Ed given the boot from Live

pjfan31

A personal message from Chad Taylor:

Dead Friend of Live,

Let me start by thanking you for your many years of devoted loyalty to our music. Bands are lucky if they have one hit and fade away but in the case of Live, you kept us relevant for more than 20 years. Today I am writing you as a fan of the band with sad news.

As many of you know, Live was having a hard time keeping things together. After many years of friendship, love and laughter it became clear that things had run their course. I was in denial. Our working relationship with Ed had grown cold and we were only on limited speaking terms for the last several months. We agreed for the sake of the bands future to take a break and announced the hiatus. During that time period we discovered a contract executed in 2005 that engaged the bands company into a legal obligation that did not have majority consent from the band. Ed’s signature was the only one required.

We were fast to try and open communication with Ed or his legal team but got no reply. Our hiatus had fast turned into a break up. Chad, Patrick and I have no plans to replace Ed at this point in time, however, he will no longer be a member of our band. We are excited by the opportunities ahead of us and will look to enjoin forces with vocalists and instrumentalists that will hold high the ideals set forth by the band and its fans. Yes, there may be future Live recording and tours but we are all very realistic that it will never be the same without Ed. That doesn’t mean that it can’t be great.

Like you, we are greatly saddened by the discoveries we made but as many of you know, life has a way of sorting things out. Ed will always be tied to Live and we will never make attempts to shadow his considerable lyrical and melodic contributions to our music.

Stay tuned to FOL for more details on our future plans. I would also ask that we all take the time to remember the positive energy Ed, Chad, Patrick and I spent so many years pushing forward. I’m trying hard myself to not be judgmental and let life flow freely around me.

Love,
Chad Taylor

On behalf of Chad Gracey and Patrick Dahlheimer

I used to love Live. There best stuff was well and truly beind though. I can't imagine anyone taking over from Ed, considering he was the heart and soul of the band.

DeRamos

Wow. I haven't kept up-to-date on Live for a long while. I wish I had seen them when they played the county fair earlier this decade. "Pillar of Davidson" is one of my favorite songs by Live. I looked up Wiki to get more details, and what I found (if factual) are pretty sad and/or funny. Allegedly, Ed K. wanted a $100K lead singer bonus (?), etc., etc. :evil: The rest of the band have pulled an Audioslave and are jamming with the Candlebox lead singer. :roll:

D'oh well.

Brisk.

New band forming called "The Gracious Few".

Live + Candlebox.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Gracious_Few

walkunafraid

Sad news indeed. Live was my favorite band during my high school and college years (mid-late 90's). It wasn't until around 2003 that my interest in Pearl Jam surpassed them.

"Throwing Copper" remains a brilliant album -- certainly one of the top rock albums of the 90's. Their first record, "Mental Jewelry," was even more meaningful for me; it set up a lot of my interests not only in music, but in literature, philosophy, and even spirituality as well.

I have seen the band at least 20 times in concert, although, admittedly, over the past few years their act began to get stale and repetitive. I guess I know the reason why now. It seemed like the band stopped enjoying themselves on stage since about 2007 -- I suppose they just couldn't stand their lead singer anymore.

Sucks to see their break-up official. They were together since middle school, long-time friends from the same part of Pennsylvania who essentially grew up together. Goes to show that no band is invincible, even one that seems like it couldn't be any tighter.

Despite all this, I'll always remember Live for their amazing early albums and their kick-ass live shows (until the last few years, that is). I wouldn't be surprised if they one day healed these open wounds and got together again. Probably won't be till many years down the line, though.

soulsinging

Brisk. wrote:

New band forming called "The Gracious Few".

Live + Candlebox.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Gracious_Few

this is intriguing...

pjfan31

walkunafraid wrote:

Sad news indeed. Live was my favorite band during my high school and college years (mid-late 90's). It wasn't until around 2003 that my interest in Pearl Jam surpassed them.

"Throwing Copper" remains a brilliant album -- certainly one of the top rock albums of the 90's. Their first record, "Mental Jewelry," was even more meaningful for me; it set up a lot of my interests not only in music, but in literature, philosophy, and even spirituality as well.

I have seen the band at least 20 times in concert, although, admittedly, over the past few years their act began to get stale and repetitive. I guess I know the reason why now. It seemed like the band stopped enjoying themselves on stage since about 2007 -- I suppose they just couldn't stand their lead singer anymore.

Sucks to see their break-up official. They were together since middle school, long-time friends from the same part of Pennsylvania who essentially grew up together. Goes to show that no band is invincible, even one that seems like it couldn't be any tighter.


Despite all this, I'll always remember Live for their amazing early albums and their kick-ass live shows (until the last few years, that is). I wouldn't be surprised if they one day healed these open wounds and got together again. Probably won't be till many years down the line, though.

Could not of said it any better myself.

I remember hanging around after one of their concerts to meet them. My sister who was a mad fan too, couldn't attend due to serious illness (Which is still ongoing). I hung around hoping that they would speak to her, some consolation for not being able to attend, and they did. They said some really beautiful words to her, which made her night.

Throwing Copper, Mental Jewelry, Secret samadhi and Distance to here were awesome albums. Went downhill from there I'm afraid.

Any person who says "Sofia, I need Ya, Like a junkie needs a vein"Probably could do with a break.

gabers

Maybe it's for the best. They haven't been relevant for some time. But their first few albums are classic.

Jeff Murray

Ed just played a solo acoustic set in York, PA last month with Art Alexis of Everclear and some other artist. Was half tempted to go, but had spent too much $$ on the Spectrum shows.

I have also heard that The Gracious Few will be the next project for the rest of the guys in Live. Hopefully they put out some good material in the future.

tightrope high

Terrible news indeed. I've followed Live since Mental Jewelry.
When they played their first ever UK tour in '95 I went to all their dates, they played tiny clubs, some with attendance scarceley out of double figures, and nobody knew who they were. Those memories are precious, and their music has been a huge part of my life. I've seen them many more times since then, every time they've played over here. I'm sad to think that I won't be able to do that again.
Throwing Copper will always be one of my top albums, Selling the Drama and Pillar of Davidson give me goosebumps to this day.

Whoever it was who said that Ed was the heart and soul of Live summed it perfectly.
I couldn't get to see his solo acoustic show when he was in London this summer as it sold out so quickly. I'll definitely keep up with his solo work though, and try to catch him again.

Same for whatever the other guys do. If they decide to replace him and come over here to do any shows I would give them a chance and go see them, but Ed's lyrics were so personal I can't see anyone else being to carry those songs off with any credibility.

Get_Right

bummer
it always makes me sad when good bands cant keep it together due to money and big egos

I think Ed should give Ed a call.

dcfaithful

soulsinging wrote:

Brisk. wrote:

New band forming called "The Gracious Few".

Live + Candlebox.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Gracious_Few

this is intriguing...

I thought the same thing, lol. At first I thought it was a joke until I noticed the link.

Sad news about Live. But, I haven't listened to much of their stuff past Throwing Copper. Mental Jewelry is a great piece of musical work though.

walkunafraid

Chad T. recently posted a letter to his fans on his blog that is much more specific (and much nastier) than the one posted by the OP:

Monday, November 30, 2009
Not the ending I wished for

There have been tons of crazy rumors surrounding the hiatus of LIVE. I have read quite a few and laughed at the extremely creative imaginations of our fans. I’ve been reluctant to fan the flames but the rumors are getting further away from the truth and I will try to set the record straight from my standpoint.

First and foremost, Ed has every legal right to perform the songs he helped birth while being the front man for LIVE. The copyrights for these songs are owned by Chad Gracey, Patrick Dahlheimer, Ed Kowlalczyk and myself. Ed does not control the catalog but rather the bands publishing company, Black Coffee Publishing, Inc. Black Coffee is a majority rule corporation.

Yes, it is true, there was a hidden publishing contract singed in 2005. I personally discovered it via a communication breakdown. Ed is listed as the only signature. When I wrote him to find some resolution to the situation, he failed to respond. I have left these matters to our attorneys who will no doubt file a complaint. Honestly, I don’t care about the financial/legal outcome of these matters, the proof is on the page. Ed was able to stab his three best friends from middle school in the back. This act was far down the line from typical rock star ego. As you can imagine I am deeply hurt and wounded.

In light of these matter, I can’t ever see myself working with Ed, let alone ever being in the same room with him. LIVE was always about the band, when Ed lost sight of that in favor of his own ambitions and goals, our considerable fans base began to sigh a collective yawn.

As band mates and friends and despite the lack of fresh material we continued to support Ed with all of our integrity. The final blow was Ed’s request for a $100,000 “lead singer bonus” to perform as surprise guests at this years Pink Pop Festival. I was informed of his request by our management and politely told them to “fuck off.”

Ed will no longer be the vocalist for the band LIVE. At this point in time, we have made no official plans to replace him but it is clear that he is no friend of mine or the lifelong fans of LIVE.

I have focused my energy on creating new music with The Gracious Few. I look forward to seeing many LIVE fans in the audience at our shows. Patrick, Chad and I have made a pledge to honor our long shared history with the fans of LIVE. You will always be graciously welcome in our house.

Love

Chad Taylor

Link: http://allthingschadtaylor.blogspot.com ... d-for.html

Sounds like this could get downright nasty.

facepollution

In spite of his incredible voice, I've always thought Ed was a bit of a twat, and his stage persona was a bit too cheesy for my liking. Plus he has written some truly awful lyrics in his time. That said, Throwing Copper is still one of my favourite albums ever.

gabers

facepollution wrote:

In spite of his incredible voice, I've always thought Ed was a bit of a twat, and his stage persona was a bit too cheesy for my liking. Plus he has written some truly awful lyrics in his time. That said, Throwing Copper is still one of my favourite albums ever.

Pretty much sums up my thoughts. The fifth album (V) had so many awful lyrics I can't even listen to it. I don't know what happened. I thought he was a good songwriter for the first two albums...

facepollution

gabers wrote:

Pretty much sums up my thoughts. The fifth album (V) had so many awful lyrics I can't even listen to it. I don't know what happened. I thought he was a good songwriter for the first two albums...

I'd go so far to say the first four albums, there were a few dodgy lyrics in there, but the tunes were really solid.

It is kind of jarring when you see one of your favourite bands for the first time and the singer turns out to be a douche. I have the same problem with Counting Crows, I like a lot of their music, but live, Adam Duritz irritates the shit out of me. He kills pretty much every sing along because he can't be bothered to stick even vaguely to the original melody, and I won't even get started on the last time I saw them and they ended a festival type show with the snooze-fest that is Holiday In Spain, unforgiveable!

dcfaithful

facepollution wrote:

gabers wrote:

Pretty much sums up my thoughts. The fifth album (V) had so many awful lyrics I can't even listen to it. I don't know what happened. I thought he was a good songwriter for the first two albums...

I'd go so far to say the first four albums, there were a few dodgy lyrics in there, but the tunes were really solid.

It is kind of jarring when you see one of your favourite bands for the first time and the singer turns out to be a douche. I have the same problem with Counting Crows, I like a lot of their music, but live, Adam Duritz irritates the shit out of me. He kills pretty much every sing along because he can't be bothered to stick even vaguely to the original melody, and I won't even get started on the last time I saw them and they ended a festival type show with the snooze-fest that is Holiday In Spain, unforgiveable!

About the Crows, I agree....really wish Adam would just sometimes stick to the known melody....

Riverrunner

I just heard about this. Throwing Copper is one of my all time favorite albums. I have not followed them for some years though. I saw them live in St. Louis many years ago at the Fox and it was an awesome show. I can't even remember what year that was though. Anyway, I am sorry about the break up being on such bad terms.

Electric Feel

Can you hear the Dolphins cry?



Me either.