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!
Show
Live Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
My maps are no good now
I'm lost in these woods
I say, Black Mountain show me your face
Bring on the oblivion of your sweet embrace
I say, this love has taken a turn
Where we go now, I can't wait to learn
Show a little love to me
Darlin', I'll show you free
I'll show you free tonight
Show a little love to me
Show a little love to me
Darlin', I'll show you free
You are my diamond of grace
Angelic little devil of the most secret space
I say, there ain't no one quite like you, girl
You save your nectar for the wise
While you smile at the world
I say, you make me laugh at myself
You take me straight to Heaven
By going straight through Hell
Show a little love to me
Show a little love to me
Darlin', I'll show you free
I'll show you free tonight
Show a little love to me
Show a little love to me
Darlin', I'll show you free
I'll show you free tonight
Show a little love to me
Show a little love to me
Darlin', I'll show you free
Free, yeah
If you want to walk with me
Then leave that false innocence behind
If you want to know me tonight
Then drag me to the river and hold me tight
If you want to love like a god
You got to bleed like a god
You got to fight like a god
Let go of who you are
Cling to me now
Cling to me now
Here we go
Here we go, yeah
Show a little love to me
Show a little love to me
Darlin', I'll show you free
I'll show you free tonight
Show a little love to me
Show a little love to me
Darlin', I'll show you free
I'll show you free tonight
The lyrics to Live's song "Show" are full of emotion and passion. The song describes a relationship that has taken a turn, and the singer is lost in the woods, both literally and figuratively. He pleads with the Black Mountain to show him the way, to bring on the oblivion of a sweet embrace. He knows that this love has taken a turn, but he can't wait to learn where it will go from here.
The singer desires love and connection, asking for a little bit of love to be shown to him. He promises to show his partner freedom in return. He describes his partner as a diamond of grace, with a secret space that only he knows. He recognizes that she is unique, saving her nectar for the wise and smiling at the world. She challenges him to laugh at himself, and she takes him straight to heaven by going straight through hell.
The song has a sense of urgency, with the singer encouraging his partner to leave behind false innocence and cling to him now. He promises to show her freedom and love if she is willing to fight and bleed like a god. The song is a powerful declaration of love and a reminder that sometimes love requires sacrifice and perseverance.
Line by Line Meaning
This love has taken a turn
Our love has changed from what it once was
My maps are no good now
The plans I had for us are no longer relevant
I'm lost in these woods
I feel uncertain and confused about where we are going
I say, Black Mountain show me your face
I am willing to face whatever challenges lay ahead
Bring on the oblivion of your sweet embrace
I am willing to embrace whatever the future holds
Where we go now, I can't wait to learn
I am excited to see where our relationship takes us
Show a little love to me
Express your affection for me
Darlin', I'll show you free
I am willing to show you what it means to be free
You are my diamond of grace
You are my precious and beautiful treasure
Angelic little devil of the most secret space
You are both pure and mischievous, with a mysterious allure
There ain't no one quite like you, girl
You are unique and special in my eyes
You save your nectar for the wise
You hold back your love and affection for those who truly deserve it
While you smile at the world
You maintain a cheerful disposition despite any hardships
You make me laugh at myself
You bring out my playful and humorous side
You take me straight to Heaven
Being with you feels like pure bliss and happiness
By going straight through Hell
Despite any difficulties or challenges, being with you is worth it
If you want to walk with me
If you want to be in a relationship with me
Then leave that false innocence behind
Leave behind any insincere or fake behavior
If you want to know me tonight
If you want to truly understand me in this moment
Then drag me to the river and hold me tight
Take me to a place of peace and safety, where we can be close
If you want to love like a god
If you want a higher level of love
You got to bleed like a god
You must be willing to sacrifice and feel pain for love
You got to fight like a god
You must be willing to overcome obstacles and challenges for love
Let go of who you are
Release your inhibitions and be open to new experiences
Cling to me now
Hold onto me tightly, let us face whatever comes together
Here we go
We are starting a new chapter in our relationship
Free, yeah
We are free to be ourselves with each other
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: EDWARD JOEL KOWALCZYK
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind