Hailing from York, Pennsylvania, the group is comprised of Ed Kowalczyk (lead vocals & guitar), Chad Taylor (lead guitar), Patrick Dahlheimer (bass) and Chad Gracey (drums). Since approximately 1999, Live has toured with Ed’s younger brother, Adam Kowalczyk as a rhythm guitarist, and, previously, British keyboardist Michael “Railo” Railton.
Kowalczyk, Taylor, Dahlheimer, and Gracey first came together for a middle-school talent show in the Pennsylvania blue-collar town of York. The group remained together throughout high school, going through a handful of band names and new-wave covers before settling on the moniker Public Affection and recording a self-released cassette of originals, The Death of a Dictionary, in 1989. Frequent trips into New York to play at CBGB helped net the band a deal with Radioactive Records in 1991. With the new name Live, the band entered the studio with former Talking Heads keyboardist Jerry Harrison that year and began recording the EP Four Songs. The single “Operation spirit (the tyranny of tradition)” went to #9 on the Modern Rock chart, and paved the way for the band’s Harrison-produced, full-length debut, 1991’s Mental Jewelry (#73). The album lyrics, penned by Kowalczyk, were heavily inspired by Indian guru Jiddu Krishnamurti.
Fueled by heavy touring (including billing at Woodstock ‘94 and Peter Gabriel’s WOMAD tour) and a string of hit singles (“I Alone”, “All Over You” and the #1 Modern Rock hits “Selling the drama” and “Lightning crashes”), their next album, Throwing Copper, went to #1 in 1994. It is their best-selling, and often most highly regarded by fans and critics, album to date. The band was even asked to perform on Saturday Night Live where they performed their hits “I Alone” and “Selling the Drama” and to this day, they are the only band to receive a standing ovation at the party after the broadcast.[citation needed]
The momentum continued long enough to help 1997’s Secret Samadhi (coproduced by the band and Jay Healey) debut at #1. Deriving its name from a state of Hindu meditation, the album spawned four Modern Rock hit singles, but failed to match its predecessor’s success, with sales topping off at 2 million. The band performed “lakini’s juice” and “Heropsychodreamer” from this album on NBC’s Saturday Night Live.
Harrison came back on board as coproducer for 1999’s The Distance to Here, which debuted at #4 and featured the minor US hit single “The Dolphin’s Cry.”
In September 2001, the more experimental V (originally scheduled to be titled “Ecstatic Fanatic”) was issued to mixed reviews, preceded by “Simple creed” as the first single. However, with the events of 9/11—which occurred a week before V ‘s release—the melancholic “Overcome” began receiving significant airplay, superseding “Simple Creed” and becoming V’s selling point. Unfortunately, Live’s commercial stock—compounded by their petering radio airplay—had fallen further since The Distance to Here, with V merely reaching #22 at home, failing to reach gold status.
Birds of Pray appeared in May 2003, bolstered by the unexpected success of “Heaven”, Live’s first US Hot 100-placing since “The Dolphin’s Cry.” Reaching #28, Birds of Pray ultimately outsold V, although it too received mixed reviews and failed to reach gold status.
In November 2004, Live released Awake: The Best of Live, a career-spanning compilation that included “We deal in dreams”, a previously unreleased song from the Throwing Copper sessions, and a cover of Johnny Cash’s “I Walk The Line”, as well as Birds of Pray’s “Run Away”, re-imagined with Shelby Lynne on co-lead vocals.
In 2005, Live signed with Sony BMG Music Entertainment’s Epic label, and released a new album entitled Songs From Black Mountain in June 2006, preceded by “The river” as lead single. Thus far, while the album has achieved international success, it has proven Live’s lowest-seller yet domestically, only reaching #52 in the US before quickly disappearing from the charts.
While Live remain only moderately popular in terms of record sales in the United States, much of their current sales come from places in Europe, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand. Ed Kowalczyk has said that “Holland is the center of the Live universe” [citation needed].
The group made news in January 2006 as three band members (Chad Taylor, Patrick Dahlheimer and touring rhythm guitar Adam Kowalczyk) and two members of the band’s road crew were on a United Airlines flight when smoke filled the cabin, requiring the pilot to make an emergency landing.
On season 5 of American Idol, finalist Chris Daughtry was accused of performing Live’s rendition of Johnny Cash’s “I Walk the Line” and calling it his own. This angered some Live fans, but one week later Daughtry acknowledged it was not his own rendition, even saying Live was one of his favorite bands. In May 2006, Live appeared on The Howard Stern Show and addressed this issue.
On May 24, 2006, the band and Chris Daughtry performed “Mystery” on the season finale of American Idol, and on June 7, a new version of “Mystery” was released on the Friends of Live website featuring Chris Daughtry on guest vocals.
The members of Live announced in June 2009 that the band would be taking a two-year hiatus as they work on other projects. On November 30, 2009, guitarist Chad Taylor confirmed that the hiatus of the band was most likely a permanent rift. See the Wikipedia page for more. During the first European tour of the new band of Taylor, Gracey and Dahlheimer (The Gracious Few), Taylor commented both on stage and in post-show discussions that he believes Live may still come back together, though he also stated that the chances of Kowalczyk joining them in this effort may be very small. In an exclusive blogpost[1] on website The Comet, Taylor confirmed that the remaining members of the band would be working on new material for Live in Nashville early July 2011.
The band returned from their nearly three-year hiatus on March 12, 2012, with Chris Shinn, formerly of Unified Theory, as their new lead singer. The new line-up performed before an invited audience at the Strand-Capitol Performing Arts Center in York. The band performed as a six-piece with The Gracious Few's Sean Hennesy on guitar and Alexander Lefever on keyboards
[1]: http://thecomet.com/posts/exclusive_blog_chad_taylor_talks_the_gracious_few_and_live
There's another band with the same name:
2. Live was a 70s-era Progressive Rock group from Germany. Formed in 1971, the outfit appeared to be a strangely named band indeed.
In October 1972 their guitarist Martin Knaden went to Curly Curve. Throughout their history only one member has remained, the multi-talented keyboards and flute player Norbert Aufmhof. Although in existence for a decade Live never got to record a proper studio album, or gain a contract, which surely they should have. Maybe the band name was a bit of a jinx?!
Their earlier history was originally just documented by a single. Only more recently did an LP surface collecting 1974 recordings. Quite obviously a collection of rehearsal session tapes, the LP reveals a band with promise albeit rather grottily recorded with often barely understandable muffled lyrics in English. Musically, there are nods to early Satin Whale and Jane, but with lots of classical touches, notably Grieg and Bach, and a penchant to meander rather nicely during the instrumentals.
Based on the ROCK OFFERS track "Sea Fever", they had blossomed and changed focus somewhat, as a much more sophisticated symphonic progressive of the Pancake and Jane type, typical of the mid/late-1970's.
In all, during their history, three different versions of Live existed, but eventually the band split in 1976. A full history of the band is included in the GEVELSBERG CD, which documents other oddments, sessions, and a live recording!
Lightning Crashes
Live Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Her placenta falls to the floor
The angel opens her eyes
The confusion sets in
Before the doctor can even close the door
Lightning crashes an old mother dies
Her intentions fall to the floor
The angel closes her eyes
The confusion that was hers
Belongs now to the baby down the hall
Oh now feel it, coming back again
Like a rolling, thunder chasing the wind
Forces pulling from
The center of the earth again
I can feel it
Lightning crashes a new mother cries
This moment she's been waiting for
The angel opens her eyes
Pale blue colored iris
Presents the circle
Puts the glory out to hide, hide
Oh now feel it, coming back again
Like a rolling, thunder chasing the wind
Forces pulling from
The center of the earth again
I can feel it
I can feel it
Oh, I
Oh, I
Oh, I
I can feel it, coming back again
Like a rolling, thunder chasing the wind
Forces pulling from
The center of the earth again
I can feel it
I can feel it, coming back again
Like a rolling, thunder chasing the wind
Forces pulling from
The center of the earth again
I can feel it
I can feel it, coming back again
Like a rolling, thunder chasing the wind
Forces pulling from
The center of the earth again
I can feel it
I can feel it
I can feel it
The song "Lightning Crashes" by Live is a powerful and emotional depiction of the cycle of life and death. The opening lyrics describe the experiences of two different mothers - one giving birth to new life, while the other passes away. The dramatic imagery of lightning crashing and a placenta falling to the floor heightens the intensity of these events. The mention of an angel opening and closing her eyes implies a spiritual dimension to what is happening.
The chorus of the song repeats the phrase "I can feel it, coming back again" several times, building on the idea that life and death are recurring and cyclical events. The forces pulling from the center of the earth again suggest that these cycles are part of a larger, natural order. The addition of the line "like a rolling thunder chasing the wind" adds a sense of urgency and mystery to this idea.
In the final verse, the focus returns to the new mother giving birth. The repeating "oh, I" lines suggest a personal connection or intense emotion that the singer is experiencing. The pale blue colored iris mentioned in the lyrics may symbolize the fragility and preciousness of new life. The final line "puts the glory out to hide, hide" could be interpreted in many ways - perhaps it speaks to the challenges and struggles that come with new life, or the idea that even in the midst of joy, there is always some pain or sorrow.
Overall, "Lightning Crashes" is a deeply moving and thought-provoking song that tackles themes of life, death, and spirituality in a unique and poetic way.
Line by Line Meaning
Lightning crashes a new mother cries
The sudden realization of new life and the accompanying emotions of joy and fear overwhelm a mother giving birth.
Her placenta falls to the floor
The physical elements of birth are a brutal reminder of the fragility of life.
The angel opens her eyes
The birth of a child is a miraculous event.
The confusion sets in
The reality of new responsibilities and changes that come with motherhood can be overwhelming.
Before the doctor can even close the door
The pace of life is relentless, and change follows change with no respite.
Lightning crashes an old mother dies
Death is sudden and unforgiving, the end of a long journey.
Her intentions fall to the floor
Death brings an end to all plans and aspirations.
The angel closes her eyes
Death is a natural part of life, a return to the eternal.
The confusion that was hers
The confusion and disorientation that comes with death is a personal experience, unique for each individual.
Belongs now to the baby down the hall
Birth and death are two sides of the same coin, the beginning and the end of life.
Oh now feel it, coming back again
Change is a constant in life, a cycle that repeats itself endlessly.
Like a rolling, thunder chasing the wind
Life moves forward with unstoppable force, like a storm that rages across the land.
Forces pulling from the center of the earth again
Life is an expression of the power and energy of the universe, emerging from the depths of the planet.
I can feel it
The singer is acutely aware of the cycles of life, and feels them deeply within himself.
This moment she's been waiting for
The birth of a child is a pivotal moment in a mother's life, filled with expectation and hope.
Pale blue colored iris presents the circle
The newborn's eyes represent a new beginning, a fresh start for the cycle of life.
Puts the glory out to hide, hide
The overwhelming beauty and complexity of life can sometimes be too much to bear, and we seek solace and shelter.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Chad Alan Gracey, Chad David Taylor, Edward Joel Kowalczyk, Patrick Dahlheimer
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind