The Lifeline Reaches for Musical Distinction
Juan Pintor
Issue date: 5/1/09 Section: Arts & Culture
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The Lifeline has rocked many packed Chicago venues, including the Metro and House Of Blues. They also performed at this year's South By Southwest (SXSW) Music Festival in Austin, Texas. Since 2002, The Lifeline's tour to fame has been showered with fortunate opportunities. Violinist Rebecca Faber remembered the first, when she met another young musical upstart. "I was in college and I met a singer, Ryan Hope, who was visiting from New York and we just hit it off as friends." Hope and Faber played acoustically until 2005, when they added a more plugged in sound to their band that year. Eddie Yonushatis (Guitar), Berto Salgado (Bass), and Lonnie Lane (Drums) joined the group, which needed a new name.
Before a gig in Champaign, Ill., Faber jokingly explained how they couldn't be just 'Ryan and Rebecca' anymore. "Finding a band name is pretty hard. You have to look in every single place you wouldn't normally look, and try not to think about it too hard," Hope said. After a random choice from the L encyclopedia, Lifeline became their moniker and has stuck ever since.
The Lifeline separates itself by combining heavy guitar riffs and screaming lyrics with the tragically epic sounds of classical music. Q101 radio personality Kevin Manno (of the Manno brothers) thinks the classical/rock combination gives the Lifeline, "the advantage over every other band because Ryan's voice is an instrument and both of those together, it's unbelievable."
Faber added how their distinctive sound attracts fans. "I think that's why a lot of people gravitate towards our music because it's something different and it's something people can grab onto." Manno and his brother, Ryan, are huge Lifeline enthusiasts, although Ryan Manno's first impression was surprising. "I didn't think they wrote their own songs. It was one of those things where this was way too professional. These songs are way too good for Chicago or for a local band that I've never heard of before." The brothers attend every Lifeline show they can, feeling it's only a matter of time till they hit it big. "It's a shame that they are not signed," Kevin Manno said. "They should be the next band out of Chicago to get signed." Inept Guitarist Kevin Singleton thinks The Lifeline performs well both in the studio and onstage. "I love The Lifeline's music, it's structured very well and their singer has an incredible voice," Singleton said.
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