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!
6310 Rodgerton Dr.
Live Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
On the canyon wall
Where Bogart kissed BaCall
Bought by dead man's curve
I had much to learn
As the fire began to burn
These stars shown low
As the smoke claimed the room
And my brothers feels he's certain
He hears laughter down the hall
It's just the whisper of the flames
They don't know it's taking fire
As the monster came alive
I count four or not five
News teams and the cameras crews
I can't hear myself scream as I'm calling for you
And the master tapes and songs that you'll never hear
The neighbors they just stand and stare
Blisters on my hands and on my bleeding feet
As I drag you out through the broken door
They don't know it's taking fire
As I stand alone, forever changed
In the charred remains
Oh these things are just things
That I'll replace once more
Walking through life's open door
They don't know it's taking fire
They don't know it's taking fire
The song "6310 Rodgerton Dr." by Live tells the story of a devastating house fire that occurred at a home on a canyon wall. The singer, who loved the house for its connection to Hollywood icons Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall, reveals that the house was purchased near "dead man's curve." The singer admits to still having much to learn when the fire began to burn, indicating that perhaps the fire was started accidentally by the singer.
The second stanza reveals that someone, possibly a loved one or a neighbor, was asleep in the room where the fire occurred and was unable to escape. The singer's brother hears what he believes to be laughter down the hall, but it is actually just the sound of the flames. The third stanza explodes with chaos as news teams and camera crews arrive on the scene, and the singer frantically searches for someone, calling out for them but unable to hear himself over the noise.
The lyrics mention "master tapes and songs that you'll never hear," indicating that the house may have been a recording studio or belonged to a musician. The singer suffers physical injuries as they drag someone out of the burning home. The chorus repeats throughout the song, emphasizing that while others are oblivious to the house being in flames, the singer knows exactly what is happening.
Overall, the lyrics paint a vivid picture of a tragic event and the aftermath of loss and rebuilding. The singer comes to terms with the fact that while the physical objects in the house may be gone, they are just things that can be replaced.
Line by Line Meaning
There's a house I loved
The singer is fond of a certain house
On the canyon wall
The house is located on a canyon wall
Where Bogart kissed BaCall
The place may have romantic significance for the singer, similar to where Humphrey Bogart kissed Lauren BaCall in the film 'To Have and Have Not'
Bought by dead man's curve
The house was purchased near a dangerous bend in the road
I had much to learn
The artist was naive and had yet to experience some of life's harsher realities
As the fire began to burn
A fire broke out in the house
These stars shown low
The stars were dimly visible
Cause shes asleep below
Someone (possibly the artist's partner?) was sleeping in the house when the fire started
As the smoke claimed the room
The smoke from the fire filled the room
And my brothers feels he's certain
The artist's brother believed he heard something distinct in the chaos
He hears laughter down the hall
The brother thought he heard laughter coming from another part of the house
It's just the whisper of the flames
The 'laughter' was actually just a sound caused by the fire
They don't know it's taking fire
The people nearby were not yet aware that the house was on fire
As the monster came alive
The fire seemed like a terrifying beast that 'came alive'
I count four or not five
The singer was unsure of the number of people present
News teams and the cameras crews
The media had arrived to report on the situation
I can't hear myself scream as I'm calling for you
The artist was calling out for someone but their voice was drowned out by all the commotion
And the master tapes and songs that you'll never hear
Music recordings were lost in the fire, never to be heard again
The neighbors they just stand and stare
Onlookers were watching but not offering any help
Blisters on my hands and on my bleeding feet
The artist was physically injured while trying to rescue someone
As I drag you out through the broken door
The artist successfully rescued someone from the burning house
As I stand alone, forever changed
The experience of the fire has altered the artist in some way
In the charred remains
All that's left of the house is burned debris
Oh these things are just things
Material possessions are not as important as life itself
That I'll replace once more
The singer will eventually be able to replace the lost items
Walking through life's open door
The singer is now looking towards the future
Lyrics © OBO APRA/AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@evad2010
This is so much better then Lives new shit
@spaceburger80
A. Fucking. Men. ✊
@PalmTreesInMoscow
I think it’s super cool how they pop the bridge in right after the first chorus. Super Underrated album and I come back to this one and “natural born killers” quite a bit.
@paulcerminara3107
Shin did albums with blind melon, aka Unified theory. Amazing album and Live.
@alexbcrich5412
Yeah!!!..
@evanacker941
Brilliant. Anybody got tabs for this song??
@marcuserosemeyer4565
I know the tab to the main riff
@evanacker941
where is it?
@marcuserosemeyer4565
I haven't tabbed it online yet
@LeftIsBest001
"I've seen things you people wouldn't believe. Attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion..." - Dunno why but this song makes me think of that scene.. 🤔🤔