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!
Bring The People Together
Live Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
All the buildings are burnt to the ground
I can't stay, I can't leave
I can't do no nothing, not a thing
Do you see your son down on the street?
Is that a gun or just the father that he needs?
Do you cry, do you weep?
In the early mornin' there were revelations in my mind
I can hear the masters cryin' out from their graves most every night
Bring the people together
Bring the people together
It's a crime, this dark time
We wait for presidents who never turn the tide
I find it hard, I find it strange
Go to the movies, have Picasso paint your cage
I've had enough, I think I'm done
So sell me down the river, I'll be waiting there in love
In the early morning there were revelations in my mind
I can hear the masters crying out from the graves most every night
Bring the people together
Bring the people together, yeah
Bring the people together
Bring the people together, yeah
Bring the people together
For the sake of these children we leave behind
Can you remember a time, a time, a time?
I was lost, I am found
All the buildings are burnt to the ground
I can't stay, I can't leave
I can't do no nothing?, not a thing
Tell me, is this a nation? Is this a tribe?
Is this the world or just some everyday beehive?
We need it now, yeah, we need it quick
Listen to lovers, better quit it with this shit...
The song "Bring The People Together" by Live is a call for unity and the end of violence and destruction. The opening lines of the songs depict the singer as lost and helpless, surrounded by the ruins of buildings. The singer is conflicted as they feel unable to participate in any action to fix the situation. The second stanza of the song poses a series of questions that reflect on societal problems. It highlights the issue of gun violence and how it is a father's responsibility to provide and support his family.
As the song progresses, the singer conveys that he had a moment of clarity in the early morning - this clarity made him realize that the ones who have passed on are calling out to us for help. The chorus proclaims a desperate need for togetherness in the face of hardship. The song pleads that unity is the only way forward. The bridge of the song further emphasizes the need for change and how society has become stagnant in its ways of seeking progress.
The chorus comes back and serves as a call to action. The song demands the bringing together of people for the sake of the future generations that will be born into this world. The song's urgency is pronounced in the final lines, urging individuals to remember the past and its painful lessons.
Overall, "Bring The People Together" is a thought-provoking song that serves as a microcosm of societal issues. The song highlights the need for a coming together of people to work towards the betterment of society. It expresses an underlying despair about our fragmented lives that are filled with hate, intolerance, and destruction. It serves as a call to action for every soul to come together in love, unity, and peace.
Line by Line Meaning
I was lost, I am found
I once felt lost, but now I have been found
All the buildings are burnt to the ground
The world is in shambles and disrepair
I can't stay, I can't leave
I can't do no nothing, not a thing
I feel powerless and don't know how to help
Do you see your son down on the street?
Is that a gun or just the father that he needs?
Do you cry, do you weep?
Do you see the world as only tragedy?
The world is filled with sorrow and violence, and we need to recognize the impact it has on our loved ones
In the early mornin' there were revelations in my mind
I can hear the masters cryin' out from their graves most every night
I have had a realization that our ancestors and past leaders are speaking to us and we must listen
Bring the people together
Bring the people together
We need to unite as a society to make positive change
It's a crime, this dark time
We wait for presidents who never turn the tide
We are in a difficult period of history where even our leaders cannot make a significant impact
I find it hard, I find it strange
Go to the movies, have Picasso paint your cage
I've had enough, I think I'm done
So sell me down the river, I'll be waiting there in love
It is difficult to ignore the suffering in the world and escape reality, but we must still actively work towards change and hope for a better future
Bring the people together
For the sake of these children we leave behind
Can you remember a time, a time, a time?
We must come together for future generations and strive towards a world that is better than what we have now
Tell me, is this a nation? Is this a tribe?
Is this the world or just some everyday beehive?
We need it now, yeah, we need it quick
Listen to lovers, better quit it with this shit...
We must question the way our society is structured and make a change immediately; we should listen to those who spread love and reject hate and negativity
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Round Hill Music Big Loud Songs
Written by: CHAD ALAN GRACEY, CHAD DAVID TAYLOR, EDWARD JOEL KOWALCZYK, PATRICK DAHLHEIMER
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind