If you haven't heard of Lifehouse yet, you will soon.
This hot band, whose song "Hanging By a Moment" is currently burning up both radio and airwaves, is fast on their way to becoming a mainstream rock staple. They're hitting the road this month with matchbox twenty and Everclear (catch them in Memphis March 23).
Their debut release, No Name Face, has a unique and catchy sound.
And the fact that lead singer Jason Wade has the good looks of a movie star doesn't hurt either.
I caught up with Wade recently to chat with him about Lifehouse, past and present. Speaking via phone from his hotel room in North Carolina, the talented 20-year-old singer/songwriter filled me in on all the details of his life and his band's lightning speed success.
Born to parents who were missionaries, Wade spent his formative years traveling the globe and lived in a variety of exotic locations, ranging from China to Hawaii. According to Wade, his broad experience of the world has affected his songwriting.
"I think it probably has a 50 percent impact on my music," he explained. "I grew up in Hong Kong for like three to four years, and I lived over (other parts of) Asia for another two years. I think that seeing a lot of the world at a young age gives you more to write about."
Musically, he drew from his influences like The Beatles, Simon and Garfunkel, Nirvana, Jeff Buckley and Pearl Jam.
He began experimenting with music at a young age.
"I started off just writing lyrics before I started playing guitar," he said. "Then I began making up melodies. All of the sudden it just started fitting together when I was about 15."
That was when Wade met bassist Sergio Andrade, who lived next door. The two spent time hanging out together, playing basketball and later, music. The two later hooked up with a drummer and began playing weekly concerts at a local school auditorium. Through word of mouth, they wound up getting in touch with producer Ron Aniello, who allowed them to record in his home studio. Two years passed before the band began taking off, when they landed a deal with DreamWorks Records and began recording No Name Face.
It was while toiling in the studio that Wade came up with the band's first hit single.
"Some songs just seem to write themselves, and 'Hanging by a Moment' was just one of those songs," he said. "I was in the studio doing a vocal track to one of the (songs) and we were eight songs into finishing the record. I just had this feeling in my gut that there was more -- that there was another song that was supposed to be written."
He decided to follow his instincts, and was greatly rewarded.
"All the sudden I had this melody that kept repeating in my head and I went into the other room, picked up an acoustic guitar, and within five minutes I had lyrics, I had melody, the whole song was basically finished within five minutes," he said.
Initially, Lifehouse didn't have much live experience.
"We met our producer and just started recording the record. We spent most of our time in the studio," he said. "Wade called the last four months on the road "a growing experience."
Before long, their big break came.
"We got the opportunity to go (on tour) with Pearl Jam and we literally had like three days notice," he said. "They told us to pack our bags and go, so it was really cool."
They haven't slowed down since.
"It was amazing," Wade said, of touring. "Obviously my whole life I have been traveling so the traveling aspect of being on tour is already comfortable for me. Just getting to see a lot of the country was really amazing."
Another bonus is getting to meet the fans, something Lifehouse always makes time for.
"That's actually kind of our motto. We try to stay as long as possible afterward to talk to as many different people as we can," he said. "Actually, one time in Houston we played a gig and there were like three people there and we ended up taking them out to go bowling afterward."
"As much as we can, we're all about the people and the fans and making sure we come across as real and transparent to people," he added.
Wade said he hasn't had any strange experiences with fans yet.
"Most of the people that approach us have been fairly normal. We haven't had any weird encounters with fans," he said. "I think that people are very respective of your space so they kind of approach you just knowing not to freak you out too much."
The band is getting recognized a lot more these days, thanks in large part to their video's heavy rotation on MTV.
And while the clip may be making Wade's face famous, the singer rarely gets a chance to watch it.
"I actually don't have TV," he said, laughing. "But I did see it the other day. We have TV on our tour bus. Hopefully we'll get to see it a little bit more. Everyone else in the band gets to see it a lot because they have cable and everything."
According to Wade, filming the video turned out to be quite involved.
"I thought that it was just going to be like an easy process but it was super hard work," he said.
"It was like 13-hour days, but it was a pleasant experience," he added. "It was our first video, so none of us really knew exactly what to do, but it should get easier when the next one comes up."
And Wade will get the chance to practice making another video soon, since the band is planning to release their next single "Sick Cycle Carousel" in the near future.
"'Somebody Else's Song' was going to be the next single, but we thought that 'Sick Cycle' was a better choice," Wade informed me. "'Sick Cycle Carousel' is basically a song about overcoming any sort of struggle. It's a song about overcoming something that just keeps happening and happening that you're just trying to beat."
