Taken from Friends of Live

Live plays Dutchess Stadium tomorrow.


August 24, 2007

Live lead singer Ed Kowalczyk just missed that tropical storm in Hawaii last week by hours. Oh yeah, and don't forget about the earthquake.

"We left right before it got there, and there was also the earthquake after we left, so it was like, 'Wow, this is really kinda nasty down here,'" Kowalczyk says. "We had beautiful timing."

Another beautiful thing is the fact that Live, the Counting Crows and Collective Soul are all going to be at Dutchess Stadium tomorrow.

Live isn't out hawking a new album; the band is having fun on this tour, and Kowalczyk says the set list, which takes an hour to run through, is packed with fan favorites both new and old. Hits that put the band on the map, including "I Alone," "Lightning Crashes" and "Selling the Drama," are all fair game.

Go! reporter Sandy Tomcho caught up with Kowalczyk via phone and spoke about Live's 2006 album, "Songs From Black Mountain," its fan club and Chris Daughtry.

What's it like to be on the road with Counting Crows and Collective Soul?
It's pretty great. There haven't been that many shows. We started around July 2, but everybody's gettin' along great. There's great guys in all the bands.

I heard you really like playing in ballfields. Really?Yeah. You know they're great venues. I was really not knowing what to expect, but the way they set them up is really sorta like a kind of mini amphitheater, but it doesn't have a roof, so it's more open. It's really an interesting setup, and, I have to say it, it's actually pretty cool.

"Songs From Black Mountain" sounds different from past albums. It's warmer. Does that reflect the change in label or that you guys are in a different place?I think it was way more about just what we wanted to do as a band and where we wanted to take the sound of the band for that particular group of my songs. It just felt like it needed a more organic approach, with the guitars being bigger and beautiful, but not necessarily with the crunch they had in previous records. So, it was a palette change rather than a real significant move for the band, because it's the same songwriting style, it's just we decided, "Hey, let's try this with the amps. Let's try this with the guitars. Let's not necessarily hit people in the face with these. Let's let them do a different thing." But, I like hitting people in the face (laughs).

Open-handed or closed-fisted?Open-handed. Lightly (laughs). Our fans in particular are like, "Is this the way the band is gonna sound forever?" The truth is, I never know what the band is gonna sound like record to record because we go with the flow and see where we're at. I would imagine the next thing around we'll be in a different frame of mind and we'll probably want to rebel against what we've done.

Chris Daughtry appears on the track "Mystery," which he sang with you more than a year ago on "American Idol."I was basically doing studio work and remixes during that period of the "American Idol" thing, and Chris actually asked if he could do it. He said, "Hey, we did this really cool version of 'Mystery' and we put these cool harmonies together in my hotel room and we did it on the show and wouldn't it be cool if we had a version of that the way we did it together?" And I said, "You know what? I'm in the studio and I'm actually doing remixes right now, so why don't you stop by." It was really fun. Our voices did work really cool together.

Do you guys still keep in touch? Have you taken him under your wing?
We do. We probably talk on the phone at least once a month. He's on tour and I've been on tour, and it's funny because half the time it's about our voices and what we're doing to keep them strong. "Hey, man, I found this new Chinese herb that's got licorice in it and it helps your voice." It's kinda funny that way. It's more like singer-to-singer stuff.

You guys offer lots of great benefits to your fan club members, more than many other bands. Do you see that paying off?Yeah, we do. And it's something that we've always been into doing because when you subscribe to a fan club, I always look at it old-school. I was a member of the KISS fan club, and you used to get really cool stuff. It's a gesture that says, "You're important to us. You mean something to us." And we're gonna be doing more of that, and we're also going to be making more things available to people who aren't necessarily "Homespun" subscribers, too. I'm not gonna give any more secrets away because there really is something cool coming. We'll keep it like that. Just keep checking.

If you Go! ...
What: Live, Collective Soul and Counting Crows
Where: Dutchess Stadium, Route 9D, Wappingers Falls
When: 6:30 p.m. Aug. 25
Tickets: $49.50
Call: 454-3388
Visit:www.ticketmaster.com
http://www.recordonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/.../-1/ENTERTAIN08

This post has been edited by SJN1279: Aug 24 2007, 11:11 am

Great find Barb! I especially liked the part about something cool coming soon to the fans.

Is anyone going to the show? I'm strongly leaning towards it.

Bullshit.



Bullshit.




Bullshit.

Thanks for the well thought out rebuttal

It doesn't have to be long to be well thought out. I'm sure you're used to hearing that size doesn't matter, Nick. I agree with torcato that the first and third things are total bullshit, since SFBM's guitars are shit and so is the fan club. However, and this is more than a hunch, the new stuff will not sound like SFBM.

The only thing in the interview that Ed said that probably isn't true, is how well all three bands get along. When big ego's share the same space, things usually aren't harmonious.

I found nothing wrong with the guitars on SFBM and you can tell Ed totally loves the music when he plays it onstage. I expect the next album to be a little harder, and you can't call BS on something that didn't happen yet.

Regarding the fan club, while you don't always get the best perks, Homespun is as good or better than many bands out there. And now that they aren't on a label, I expect things to get even better for long-time Live fans. Just a hunch on my part.

Yeah just a hunch based on the shit I showed you. And, new recordings haven't happened yet?

Darn it. I really want to go but made plans with friends for a BBQ in Long Island, which I am already running late for. Last night was just awesome, one of the best I've seen over the years. If things are the same I would expect quite a treat. Some pics from last night (and New Britain last week)--if anyone is interested.

http://s228.photobucket.com/albums/ee290/bonniebleu012974/

If you go, have a blast, I will be quite jealous.

Enjoy!!

Thanks Bonnie! Looks like the guys carried their energy over from Lakewood. Glad you had fun!

Good show. This was pretty old and rundown stadium. I was in the bleacher seats and the sound wasn't always the greatest, but the band seemed in good spirits. Despite the sound issues, Ed's voice was amazing and the entire band seemed to be high energy during the set. The crowd was good, but not as spirited or knowledgable as the Lakewood fans on Wednesday. I couldn't be sure because my seats were pretty far from the stage, but it seemed that Adam joined his brother in removing his shirt for Lakini's Juice.

I really enjoyed the Triple Play tour. It was great to see Live in a different and larger setting. I also enjoyed them being the middle act because while they got the benefit of the light show and larger crowd, but I didn't have to fight a bit of traffic on my way home. I wouldn't mind seeing Live do something similar in the future.

I hope they enjoy their three week break!

Awesome Quote!

Ed is gonna rebel against SFBM at the next record well that's what we want
(not that SFBM was bad, but the band won't survive a second album like that )

I was told that Ed's voice was 'very strained'... Are you reporting the facts?

Anyway, this show was recorded by an audio taper with high quality gear. Hopefully he will torrent the show in the near future... I guess we can make up our own minds then.

Ed's voice wasn't at all strained from what I could hear. I thought he sounded great. The last time I've heard Ed's voice strained was at the end of the set at the House of Blues Orlando back in January. Every show this summer his voice has been amazing(well the shows that I've seen). I even commented to my almost wife during Mirror Song on how good his voice sounded and she agreed.

Who told you his voice was strained?

Quite a few people who ALSO attended this show thought his voice was not as strong and sounded strained. Guess we can be a bit more objective. No one has a perfect day all the time.