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!
OK
Live Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I'm starting to feel the pressure
Can't take it back
Can't go back
This is what I wanted
I am hoping praying that I don't crack under pressure
I need to learn to
Be okay with greatness
Well
This beat is going to drop
Didn't want to talk about all the pain up inside my mind
But recently it's been weighing on me making it hard to breath
Didn't want to talk about the fact that my story came close to ending
Can we talk about the fact that my brain almost went and ended me
Bearing the regret of that endless night I promise to be better
Never again never again I promise to get better
I'll keep on getting better so I won't break under pressure
I need to learn to
Be okay with greatness
Learn to be okay with greatness
Learn to be okay with greatness
The lyrics to Live's song "OK" convey a message of anger and discontentment towards society, particularly towards the media and those in power who seek to manipulate and control the masses. The singer begins by expressing his frustration with the constant barrage of television, and the lies and deceit that are perpetuated by those who run it. He sees himself as an outsider looking in, witnessing the masses being taken advantage of and singing out for help against those who exploit them. The line "save me from the one who only rapes me" is a powerful statement about the rape of the mind that occurs through the media and those in power who seek to control us.
The chorus of the song, with the repeated refrain of "take away my TV," represents a call to action against the forces that seek to exploit us. The singer rejects the messages of emptiness and greed that are being fed to us, and instead calls for a higher consciousness and a rejection of the superficialities that seem to dominate our culture. He sees himself as a voice for truth and justice, and encourages others to join him in his fight against the forces of darkness and oppression.
Overall, the lyrics to "OK" are a powerful statement of anger and resistance against the forces that seek to exploit and control us. The singer calls for a rejection of the status quo, and a demand for something more meaningful and genuine.
Line by Line Meaning
i am not ok with this tv in my face
The singer expresses displeasure about constantly being bombarded with television and its negative impact on their life.
and liar after liar with nothin' bout nothin' higher
The singer is tired of people who spread untrue information without striving for anything meaningful.
i am on the outside peerin' in to your world
The singer feels disconnected from the world around them and is watching from a distance.
and all the boys and girls are singin' save me, save me from the one who only rapes me
The artist observes that many people are experiencing pain and suffering from an abusive individual and are looking for help to escape.
take away my tv don't want your f**kin' recipe it's all decay
The artist demands to be free from the corrupt message being pushed through their television set.
decay decay not today today today take away my tv
The singer wants to put an end to the negative influence being spread through the television and calls for action to stop it.
don't want your f**kin' therapy it's all decay decay decay not today, not today
The singer refuses to accept the fake solutions being offered and is determined for things to change.
it's our world and i'm on fire with anger and desire
The artist is passionate and angry about the state of the world and the injustice they see around them.
not the kind that they feed to me with their emptiness and greed greed greed
The artist rejects the manipulative and selfish ideology that they see being pushed onto people.
i don't give a f**k what you say about me everything you are is just a tool to me
The artist doesn't care what others say or think about them, and sees others as simply tools in the larger scheme of things.
so just set up the mic and let me do my thing in the consciousness of each and every sentient being
The singer wants to be given a chance to spread their message to everyone in a meaningful way.
rainin' down like a thunderstorm into your mind
The artist's message is powerful and has the potential to make a huge impact in people's lives.
maybe not the first, the second, or even the third time but eventually, you won't be able to put me down
The singer knows that their message may not be immediately received, but they are confident that eventually, people will start to listen.
you'll be havin' me with breakfast in your coffee grounds
The singer's message will be so powerful that it will become a part of people's everyday lives.
Lyrics © DistroKid
Written by: Nicholas Watts
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@gormogon
I love that James Blunt is one of the very few artists who actually sounds better live than in studio. The passion he puts in to playing live is amazing.
@mrazek76
yeah man, saw him many times live and you are absolut right
@cleiapereira4794
i agree
@sharongaskell
James always gives 100%. It's what sets him apart. More than a performance he creates an experience and invites us into it. No matter the song, no matter how many times he has shared it, no matter the venue, no matter the audience.
@nostri9419
Wow, he's got energy alright. Great voice sounds awesome live!!
@elenalainez2423
He is a damn really cool guy
@greatisrael218
BEST SINGER
YOUR Beautiful
@whovikasthakur
GREAT ISRAILOVIČ yes sir he is.😊👍💐
@SuperMrLelon
You're*
@aymenmirador4319
is true