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Come on you guys, I know you like to read the newspaper or magazine in the bathroom, so in Lifehouse's bathroom I will have some articles and reviews for you.Hey i got something new.
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Lifehouse Singer Kicks Ass--Literally
Don't mess with Lifehouse.Its singer-songwriter, Jason Wade, kicks ass--literally. Before entering the music biz, the 20-year-old Wade was an accomplished martial artist.
Wade told LAUNCH how he got into the martial art of Du Ye Chi Tao. " I had a friend when we moved to Oregon that was big into it," he said. "He was like a red belt, and he would always go to these competitions and bring these trophies back, and I was like, 'Man, that's so cool. You get to go and get all these trophies.' And I was always a big fan of the movie Karate Kid when I was younger. So I went and checked it out and got really into it for five years and just really excelled at it and practiced for five hours a day and started competing. I've always been the type of person [who], whatever I do, that's all I do at the time, you know?"
Wade, who won several martial arts competitions, added, "I ended that, and I felt like that was as far as I can take that. I started doing music. I put that in the past, so it's kind of a piece of my earlier life that I have good memories of. I don't feel like I need to pursue that anymore. I pursued that as long as I needed to."
Now Wade is concentrating on Lifehouse, which has a hit with "Hanging By A Moment" off its DreamWorks debut, No Name Face. It's currently Number Two on the Billboard Modern Rock chart.
-- Darren Davis, New York
Christian Rock Deserves Fair Shake
by Jane Ganahl
Chornicle Staff Writer
You're about to hear something rare from a music writer: an admission of extreme prejudice. Here's an example of how it manifests itself: I'm listening to a new CD - by a DreamWorks band called Lifehouse - and I'm kind of liking it. Good rootsy melodies, solid singing. And then, as I tune into the lyrics, the hints are everywhere. "You are the light leading me to the place where I find peace again." "I am falling into grace."
So I check the album credits and there is proof: God gets top billing over Mom and Dad. This is a Christian band. And with that realization, my open-mindedness goes out the window. Cotton-pickin' proselytizers, I grumble inwardly as I dismiss them and put the CD into the "save until whenever" bin in my garage.
At the same time I revel in musical mantras of "message" bands - from the socialist rants of Rage Against the Machine to the mystic screeds of Kula Shaker to the Moral Majority lampoons by Marilyn Manson (which, oddly, seem more cogent with each record). I'd been turning thumbs down to increasing numbers of Christian rock records that arrive at my desk, but for some reason - possibly because I really did like it - this Lifehouse record forced me to pause. What was "better" or more accpetable about a band that lobbied for, say, the release of Mumia Abu - Jamal, than a band that praised Jesus?
I decided I was wrong to so hastily dismiss bands that were otherwise musically sound but whose worst sin was their arguably unhip choice of subject matter. And what's worse, I realized I needed to get over it. Fast. Once considered humorously lousy (remember the big-haired boys of Stryper in their colorful spandex?), Christian rock is on the rise, having left the exclusive territories of religious radio stations, adn is making inroads into Top 40 and even modern rock radio. It's moved away lyrically from simplistic hosannas to more sophisticated (one might even say covert) messages of inner conflict and turmoil (generally mitigated by faith).
Bands like dc Talk, Sixpence None the Richer and Jars of Clay have gotten generous airplay. Harder-core bands like P.O.D. and MXPX have infiltrated bastions like Ozzfest and the Warped tour.
But Creed was the one to bust the field wide open, with the full-bodied rock assault of its 7 million-selling album "Human Clay" and its charismatic (if oh-too-sincere) front man Scott Stapp. And yes, as I watched Creed's blockbuster MTV video for "Higher", I was creeped out by the special effects that had Stapp ascending, arms spread, Christlike, into the air. But the kids love it. Oh man, do they. Makes no difference to them if Creed is fueled by Coca-Cola or Christ.
But even popular Christian rock bands have their own crosses to bear. Creed has been labeled a sell-out by its most religious fans, for crouching its gospel in the language of rock'n'roll to win more fans. And Christian bands have long held forth that rock critics don't give them a fair shake.
I may still be suspicious that Christian rock music isn't an oxymoron, but at least that's one point on which we can agree.
Lifehouse's "Moment" Comes
By Carly Hay
For every act, there's a defining moment in its career, and for rock band Lifehouse, it was the decision to make its aptly titled song "Hanging By A Moment" the first single from its DreamWorks Records debut album, "No Name Face."
"It was the most uptempo, radio-friendly song," says lead singer/guitarist Jason Wade. "We all decided it was the right choice to release it as the first single."
The right choice, indeed. "Hanging By A Moment" has been embraced by radio, becoming a hit almost immediately at modern rock stations. Currently, "Hanging By A Moment" is No. 2 on Billboard's Modern Rock Tracks chart. Attention for the song is credited with propelling sales for "No Name Face."
Released Oct. 31, "No Name Face" rocketed from No. 146 to No. 94 on The Billboard 200 in the Dec. 16 issue. The album is currently No. 107 on the chart.
Based in Los Angeles, Lifehouse (whose original name was Blyss) was founded in 1996 by Wade and bassist Sergio Andrade. The current lineup consists of Wade (the band's chief songwriter), Andrade, guitarist Stuart Mathis, and drummer Rick Woolstenhulme.
"No Name Face" was produced by Ron Aniello and mixed by Brendan O'Brien. The album's executive producer is DreamWorks president Michael Ostin, who signed the band to the label.
Lifehouse's style of straight-ahead rock is appealing to a steadily growing audience because the band's music "has a broad dynamic; it's not loud all the time," says Andrade.
"It's the type of record that stays consistent and has a lot of endurance," says DreamWorks marketing director Monica Fitzgibbons. "Jason Wade is so gifted as a songwriter that it's not really surprising that people are responding to the music in the way that they are."
In addition to radio airplay, "Hanging By A Moment" was featured on the WB TV series "Roswell."
"Their song being on 'Roswell' probably gave sales that extra push," notes Marisa Sullivan, music buyer for Tower Records in San Diego. "Sales for the Lifehouse album are going up. People are asking specifically for Lifehouse, not saying, 'What's the name of the band that plays that song?' So the band seems to be getting a strong identity of their own. They appeal to fans who would like matchbox twenty or Live."
Awareness for the album has also been spread by the Internet. Lifehouse has appeared on numerous online chats, Webcasts, and Internet promotions on such Web sites as VH1.com, Launch.com, RollingStone.com, and Rioport.com.
Touring has also been a key factor in Lifehouse's artist development. The band is doing select concerts until the end of the year. Next year, according to Fitzgibbons, DreamWorks plans for Lifehouse to be on a "big tour" with a major artist.
"Being on the road has actually helped my songwriting, because it's grown," says Wade. "We get to meet people in different cities, and we're experiencing so many different things. I interpret all those things in my songs."
"It's nice to get the respect of other artists, especially the ones we've toured with" says Wade. "Fred Durst from Limp Bizkit wanted to sign us [to Interscope]. His mom saw us at a show in Florida and said he was interested in signing us, but we had already had a deal with DreamWorks."
He continues, "DreamWorks has been amazing in letting us make the record. They're super-artist-friendly. They let us make our record the way we wanted to make it. It's the best label we could be on."
Mathis adds, "The president of the label came down and hung out with us. Many presidents of labels are too busy to hang out with new bands. We're really fortunate to have the attention of people high up at the label."
As for crossing over to top 40 radio, Wade says, "We're very fortunate to be accepted at modern rock radio, and whoever else responds to the music, that's great."
Woolstenhulme adds, "Jason writes honest songs, and I don't think he's going to change his writing just to have a big pop hit."
While DreamWorks aims to take the band to the next level with "Hanging By A Moment," the band says the next single will be "Somebody Else's Song," which will be released sometime next year.
Wade concludes, "My ultimate goal in writing songs is to connect with people. In the lyrics, you don't tell the whole picture: You give a road to start on that people can relate to. We're honest, nice guys, and I hope that comes across in everything we do."
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