Live reveal new EP title - "Local 717" Options

[Bremang]

http://www.news-herald.com/article/HR/2018.../NEWS/180829624

Considering Live is known as a multi-platinum alt-rock band from the '90s, it was apropos that singer-guitarist Ed Kowalczyk referenced another touchstone from the decade when discussing the group's newly released single, "Love Lounge," which is a rocking affair that found the act plugging in its guitars and turning the amps to 11.

"I don't think anybody expected it," said Kowalczyk, calling from Mansfield, Massachusetts. "The fans were a little bit whiplashed by it, which was fun for us.

"We didn't expect to make a song like 'Love Lounge' and to sort of kick it up into that gear three years ago when we started putting the reunion together. It's like one of those, 'Life is a box of chocolates' kind of things."

Live finds itself at a new chapter of its 25-year-plus career, which includes more than 22 million albums sold worldwide, two No. 1 albums ("Throwing Copper" and "Secret Samadhi") and more than a dozen Top-20 alt-rock radio hits.

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After spending the better part of a decade away from Live, pursuing a solo career, Kowalczyk


rejoined the group a few years ago with an eye on new material. At that point, the Pennsylvania outfit could have taken the easy route — releasing a nostalgic, albeit schmaltzy, tune in hopes of finding airplay on adult-contemporary radio.

"I blame it all on Dave Grohl," Kowalczyk said. "We reconnected with the Foo Fighters a couple of times last year. 'Love Lounge' has a whole different tenor and energy. We also have EP 'Local 717' coming that's very much along the same lines.

"After this break, I didn't really want to do a sort of five-minute, mid-tempo meditation. We write like that all of the time. I wanted something that rocked, so we really took that, sort of digested it and just went into the studio and kicked the whole thing up a notch."

Fans attending Live's show Aug. 26 at Blossom Music Center — the band is opening for the Counting Crows — can expect to hear the new tune, as well as all of the group's hits ("Lightning Crashes," "I Alone," "All Over You" and "Lakini's Juice") and a Jimmy Reed cover ("Baby What You Want Me to Do").

This tour marks the third time Live has teamed up with Counting Crows, including a memorable 2000 show at Blossom. Kowalczyk said when the Adam Duritz-led act offered them the gig, it was a no-brainer for Live, which over the decades has lived and experienced all of the rock 'n' roll tropes — early success, creative differences, band acrimony, a breakup and an eventual well-received reunion.

"It's some kind of prefigured thing and a story that's been told a lot of times," Kowalczyk said. "But living it in my life, and I think I can speak for the band, the fact we're back together, nobody expected it for a long time. So there's a level of gratitude and joy on tour that I think the fans can really tell."

More importantly, playing up the title of the band's top-5 alt-rock hit "All Over You," it's pointed out that the fans aren't over Live.

"Nope, they're not over us yet," Kowalczyk laughed. "We're still rocking. They keep calling, we keep coming."

[Merica]

In the days of tweets, who is going to read a 10 paragraph review?

Reviewer is a bit full of himself.

Review for Live's new EP.

https://crypticrock.com/live-local-717-ep-review/

3.5 out of 5 Stars.

A dozen years have passed since the original Live lineup released new music, but that gap is about to close with Local 717, a brisk twenty-minute EP due out Friday, October 12th through Kavalry Records.

Highly anticipated amongst fans, Local 717 contains four new tracks before ending with a cover of “Venus in Furs,” originally written by the Velvet Underground for their 1967 debut, The Velvet Underground & Nico. The EP also marks the first time founding members Ed Kowalczyk (vocals, guitar), Chad Taylor (guitar, backing vocals), Patrick Dahlheimer (bass), and Chad Gracey (drums, percussion) have recorded together since Songs from Black Mountain in 2006, an album which capped almost two decades of recording success. So, does their return as a unit to the studio live up to expectations?

Before answering that question, let’s briefly look at three decade plus history of Live that has led to this point. Originally performing under the name Public Affection, the band switched to the more familiar Live moniker and released a strong debut, Mental Jewelry, in 1991, but as everyone knows, it was their 1994 sophomore album, Throwing Copper, that would land them massive mainstream success, selling in excess of ten million records. Its two immediate follow-ups, 1997’s Secret Samadhi and 1999’s The Distance to Here, each sold millions more.

Several albums followed, each with limited success, before the band agreed to take a hiatus in 2009. Kowalczyk went on to release his debut solo album, Alive, in 2010, followed by an EP, The Garden, in 2012, and a second solo album, The Flood and the Mercy, the following year. The break soon became effectively permanent, and in the wake of that change, Taylor, Dahlheimer, and Gracey combined forces with Kevin Martin and Sean Hennessy of Candlebox to form The Gracious Few, which released an eponymous debut in 2010. In 2014, those same three members announced they had recruited vocalist Chris Shinn to record a new album of Live material, an effort which materialized in 2014 as The Turn. Fast-forward to the fall of 2016, with a few legal hassles set aside, the four original members began meeting again to discuss live shows and new material.

Which leads us to today where Live is eager to release some new music. Interestingly enough, Local 717 takes its name from the telephone area code which once covered most of eastern Pennsylvania and still covers York, the band’s beloved hometown. Giving fans a sample of the new material, Live has already released two singles from Local 717, “Love Lounge” and “Be a Giver, Man,” with video content to match.

“Love Lounge” is an opener in the truest sense of the word; it was the first single, the first track on the EP, and it is a roaring Rock-n-Roll trip forcefully announcing the opening of the band’s return. The bright wailing guitar riffs almost bring the Cult to mind. This is while the lyrics make subtle suggestion that while the band is back together with positive vibes and a long outlook, things should still move a bit slowly. That said, the call of “shoot that fear!” leaves little doubt that the band is back on solid footing. Furthermore, Taylor’s guitar work is impressively subtle here, and it is clear his time, like that of the other members, was wisely spent in the interim.

“Be a Giver, Man” may have an obvious message, but that is essentially the point – no one seems to want to live by this small, important, almost trite credo. Here, Kowalczyk belts, “I believe / that what you give / is what you receive,” leading into a spaced-out refrain book-ended by calls for decency from Kowalczyk and more impressive guitar from Taylor. Additionally, the track also features an appearance from Drummer Stephen Perkins of Jane’s Addiction.

Moving forward, “Waterfall” is a song dominated by the rhythm section, particularly the drumming of Chad Gracey, as Kowalczyk continues his old habits of near-awkward rhyming and singing patterns. This song slows the rollicking pace of the EP a bit, but perhaps the short rest is necessary. Patrick Dahlheimer moves a little out of the background for “Brother,” taking his distinct bass sound to the forefront for the rhythms behind both the verses and the chorus. Overall, the track picks up the speed again, and closes the original portion of the EP with aplomb.

Finally, the closing cover of “Venus in Furs” feels almost out of place for the band. While this song has been covered by dozens of artists in multiple genres, the execution goes well enough, and the mere choice to cover it is enough to be unique. Kowalczyk has a voice that adapts well to the varied pace of the track, while the rest of the band manages to contain themselves from speeding the tempo as compared to the rest of the EP.

Overall, the four original songs on Local 717 contain more than enough material to get excited about, and the out-of-character cover work as well. That is why CrypticRock proudly gives the return EP from Live 3.5 out of 5 stars.