah, I'm singing a song on the record called "Wrecking Ball."
Bill: And how did that go?
Bryce: It wasn't anything that was premeditated at all. We were jamming as a band in our rehearsal space. We were going to take a lunch break and during the break I showed Jason the songs I had been listening to from Canada, and we came back and we came up with this cool beat that was influenced by those bands. "Wrecking Ball" was made. Jason was originally singing lead on it, and it was about to get swept under the rug. The song wasn't going to make the record because our producer wasn't a fan of it. I was like, "We gotta do 'Wrecking Ball,' we gotta do 'Wrecking Ball.'"
Then Jason was like, "Well, why don't you sing it?" I said, "OK." I sang it, and this was one of the songs that was lost in a sea of 35 tunes we had come up with. It wound up being one of the ones that stood out, and we put it on the record.
Bill: You sang lead vocals with a group before you joined Lifehouse?
Bryce: I was in a band called T.E.A. about six years ago, and I was the lead singer in that band.
Bill: Had you missed it? Did it feel good to be back on lead vocals?
Bryce: Absolutely. There's a certain part of making music and playing live that when you sing lead it's a completely different hat than being a bass player. I did miss it, and I'm honored I get a chance to sing lead with Lifehouse.
*Credits to: http://top40.about.com/od/lifehouse/a/lifehouseinterview.htm
Bill: For long-term Lifehouse fans, what's new here on theSmoke and Mirrors album that they might be looking for?
Bryce: One of the differences from this record compared to the last is it shows a lot of growth in the band while still maintaining that Lifehouse sound. We explored new directions. We tried to kind of raise the bar on this record and try out some synth sounds.
We did some co-writes on this record with different artists. Jason wrote with Kevin Rudolf and Chris Daughtry. We just took a year and a half on this record. We took our time to develop the band and try and make the best record that we could. So it's not exactly the same. You can't keep making the same record over and over again.
Bill: How did connecting with Kevin Rudolf to work on the album come about?
Bryce: It was actually our producer Jude. He listened to that song "Let It Rock" by Kevin Rudolf, and we all liked that song. He seemed like a guy that had this cool hybrid of pop and rock, and Jude e-mailed him and he responded right away. He said he would love to write a song. We got together and "Halfway Gone" was born and "Falling In." They were written in the course of like half an hour each. He's just great.
What happened is our record Smoke and Mirrors is kind of a hybrid of the live organic rock stuff and also the radio-friendly pop. That song ("Halfway Gone") is kind of a perfect blend of the two.
Bill: And you worked with Chris Daughtry too?
Bryce: Yeah we worked with Chris. He's been a friend of ours for like a good two years. Our band is friends with his band. He invited Jason to write a song for his record awhile ago. After they got together the chemistry was good, and he invited him to write with us for our record. He wound up singing a song on the record, and it turned out to be great.
Bill: You've got your first lead vocal on this album, right?
Bryce: Yeah, I'm singing a song on the record called "Wrecking Ball."
Bill: And how did that go?
Bryce: It wasn't anything that was premeditated at all. We were jamming as a band in our rehearsal space. We were going to take a lunch break and during the break I showed Jason the songs I had been listening to from Canada, and we came back and we came up with this cool beat that was influenced by those bands. "Wrecking Ball" was made. Jason was originally singing lead on it, and it was about to get swept under the rug. The song wasn't going to make the record because our producer wasn't a fan of it. I was like, "We gotta do 'Wrecking Ball,' we gotta do 'Wrecking Ball.'"
Then Jason was like, "Well, why don't you sing it?" I said, "OK." I sang it, and this was one of the songs that was lost in a sea of 35 tunes we had come up with. It wound up being one of the ones that stood out, and we put it on the record.
Bill: You sang lead vocals with a group before you joined Lifehouse?
Bryce: I was in a band called T.E.A. about six years ago, and I was the lead singer in that band.
Bill: Had you missed it? Did it feel good to be back on lead vocals?
Bryce: Absolutely. There's a certain part of making music and playing live that when you sing lead it's a completely different hat than being a bass player. I did miss it, and I'm honored I get a chance to sing lead with Lifehouse.
*Credits to: http://top40.about.com/od/lifehouse/a/lifehouseinterview.htm
Who We Are (Lifehouse album)
On April 24, 2007, the band released the first single "First Time" to radio stations for airplay. Initially, the song played as an hourly feature on Star 98.7 in Los Angeles for that day. Then the song was later released to all radio stations.
During the recording sessions for Who We Are, the band recorded several B-sides, such as "Keep the Change", "If This Is Goodbye", "Signs of Life", and "I Want You to Know". Most of these have appeared on various special edition, collector's edition, or international releases as bonus tracks. "If This Is Goodbye" received a proper release on the soundtrack to the motion picture Bratz. Another B-side, "High Away from You", was rumored to be included on the soundtrack to The Simpsons Movie, but these rumors were later identified to be untrue.
"Broken", the album's third single, appeared on the episode "Lay Your Hands on Me" of Grey's Anatomy, "In Birth and Death" of Criminal Minds and in "For Tonight You're Only Here to Know" of One Tree Hill. "Broken" also appeared on the Thanksgiving episode of General Hospital, in the 2009 Apple Movie Trailer "The Time Traveler's Wife", during a montage of Thanksgiving celebrations in Port Charles and during the final goodbye of loversNikolas Cassadine and Emily Quartermaine. This song has peaked at #83 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The official radio version of the song is available on iTunes.[1]
Following its release, Who We Are debuted on the Billboard 200 at number 14, selling approximately 49,000 copies in its first week.[2] As of December 13, 2008, the album has sold 526,724 copies in the US.[3] Who We Are has been certified Gold by the RIAA on October 22, 2008.[4] It has sold over three million copies worldwide to date.
The album has so far featured two top 40 hits with "First Time" and "Whatever It Takes." This is the band's first album to contain two top 40 hits and their first to have all three singles chart on the Billboard Hot 100.
Lifehouse held a contest to make a video for the song "Make Me Over".[5] The band gave 60 USC School of Cinematic Arts graduate students a chance to shoot the video. The music video has been made and it premiered at a gala event on December 5, 2008 at the Paley Center for Media in Beverly Hills, CA.[6]
There is a re-release of the album available in stores that contains two discs. The first disc contains all of the songs on the track listing of Who We Are. The second disc contains live versions of First Time, Hanging by a Moment, You and Me, From Where You Are, and Whatever It Takes. [7]
2010 VH1 Do Something Awards: Ready to Rock
Have you done something to make a change lately? There are a bunch of celebs who have taken time out of their busy schedules to stand up for what they believe in. The Do Something Awards are all about recognizing teens that have DONE something to change the world for the better. Everyone's favorite Glee enemy/cheer coach, Jane Lynch, is hosting the awards show on July 19 on VH1.
There's some VERY tough competition happening. Natalie Portman, Jessica Biel, Leo DiCaprio, Matt Damon and Salma Hayek are all up for awards. Both Matt and Leo are doing their part to bring attention to the clean water crisis, same with Jessica who climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro to raise awareness about Africa's water situation, Natalie hosted a charity event for the film "Hungry in America," and Salma went above and beyond when she visited Sierra Leone health clinics and breast fed a hungry baby who's mother could not produce milk.
What do Lady Gaga and Pete Wentz have in common? Not much... except that they're both up for a Do Something Award for their work this year. Gaga donated proceeds from one of her concerts to the Haiti relief fund and also raised awareness about AIDS worldwide. Pete was named the spokesman for UNICEF Tap, an organization dedicated to providing clean drinking water to children everywhere. Other musicians up for the prize are Shakira, Christina Aguilera and all three JoBros.
Who says you can't care about how you look and about helping people? Several high-profile fashionistas know how to balance both worlds. Tyra Banks, Nigel Barker, Victoria Beckham, Donatella Versace and Christy Turlington have all done their part to change the world this year. Nigel's powerful photo exhibit titled Haiti: Hunger and Hope is the perfect example of how to use whatever talent you have to make a difference.
Twitter is used for all kinds of reasons: boredom, staying in touch, seeing amazing Twitpics of our fave stars, but did you know that it's a great charity tool, too? Celebs like Ashton Kutcher, Alyssa Milano, Ed Norton and Hugh Jackman have raised tons of money in 140 characters or less. Now THAT's saying something about how easy it is to donate your time and efforts. Check out which charities they Tweeted and you decide who you think should win the award here:
*Credits to:http://www.fanpop.com/spots/lifehouse/articles/65374/title/2010-vh1-something-awards-ready-rock
There's some VERY tough competition happening. Natalie Portman, Jessica Biel, Leo DiCaprio, Matt Damon and Salma Hayek are all up for awards. Both Matt and Leo are doing their part to bring attention to the clean water crisis, same with Jessica who climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro to raise awareness about Africa's water situation, Natalie hosted a charity event for the film "Hungry in America," and Salma went above and beyond when she visited Sierra Leone health clinics and breast fed a hungry baby who's mother could not produce milk.
What do Lady Gaga and Pete Wentz have in common? Not much... except that they're both up for a Do Something Award for their work this year. Gaga donated proceeds from one of her concerts to the Haiti relief fund and also raised awareness about AIDS worldwide. Pete was named the spokesman for UNICEF Tap, an organization dedicated to providing clean drinking water to children everywhere. Other musicians up for the prize are Shakira, Christina Aguilera and all three JoBros.
Who says you can't care about how you look and about helping people? Several high-profile fashionistas know how to balance both worlds. Tyra Banks, Nigel Barker, Victoria Beckham, Donatella Versace and Christy Turlington have all done their part to change the world this year. Nigel's powerful photo exhibit titled Haiti: Hunger and Hope is the perfect example of how to use whatever talent you have to make a difference.
Twitter is used for all kinds of reasons: boredom, staying in touch, seeing amazing Twitpics of our fave stars, but did you know that it's a great charity tool, too? Celebs like Ashton Kutcher, Alyssa Milano, Ed Norton and Hugh Jackman have raised tons of money in 140 characters or less. Now THAT's saying something about how easy it is to donate your time and efforts. Check out which charities they Tweeted and you decide who you think should win the award here:
*Credits to:http://www.fanpop.com/spots/lifehouse/articles/65374/title/2010-vh1-something-awards-ready-rock
Musicians:Lifehouse
Rock group
With their very first album, No Name Face, released by Dream Works in 2000, Lifehouse established themselves as a major modern rock band. The album hit the top of the charts and went double-platinum almost at once, and a single from the album, "Hanging by a Moment," became the most-played song on the radio in 2001.
Lifehouse was started in Los Angeles in 1996 by lead singer and songwriter Jason Wade, then in his mid-teens. Wade had moved a lot as a child, starting out in Camarillo, California, and moving with his parents to various points in Asia, including Japan and Thailand, before heading back to the United States to settle in Portland, Oregon. Stability was short-lived, however, and when his parents divorced, he moved yet again, this time with his mother to Seattle, Washington. It was there, while in junior high school, that Wade began to write and play music. When he was 15, he and his mother relocated a final time, to Los Angeles.
In Los Angeles, Wade met bass player Sergio Andrade and drummer Rick Woolstenhulme, and they played together as Blyss. Andrade had emigrated as a child from Guatemala City, and Woostenhulme, from rural Arizona, was in Los Angeles to study at the
Los Angeles Music Academy. The trio later changed its name to Lifehouse.
After playing for several years in small venues in the Los Angeles area, Lifehouse were signed to the DreamWorks label in 2000. Their first album, No Name Face, was released by DreamWorks in October of that year. It was an instant hit, with the single "Hanging by a Moment" getting more radio airtime than any other song in 2001.
Wade and his bandmates had only just hit their 20s when their first album was released. The album showcased Wade’s soulful singing and pensive lyrics, backed by electric guitar and drums. Deceptively simple, the album’s music reflects a maturity unusual for such an early effort. The theme of searching is highlighted in the album’s tracks, with the tunes "Unknown," ‘Trying," and "Only One" reflecting a quest for spiritual and personal fulfillment.
Although the music of Lifehouse is uplifting and at times inspirational, the band members do not identify themselves as Christian musicians. Two members of the band are Christian, and they originally met at a non-denominational church in Los Angeles. "My music is spiritually based, but we don’t want to be labeled as a ‘Christian band,’" Wade told Rolling Stone, as quoted in Campus Life magazine, "because all of a sudden people’s walls come up and they won’t listen to your music and what you have to say."
The album was produced by Ron Aniello and mixed by Brendan O’Brien, a music-industry veteran who had also worked on the recordings of Pearl Jam, U2, and Stone Temple Pilots. All Music Guide’s Liana Jonas praised O’Brien’s choice to make Wade’s singing the focus of the album by making sure that the instrumentation stayed at the back of the mix. Jonas called it "an intelligent musical formula sorely missed in much music of the early 21st century."
No Name Face shot to the number-six position on Billboard’s Top 200 chart and became a platinum record twice over. The single from the album, "Hanging by a Moment," hit the number-one position on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart and number two on the Hot 100 chart. The band hit the road, touring with Pearl Jam, Fuel, Matchbox Twenty, and other rock stars, before recording its second album in 2001.
Lifehouse’s next album, Stanley Climbfall, was recorded by the band in the spring and summer months of 2002, and it was released on the DreamWorks label in the summer of 2002. Wade was 22 at the time of this release. This album features, in addition to the original trio, Rick Woolstenhulme’s younger brother, Sean Woolstenhulme, on guitar. The album was named to reflect the idea of taking risks and the inevitable ups and downs that result. The words "stand," "climb," and "fall," were combined to create a character named Stanley Climbfall.
"Spin" was the cut from Stanley Cimbfall that was chosen for the most radio play. Featuring the lyric "And the world keeps spinning round/My world’s upside down, and I wouldn’t change a thing," the song, noted the band’s website, might as well describe the band’s rapid rise to success. Again mixed by O’Brien and produced by Aniello, the album’s songs represent a shift from the yearning of the first album, reflecting the deeper confidence that comes with success. As Wade explained on the band’s website, "It’s a very physical record. It’s about moving forward. No Name Face was about accepting the place where you are and trying to figure out how to get beyond that, but not really knowing how. This one is more like, ‘I know how to do this, so I’m just continuing to go forward, take the good with the bad and keep moving.’"
Also with this album, the group presented itself as a more integrated whole, with the other band members coming more to the foreground. Accordingly, the tracks "Spin" and "Wash," for example, feature guitar chords just as prominently as the vocals, giving the band a more unified sound.
With the help of producer Aniello, Wade dug deeper for more soulful lyrics, while at the same time arriving at them more naturally, improvising lines in pre-production and then picking out the best ones. "It’s all about letting the song happen versus trying to write it," explained Wade on the band’s website. Wade wrote much of the music for Stanley Climbfall while on the road touring with Matchbox Twenty and Pearl Jam. At the end of each show, he would seclude himself in the back of the tour bus and, with the help of a tape recorder, rough out the tunes that would become the songs of the new album.
Wade remarked to the Asia Africa Intelligence Wire, "I think that this is a good, complete record that you can listen to all the way through and all the songs fit together—it makes more sense as a collection of songs [than No Name Face]." In keeping with the theme of taking risks, Stanley Climbfall represents for the band a commitment to continue changing and growing, all the while playing the music that is the most meaningful to them. As Wade put it on the band’s website, "we took a chance and tried to make what we do better."
*Credits to:http://www.answers.com/topic/lifehouse-band
With their very first album, No Name Face, released by Dream Works in 2000, Lifehouse established themselves as a major modern rock band. The album hit the top of the charts and went double-platinum almost at once, and a single from the album, "Hanging by a Moment," became the most-played song on the radio in 2001.
Lifehouse was started in Los Angeles in 1996 by lead singer and songwriter Jason Wade, then in his mid-teens. Wade had moved a lot as a child, starting out in Camarillo, California, and moving with his parents to various points in Asia, including Japan and Thailand, before heading back to the United States to settle in Portland, Oregon. Stability was short-lived, however, and when his parents divorced, he moved yet again, this time with his mother to Seattle, Washington. It was there, while in junior high school, that Wade began to write and play music. When he was 15, he and his mother relocated a final time, to Los Angeles.
In Los Angeles, Wade met bass player Sergio Andrade and drummer Rick Woolstenhulme, and they played together as Blyss. Andrade had emigrated as a child from Guatemala City, and Woostenhulme, from rural Arizona, was in Los Angeles to study at the
Los Angeles Music Academy. The trio later changed its name to Lifehouse.
After playing for several years in small venues in the Los Angeles area, Lifehouse were signed to the DreamWorks label in 2000. Their first album, No Name Face, was released by DreamWorks in October of that year. It was an instant hit, with the single "Hanging by a Moment" getting more radio airtime than any other song in 2001.
Wade and his bandmates had only just hit their 20s when their first album was released. The album showcased Wade’s soulful singing and pensive lyrics, backed by electric guitar and drums. Deceptively simple, the album’s music reflects a maturity unusual for such an early effort. The theme of searching is highlighted in the album’s tracks, with the tunes "Unknown," ‘Trying," and "Only One" reflecting a quest for spiritual and personal fulfillment.
Although the music of Lifehouse is uplifting and at times inspirational, the band members do not identify themselves as Christian musicians. Two members of the band are Christian, and they originally met at a non-denominational church in Los Angeles. "My music is spiritually based, but we don’t want to be labeled as a ‘Christian band,’" Wade told Rolling Stone, as quoted in Campus Life magazine, "because all of a sudden people’s walls come up and they won’t listen to your music and what you have to say."
The album was produced by Ron Aniello and mixed by Brendan O’Brien, a music-industry veteran who had also worked on the recordings of Pearl Jam, U2, and Stone Temple Pilots. All Music Guide’s Liana Jonas praised O’Brien’s choice to make Wade’s singing the focus of the album by making sure that the instrumentation stayed at the back of the mix. Jonas called it "an intelligent musical formula sorely missed in much music of the early 21st century."
No Name Face shot to the number-six position on Billboard’s Top 200 chart and became a platinum record twice over. The single from the album, "Hanging by a Moment," hit the number-one position on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart and number two on the Hot 100 chart. The band hit the road, touring with Pearl Jam, Fuel, Matchbox Twenty, and other rock stars, before recording its second album in 2001.
Lifehouse’s next album, Stanley Climbfall, was recorded by the band in the spring and summer months of 2002, and it was released on the DreamWorks label in the summer of 2002. Wade was 22 at the time of this release. This album features, in addition to the original trio, Rick Woolstenhulme’s younger brother, Sean Woolstenhulme, on guitar. The album was named to reflect the idea of taking risks and the inevitable ups and downs that result. The words "stand," "climb," and "fall," were combined to create a character named Stanley Climbfall.
"Spin" was the cut from Stanley Cimbfall that was chosen for the most radio play. Featuring the lyric "And the world keeps spinning round/My world’s upside down, and I wouldn’t change a thing," the song, noted the band’s website, might as well describe the band’s rapid rise to success. Again mixed by O’Brien and produced by Aniello, the album’s songs represent a shift from the yearning of the first album, reflecting the deeper confidence that comes with success. As Wade explained on the band’s website, "It’s a very physical record. It’s about moving forward. No Name Face was about accepting the place where you are and trying to figure out how to get beyond that, but not really knowing how. This one is more like, ‘I know how to do this, so I’m just continuing to go forward, take the good with the bad and keep moving.’"
Also with this album, the group presented itself as a more integrated whole, with the other band members coming more to the foreground. Accordingly, the tracks "Spin" and "Wash," for example, feature guitar chords just as prominently as the vocals, giving the band a more unified sound.
With the help of producer Aniello, Wade dug deeper for more soulful lyrics, while at the same time arriving at them more naturally, improvising lines in pre-production and then picking out the best ones. "It’s all about letting the song happen versus trying to write it," explained Wade on the band’s website. Wade wrote much of the music for Stanley Climbfall while on the road touring with Matchbox Twenty and Pearl Jam. At the end of each show, he would seclude himself in the back of the tour bus and, with the help of a tape recorder, rough out the tunes that would become the songs of the new album.
Wade remarked to the Asia Africa Intelligence Wire, "I think that this is a good, complete record that you can listen to all the way through and all the songs fit together—it makes more sense as a collection of songs [than No Name Face]." In keeping with the theme of taking risks, Stanley Climbfall represents for the band a commitment to continue changing and growing, all the while playing the music that is the most meaningful to them. As Wade put it on the band’s website, "we took a chance and tried to make what we do better."
*Credits to:http://www.answers.com/topic/lifehouse-band
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