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!
Susquehanna
Live Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Hard to bleed a man
When you know where he's falling to
Hard to bleed a wall
Hard to bleed a wall
When the bricks and the sand are you
And although we were very thirsty
And although we were very lonely
I question the woman's love
Question the Gods above
Hard to bake the bread
Hard to bake the bread
When you're standing outside of the kitchen
Hard to join the dance
Hard to join the danceWhen you know the song is poisoning everyone
When you know the song is poisoning everyone
When you know where he's falling
Question...
Yeah, you know where he's falling
Question...
The woman's love, the Gods above.
In Live's song Susquehanna, the lyrics explore the challenges of trying to make sense of life's difficulties and complexities. The repetition of "hard to" highlights the obstacles that the singer faces in attempting to understand their circumstances. The opening line, "It's hard to bleed a man," speaks to the difficulty of getting someone to open up and reveal themselves. The follow-up, "When you know where he's falling to," suggests that the singer understands the man's struggles and vulnerabilities, but still finds it hard to connect with him. This line can be interpreted as a commentary on the isolating nature of pain - even when we know what someone else is going through, it can still be hard to bridge the gap between us.
The second verse continues the exploration of difficulty and isolation. The line "Hard to bake the bread / When you're standing outside of the kitchen" speaks to the frustration of feeling excluded from what's happening around you. The imagery of the dance - "Hard to join the dance / When you know the song is poisoning everyone" - adds another layer to this theme. The sense of being on the outside looking in is intensified by knowing that the people inside the dance are being harmed in some way. The song's closing lines bring all of these struggles to bear, with the singer questioning everything - even the things that might offer meaning or solace ("the woman's love, the Gods above").
Overall, "Susquehanna" is a song that explores the difficulties of grappling with life's challenges, and the sense of isolation that can come with trying to find meaning in them. The images of bleeding, baking bread, and dancing all capture the sense of struggle and yearning that are at the heart of the song.
Line by Line Meaning
It's hard to bleed a man
It's difficult to hurt someone emotionally
Hard to bleed a man
It's challenging to make someone vulnerable
When you know where he's falling to
When you understand their weaknesses
Hard to bleed a wall
It's impossible to hurt someone who is emotionally hard
When the bricks and the sand are you
When you are the very foundation they're built on
And although we were very thirsty
We were desperate for something
I question the oasis
I doubt the solace it offers
And although we were very lonely
We were alone and longing
I question the woman's love
I doubt her sincerity and affection
Question the Gods above
I doubt the power or existence of any higher being
Hard to bake the bread
It's difficult to create something from scratch
When you're standing outside of the kitchen
When you lack the skills or resources
Hard to join the dance
It's tough to be a part of something
When you know the song is poisoning everyone
When you realize they're causing harm
When you know where he's falling
When you're aware of their weakness
Question...
Doubt, question, challenge
Yeah, you know where he's falling
Yes, you are aware of their vulnerability
Question...
Doubt, question, challenge
The woman's love, the Gods above.
Both human and divine forms of love and power are doubted and questioned
Contributed by Declan A. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@21DaHoagie12
Chad Gracey’s snare drum is the best sounding snare I’ve ever heard in my life and my goodness does it just sound sooo good in this song
@captainsmirk6901
Jerry Harrison's the man.
@nathanialpenney8310
This song is gold! I'm glad they waited on this one. This song brings me back to Throwing Copper days.
@bkgerm
Those nearly my exact houghts. I was appreciating how 'back to the roots' this is.
@richholoch8230
Graduated from Lock Haven State on the banks of the Susquehanna. My great grandmother who immigrated from Germany through Philadelphia in the 1700's is buried next to the Susquehanna near Lititz.
@xstorm_8_shadowx
Lived in Ephrata for a few years as a kid… played for the Browns town Orioles against Lititz in little league.
@amandah.3726
I've lived in Harrisburg all my life!! The Susquehanna flows through me.
@VISHALDANCERBAHARAWANDA
https://www.youtube.com/@VISHALDANCERBAHARAWANDA s
@cjheasley5713
I live on the susquehanna. I was curious as to why they named their song after the river.
@JavRivera
I was a huge fan of Throwing Copper (still am) but I never knew about this track until today. I've hit replay about 20 times.