Lifehouse's 'moment' Comes

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.