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!
10000 Years
Live Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Can't you smell the smoke in the air?
War, disease, and famine
This demon, she is everywhere
.
Poets and preachers and politicians
They've all had their say
And we got 10,000 years
But tomorrow and yesterday
.
If all of the ignorance in the world
Passes a second ago
What would you say?
Who would you obey?
I am here to say that
.
Peace is now
.
Mr. President
I hereby pardon you of all your crimes
For they are just as much mine
.
Selfishness and separation have led me
To believe that the world is not my problem
The world is not my problem
I am the world
And you are the world
.
If all of the ignorance in the world
Passes a second ago
What would you say?
Who would you obey?
I am here to say that
.
Peace is now
The song 10000 Years by Live is a commentary on the state of the world today. The opening lines, "The world is burning down, can't you smell the smoke in the air?" paint a vivid picture of the chaos and destruction that surrounds us. The subsequent lines, "War, disease, and famine, this demon, she is everywhere" further emphasize the sense of despair and hopelessness felt by the singer. The repetition of the word "she" is interesting, as it can be interpreted in different ways - is the demon a personification of Mother Nature, or perhaps a metaphor for the collective powerlessness of humanity in the face of crisis?
The second verse introduces a cast of characters - poets, preachers, and politicians - who have all "had their say" on the state of the world. Despite their supposed expertise and authority, they have not been able to solve the problems of tomorrow and yesterday. The line "devoted to nothing but tomorrow and yesterday" is particularly striking, as it implies a lack of attention and care for the present moment.
The chorus poses a question - "If all of the ignorance in the world passes a second ago, what would you say? Who would you obey?" - that challenges the listener to reflect on their own values and priorities. The final lines, "Peace is now", offer a glimmer of hope and optimism amidst the darkness.
Line by Line Meaning
The world is burning down
The world is in chaos and destruction is rampant.
Can't you smell the smoke in the air?
The signs of destruction are all around us and it is impossible to ignore.
War, disease, and famine
The world is plagued with issues of war, disease, and famine which are causing widespread suffering.
This demon, she is everywhere
These problems are all-pervasive and feel like an uncontrollable force.
Poets and preachers and politicians
People in positions of power and influence have all attempted to address these issues.
They've all had their say
Many people have spoken out on these issues but no significant progress has been made.
And we got 10,000 years
Human history is long and we have had significant time to address these problems.
Devoted to nothing
Despite this time, we have not made significant progress.
But tomorrow and yesterday
Instead, we focus on the past and the future rather than the present.
If all of the ignorance in the world
If everyone were suddenly enlightened and understood the true nature of the world,
Passes a second ago
If ignorance were to disappear instantly and completely,
What would you say?
What would be your response?
Who would you obey?
Who would you listen to?
I am here to say that
The singer is now addressing the listener directly.
Peace is now
The singer argues that peace is something that can be achieved in the present moment and is calling for action.
Mr. President
The artist is addressing the President of the United States.
I hereby pardon you of all your crimes
The artist is metaphorically pardoning the President for any wrongs committed.
For they are just as much mine
The singer acknowledges that they too are complicit in the problems that exist.
Selfishness and separation have led me
The singer admits that their own actions have contributed to the world's problems.
To believe that the world is not my problem
The artist used to believe that these problems were not their responsibility to solve.
The world is not my problem
As the previous line, the artist is asserting that they do not feel responsible for the world's problems.
I am the world
The artist ultimately realizes that they are inseparable from the world and its problems.
And you are the world
The singer is addressing the listener and indicating that they too are inseparable from the world and its problems.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: CHAD ALAN GRACEY, CHAD DAVID TAYLOR, EDWARD JOEL KOWALCZYK, PATRICK DAHLHEIMER
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind