Jason Michael Wade (born July 5 1980) is the lead vocalist, songwriter and
guitarThe guitar is a musical instrument with ancient roots that adapts readily to a wide variety of musical styles. It typically has six strings, but four-, seven-, eight-, ten-, eleven-, twelve-, thirteen- and eighteen-string guitars also exist. The size and shape of the neck and the base of the guitar...
ist with the band
LifehouseLifehouse is an American alternative band from Malibu, California. They came to prominence in 2001 with the hit single "Hanging by a Moment" from their major-label debut album, No Name Face. The single won a Billboard Music Award for Hot 100 Single of the Year, beating out Janet Jackson and Alicia...
. Originally from
Camarillo, CaliforniaCamarillo is a city in Ventura County, California, United States. The population was 57,077 at the 2000 census. A January 1, 2006, California Department of Finance estimate lists the population at 64,034. The Ventura Freeway Camarillo is a city in Ventura County, California, United States. The...
, Wade comes from a highly religious background.
Wade spent his early years in Camarillo, California. Brought up in a Christian family, both of Wade's parents were missionaries, and much of his childhood was spent away from his native state of California, visiting
Japanis an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, People's Republic of China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
,
ThailandThe Kingdom of Thailand is an independent country that lies in the heart of Southeast Asia.It is bordered to the north by Laos and Burma, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the west by the Andaman Sea and Burma...
and
SingaporeSingapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island city-state located at the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, lying north of the equator, south of the Malaysian state of Johor and north of Indonesia's Riau Islands. At , Singapore is a microstate and the smallest nation in Southeast...
before moving to
Hong KongHong Kong , officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, is a highly autonomous territory of the People's Republic of China, facing Guangdong to the north and the South China Sea to the east, west and south...
.
Jason Michael Wade (born July 5 1980) is the lead vocalist, songwriter and
guitarThe guitar is a musical instrument with ancient roots that adapts readily to a wide variety of musical styles. It typically has six strings, but four-, seven-, eight-, ten-, eleven-, twelve-, thirteen- and eighteen-string guitars also exist. The size and shape of the neck and the base of the guitar...
ist with the band
LifehouseLifehouse is an American alternative band from Malibu, California. They came to prominence in 2001 with the hit single "Hanging by a Moment" from their major-label debut album, No Name Face. The single won a Billboard Music Award for Hot 100 Single of the Year, beating out Janet Jackson and Alicia...
. Originally from
Camarillo, CaliforniaCamarillo is a city in Ventura County, California, United States. The population was 57,077 at the 2000 census. A January 1, 2006, California Department of Finance estimate lists the population at 64,034. The Ventura Freeway Camarillo is a city in Ventura County, California, United States. The...
, Wade comes from a highly religious background.
Early life
Wade spent his early years in Camarillo, California. Brought up in a Christian family, both of Wade's parents were missionaries, and much of his childhood was spent away from his native state of California, visiting
Japanis an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, People's Republic of China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
,
ThailandThe Kingdom of Thailand is an independent country that lies in the heart of Southeast Asia.It is bordered to the north by Laos and Burma, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the west by the Andaman Sea and Burma...
and
SingaporeSingapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island city-state located at the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, lying north of the equator, south of the Malaysian state of Johor and north of Indonesia's Riau Islands. At , Singapore is a microstate and the smallest nation in Southeast...
before moving to
Hong KongHong Kong , officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, is a highly autonomous territory of the People's Republic of China, facing Guangdong to the north and the South China Sea to the east, west and south...
. Speaking about how he understands firsthand how bleak life can seem without something or someone to relate to, he said, "When I was a kid and we lived in Hong Kong, we lived in a small village and the people there hated us. They thought we were witches bringing trouble to their neighborhood. They lit firecrackers at our door every morning, and they actually stole our cat! I was totally scared and freaked out and I didn't have any friends."
After four difficult years, Wade's family moved back to the U.S., to
Portland, OregonPortland is a city located in the Northwestern United States, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the state of Oregon. As of July 2008, it has an estimated population of 575,930, making it the 29th most populous in the United States. It has been referred to as the most...
. When asked why, Wade said, "My parents had a lot of issues. But they wouldn't allow me to see the problems in their relationship. Our family was always peaceful; there was never any fighting or anything. We looked perfectly happy from the outside. It was like 'Pleasantville.' The worst part was that I couldn't acknowledge anything was wrong, so I couldn't do anything about it. I felt completely powerless."
By the time he was 12, Wade's parents had divorced and he'd moved with his mom to the
SeattleSeattle is located in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. Situated in the western part of Washington State on an isthmus between Puget Sound and Lake Washington, about south of the Canada – United States border, it is named after Chief Sealth, of the Duwamish and Suquamish tribes...
area (specifically, Port Orchard, WA). He spent most of his early days there alone in his room, pouring his heart out in poetry. "I was experiencing all the pain anyone feels when their parents get divorced. It opened up all this stuff," he said. "But it also opened up this creative outlet for me. It's funny, because I was never a musical kid - never took lessons, never really listened to the radio. But I suddenly just started writing lyrics and coming up with melodies. We lived in the woods, and I'd take these long walks and the songs would just start happening."
Wade's mother had been musical. "My mom always had a guitar lying around the house," he said. "I finally just picked it up and learned how to play a few chords." Finding a solace in music, Wade eventually began reconciling himself to his new circumstances and settled into his new home. This phase of his life ended, however, when his mother decided to relocate the family to
Los AngelesLos Angeles is the largest city in the state of California and the second largest in the United States. Often abbreviated as L.A. and nicknamed The City of Angels, Los Angeles has an estimated population of 3.8 million and spans over in Southern California...
. "I didn't want to move at all," Wade said. "I'd finally made all these friends, and Washington had been a really comforting place for me during the divorce. I thought it would be home forever." But it was there in Los Angeles where Lifehouse was formed and Wade's musical career began.
Jason has been married to his wife Braeden since 2001.
Lifehouse
Being "just a fan," a music lover like any other, is what Wade is and always wants to be. "My ultimate goal in writing songs is simply to connect with people," he says, "and I hope that comes across in everything we do."
At the age of 15, Wade moved to L.A., where he met bassist Sergio Andrade and began blossoming as a songwriter. "I really didn't know anyone. Serge lived next door and we had a lot of stuff in common, like playing basketball and running," he says. "He'd just started playing bass, so we hung out a lot. We spent all our time jamming out in the garage, writing songs and helping each other get better."
This partnership was the beginnings of Lifehouse, which, after a deal with
DreamWorks RecordsDreamWorks Records was an American record label. Founded in 1996 by David Geffen, Steven Spielberg and Jeffrey Katzenberg as a subsidiary of DreamWorks SKG, the label operated until 2005 when it was shut down...
, skyrocketed to fame with their first release,
No Name Face.
"It's all been unbelievable," Wade says of the band's rapidly accumulating success. "We didn't expect any of this, but we're so grateful to have so many people hearing our songs. I really can't explain how it's happened."
"The best thing about all this is being able to stay on the road," says Wade. "We've been meeting new fans in cities all over the country. It's so cool to hear what they think about the music, and it makes me feel so good when they say that one of our songs has helped them get through a rough time, that they were able to apply it to their own life."
Reluctant to discuss his lyrics in detail, Wade feels they are infinitely open to interpretation. "That's the great thing about a song - a lyric may mean something totally different for someone else than it does for me and still be just as valid," he insists. A case in point is album closer "Everything": "We've been playing it on tour and when kids come up after the show, it seems like they always tell us how much they love that song. They don't really know what it's about, but they hear something in it that connects to them personally. That's why you don't have to tell the whole picture in the lyrics; you give a road to start on that people can relate to."
The band recorded the album "Lifehouse" in the recording studio/music label Ironworks owned by musician/producer
Jude ColeJude Cole is a singer-songwriter, musician, record producer, manager, film composer and actor. Cole recorded the 1990 single "Baby, It's Tonight", which reached the top 20 on the Billboard chart. Cole's song, "Time for Letting Go", was also a top-40 hit....
and actor
Kiefer SutherlandKiefer William Fredrick Dempsey George Rufus Sutherland is a British-born Canadian actor, best known for his portrayal of Jack Bauer on the Fox thriller drama series 24. He is an Emmy Award- and Golden Globe award-winner...
. A digital download of that album's first single "You and Me" was RIAA Certified Gold. In two months, "You and Me" sold over 100,000 downloads.
Solo work
Wade's solo work includes songs featured in the successful motion pictures
ShrekShrek is a computer-animated American comedy film, directed by Andrew Adamson and Vicky Jenson, and starring the voices of Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy, Cameron Diaz, and John Lithgow. Based on William Steig's 1990 fairy tale picture book Shrek!, the film was produced by DreamWorks Animation...
("
You Belong to Me"You Belong to Me" is a pop music ballad from the 1950s. The singer reminds his/her lover that, whatever exotic locales and sights he/she experiences, "you belong to me". It is credited to three writers: Pee Wee King, Redd Stewart, and Chilton Price. Actually, Price wrote most of the song, and...
") and
Win a Date With Tad Hamilton!Win a Date with Tad Hamilton! is a 2004 romantic comedy film,directed by Robert Luketic and starring Kate Bosworth, Topher Grace, and Josh Duhamel.- Overview :...
("Days Go By"), which was later redone by the whole band, released on their 3rd album,
Lifehouse. "
From Where You Are"From Where You Are" is a single from the band Lifehouse that was written by Jason Wade for Allstate's Teen Driving Program. The song is dedicated to teens who have lost their lives in accidents and used to educate teens to drive safely...
" was released 11/6/2007. In partnership with Allstate Insurance, the song is dedicated to teens who have lost their lives in accidents, and used to educate and empower millions of teens in safe driving. The song was also dedicated to a close friend of Jason's that died in a car accident at the age of 16.
Selected discography
- Lifehouse
Lifehouse is an American alternative band from Malibu, California. They came to prominence in 2001 with the hit single "Hanging by a Moment" from their major-label debut album, No Name Face. The single won a Billboard Music Award for Hot 100 Single of the Year, beating out Janet Jackson and Alicia...
: No Name FaceNo Name Face is the debut album by the rock band Lifehouse. It was released on October 31, 2000, and it produced the hit "Hanging by a Moment" which went on to be the most played song on radio the following year. This album launched Lifehouse into the limelight, and produced many radio-friendly hits...
, released Oct. 31st, 2000
- Lifehouse: Stanley Climbfall
Stanley Climbfall is the second album by the band Lifehouse. The album features the single "Spin". It has been certified Gold in North America for sales of 500,000...
, released Sept. 17, 2002
- Lifehouse: Lifehouse, released March 22nd, 2005
- Lifehouse: Who We Are
Who We Are is the fourth album by American rock band Lifehouse, which was released on June 19, 2007.On April 24, 2007, the band released the first single "First Time" to radio stations for airplay. Initially, the song played as an hourly feature on Star 98.7 in Los Angeles for that day...
, released June 19 2007
External links