What's Going On? Is Live Over? Options

[Hoodstock]

If you missed it Ed went on Instagram basically stating that Live never was much of a band, that the reunion wasn't really a "reunion ", and that he's not in anyone's band.

Chad Gracey commented on this on Facebook:
"There is only one source of drama in LIVE. You guys figure it out. And obviously it’s not Ed."

Bill Hynes then replied to Chad "Chad Gracey and that person has small penis Napoleon narcissist syndrome." to which Chad liked with a laugh emoji.

Bill also said this on Facebook in the conversation:

"One thing is certain. Ed don’t need anyone. His talent and song writing ability is his. As it was seen before. He is irreplaceable. Others need him more than he needs them. When the band broke up the first time it was one person and only one persons fault and that person wasn’t Ed. It rhymes with Tad Chaylor."

and Bill in response to Ed's comments:

"That’s actually is NOT what he is saying. He’s saying he isn’t in someone’s band. He’s in HIS band. But someone has an ego and likes to tell everyone that he’s the band and it’s his band and take credit for songs that he didn’t write. So what ED is saying is that HE isn’t in someone else’s band."

There was also a comment about Chad being a successful insurance agent. Chad replied "I do insurance on the side with my partner George. Im also into a few other endeavors."

Quite a flurry of activity after little to no comments on the state of the band for a lengthy period of time.

[Starfield83]

Welcome to the FOL board, the rollercoaster ride of ups and downs, fun, and drama

Really respect your thoughts on the shows you attended. Not speaking for the band, but if they had their time over again I doubt there would've been a second drummer retained.

I've seen Zak play in the flesh about 5 times, 3 with Live, 2 with Ed. I think he's a brilliant young guitarist. Whether he outshone Taylor could've simply been Taylor's mix being too low. Also the speaker set ups can sometimes give more bias depending on where you're positioned in the crowd.

I can't see the original 4 being retained, given Ed's post. I'd encourage you to give Zak another chance to prove his worth to you.

Kudos

He was a nice addition to the acoustic shows to provide the usual Taylor atmosphere and leads to the great batch of songs, but I'd much prefer the original members. It's a shame that their own chemistry is what makes them great and also what makes them hate.

It doesn't go well when others replace creative members of a band - I would use Pearl Jam as a prime example. I am a guitarist and lead singer by trade, but I love drummers and drums and although I have tons of respect to Matt Cameron as an excellent drummer for Soundgarden and their cool rhythmic meters, he is absolutely AWFUL in Pearl Jam. It's a travesty that egomaniac Eddie Vedder denied Dave Abbrusseze the opportunity to play, if not just to stand at the RnR HOF ceremony. They haven't had a great drummer since Dave A. Since Matt Cameron entered the fold, Pearl Jam lost it's swing and groove overnight - which is what totally MADE the band.

Now Zak Loy would just be playing leads and could much more easily fade to the background on LIVE stuff, so I get that he's forgivable and seemed like very much the team player. I just hated that Ed brought him into that whole reunion tour, like overstuffing the stage was going to make it easier on him so he wouldn't have to deal with the other members. The whole stage sound was overstuffed as well - part of what makes Live's original music so great is the distinctness of the parts and the space allowed to each player. Ed used to play guitar ALL the time and now he's adopted the Andre Agassi frontman with a mic image. He's not a bad rhythm player at all, I wish he'd play more in general and definitely more electric. It's like Red Hot Chili Peppers, the interplay between the band members and the space is what make them so unique and fun to listen to. John Frusciante, Flea and Chad Smith create the perfect brew of instrumentation. Less is always more in music - I've never seen it work the other way unless it's Pet Sounds, which is more the studio masterpiece anyhow.