Lifehouse
Lifehouse are returning to Australia to support their new album Out Of The Wasteland. The band has sold a staggering fifteen million albums and even more impressive is the fifty million YouTube views for classic single You & Me. Bryce Soderberg (bass and vocals) talks to Across The Ocean about the upcoming tour to Australia.
Are you looking forwarding to getting back to Australia?
Absolutely, it has been way to long for the band and we were supposed to get back there for a festival which fell through, so now we’re ready to go.
Have you been happy with how Out Of The Wasteland has been received?
We have been really happy, the smallest goal we set out for ourselves was to at least reach back to our old fans who fell in love with the band in the first place, get back to our roots and re-establish some of the sounds we came up with in 2001 but in the mean time showing our growth as well. We’re happy with how it has been received, we don’t listen to the critics too much but for the most part it has been really positive and releasing it independently we’re really happy.
How important was it in the scheme of things to push ahead with your own solo projects?
Taking that little hiatus, that little break was really helpful to get out there and explore new things because there is so much to learn with music. It was great to get away from the pressures of the record industry and to come back together with something new to bring to the table. This album was very much adhering to the creative process, more of the left brain than the right brain. We had the freedom to paint a healthy landscape.
Did you keep in touch with each other during this break?
To be honest we usually keep in touch quite frequently over the last fifteen years, we’d hang out and go to barbeques and stuff but we took a healthy break. We remained friends, there was no bad blood but when we got back on board we were talking to each other quite frequently.
Did you think that Jason would be so prolific with the amount of songs he was writing?
Sometimes it is tough to get back to that initial inspiration or spark when you are making your first few records. He has found a niche to be able to write from different people’s perspective, to find stories through any means of art, we love art, movies and good books so there are always ways to find that new healthy inspiration when you get older. I think he has done a great job with it, especially this new record.
What did you think when you heard songs like Flight and Hurricane for the first time?
Flight gave me chills and it is an amazing tune, it invokes a lot of emotion. Hurricane was a great song to be our first single off the album. The song is about resilience and we’re being resilient in keeping things going. I think that lyrically he kept everything in the same ballpark as that was what we were trying to portray in coming back making this new record.
Do you wish you could bottle up what Jason was doing at the time to unleash for the next album?
Well with every record we like to keep things fresh and do it different. It isn’t until we start touring where we shut out the creative process a little bit and get in to the performing process. I think with the new records we definitely want to have a clean slate and find ways to invoke new creativity.
The industry is saying that this album is the quintessential Lifehouse, going full circle and returning to your roots – is this how you see it?
I think so, sonically as far as instrumentation and production side of things, yes. Going independent we can interact with our fan base on a more personal level than we ever have done before. When you hear Hurricane we are going back to our roots.
Going independent – is that something you wish you had done earlier?
We already are independent and I think we’re doing a great job of it so far. We’ve learnt a lot being in our mid-thirties now. I think we’re definitely ready to take on any angles in the business.
The video clip for Hurricane was great – was it the band’s idea to film it in a prison?
Yeah, our manager is very much hands on with our band so we played with a few different ideas, we had a director that had a treatment so we approved it. We’re very much involved in our videos.
Is it a bit of an incentive to come up with something that will get the song noticed?
I think you have to do something different to get a click. It’s about the nowadays! It’s not about being on VH1 or MTV as much so we definitely try and make videos that are a little more eye catching. Hurricane is a great video and we have more in the tank in the future.
Is it a good challenge to have trying to work out the set list for each show considering how many great songs you have?
It takes a few days, we’re starting rehearsals, and we’ve toured for quite a long time so we know which songs our audience interacts with. We’re definitely going to play songs that we feel that Australian audiences want to hear and a couple of songs for ourselves as well. There will be a healthy batch of our old tunes and a healthy batch of the new ones.
Did you get any off days on this tour and are there things that you’re hanging to do in Australia?
We’re going to be pretty busy, I think we have a couple of days off here and there and I think we will be travelling on those days off. I love Australia and I went there a couple of years ago with some friends. I’ve never been to Perth but I will be checking out the culture and soaking it up. We’re playing some really cool theatres which I’m excited about and if we get the chance in the bigger cities we’ll do some sightseeing.
Is the rest predominantly touring the world?
We were meant to do a summer tour with Knickelback but the lead singer had to get vocal surgery so we cancelled that. The focus is getting the momentum going with this record and we’ll most likely do our own headline US tour when we get back from the Australian tour.
What do you see as the next big challenge for Lifehouse?
I think the music industry has changed a bit since we’ve joined. We’re capable of making great music and we will always be capable of making great music as far getting to the next level to springboard ourselves in to something else that is not up to us. I believe we are going to do the best on our end to make the best music that we can and keep raising the bar line and interacting with our fans and whatever else comes we’ll welcome with open arms.
Do you get frustrated with the industry at present or do you see it as an opportunity?
I think it is a double edged sword, I think streaming has opened the window to a lot of new fans but also records are not selling the way that they used to, so we have no regrets when we try and go against the grain. We’ll just adapt and move forward with what we have.
Whether it is rummaging through vinyl at record stores such as Clarity and Title finding hidden gems to scouring the internet to find that album by the next big thing or chasing bands to get that elusive autograph and photo his passion is music all the way.
- Aversions Crown - January 27, 2017
- Sick Of It All - January 19, 2017
- Refused - January 11, 2017
