10 Questions with Chad Taylor, Facebook Options

[brianblank]

Not sure if this is available to everyone or just to FB members. Just in case here is the text.

http://www.facebook.com/topic.php?topic=13...id=180792048524

1) What’s behind the band name?

I was sitting with Chad Gracey and Kevin Martin at Jethro’s bar discussing a conversation I had with our agent Jonathan Levine. He’s the agent for The Dead. We spoke about the organic, giving nature of the word “grateful” and its importance to the lineage of Grateful Dead fans. He pushed for me to contemplate its relevance to the new leg of our journey. Kevin added that he could relate. The five of us were incredibly fortunate to have music in our lives after a twenty year run. We were lucky to have each other and blessed to have fans that care about our musical offerings. We talked about how we were graciously accepting this new chapter of our lives. Kevin said, “We really are The Gracious Few.”

2) How is your role different in this band?

LIVE was four teenage boys with nothing more than the hope and spirit needed to chase a dream. My role was to dream and dream big. Thankfully, Ed, Chad and Patrick had a ton of talent to back those dreams up. The Gracious Few, however, are a group of men who achieved those childhood ambitions. This phase of our career isn’t about gold records or hit songs. We’ve already done that. I personally feel it’s more about how we approach each other and the music. Now I’m dreaming about honoring our past, respecting our fans and exploring each other’s artistry. My job is to ensure that each character finds his voice within this band. I have to be a leader that carries the flag of the collective rather than the individual. The Gracious Few through and through are a band. I also have to be careful to balance the bands needs with the individual desires of each performer and the commercial expectations placed on us. Thankfully, I have more than twenty years of on-the-job training. Only the fans can judge the outcome.

3) What were some of the hurdles you faced bringing the band together?

I can’t take credit for bringing the band together. It was Gracey and Dahlheimer who persuaded me to join them. I’m in their band with Kevin and Sean. I really think that the rhythm section is the key to the sound of The Gracious Few. I’m sure the vocals and guitars will get plenty of love but no one can lay down a groove like our guys. My toughest challenge was coordinating the record funding and the schedules of a very busy group of men. Kevin and Sean are still playing shows with Candlebox and Gracey, Dahlheimer and I have a feature film showing at film festivals. Add in producer Jerry Harrison and our engineer Karl Derfler and you need like thirty secretaries to tie us down! We had to give up projects and time with our families to write and record the album. This was in the face of the dramatic changes within LIVE. While we were excited to celebrate something new, there was also a period of morning. Thankfully, we’ll start to mix soon and a finished product can find its way to the people. At this point I can tell you that it was worth it. It feels so rewarding to crank up my stereo and hear our inner voice rattle the windows. Of course, I’m biased but I’ve been involved in albums that didn’t have this type of energy. You can always feel it.

4) Does The Gracious Few mean no more LIVE?

That’s it! This fucking interview is over……okay, okay, just kidding. Ahh, the million-dollar question. The great thing about recorded music is that you can pop it in your player and take a stroll down that musical lane any time you want. For me LIVE lives on for forever in those recordings. The future is just that and I can’t begin to predict what it will bring, so I won’t even try. For now, Ed is working on his solo career and we’re focused on The Gracious Few. I see it as a win for LIVE fans. They get two new offering when it was clear we wouldn’t have done much otherwise. The future is wide open. Most important, I think we’re all happy doing what we want to be doing at this moment.

5) On a lighter note, how is your guitar work different on this album?

I was determined with The Gracious Few to return to the form that had made early rock n’ roll great. We used as little studio bullshit as possible. In fact, 90% of what you’ll experience was the band playing live to tape. Since most of the early ideas to these songs were stock piled from material I had written over the last ten years, it was really riff heavy. I had been working with my friend Carson Slovak who is a celebrated metal core producer and adapted his ambition and playful spirit. I wanted to break free from the predictable nature of pop music but also be careful to not make it feel foreign. This meant a return to how I created music in the early days, drooling and all. Thankfully, my spirit for the guitar was renewed and I got the drooling under control.

6) …and then you added Sean Hennesy as a guitarist. How did that impact your playing?

I’m a strange bird with the six-string. My sense of timing has always been what made me stand apart. Lakini’s Juice is a great example of that. The riff is only two notes but I’ve heard cover bands from all around the world butcher the part. It’s got a push pull thing going on. It’s more about the timing than the notes. When Sean first started to play with us, I just kept saying, “don’t rush, let the part find you.” He had to find The Gracious “groove.” When it finally clicked, I quickly realized that Sean would raise the bar. He not only found the groove but soon he began to push me as a musician. I relished in the pressure to perform at his level. This is a new dynamic and something I had never had previously. Kevin also has a real affinity for the guitar and pushed Sean and I to come up with parts that would propel the tracks to the next level. Holy shit it was fun! I can’t wait to get on stage with these guys.

7) What is this about you not liking guitar solos?

Oh, I like guitar solos, just not playing them! I give it a go on “Honest Man” but other than that I’m happy to let Hennesy take over. You have to want to perform those types of acrobatic movements and that has never been my thing. I pride myself on staying tight with Dahlheimer and Gracey in the pocket of the track. Don’t get me wrong, you can’t hear The Gracious Few and not rock out to my parts. This album is all about the electric guitar and there is plenty to grab hold of.

8) Does this mean no more stomping?

Just the opposite. I could only stomp when I was jamming with the rhythm section. Those moments are when I’m totally losing my head, lost in the moment. I never know when it’ll strike.

9) Where are you now on working on the album?

We’ll start to mix the album in about two weeks with Tom Lord-Alge. We really wanted the fans of The Gracious Few to get the ultimate sonic experience and no one is better than TLA in my opinion. After that we’ll master the album and finally release it worldwide by early summer. There is no doubt it’s a long process but I think the music will be well worth the wait. I know the fans are anxious and we are too.

10) Where do you see yourself a year from now?

Hopefully, we are on a really big stage with huge production and sold-out of course. Some habits stick with you for life and I’m still dreaming big. With The Gracious Few we have a chance to really perform at a new level. We’re going to embrace production technology and push our shows to the next level. Our fans are going to get a great ride. We are going to invest heavily in making The Gracious Few tour something that our audience will always remember. We just started talking with a set-designer to help enhance the production. I can’t wait for the first show. I know our Facebook fans will be there.

[OutToDry]

read this and tell me it's a hoax with a straight face. I would expect for anything to continue in the future, some sort of healing or reconcilation would have to take place. Meanwhile, in the present, let's anticipate what the TGF will give us and enjoy it.


Not the ending I wished for


There have been tons of crazy rumors surrounding the hiatus of LIVE. I have read quite a few and laughed at the extremely creative imaginations of our fans. I've been reluctant to fan the flames but the rumors are getting further away from the truth and I will try to set the record straight from my standpoint.

First and foremost, Ed has every legal right to perform the songs he helped birth while being the front man for LIVE. The copyrights for these songs are owned by Chad Gracey, Patrick Dahlheimer, Ed Kowlalczyk and myself. Ed does not control the catalog but rather the bands publishing company, Black Coffee Publishing, Inc. Black Coffee is a majority rule corporation.

Yes, it is true, there was a hidden publishing contract singed in 2005. I personally discovered it via a communication breakdown. Ed is listed as the only signature. When I wrote him to find some resolution to the situation, he failed to respond. I have left these matters to our attorneys who will no doubt file a complaint. Honestly, I don't care about the financial/legal outcome of these matters, the proof is on the page. Ed was able to stab his three best friends from middle school in the back. This act was far down the line from typical rock star ego. As you can imagine I am deeply hurt and wounded.

In light of these matter, I can't ever see myself working with Ed, let alone ever being in the same room with him. LIVE was always about the band, when Ed lost sight of that in favor of his own ambitions and goals, our considerable fans base began to sigh a collective yawn.

As band mates and friends and despite the lack of fresh material we continued to support Ed with all of our integrity. The final blow was Ed's request for a $100,000 "lead singer bonus" to perform as surprise guests at this years Pink Pop Festival. I was informed of his request by our management and politely told them to "fuck off."

Ed will no longer be the vocalist for the band LIVE. At this point in time, we have made no official plans to replace him but it is clear that he is no friend of mine or the lifelong fans of LIVE.

I have focused my energy on creating new music with The Gracious Few. I look forward to seeing many LIVE fans in the audience at our shows. Patrick, Chad and I have made a pledge to honor our long shared history with the fans of LIVE. You will always be graciously welcome in our house.

Love
Chad Taylor



This post has been edited by OutToDry: Mar 9 2010, 8:32 am

[FishOutaWater]

I must say that I have been very confused about how Ed could take control of publishing rights, and which publishing rights we are talking about.

This part does not make any sense to me: "Ed does not control the catalog but rather the bands publishing company, Black Coffee Publishing, Inc. Black Coffee is a majority rule corporation." Those two sentences are internally inconsistent. I assume that Black Coffee Publishing, Inc. is the name of the corporation that owns all of the publishing rights to Live's music. Chad appears to be stating that it is a "majority rule" corporation. That's not legalese, but I assume that Chad means that the 4 of them are directors and the directors only have the power and authority to bind the corporation by an action of a majority of the directors. If that is true, then how did Ed sign a contract and steal all of the publishing? The contract would not be valid because Ed was not duly authorized to bind the company. Did Ed set up his own company five years ago and sign publishing contracts for the material that has been created since then (e.g. BoP, Radiant Sea, Paradiso and SFBM) without the knowledge of the other 3 band members? I don't see how he could have stolen the rights to the older material. Maybe the directors of Black Coffee authorized Ed to act to sign publishing rights on behalf of the company (perhaps as an officer or agent of the company) and he signed contracts that diverted the rights to himself? That would result in potential breach of fiduciary duty claims. The whole thing is pretty confusing and doesn't make sense.

If this is a hoax, I think it would have been much more fun and effective if Ed had just started having an affair with Jennifer Aniston or Kate Goeslin.

[thefunkyredcaboose]

I must say that I have been very confused about how Ed could take control of publishing rights, and which publishing rights we are talking about.

This part does not make any sense to me: "Ed does not control the catalog but rather the bands publishing company, Black Coffee Publishing, Inc. Black Coffee is a majority rule corporation." Those two sentences are internally inconsistent. I assume that Black Coffee Publishing, Inc. is the name of the corporation that owns all of the publishing rights to Live's music. Chad appears to be stating that it is a "majority rule" corporation. That's not legalese, but I assume that Chad means that the 4 of them are directors and the directors only have the power and authority to bind the corporation by an action of a majority of the directors. If that is true, then how did Ed sign a contract and steal all of the publishing? The contract would not be valid because Ed was not duly authorized to bind the company. Did Ed set up his own company five years ago and sign publishing contracts for the material that has been created since then (e.g. BoP, Radiant Sea, Paradiso and SFBM) without the knowledge of the other 3 band members? I don't see how he could have stolen the rights to the older material. Maybe the directors of Black Coffee authorized Ed to act to sign publishing rights on behalf of the company (perhaps as an officer or agent of the company) and he signed contracts that diverted the rights to himself? That would result in potential breach of fiduciary duty claims. The whole thing is pretty confusing and doesn't make sense.

Given the information we have, yes, this or he managed somehow to change the terms of the old contract without them knowing. It won't ever make sense without all of the information, which we won't ever have.

Given the nature of the recording business all I can add is that none of this is far-fetched in the slightest. That is how it is out there.

[Bremang]

Given the information we have, yes, this or he managed somehow to change the terms of the old contract without them knowing. It won't ever make sense without all of the information, which we won't ever have.

Given the nature of the recording business all I can add is that none of this is far-fetched in the slightest. That is how it is out there.

I just don't know. Maybe its true maybe its not. I have some faith in Chad and the rest of Live and all their management, as they've been so agile on the business side of things for so long.

I'd also say the music business has this reputation largely because they take advantage of naive artists.