Ed Kowalczyk address Lawsuits and LIVE, Article 8/27/12 Options

[SJN1279]

http://www.flipsidepa.com/entertainment/ci...its-future-live

Ed Kowalczyk addresses lawsuits, future of Live
Posted: 08/27/2012 11:52:16 AM EDT


Ed Kowalczyk wants to get Live back together.

The former lead singer of the York-native rock band broke his silence about recent legal issues last week.

In an email statement sent through his lawyer John Rosenberg, Kowalczyk wrote: "Despite what has happened ... I remain willing to put it all behind us, and I would be excited to pursue a reunion with my bandmates, giving LIVE fans all over the world what they truly want."

In July, Action Front Unlimited, a corporation that owns trademarks for Live, filed a federal lawsuit against Kowalczyk. It alleges that Kowalczyk is misleading fans by branding himself "Ed Kowalczyk of Live."

The suit goes on to say that in late 2009, the three other band members Patrick Dahlheimer, Chad Gracey and Chad Taylor "elected to remove Kowalczyk from the band Live as a result of certain disagreements."

"I never left LIVE," Kowalczyk wrote in the email. "We all agreed to take a two year hiatus. But virtually immediately after we made that decision, lawyers representing Chad, Chad and Patrick began their legal attack on me."

In a separate lawsuit filed in May 2010 in New York, Dahlheimer, Gracey and Taylor allege Kowalczyk and the band's longtime manager, David Levin, violated terms of a contract. It also states Kowalczyk owes the other members of Live percentages of an advance and publishing income.

"As to the details of the legal proceedings, for now I will only say that both suits are baseless and
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totally without merit," Kowalczyk wrote via email.

In a text in July, Taylor wrote "the legal drama ... pales in comparison to the personal nature and disappointment of losing a childhood friend."

Dahlheimer, Gracey and Taylor formed Live with Kowalczyk in York during the late 1980s. The band went on to sell millions of albums and tour the globe.

In 2009, the band did announce a hiatus. But it soon looked permanent. Dahlheimer, Gracey and Taylor started a side project called The Gracious Few. In March, they took the stage as Live at York's Strand-Capitol Performing Arts Center with a new lead singer - Chris Shinn.

Kowalczyk pursued his solo career. He returned to York to perform twice - once in 2009 and again in 2011. He is slated to play Penn State York's Pullo Family Performing Arts Center Nov. 9. The show is billed "Ed Kowalczyk of Live." Kowalczyk and Levin filed an answer to the 2010 lawsuit. It stated that the suit was "motivated by jealous and animus ... on the eve of the release of Kowalczyk's solo album and just as he was about to embark on a tour in support of that album."

The tone of Kowalczyk's recent email is different: "I didn't start this unnecessary fight and it seems to me that there is already more than enough of this kind of negativity in the world," he wrote. "Let's get LIVE back together. I'm ready."

Dahlheimer, Gracey and Taylor declined to comment about Kowalczyk's email.

Their business partner Bill Hynes replied in an email message: "(Kowalczyk) has no desire to get the band back," he wrote. "The guys won't comment because they are moving forward with the lawsuits because they have exhausted all efforts with Ed."

[Merica]

The majority of fans want Ed back, Ed now wants to come back, and Chad Taylor has said that Ed is always welcome back. Things have gotten interesting.

They're mostly casual fans who are ignorant to what's actually gone/going on and as such shouldn't be listened to. I don't care if this seems to be belittling fans who aren't as die hard - because it's true. Casual fans don't know that Ed is now a God-loving embarrassment who is light-years removed from the talented front man he once was. They'd prefer THAT over the potential for Shinn with CCP? As I say, ignorant, and not to be listened to.

They can work with Shinn on a project and release whatever music that the are working on, but LIVE should be the four original members. This is the time for the four of them to work it out and collaborate on a new tour.

What killed LIVE was overtouring in the later years, now the guys have side projects where they can still be LIVE and do other things.

No, Live is now CCP and Shinn - Live hasn't been really Live with the four original members since 2000. Ed changed and slowly killed the band. Ed returning does not take Live back to the glory days. It takes them back to the embarrassing WHAT THE FUCK days where Heaven / The River is a single and Ed takes centre stage to a ridiculous degree and Live are a has-been joke.

That said, that was over three years ago. They aren't getting any younger, and they should at least consider reforming and see if things can be worked out. They are stronger together than apart.

Incorrect. The latter Live albums with all three sucked absolute balls compared to the earlier albums where they actually were working *together* - something which Ed made clear in their latter days that he wasn't interested in. Since Ed left, the gulf in talent has only become clearer. Ed is rubbish, CCP can bring the goods. Bringing Ed back into Live would be serious regression in terms of the music itself, which is all that matters. Commercial pursuits should mean absolutely nothing when it comes to making this decision. Not a single thing.

CCP are a strong core. With Shinn in the fold Live is refreshed, unpredictable, a real band again capable of making great music with integrity and depth. With Ed, they're taking on a serious weak link which will hamper progression.