Live /laɪv/, often typeset as Līve, LĪVE, or +LĪVE+, is an American rock band formed in York, Pennsylvania, in 1984 by Ed Kowalczyk (lead vocals, guitars), Patrick Dahlheimer (bass), Chad Gracey (drums), and Chad Taylor (guitars).
Live earned fame for their single "Operation Spirit (The Tyranny of Tradition)", whose video received airtime on MTV. Their second album, Mental Jewelry, released in 1991, enjoyed modest sales.
Their biggest success came in 1994 with their third album, Throwing Copper, which sold eight million copies in the U.S. The band had a string of hit singles in the mid-1990s, including "Lightning Crashes", which stayed at the top of the Billboard Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks chart for ten consecutive weeks and the Modern Rock Tracks (now Alternative Songs) chart for nine weeks from February 25 to April 22, 1995. The band has sold over twenty million albums worldwide.
When touring, Live has used additional musicians, including Kowalczyk's younger brother Adam, British keyboardist Michael "Railo" Railton, rhythm guitarist Christopher Thorn of Blind Melon, and guitarist Zak Loy of Alpha Rev.
In 2009, Kowalczyk left the band; he was replaced by singer Chris Shinn and the band released the album The Turn in October 2014. Kowalczyk rejoined Live in December 2016 and in 2018, they released a new EP, Local 717. In June 2022, Kowalczyk fired Taylor after taking majority control of the band. Gracey and Dahlheimer were also let go shortly after.
Kowalczyk is the only remaining member of the original lineup and has been performing and recording as Live with other musicians as of October 2022. In November 2022, it was reported that Gracey filed a lawsuit against Taylor and Dahlheimer as managers of their company, ThinkLoud.
-Wikipedia
Also Known As: Public Affection (1987-1991)
Members:
Ed Kowalczyk - lead vocals, rhythm guitar (1989-2009, 2016-present)
Past members"
Chad Taylor - lead guitar, backing vocals (1989-2009, 2012-2022)
Patrick Dahlheimer - bass (1989-2009, 2012-2022)
Chad Gracey - drums (1989-2009, 2012-2022)
Chris Shinn - lead vocals, rhythm guitar (2012-2016)
Name Origin:
Live started in the early 1980s under the name First Aid, as a trio of Taylor, Dahlheimer, and Gracey. Kowalczyk joined in 1984, when the group lost a talent show. They went through various different names, including Action Front, Paisley Blues, and Club Fungus, before settling on Public Affection in January 1987. Gracey picked the name based on a comment by his girlfriend at the time.
When the band graduated from high school, they recorded a self-released cassette of original songs, titled The Death of a Dictionary, in 1989. In 1990, they released an EP of demos produced by Jay Healy, titled Divided Mind, Divided Planet, via their "Black Coffee" mailing list. They played regular concerts at CBGB in New York City, which helped earn them a contract with Radioactive Records in 1991. In June of that year, the band changed its name to Live.
From: York, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Genre(s):
Alternative rock,
post-grunge,
hard rock
Active From: 1984-2009, 2012-present
Associated Acts:
The Gracious Few