October should officially become Rocktober with the amount of exceptional bands hitting Adelaide’s pubs and clubs with this intent to rock our worlds.

One of those bands gracing us with their presence is Los Angeles three-piece Lifehouse who shot to fame in 2001 with their hit single, ‘Hanging by a Moment’.

Playing The Gov on Tuesday October 13, and supported by Adelaide band, Reign; Jason Wade (lead vocals/guitar), Bryce Soderberg (bass/vocals) and Rick Woolstenhulme, Jr. (drums/percussion) return to Australia after an absence of 13 years.

Speaking to The Upside News from sunny LA, Bryce Soderberg says he’s really keen to get back here and hang out with his Aussie fans.

“I look forward to seeing the people down there. Being from Canada, Australians are very similar, being part of the Commonwealth. The crowds are going to be great for us because we haven’t been there for so long. Usually when we hit a market we haven’t been to in a long time, there’s a real inspired excitement in the crowd and we feed off that,” he says.

“Also, I know we’re going to be working a lot, but we’ll be able to check out some sights, and enjoy the cities that we’re in. I’m fascinated with Australian culture. I wish we had time to see some of the outback. A couple of years ago I took a trip down the Great Ocean Road. That was amazing. I’ve not been to Adelaide, so I’m keen to see it.”

While they haven’t been to our shores for a long time, Lifehouse certainly haven’t been idle.

Having just released their 8^th album Out of the Wasteland, the band has just come back from a hiatus where they all undertook individual side projects.

Bryce says the new record benefitted from the trio’s break from each other and the band.

“Since our first record, we’ve raised the bar with every record we create. We try to expand our horizon and shoot for inspiration to keep us from making the same record over and over. With the writing process of this new record, we just had no rules,” he says.

“A lot of it was intended to be Jason’s solo project. We took a hiatus and all did our own thing. Jason was doing his thing, Ricky went to play with the Goo Goo Dolls and I started my side project Komox. Then Jason gave us a call and got us back in the studio. The two year break was what gave us the healthy inspiration to create Out of the Wasteland.”

With an impressive back catalogue spanning more than 15 years Bryce says the band will offer a bit of everything at their live shows.

“It’s going to be a mix of both old and new. There’s obviously going to be some fans who know us from our first couple of records, so we’re going to be playing a lot of older stuff and we’ll be playing a lot of newer stuff off our new record as well,” he says.

“There’ll be a couple of b-sides here and there, too. People are paying their hard earned money to come out and see us play, so we’re going to give them a show they want to see. We interact with the crowd and we have a lot of fun, and it’s definitely going to be something worth seeing.”

Out of the Wasteland is a collection of 12 new songs and was released in May this year to a positive reception.

Two singles ‘Flight’ and ‘Hurricane’ have been released so far, but Bryce says, although he loves those songs, it’s a couple of others on the album that also resonate with him.

“‘Stardust’ has a place with me because I sing on it, but I think that ‘Flight’ and ‘Hourglass’ are the two most powerful songs that speak to me on that record. I think ‘Flight’ is a song that could be interpreted from a lot of different angles. I think it strikes a chord with a lot of people going through good times or bad times,” he says.

“When I heard that song, I felt something. I still feel something when I hear that song. ‘Hourglass’ portrays a new angle our band can explore. Jason created the song with James Newton Howard, who is a legendary composer for film and that song makes you feel something and I think the audience does as well.”

Speaking of film, Lifehouse have had their songs featured on popular television shows Smallville, Boston Legal, Gavin and Stacey, and Grey’s Anatomy.

This has helped the band reach a broader audience, which Bryce says they feel fortunate about.

“We think it’s fantastic that we have the opportunity to have our music put on film and television. A lot of our fan base is broad, such as Asia or Australia. A lot of them discovered our music watching Smallville or Grey’s Anatomy so it’s helped us to reach a broader audience,” he says.

Lifehouse are touring Australia throughout October before heading to New Zealand, and after that is anybody’s guess.

“After the Australian tour, there’s not much on the cards,” Bryce says. “There was meant to be a tour with Nickelback this summer but unfortunately that was cancelled because Chad Kroeger has vocal nodules so now we’re figuring out what our next move is; whether we’re writing a new album or doing a headline tour of the United States, I’m sure we’ll find out within the next couple of months.”

Until then though, you can catch Lifehouse at The Gov on Tuesday October 13 supported by Reign. Tickets through OzTix.

Buy Out of the Wasteland HERE.

By Libby Parker
Photo supplied