LH 4 French

Could you talk about how the creation of the new album was different this time around, compared to the previous albums ?
Probably the most different thing about this album is that we used a new producer. The guy that produced our first two records was the only experience we had ever had in the studio. We recorded both those records in Los Angeles. This producer's name was John Alagia. He works out of his house in eastern Maryland. So, basically Rick and I went out to Maryland to record the record and basically lived in his house for a month and a half to record this record. It was a very amazing experience; it felt like we had no pressure to turn anything in. We were away from the record company and we just got in this creative headspace of not worrying about how the record would be received, or if we had singles on it. We were just making music again. It really kind of felt more like making the first record, when we had no pressure on us, nobody really knew who we were. We didn't have the pressure to follow up "Hanging by a moment," like we did on the second record. It was a really, really cool experience for us to get out of LA and record it in a different environment.

Do you think life gets more and more chaotic towards an album's release ?
Yeah, definitely. There was a two month period after we made the record where basically nothing was happening. We were kind of just hanging out at home, waiting for stuff to pick up. Now we're basically out on the road doing promotion for it, we're doing interviews, playing shows like Jay Leno. We're basically just doing the whole promotion thing of playing TV shows and trying to kind of get ready for the record release

Could you talk about the track: "Walking Away" ?
That track has probably the most personal lyrics on the record. I had the opportunity to write this record pretty much the last two and a half years. In about that same time period, I had a falling out with someone that was very close to me. We really haven't spoken since. That was a song that I wrote that kind of came out of a difficult time period for me. With all my lyrics, I feel like I always write about whatever happens to me. That song is one of the most intense lyrics on the record.

What about : "Blind" ?
Blind is actually lyrically not the same subject matter. I feel this record is split up between love songs and break-up songs. Blind, I feel, come back down, Better Luck next time, and walking away are four songs that kind of came out of the same time period, when I was trying to figure out how I felt about the falling out I had with this person.

What would be your definition of a rock star ?
I feel that my definition of a rock star would be someone who can just connect to a large audience, someone people look up to and respect what they had to say.

What unintentional or accidental moves have made your life, which in the end, proved to be very wise and savvy for because of the results that occurred from these actions, your life has become much better ?
Jason:The only thing I can think of is moving to L.A, which was kind of an accident. I grew up in Washington, which is 20 minutes outside of Seattle. I really never thought I would move from there. I had great friends, and really enjoyed it there. My mom wanted to move to Los Angeles to go back to school and I remember just really dreading the thought at moving. When I got here, I hated it at first and all of a sudden my music started picking up and I started meeting a bunch of great musicians and producers, so it was one of those situations where the situation worked out in my favour, even though it seemed like a bad thing at the time, it ended up being a really good thing in the end.

popYOUlarity: If someone asked a very good friend what he/she believes are the three things that you want out of life, what would he/she say?
Jason:Probably the biggest thing is that I want to take one day at a time, I want to be happy with my decisions and I want to really treasure the family and friends that i have around me. I feel that those are the most important things in life, the people that you have in your life.

popYOUlarity: Do you think that 10 years ago you would have enjoyed all the publicity that artists get today?
Jason:I think so. That is when Sarah McLaughlin and all those artists were doing really well. I think we would have.

popYOUlarity: Is truth always better than lies?
Jason:Absolutely!

popYOUlarity: What activity should every younger person have to do once in his/her lifetime, which will make him/her a better individual later in life?
Jason:I would say if you're an American, getting outside of America and going to a third world country to see how other people live, different cultures etc., to really make you appreciate how good we have it over here.

popYOUlarity: At shows, what kind of set are you playing? Does it change between older or newer stuff?
Jason:We try to combine all three. Obviously a lot of the new songs will be played, but we try to take a lot of the songs that we feel the fans will want to hear the most out of the first record; we'll play two or three songs off the second record. This one we'll probably be playing more of the new record.

popYOUlarity: On your website, a bunch of your fans were saying that your last record was you guys trying to basically find out who Lifehouse is, and that this record is who you guys are. What do you think about that?
Jason:Absolutely. I really agree with that. I think that we went through a little identity crisis on the second record where we were trying to be a little heavier than, maybe our natural instincts are, to try to cater to the alternative market. On this record, we didn't think of any of that. We never had one conversation about what radio stations would play it. We just made the best music that we could and just tried to be ourselves.

popYOUlarity: Is it nice to have a platform to speak your mind?
Jason:I think that as a songwriter, the most gratifying thing is when you get to read back from some of the fans that hear your music and actually connect to it. I think that is the best feeling in the world.

popYOUlarity: What’s your motivation now for going on?
Jason:My main motivation for the next year and a half is to play as many live shows as we can, get out there and really connect to the fans, and promote this record. I really believe in it and want people to hear it, so the best thing we can do is just stay on the road and really play as many shows as we can.

popYOUlarity: What is the one feeling you will never have, but would most like to know what it feels like?
Jason:Probably from me because I'm a perfectionist, so to be content with my work would be a great feeling, but I'll always be really critical of myself, and will push myself to be better. It would be nice to kind of let things go when it comes to my music.

popYOUlarity: Do you hate how people attribute a lot to luck in the music industry ?
Jason:No, because I really believe luck has a lot to do with it. I have seen so many bands that are way more talented than us that will never get the chance to be heard just because they are at the wrong place at the wrong time. When you see bands that are so good, that are popular, it makes you realize that a lot is because of luck.

popYOUlarity:What’s next ?
Jason:We're basically going to do a lot of radio promotions for the record and then touring.

popYOUlarity: Do you have anything you'd like to say to the readers of popYOUlarity.com?
Jason:If we have any fans out there that read popYOUlarity that we appreciate them and we really realize that we wouldn't be anything without them. The fans really drive you as a band. If you don't have anyone to listen to you really, then why are you doing it, you know?