Live's future Options

[dangum]

What is your preference for the future of Live?

[alexou]

Ed has wasted his last 5-6 years with tribute tours. I know they have been lazy since TDTH minus the The Turn creation, but I mean how can't a songwriter create songs between 45-60 years old? It's still good productive years. It's not the 3 meh album that Ed released since 2009 that will move the needle. Really sad to say the least. CCP had 2 reasonnable attempts, but still not enough for a period of 17 years.

[Bob]

Ed has wasted his last 5-6 years with tribute tours. I know they have been lazy since TDTH minus the The Turn creation, but I mean how can't a songwriter create songs between 45-60 years old? It's still good productive years. It's not the 3 meh album that Ed released since 2009 that will move the needle. Really sad to say the least. CCP had 2 reasonnable attempts, but still not enough for a period of 17 years.

I've been a drummer for almost 30 years (thank you, Throwing Copper, for showing me the way), and I've been in a handful of bands in that time that released a variety of demos and full albums, plus played many local shows and gigs. In my experience, most of the songwriters and creators have what I like to call a "creative tank" where all the inspiration and music comes from. Some people have a tank that can refill very easily, so they can crank content out, and others have a tank that refills very slowly, making new music hard to create. Slow tank filling also starts to happen as you get older, as you get a "real" job if being a professional musician doesn't pan out, as you build a family, and if you have other business ventures. Once those things happen, the creative tank is then filled with other things that drive a person in the day to day, and music is then in the rearview mirror. You really need to love making music to keep the creative tank full, even with other priorities in life. It's hard.

I think Ed has several things against him for making new music. First off, I'm assuming he's likely got more than enough money that he doesn't need to make new music. I'm sure the tours are making enough money to get by, so there's no drive there. Secondly, he's a family man, and lastly, he's almost 55 years old. The fire and drive to write anything like what he did from 1989-2009 just isn't there because he's a different person in a different spot in life.

Ed's also likely not being pushed by Zak or any of the other members of the band to make new music. They're basically hired guns at this point, so why would they? There's no incentive there. I would love to be a fly on the wall if Zak brought a song to Ed and what Ed would do.

I also believe that Ed's best work was with CCP, so even if we do get new music, it's probably going to be more like Lady Bhang, which is fine if that's what Ed wants to put out, but that's not my thing anymore.

As far as CCP, I'm assuming their legal issues are what's holding them back in some capacity, and family aside, Pat is happy with the occasional tour, CT is working on his new music (plus he's got his side business), and I guess CG is happy with his podcast.

I'm bummed CG hasn't put out a new YouTube video in almost a year. Talk about a wasted opportunity to put out content and keep in touch with his fans. He made ~30 full videos in a span of 3 years. There are easily over a hundred Live songs he could have pulled from, plus B-sides and songs that never made an album. What happened? Those videos don't take that long to record and release. He could put one out a week for years if he wanted to. Again, I think it comes down to the creative tank. He's got legal issues, he's got a family, he's got his business ventures, and his podcast. Also, since he's not the songwriter, he would need CT/PD to come up with new music to add drums to, or seek out other musicians to work with.

From what I can tell, it's just plain hard to release and support new music these days, and with all of the new acts that are out that are out there, would new music and a tour move the needle? I read recently that some current bands are having troubles with ticket sales and are canceling dates. If I remember correctly, even the Gracious Few tour didn't end well from a monetary perspective, and those were small venues as well. Sure, they could just create and release music and not tour, but is that in their best interest? Who knows.

Please note that this is 100% my opinion. I have no idea what's really going on in their lives. I wish they'd release new music, but given the above, I'm not surprised why we're not getting any.

This post has been edited by Bob: May 10 2026, 3:45 pm