Page 24 - Black Velvet Issue 86

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lthough ‘all systems go’ became ‘all systems stop’
Awhen Nickelback’s No Fixed Address tour was un-
fortunately cancelled in June. Lifehouse were due to sup-
port Nickelback on the two and a half month leg that was
due to run from June through August. With the tour being
cancelled due to Chad Kroeger needing surgery for a cyst
on his vocal chords, Lifehouse were left high and dry. “The
rug kind of got pulled from under our feet when the tour
got cancelled,” Jason Wade tells Black Velvet, from the
studio. “Everybody was just kind of scrambling, trying to
figure out what to do. In those situations I always just go
back into the studio and start writing songs again.”
Unfortunately it came at an awkward time so it was im-
possible to get on another tour and it left the band feeling
frustrated as they were eager to get back on tour and play
their new songs. Jason says that it was probably the hard-
est on new guitarist Steve Stout, who has stepped into pre-
vious guitarist Ben Carey’s shoes, as the only shows he
got to play in the US prior to the tour being cancelled were
early morning shows and not actual concerts. “He’s fan-
tastic too,” says Jason. “He’s a young guy, 24 years old.
He’s an amazing guitar player. He brings this younger en-
ergy to the band that I think we need now that we’re in our
mid-30s. He kind of reminds me of ten years ago. He brings
a freshness to the group.”
Jason’s long-standing bassist and drummer band
mates of course are Bryce Soderberg and Rick Woolsten-
hulme, Jr. Rick went out on tour with the Goo Goo Dolls
during Lifehouse’s hiatus, as Goo Goo Dolls needed a
drummer after parting ways with Mike Malinin. Jason says
he was excited to see Rick play with Goo Goo Dolls as
they’ve been fans of theirs for years, although at the same
time it was strange seeing his own bandmate on stage with
another band. “It’s just really weird when you’ve played
with someone for 16 years and then all of a sudden you
see them on a Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade with another
band. He’s been in the band so long he almost looked like
a Lifehouse cardboard playing on that float,” he laughs. “It
was kind of surreal – but I think it was a good experience
for him.”
It was perfect timing when Jason chose to get the band
back together as the Goo Goo Dolls tour was just finishing.
“It just happened that he played his last show with them
right when I started to feel like this wasn’t a solo record
anymore and that it was going to turn into a Lifehouse
record,” says Jason. “It was great timing because every-
body I think had enough time away from Lifehouse where
they actually felt like getting back into the studio and mak-
ing another Lifehouse record. I think that the biggest thing
was we were so burnt out from touring for 12 years solid
without taking a break. We needed to get away from it for
a little bit and spend some time at home doing normal
things and recharging batteries. By the time everyone got
back in the studio there was just this rejuvenation. It was
exciting because it felt like we were starting over again,
like we were 18 year old kids again.”
During their hiatus the band did get together a few
times for one-off shows. One was supposed to take place
in Italy – but ended up turning into a holiday instead. “We
had a wedding show that we were supposed to play in Italy,
in Amalfi Coast. We were getting ready to play the show,
we rehearsed and all of that and the wedding ended up get-
ting cancelled. I guess they broke up a week before but we
had our tickets paid to go over there so we all sort of made
it a week long trip to go over there and it was just fantastic.
It was amazing.”
he time away from the road was just what the band,
Tand Jason in particular, needed. “I think just being
off the road for just a little bit really gave me perspective,
just doing normal things for a little bit. Being with friends
and family. I think that’s really important. When any band
spends too much time on the road it’s inevitable. You start
to feel completely disconnected. Everybody else is living
their life in the community doing normal things, and it’s
not a normal thing to be gone for eight months out of the
year and then come back and expect to pick up where you
left off with friends and family. So being home for two

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