Back in 2001, a little-known band named Lifehouse released a single called "Hanging By A Moment."
The song burned up the charts, and thrust the group, led by singer Jason Wade, into the limelight.
Nearly 10 years later, Lifehouse has released five albums, sold nearly 15 million singles and albums -- despite going through several lineup changes and watching its old record label go bankrupt.
Their latest album, "Smoke and Mirrors," debuted at No. 6 on the Billboard 200 chart on March 2. Tonight, they'll be opening for Daughtry at the 1st Mariner Arena (get tickets here).
Traditionally, Wade wrote songs based on personal experiences, and wasn't open to collaborating. That changed with "Smoke and Mirrors," when he teamed up with fellow rock singer Chris Daughtry and songwriter Richard Marx. I spoke with Wade about the album and his new approach to writing music ...
Put "Smoke and Mirrors" in context for me. Where does it fit, compared to the other four albums?
I think this record is a hybrid of what we've managed to do for the last 10 years. Half of this record is stripped down and organic, songs like the title track, songs like "Nerve Damage," so there's a real raw rock element to this, but there's also more of a pop polished record making side to this record.
I really think this album showcases two sides to this band. It's a little different from our previous records.
Are you still writing music about your life and your life experiences? I know you did some collaborating on this album.
You know what? This was different for me. I'd predominately done most of the songwriting on my own for the most part on previous records, always used my relationships and experiences as a canvas. I got to a point where, eight years into this, I felt like I didn't have a lot going on in my life. There wasn't a lot of turbulence.
I felt like it was necessary to take a different vantage point on this album and reach out to some other songwriters and see if I could get inspired. It's more of a storytelling type of thing than pulling from actual experiences that were happening in my life.
What was it like opening up the songwriting process like that?
It was difficult at first. I tried to do some co-writing about three or four years ago and had some really negative experiences where it felt really forced -- it didn't feel natural at all. On this record, it was all positive.
I got together with Chris Daughtry to write a song and Richard Marx. Everyone I wrote with I felt like I had chemistry with. The lyrics came naturally, and it felt like we were creating these scenarios and characters and songs. I changed my whole tune with collaborations on this record. I thought it was a really healthy, natural progression for me. I don't think I'm always going to do that, but that's what I think I needed.