Live songs should be seen as a "treat" not as a drawing power or the backbone of his set which is exactly what they are. From an artistic stand point like I said it shows a complete lack of confidence in his new material.
TGF are getting respect for going "this is our new material, listen to this!". It's no wonder there is such a split between the fanbase .. the side that is actually content with what Ed does mirrors his work .. it's shallow, it's about marketing and how to draw a bigger crowd, it's about how to sell more merchendice and about always playing the most popular songs.

The TGF side seems to care more about the music, the performance, not how many people are there, not how many albums will sell.

Of the 11 songs Ed released on the CD, Ed has already played 7 in concert.

I mean, why in the world is Bret Michaels popular again?

Whether it was Indie or not, you could find the album in record stores and online on iTunes, which where they say most individual song sales occur. It's not like millions of people heard the song and wanted to buy it but just could figure out a way to get their hands on it.

About 2 weeks before the American Idol performance they also appeared on Howard Stern. They gave a fantastic interview. It was very funny (this was the interview in which they talked about their marriages in a way that made Howard Stern interested - let's not say any more than that). They had a long half-hour segment. Then they had the opportunity to play Mystery and announce it as their single and they played I Alone to promotionally tie what they were doing on SFBM with Throwing Copper. Again, I exaggerate a little bit, but every guest that goes on Howard Stern ends up having a top ten searched website on Google statistics that day. Commedians sell out Carnegie Hall. Authors go to the top of the NY Time Best Seller list. Movies get better box office. Howard gives performers a huge platform. This is true on Sirius just as it was on regular radio.

So in a two week period, Mystery got a huge push on Howard Stern and was performed by Live and Daughtry on the American Idol finale. And they got crickets. I don;t think that was because the record company didn't give them a push. If the public wanted that song, they could could have bought it. I love Mystery. I love SFBM. But I don't think that the rest of the world feels the same way I do.

Just to bring this back to the original topic - based on the short clips and full songs that I have heard from Alive, I don't know that Ed is doing any very different than SFBM, so I don't think he will get a different result doing youtube interviews with some scary-looking dude in Hamburg next to a shipyard filled with barges and pallates being dropped on the dock in the background than he did on the American Idol finale with Daughtry and a nice long Howard Stern interview.

To really say TGF don't care about money and that it's all about the music is really simplifying things. They were the ones that were constantly telling people to tell their friends about them WAY before they ever had any music out. They were the ones selling TGF merchandise WAY before they had any music out. So, to say everything is about the music and performances is really not true.

That said, I doubt Ed or TGF will do as well sales-wise as SFBM.

I don't think anyone is claiming that money isn't important. Its all in HOW important it is and if it appears to be more important than the music itself.

For the guys from Candlebox, they are taking time away from a band that as far as I can tell has been going strong since returning a few years ago. They aren't topping the charts or anything, but they've been drawing solid crowds with their live show. If it was all about the money why would they take time away from that security to start a brand new band?

Further, why would they do a free show for their first concert? Why are their t-shirts only $10? Why aren't they hawking bootlegs of songs and not sharing the profits with Ed?

I'm stopping now but I could say more. Bands and money is a difficult thing to discuss, but all bands have to do some level of business.

Anyone interested in seeing how you can make music for all the right reasons should watch Rush - Behind the Lighted Stage. The part about how they made 2112 on the heals of the great failure of Caress of Steel reminds me a lot of what TGF is doing right now. Also the part about Neil Peart (one of the greatest drummers ever) wanting to improve and even changing his technique after decades of success speaks volumes. When I think of integrity in music this is what I think of. This band said screw the record label and all their demands. They made the music they wanted to and have been reaping the rewards for nearly 40 years now.

I remember that I saw TGF once where they played their entire cd, and only 2 old songs. It was such an astonishing thing to see. A band that was actually proud to play their entire cd, and not just rely on old "hits" for a significant portion of their set.