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!
River Town
Live Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
With momma's rock star dreams in tow
And daddy's brains
But the rats they fought you, oh yeah
Tooth and nail
With the way they rigged this game
You had to fail
And from a tiny river town you came
With nothing up your sleeve
But a dirty forearm and an ace
They drugged you through that
Slaughterhouse at will
You were the soldier without a kill
You were the soldier without a kill
Oh
Who's gonna save your soul
Who's gonna make your heart beat again
And from a tiny river town you came
Across the rocky mountains all in
Search of better days
But paradise took you out and left the bill
You were the healer without the thrill
You were the ecstasy without the pill
Oh
Who's gonna save your soul
Who's gonna make your heart beat again
Who's gonna light up your dark
Who's gonna save your soul
Who's gonna be there
Who's gonna light up your dark
And from a tiny river town you came
With momma's rockstar dreams in tow
And daddy's brains
You better turn back before the frost sets in
These desert nights are for weathered men
The ones who've already given in
Oh
Who's gonna save your soul
Who's gonna make your heart beat again
Who's gonna save your soul
Now that you've given in
The song "River Town" by Live tells the story of a young person who came from a small town filled with big dreams of making it in the world. They had talent and intelligence inherited from their parents, but faced many obstacles in their pursuit of success. The rats that they fought could be interpreted as the challenges and difficulties that they had to overcome, perhaps including unfair treatment or discrimination. The lyrics suggest that despite these roadblocks, the singer persevered, though they may have felt like a soldier who never had a chance to prove themselves.
The song also touches on the theme of self-discovery and seeking fulfillment. The singer journeys across the rocky mountains in search of better days, but finds Paradise lacking in what they were hoping for. They were the "healer without the thrill" and the "ecstasy without the pill," implying that they had skills and abilities but were missing something to make them truly happy. The chorus repeats the question "who's gonna save your soul, who's gonna make your heart beat again," reflecting the singer's uncertainty and need for guidance.
Overall, "River Town" is a poignant reflection of the struggles and aspirations that many young people experience when trying to find their place in the world. It speaks to the desire for validation and purpose, as well as the difficulties that can arise along the way.
Line by Line Meaning
And from a tiny river town you came
You originated from a small town alongside a river
With momma's rock star dreams in tow
Your mother carried her aspirations of becoming a rock star with her when you left home
And daddy's brains
Your father's intelligence and wit was part of your inheritance
But the rats they fought you, oh yeah
You had to endure a fierce struggle against an adversary in life
Tooth and nail
You contended for your goals and fought hard to survive
With the way they rigged this game
The unfair game was stacked against you
You had to fail
You had no other options but to fail
But that's all behind you now boy
Your past failures and adversities are now over
With nothing up your sleeve
You had no tricks or secrets to help you
But a dirty forearm and an ace
Your only strength was your dirty sleeve and a single resourceful card
They drugged you through that slaughterhouse at will
You were dragged mercilessly as if through a slaughterhouse
You were the soldier without a kill
You fought as a soldier but never won a victory
Who's gonna save your soul
Who will come to rescue your soul?
Who's gonna make your heart beat again
Who will make your heart feel alive once more?
Across the rocky mountains all in search of better days
You journeyed through the rough, rocky mountains in hope of finding a better life
But paradise took you out and left the bill
Although paradise seemed promising, it ultimately cost you a lot
You were the healer without the thrill
Although you helped others, you never felt the thrill of healing
You were the ecstasy without the pill
You were joyous without external influence or drugs
Who's gonna light up your dark
Who will bring light and hope to your gloomy life?
Who's gonna be there
Who will stand by you through thick and thin?
You better turn back before the frost sets in
You should go back before it's too late and the cold sets in
These desert nights are for weathered men
These tough and unforgiving desert nights are for those who are seasoned and have had to endure
Now that you've given in
Now that you've surrendered or admitted defeat
Who's gonna save your soul
Who will save your soul now?
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: CHAD ALAN GRACEY, CHAD DAVID TAYLOR, EDWARD JOEL KOWALCZYK, PATRICK DAHLHEIMER
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind