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!
Stage
Live Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I want to try
I want to rock in the city tonight
I want to deal
Don't want to die
I want to bring my captain hook into the light
People I've seen my day
Ranting and raving this beauty away
We are by and large the same
But words are too feeble they cannot contain
He was a rock and roll messiah
She was known for her child care
The truth is gonna give up the world
If you can give up the stage
If I can give up the stage
If we can give up the stage
Come to this, I can't come to you
Don't do this, wake me up tonight
Come to this, I can't come to you
Don't do this, wake me up tonight
The lyrics to Live's song "Stage" convey a desire to truly live life and experience all it has to offer. The singer wants to feel and try new things, rock out in the city, and be alive. They also express a desire to not die, to bring their Captain Hook (a symbol of rebellion) out into the light, and to resist the idea of wasting their life away. The lyrics suggest that the singer has seen others give into societal pressure and conform, losing their unique beauty in the process.
The song takes a turn in the second verse, suggesting that despite our many differences, we are all fundamentally the same. The lyrics mention a "rock and roll messiah" and a woman known for her child care, suggesting that anyone can make an impact on the world in their own way. The chorus repeats the idea that giving up the "stage" (or the spotlight) can lead to a more authentic life and a better world. The bridge of the song presents a plea for connection, but also hints at some internal struggle or fear.
Overall, the lyrics to "Stage" suggest a deep desire for connection, authenticity, and the courage to live life to the fullest, while resisting societal pressures to conform.
Line by Line Meaning
I want to feel
The singer desires to experience emotions and sensations.
I want to try
The singer wants to attempt new things or take risks.
I want to rock in the city tonight
The singer wants to have a great time and party in the city.
I want to deal
The artist desires to handle and manage something, likely a difficult situation.
Don't want to die
The artist does not want to pass away or experience death.
I want to bring my captain hook into the light
The singer wishes to confront and overcome their flaws or inner demons.
People I've seen my day
The singer has observed and encountered many people in their life.
Ranting and raving this beauty away
People are destroying the world's beauty through their complaints and negative attitudes.
We are by and large the same
People, as a whole, share many similarities and commonalities.
But words are too feeble they cannot contain
Language is insufficient and inadequate to fully express or convey complex ideas and emotions.
He was a rock and roll messiah
A person was seen as a savior or leader in the rock and roll music scene.
She was known for her child care
A woman was recognized for her skills in taking care of children.
The truth is gonna give up the world
The revealing of the truth or reality will change the world significantly.
If you can give up the stage
If a person is willing to give up or let go of attention or fame.
If I can give up the stage
If the singer is willing to give up or let go of attention or fame.
If we can give up the stage
If people, as a whole, are willing to give up or let go of attention or fame.
Come to this, I can't come to you
The artist is saying they cannot meet someone else's expectations or desires.
Don't do this, wake me up tonight
The singer is asking someone else to wake them up from a negative state or situation tonight.
Come to this, I can't come to you
The singer is saying they cannot meet someone else's expectations or desires.
Don't do this, wake me up tonight
The artist is asking someone else to wake them up from a negative state or situation tonight.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: CHAD ALAN GRACEY, CHAD DAVID TAYLOR, EDWARD JOEL KOWALCZYK, PATRICK DAHLHEIMER
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
losertini
why did Live never do more "rock the fuck out" songs like this? this is personally my favorite song of theirs.
Curtis
It is. I do not know but this is definitely one of my favorites as well.
CNN Blackmail Support
The chord changes at the bridge are absolutely heavenly. Always gives me chills the way it changes notes right before the "I can't come to you" part
Nik Dobbin
+Stephen Suttles Totally agree. The chords themselves aren't exactly out of the ordinary but they just sound so good!
Rosemary Gioielli
+Stephen Suttles I agree !
Alex J. Murphy
About as frenetic and raw as it gets... the building crescendo of Chad's guitar and Ed's vocals is irresistible and sucks you in like a whirling tornado!
purplegurl79
I am and always a huge Live fan, but they needed more songs like this!!
Scott Hayes
The song is incredible, not thrash yet heavier! If I haven’t heard it in a while I get chills when it comes on.
andCRAFTSs
This has got to be their song PERIOD. Why could they not kick ass like this more often!?
Daniel Taylor
Not what I expected from this band at all, but I listened to Throwing Copper almost in it's entirety a little while ago and this song blew me away. 🤘