Alt-rock superstars Live and kickin’ through tough times
Christopher John Treacy
Thursday, September 20, 2007

What do you do when the industry that made you your millions begins to self-destruct?

Simple. Accentuate the positive.

Pennsylvania alt-rock quartet Live, which plays tomorrow at the Bank of America Pavilion with Collective Soul, has enjoyed a career that’s shadowed the arc of the music industry’s demise. At the height of the alternative boom, Live’s 1994 “Throwing Copper” sold 12 million copies. Come 2001 the band’s fifth release, “V,” didn’t even reach 500,000 in sales.

But Live frontman Ed Kowalczyk, guitarist Chad Taylor, bassist Patrick Dahlheimer and drummer Chad Gracey have remained calm. They see the industry’s decline as an opportunity.

“We’re free now,” Kowalczyk said by phone during a morning walk along a Delaware beach. “Our last record (2006’s ‘Songs From Black Mountain’) was a one-off deal with Epic. Getting involved with another label is way down the list of importance from where it used to be since there are so many other opportunities for us to explore. This is a new frontier. Regarding sales and money, it’s always been more important to us that the music maintains its intensity.”

Live will mark its freedom with a privately released collection of bootleg-style rarities titled “Radiant Sea.” The compilation, which includes two new songs, is available exclusively online and at shows.

“Sure, there’s that weird realization like, wow, making records isn’t really important anymore,” Kowalczyk said. “But then you begin to see the rest of the picture. For instance, I’d like to start releasing EPs. I mean, why spend a year on the arduous process of making a 12-song cycle when you can just release the few good ones you’ve got right now?”

Kowalczyk admits that Live has defied the law of averages by staying together for more than 20 years, commercial success or not. Remarkably, none of its members have felt the need to puruse outside projects.

“Live has always supported my creative vision so completely,” he said. “To me it seems pointless to go record something else. It’d just be more work.

“We formed at the age of 13, which is unusual. But I think starting so young helped us better weather the problems that plague other groups later on. Stepping out into the world as a band in your teens, it’s painfully obvious there are no guarantees and I think it helped preserve some humility. By the time we made the cover of Spin, our musical personalities were firmly established and our roles were clearly understood.”

One thing that keeps Live’s fans tuned in and turning out for shows is Kowalczyk’s mysterious, philosophical writing. It’s landed him an enlightened, guru-like image, but he’s not necessarily comfortable with that role.

“I’ve always reached in and reached deep,” he said. “Most kids go through some spiritual exploration in adolescence and I just happened to be doing it in public. The message translates as, ‘If you wanna join me on my freaky trip, please feel free.’

“Just don’t ask me if I know something that you don’t. I’m not a preacher or a teacher. But there’s definitely a journey of self-discovery in there.”

Live, with Collective Soul, at the Bank of America Pavilion, tomorrow at 7 p.m. Tickets: $25-$40; 617-728-1600.


The orginal story can be found at http://www.bostonherald.com/entertainment/...ticleid=1032732