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!
05 I Walk The Line
Live Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I keep my eyes wide open all the time.
I keep the ends out for the tie that binds
Because you're mine, I walk the line
I find it very, very easy to be true
I find myself alone when each day is through
Yes, I'll admit I'm a fool for you
As sure as night is dark and day is light
I keep you on my mind both day and night
And happiness I've known proves that it's right
Because you're mine, I walk the line
You've got a way to keep me on your side
You give me cause for love that I can't hide
For you I know I'd even try to turn the tide
Because you're mine, I walk the line
I keep a close watch on this heart of mine
I keep my eyes wide open all the time.
I keep the ends out for the tie that binds
Because you're mine, I walk the line
The lyrics to Live's song "I Walk The Line" suggest a deep devotion to someone special. The repetition of the phrase "because you're mine, I walk the line" reinforces the idea that the singer is committed to doing whatever it takes to maintain the relationship, even if it means staying vigilant over his own emotions. He keeps a "close watch" on his heart and "eyes wide open" perhaps to avoid any distractions or temptations that could pull him away from the relationship. The line "I find it very, very easy to be true" suggests he is dedicated to staying faithful to this person, and even though he may feel foolish at times, he admits he is a "fool for" them.
The second verse continues the theme of the singer's devotion. He keeps this person on his mind "both day and night" and his "happiness I've known" proves that staying true to them is "right". He also acknowledges that this person has a way of keeping him on their side, causing him "cause for love that I can't hide". The final line speaks to his willingness to do whatever it takes for this person, perhaps even turning the tide of a situation that threatens the relationship.
Overall, the lyrics to "I Walk The Line" suggest a deep and unwavering love for someone special, and a recognition of the vulnerability that comes with that love. The singer is committed to staying true and staying vigilant, regardless of the challenges that may arise.
Line by Line Meaning
I keep a close watch on this heart of mine
I am monitoring my heart closely to make sure I don't fall out of love with you.
I keep my eyes wide open all the time.
I am always attentive and aware of what is going on around me to stay committed to you.
I keep the ends out for the tie that binds
I am actively seeking ways to maintain our connection and keep our relationship strong.
Because you're mine, I walk the line
I am devoted to you and will do whatever it takes to stay true to our love.
I find it very, very easy to be true
My devotion to you comes naturally and is not difficult to maintain.
I find myself alone when each day is through
When the day ends, all I can think about is being with you and this makes me feel lonely without you.
Yes, I'll admit I'm a fool for you
I am willing to do anything for you, even if it means being seen as foolish by others.
Because you're mine, I walk the line
I am committed to you and will do anything to keep our love strong.
As sure as night is dark and day is light
My love for you is an undeniable fact, like the alternation of night and day.
I keep you on my mind both day and night
You are always at the forefront of my thoughts and I can't seem to shake you out of my mind.
And happiness I've known proves that it's right
My past happiness with you shows that our love is worth fighting for and continuing to pursue.
Because you're mine, I walk the line
My commitment to you is unwavering and I will always stay true to our love.
You've got a way to keep me on your side
Your ability to keep me devoted to you is unparalleled and keeps me by your side.
You give me cause for love that I can't hide
Your love for me is so strong that it causes me to reciprocate those feelings and I can't hide my affection for you.
For you I know I'd even try to turn the tide
I am willing to go to great lengths to keep our relationship strong, even if it means turning a difficult situation around.
Because you're mine, I walk the line
My love and commitment to you is unbreakable and I will always stay true to our love.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: Johnny Cash
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind