Lifehouse to Play Dunkin Donuts Center with Daughtry on Mar. 24, 2010

By: Angelina Berube
Posted In: Entertainment

From March to June, Lifehouse will embark on a 51 city tour in support of their new CD, “Smoke & Mirrors.” They will be joining Daughtry on this four month excursion. On Wednesday Mar. 24, 2010, Lifehouse and Daughtry will play the Dunkin Donuts Center in Providence, R.I.

Lifehouse, the pop rock quartet known for songs such as “Hanging by a Moment,” “You and Me” and “First Time,” recently released their fifth studio album, “Smoke & Mirrors” which includes the hit song, “Halfway Gone.” The band wanted to not take a break from touring and go straight into the studio to begin working on the album. Lifehouse went into the studio with the mindset of not recreating anything they’ve done before, a starting plan they use every time they make a new record.

“When you have a catalog of four records, it does start to get tricky on trying to find new little roads to try to travel down creatively, and individually for us to try to get out of our comfort zone a little bit and still keeping the integrity and the sound of Lifehouse, but trying to create a fresh version of it,” said Rick Woolstenhulme, drummer of Lifehouse.

The band also strived to make an album that people would want to play over and over again. “Our plan has always been to write good songs that actually stick around for the length of time,” Woolstenhulme said. “We really put the time in to make every track on the record be something that it is going to stick around and be something that people are going to continue to want to listen to rather than the same old deal of buying the record and getting one good song and then skipping through all the rest.”

Lifehouse’s “Smoke & Mirrors” infuses live and radio vibes. Woolstenhulme explained how the first half of tracks the band cut for the new album gave off the essence of a live performance being recorded with everyone in one room. Halfway through recording, the band realized they also have a radio friendly side which has been a major part of Lifehouse for over 10 years and shifted gears towards creating more pop rock songs. In the end, “Smoke &Mirrors” blends the two sounds together into one cohesive record.

“It’s almost like the title “Smoke & Mirrors” indirectly lends itself perfect to the record,” Woolstenhulme said speaking of the first song they cut for the album. “There was no plan to make this split kind of record. It really is cohesive at the end of the day. We’ve gone down some roads where we’ve discovered some things and tried some new sounds and really tried to push the bar line instead of just recreating what we’ve already done.”

Woolstenhulme also mentioned how some songs on the album, such as “Nerve Damage,” have a progressive rock feel which adds to the new direction this album took. “It’s different for us, but not different where it’s not us,” Woolstenhulme said of “Nerve Damage.” “It’s recorded live with no click and it has so many different time shifts and a really awesome bluesy kind of guitar solo in it. Most bands don’t’ really do guitar solos. There’s just some songs on the record that really display each of us individually and still keep the tride and true song at the forefront.”

Woolstenhulme and the guys of Lifehouse are excited to get on the road and perform these songs.”Now it’s time to get on the road and bring this record to the stage and make it bigger and better than what was made,” Woolstenhulme said. “We’re really excited because we get to display our new record front to back,” Woolstenhulme said.

And that is just what they will do the next four months in front of packed arenas. Lifehouse will play new material and their hits during their tour with Daughtry.

A year and a half ago, Lifehouse performed at a radio show that also included Daughtry. Within the next year, the two bands became friends and collaborated on each other’s albums. At one point in the studio, the two decided they need to do some concert dates together, which turned out to be planning not just a few dates, but a few months. Both bands share a lot of the same fans, so touring together made perfect sense.

And Woolstenhulme could not be any more excited for the tour to start. “It’s really exciting because we are going to show up and play in front of a lot of people,” Woolstenhulme said. “To be on a tour with people that you like and are really nice and humble, it’s going to be amazing. I think we are probably going to be barbequing backstage during the day and anything that we can do that is possibly fun.”

After the tour, Woolstenhulme says the band plans to continuing touring. Lifehouse will headline their own tour and possibly head to Europe and Japan. “We really want to work this record and get it to the ears of everybody,” Woolstenhulme said. “We’re just excited to get out. We’ve been touring for so long and we’ve had the same catalog and now there is some fresh energy coming out right now that I think everyone is really reinspired and happy.”

For more information on Lifehouse, “Smoke & Mirrors” and their upcoming tour with Daughtry, check out lifehousemusic.com or myspace.com/lifehouse.