Lifehouse |
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Mon. September 23.2002 1:36 PM EDT |
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The Second Coming of LifehouseNew record picks up where “Hanging By a Moment” left off - with a little Coldplay thrown in, of course. by C. Bottomley |
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Lifehouse (VH1.com) |
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When Jason Wade started Lifehouse with his friend, bassist Sergio Andrade, their typical venue was the auditorium of their Los Angeles high school. But thanks to the monster hit “Hanging By a Moment,” the band cruised through last year with the
So a lot of fans are holding their breath for Lifehouse’s second album Stanley Climbfall. They’ll be happy to hear there are plenty of solid spiritual rock anthems of the “Hanging …” variety, and pleasantly surprised by a growing maturity that’s come from the guys listening to Radiohead and Coldplay. VH1 spoke to Jason Wade about God, The Goonies and Little Richard - you know, the important stuff. VH1: When the royalty checks came in for “Hanging By a Moment,” did you treat yourself to something that you had always wanted? Jason Wade: Buying a house was pretty cool. But I got married a year ago, so it was one of those things that I needed to take care of. I bought a studio and started getting stuff to be able to record. Everything revolves around music, I guess. VH1: Were any of the songs on Stanley Climbfall inspired by your wife? Wade: Not really. I write songs about my wife but they’re a little more explicit. These songs are a little bit more open-ended. It’s where my spirituality comes into play. I leave a lot of stuff to the listener to interpret. Most of the love songs on this record are talking about my faith. VH1: Did you encounter any of the difficult second album syndrome? Wade: No. We had a great time and didn’t feel any pressure. Obviously, people are wondering what this record’s going to do and how many people are going to buy it, but we don’t have any control over that, so why worry about it? All we can do is make a good record. VH1: How did Radiohead and Coldplay influence the album? Wade: I got into Radiohead and Coldplay over the last year and a half. We wanted to make some of these songs more atmospheric and were really intrigued by the guitar sounds and experimental tones that they were going for. I’d love to write a song with Coldplay. If that could ever happen, that would be amazing. VH1: What was the last album you bought that really excited you? Wade: Tim Buckley’s greatest hits disc is probably the most exciting thing I’ve picked up in the last six months. There’s some really good stuff on it. VH1: Buckley’s got a great voice, but he goes into a very bizarre funk direction towards the end of his life. Wade: I know! I bought every CD that he has. I’m not as much of a fan of his later career. He’s hit or miss. VH1: Faith informs a lot of your songs, but on the new single “Spin” you sing, “Everything I know has let me down.” Have you ever suffered a spiritual crisis? Wade: I have my struggles just as much as anybody else. But for the most part, my faith is what keeps me levelheaded. I have some problems with the modern-day church, but I keep that separated from what I believe about God. VH1: Does God approve of rock ‘n’ roll? Wade: I don’t know. I can’t speak for Him! VH1: On the Internet I read a post from a fan who wanted to know if you were a Christian band because she liked you, but didn’t like to listen to what she called “secular music.” Wade: Sounds like she’s going to get into trouble for listening to us! VH1: It was an interesting distinction to make. Have you encountered that problem with other fans? Wade: A lot of people come up to us and it’s almost like they want us to say we’re a Christian band so they can clear their conscience for liking us! But we’re in the mainstream. Our records are on sale right by everyone else’s. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with listening to secular music. That’s sad that you have to be that sheltered. VH1: You’ve done a lot of radio shows and festivals. What’s the weirdest bill you’ve appeared on? Wade: We got smacked right between Orgy and Disturbed once. That was interesting! We talked to them. They were nice. You’d be surprised sometimes by how someone’s live show doesn’t really reflect who those people really are. When we were playing these alternative festivals, some of those heavy bands like Saliva said they really liked us. You didn’t really expect that, but that was pretty cool. VH1: How do you keep yourselves amused while on the road? Wade: We jam with our instruments, write songs in the back of the bus, play Playstation 2, watch videos. We have plenty of ways to entertain ourselves. VH1: What video games are always in the console? Wade: I’m big into the sports games like NBA Jam and NBA Live. Some of our crew guys are into those action games like Grand Theft Auto where it takes 24 hours to beat it. VH1: Is there one video you end up watching over and over again? Wade: We’re watching The Birds a lot. We’re getting into the vintage collection. The Goonies is one of our favorite movies, too. It was a big part of our younger lives. It was something that kind of stuck. VH1: Isn’t there some actor in The Goonies who went on to become really famous? Wade: Sean Astin. He went on to do Lord of the Rings. And he was [the title character in] Rudy. He was pretty big then. VH1: I don’t think anybody involved in that film ever imagined they’d still be working 20 years later. Wade: I know! Whatever happened to Chunk, man? I thought he was going to be big time. VH1: Well, maybe he’ll be coming back, too. They’ll all be on Celebrity Weakest Link. Wade: You know who did go on to do something was Corey Haim. He was in License to Drive and The Lost Boys. You know what I did the other day? They had a Goonies reunion. It was kind of cheesy, but I wanted to go. They were showing it at a theater in Pasadena and Sean Astin got up and talked for a little bit. Then they played it on the big screen. It was all die-hard Goonies fans. It was really funny. VH1: There’s a great photo of you and Chuck Berry at the BMI Pop Awards this year. What was it like meeting him? Wade: Really quick! Bo Diddley gave us a little word of advice. He told us to stay off the drugs. That was funny! We met Little Richard, too. We met all three of them. They definitely weren’t boring. VH1: Did you look at them and think, “Whoa! 50 years down the line I might be Little Richard?” Wade: I wasn’t thinking that at the time, but now that you mention it … [laughs.] For news, bio, CDs, songs and more go to the Lifehouse Artist A - Z pages. |
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