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!
By Design
Live Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Following me
Staring me down
and it's eating away at everything.
Could not notice
Currents it made
Too much, now
Diamonds will shine
Women will glow
Lines are crossed now
We're miles away from everything.
How could we notice?
When currents we wade
Too much, now
We all want it back, all want it back
We leave behind
We leave behind
All the you and I's
We burn the fields for room to grow, it's by design.
We leave behind
All the desperate you and I's
We burn the bridges back to you, it's by design.
I've seen this before
Skeleton key unlocks that belfry door
Hinged on swollen frames
And completely warped floors.
The house will fall
Collapsing into itself
Now a fire burns,
And it's turning me on, it's turning me on
The song "By Design" by Live portrays the struggle of moving on from the past and letting go of the "you and I's" that were left behind. The ghost that follows the singer represents the memories that haunt him and eat away at his present. He admits that he could not notice the current that these memories generated, and is now seeing right through them. The diamonds and women that shine represent the glittering distractions that deflected his attention from what truly matters. The bridges that were burned back to the past and the fields that were burnt for room to grow both signify the pain that had to be endured for progress to be made. The singer realizes that he has seen this before, and that the past always finds its way back, but this time he is ready for the change that is coming.
The lines "we burn the fields for room to grow, it's by design" and "we burn the bridges back to you, it's by design" are what inspired the song's title, as the chorus emphasizes that everything that happens is by design, even if it's painful. However, the fire that is burning inside the singer in the final line hints at a sense of excitement for the future and the possibilities that it holds.
Line by Line Meaning
There is a ghost
Something intangible is following the singer, causing unease and discomfort.
Following me
The ghost is literally trailing the singer.
Staring me down
The ghost look feels unnerving and intense.
and it's eating away at everything.
The stress brought on by the ghost's presence is causing the artist to deteriorate.
Could not notice
At some point, the ghost must have been present, but it went unnoticed.
Currents it made
The ghost left a kind of mark or energy that affected the environment.
Too much, now
The effect of the ghost's energy is now overwhelming to the singer.
I'm seeing right through, seeing right through
The artist realizes the truth behind the ghost's presence and is no longer blind to what's going on.
Diamonds will shine
Rich or famous people will stand out and be prominent.
Women will glow
Beautiful women will also stand out and be noticeable.
Lines are crossed now
Some kind of boundary has been overstepped or crossed.
We're miles away from everything.
The situation has become distant and disconnected from what it once was.
How could we notice?
The change that took place was so subtle, it went unnoticed until it was too late.
When currents we wade
The situation was like standing in deep water, not realizing the subtle movement of the current had taken them away from their original position.
Too much, now
The realization of what has happened is now too much to bear.
We all want it back, all want it back
The desire to return to the way things were is strong among everyone involved.
We leave behind
The past is left behind or forgotten for a new chapter.
All the you and I's
Personal relationships are left behind, with the focus shifting towards a more collective goal.
We burn the fields for room to grow, it's by design.
The destruction of the old creates space to create something new and better.
All the desperate you and I's
Broken or unfulfilling relationships are abandoned in the pursuit of something better.
We burn the bridges back to you, it's by design.
To move forward, it's necessary to destroy the path that led to the past and paves the way for something better.
I've seen this before
The current situation is familiar or similar to something the artist has experienced in the past.
Skeleton key unlocks that belfry door
An opening has been created or found in the place where secrets or the truth are kept.
Hinged on swollen frames
The truth won't be easy to access. There are obstacles in the way.
And completely warped floors.
The situation is off or unsettling in a way that goes beyond logic or the expected norm.
The house will fall
The previous structure will collapse and change along with everything in it.
Collapsing into itself
Things will destruct and disintegrate.
Now a fire burns,
Despite the destruction, there's a spark of passion or inspiration.
And it's turning me on, it's turning me on
The passion or inspiration is appealing to the artist on a very intimate level.
Lyrics © OLE MEDIA MANAGEMENT LP, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: Bruce Wallace, Chad Gracey, Chad Taylor, CHRIS SHINN, Patrick Dahlheimer, Bruce A Wallace, Chad Alan Gracey, Chad David Taylor, Patrick Michael Dahlheimer
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Liliya Djalalova
🎶🎼Ooh, ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh, ooh-ooh
Well, well
If this is love, I'm back on board, though I've ridden this bus before
Maybe it's more, maybe it's not, oh, I'll know when we meet the wall
All I got is love and time, oh, I'm just living by design
All I got is love and time, yeah, I'm just living by design
Yeah
But I'm hoping, rooting for you
Holding, saving for you
I'm Evel Knievel, you know I like to take a chance
Maybe we'll fall, maybe we'll soar, either way I'm getting closer to God, mm
I'll take the loss if it comes with joy, then I could never lose the war
Yeah
All I got is love and time, oh, I'm just living by design, yeah
All I got is love and time, oh, I'm just living by design
But I'm hoping, rooting for you
Holding, saving for you
I'm Evel Knievel
You know I like to take a chance
All I got is love and time, I'm just living by design
All I got is love and time, I'm just living by design
Racheal Briley
If I could sing like that I'd never talk.
Onn
Me too😂😂😂😂
Nicholas Joslyn
Facts
zaad robinson
Watch his old stuff he didn't always sing like this .
MassiVeVibrations
❤
James McMaster
😂😂😂
Isatu Bundu
Your voice is truly a gift and Something Beautiful. Thank you for sharing your gift with us.
Martin Tigermaan
So original
khanya duze
When a song catches you on the first note, this is that kind of song! Thank you
Siphokazi Simphiwe Skeyi
I have been listening to your beautiful music the entire day. Even at work. Forcing my colleagues to listen to your music, each time I keep repeating each song at least 5 times and discovering new gems of your music. I'm absolutely in love with your voice and hope one day to see you perform live. ♥️