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Biography

Live (, often typeset as LIVE ) is an United States|American Rock music|rock band from York, Pennsylvania , composed of Chad Taylor ( lead guitar ), Patrick Dahlheimer ( bass guitar|bass ), and Chad Gracey ( drum kit|drums ). Lead singer and principal songwriter Ed Kowalczyk left the band in November 2009.

Live achieved worldwide success with their 1994 album, Throwing Copper , which has sold eight million copies in the US. Recording Industry Association of America|RIAA The band had a string of hit singles in the mid 1990s including " Lightning Crashes ", which stayed at the top of the Billboard (magazine)|Billboard Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks chart for 10 consecutive weeks and the Alternative Songs|Modern Rock Tracks (now Alternative Songs) chart for nine weeks from February 25 to April 22, 1995. Billboard (magazine)|Billboard (note: click on the "right arrow" button to advance the chart by a week) The band has sold over 20 million albums worldwide. Reuters - May 7, 2009 Their last three studio albums fared only moderately well in the US, but they continued to enjoy success in Netherlands|The Netherlands , South Africa and Australasia .

When touring, Live have used additional musicians, most notably Ed's younger brother Adam Kowalczyk on rhythm guitar and backing vocals. British Keyboard instrument|keyboard player Michael "Railo" Railton and guitarist Christopher Thorn of the band Blind Melon have also toured with Live.

On November 30, 2009 Chad Taylor revealed that what had initially been termed a "two-year hiatus" was more likely the end of the band, due to what he felt were inappropriate and possibly illegal actions by Ed Kowalczyk,Michael Alan Goldberg, Make Major Moves Blog, Philadelphia Weekly|philadelphiaweekly.com - December 7, 2009 which have resulted in a lawsuit being filed against him by the other three band members.Martin Kuiper & Tom Springveld, FaceCulture - August 14, 2010 In June 2011, Taylor revealed that he, Gracey and Dahlheimer were to reform Live without Kowalczyk, who confirmed that he would not work with the other three again.

History

Early history and Mental Jewelry : 1988–1992

Kowalczyk, Taylor, Dahlheimer and Gracey first played together at a middle-school talent show in York, Pennsylvania . They remained together throughout high school, playing New Wave music|new wave covers under band names such as First Aid, Club Fungus, Paisley Blues, Action Front, and Body Odor Boys. Eventually they settled on the name Public Affection and recorded a self-released compact cassette|cassette of original songs, The Death of a Dictionary , in 1989. In 1990 they released an Extended play|EP of demos produced by Jay Healy, titled Divided Mind, Divided Planet , via their Black Coffee mailing list. The band played regular concerts at CBGB in New York City , which helped earn them a contract with Radioactive Records in 1991.Jason Ankeny, Allmusic

Under the new name Live , the band entered the studio with producer Jerry Harrison (of Talking Heads ) and recorded the EP Four Songs (Live EP)|Four Songs . The single "Operation Spirit (The Tyranny of Tradition)" went to number nine on the Alternative Songs|Modern Rock chart and was followed by their debut album, 1991's Mental Jewelry , which Harrison again produced. Pat Dalheimer explained that, given the band's inexperience, Jerry Harrison's input was very valuable, he said, "So important to have somebody else in the room to help us, especially with arrangements. I mean, we were still learning how to write songs...Jerry just seemed to know everything...this guy's a wizard!"Malandrone, Scott Bass Player (magazine)|Bass Player Some of the album's lyrics, written by Kowalczyk, were inspired by Indian philosopher and writer Jiddu Krishnamurti .

Throwing Copper and mainstream success: 1993–1996

After appearances on the MTV 120 Minutes tour, at Woodstock '94 and on Peter Gabriel 's World of Music, Arts and Dance|WOMAD tour, Live's second album, Throwing Copper , achieved mainstream success. The album featured the singles " I Alone ", " All Over You (song)|All Over You ", and the number one US Modern Rock hits " Selling the Drama " and " Lightning Crashes ". "Lightning Crashes" also stayed at the top of the Billboard Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks chart for ten consecutive weeks. The band appeared on NBC 's Saturday Night Live , where they performed "I Alone" and "Selling the Drama".

The success of the singles eventually gained Throwing Copper the number one position on the Billboard 200| Billboard 200 album chart on May 6, 1995, its 52nd week on the chart. It was the third longest gap between an album first charting and reaching number one, behind Fleetwood Mac|Fleetwood Mac's Fleetwood Mac (1975 album)|Fleetwood Mac in 1976 (58 weeks) and Paula Abdul|Paula Abdul's Forever Your Girl in 1989 (64 weeks). It is Live's best-selling album, having sold eight million copies in the US alone. In 1995 the band appeared on MTV Unplugged . Their set included a cover version of Vic Chesnutt|Vic Chesnutt's "Supernatural".

Secret Samadhi and The Distance to Here : 1997–2000

The success of Throwing Copper meant that 1997's Secret Samadhi (co-produced by the band and Jay Healy) debuted at number one on the US album chart. It took its name from Samadhi , a state of Hindu meditation. The album contained four Modern Rock hit singles, but failed to match its predecessor's success, with sales reaching two million. The band performed " Lakini's Juice " and "Heropsychodreamer" from the album on Saturday Night Live .

Jerry Harrison returned as co-producer for 1999's The Distance to Here , which entered the US album chart at number four and featured the hit single " The Dolphin's Cry ". In 2000, Live embarked on a co-headlining tour with Counting Crows . On that tour, Counting Crows' lead singer Adam Duritz often joined Live for their performance of "The Dolphin's Cry", while Kowalczyk sang a verse of " Hanginaround " with Counting Crows.

V , Birds of Pray and Awake: The Best of Live : 2001–2004

In May 2003, the band released the Jim Wirt produced, Birds of Pray , which reached number 28 on the US album chart, boosted by the unexpected success of the single " Heaven (Live song)|Heaven ", Live's first U.S. Hot 100 hit single since "The Dolphin's Cry".

In November 2004, Live released a greatest hits compilation, Awake: The Best of Live . Awake included " We Deal in Dreams ", a previously unreleased song from the Throwing Copper sessions, a cover version of Johnny Cash|Johnny Cash's " I Walk the Line ", and a new version of their song " Run Away (Live song)|Run Away " with Shelby Lynne sharing lead vocals with Ed Kowalczyk. A deluxe version of the album included a DVD with 22 music videos and an interview with Ed Kowalczyk.

Songs from Black Mountain , Radiant Sea and live DVD: 2005–2008

On American Idol (season 5)|season five of American Idol , finalist Chris Daughtry was accused of performing Live's version of Johnny Cash's " I Walk the Line " and claiming it as his own interpretation. A week later, Daughtry acknowledged this was true and said that Live was one of his favorite bands. In May 2006, Live appeared on The Howard Stern Show to address this issue.Thomas Panasci & Jason Kaplan, HowardStern.com On August 2, 2008, Daughtry and Live performed Live's interpretation of "I Walk the Line" together at the Toms River Fest in Toms River, New Jersey . Daughtry official website

On September 14, 2007, the band released Radiant Sea: A Collection of Bootleg Rarities and Two New Songs , their first album since 1989 on their own Action Front Records label. The new songs were "Beautiful Invisible" and "Radiant Sea". Live recorded their first concert DVD in the Netherlands during two shows at the Paradiso (Amsterdam)|Paradiso on June 30 and July 1, 2008. Live at the Paradiso - Amsterdam was released on November 11, 2008 on DVD and CD. Also in 2008 the band headlined a US tour which also featured Blues Traveler and Collective Soul .

An unreleased Live song, "Hold Me Up", features in the 2008 Kevin Smith film Zack and Miri Make a Porno . Smith said, "I first heard (the song) in ‘95 when we were putting together the Mallrats soundtrack. It was actually in the film for the first test screening, but Live decided they wanted to hold onto it as a potential single off their next album...When I was editing Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back ...I put in a request for it...again, I was denied. Third time, apparently, was the charm. Needed a song for that sequence in Zack and Miri and remembered the Live track. This time, the band signed off on us using the track. Took 13 years, but was worth the wait!"W. Andrew Powell, The Gate - September 11, 2008 In spite of Smith's endorsement, the song does not appear on the movie's soundtrack album.

Kowalczyk's departure

On November 30, 2009, Taylor revealed that the "hiatus" was more likely a permanent split.Chad, . Alternative Addiction - December 1, 2009. He alleged that the reasons for the break-up included Kowalczyk's demand of a $100,000 "lead singer bonus" at the 2009 Pinkpop Festival and a 2005 contract making Kowalczyk the sole signatory of Live's Black Coffee Publishing company without the knowledge of the rest of the band. These sentiments were conveyed in an e-mail to fans from the band (minus Kowalczyk) via the mailing list at FriendsofLive.com and on Chad Taylor's official blog. Taylor did, however, leave open the possibility of Live re-forming with a new vocalist.

At the end of May 2010, the other three members of Live filed a lawsuit against Kowalczyk and their former business manager in the New York State Supreme Court.Ferguson, Jon lancasteronline.com - September 16, 2010 Kowalczyk was asked about the lawsuit in a September 2010 interview but declined to elaborate, saying, "There is a (court) case that is pending, which is why I really don't want to get into it."
On June 8, 2011 Chad Taylor revealed that he, Dahlheimer and Gracey will be restarting the band and recording new songs without Kowalczyk. He made no mention of any potential new lead singer, but said that, "We’ll have to begin addressing the hole left by our singer’s departure." He added that "I need to feel Live once again without the constraints that were placed on it over the last few years. Chad, Patrick and I invested most of our lives to writing, recording and performing the songs of Live. We deserve a chance to reconnect with the fans to say goodbye to the old era and hello to the new." The Comet - June 8, 2011

When asked about the Live breakup, Ed Kowalczyk told The Salt Lake Tribune , "I had simply come to the end of a chapter in my life and wanted to spread my wings and move beyond what I had been doing, in the same way, for almost 20 years. As far as the allegations that were leveled at me and purported as the reason for the breakup, they were all absolutely untrue. I have no plans to work with those individuals again. The spirit of Live is alive and well in my performances and my new material."Burger, David The Salt Lake Tribune - June 7, 2011

On January 24, 2012 Taylor, Dahlheimer and Gracey announced that they were leading members in a project to renovate a four story building at 210 York Street in York, Pennsylvania|York . Three floors will house a technology company, creating 60 new jobs. The building will also include a brand new recording studio.James, Erin The York Dispatch - January 24, 2102

Discography

Mental Jewelry (1991)

Throwing Copper (1994)

Secret Samadhi (1997)

The Distance to Here (1999)

V (Live album)|V (2001)

Birds of Pray (2003)

Songs from Black Mountain (2006)

Copyright Citations

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