CT's interview in the Comet, The Gracious Few: Rock’s New Supergroup Comes Alive Options

[VoodooLady]

http://thecomet.com/posts/the_gracious_few..._new_supergroup

The Gracious Few founder Chad Taylor talks to The Comet about Live, his friend Ed Kowalczyk and getting the independent investment to make the next phase of his music dream happen. In the new music world, the smart bands are business savvy. Taylor is leading the pack.

The Gracious Few are all about starting again. Only their new beginning is built on the back of 20 Top 10 songs and 30 million albums sold. Comprised of former Live band members guitarist Chad Taylor, bassist Patrick Dahlheimer and drummer Chad Gracey and Candlebox frontman Kevin Martin and guitarist Sean Hennesy, these rock warriors are off to a good start. Their self-titled debut album, produced by Jerry Harrison, (Talking Heads) hits stores Sept 14 and they will go tour with American Bang starting Sept 24. Plus, two of their songs “Honest Man” and “Appetite” are already featured on the Rock Band video game network.

“We put all of ourselves into making this music and making this opportunity happen,” says Taylor. “It’s very, very rare in a career, especially like the one we’ve all been blessed to have, to have a second chance to begin again.”

Truly a renaissance man, Taylor has produced albums for other artists, is principle owner in multi-faceted media company Aurora Creative Group and can add feature film producer to his resume. The brains behind the business, while he was still in high school, he had the foresight to form two corporations to house Live’s publishing and recording assets (these companies have generated over $500 worldwide). He even financed Live’s first album, “The Public Affection Era,” by selling $12,000 worth of junk bonds.

In 2009, Live parted ways with vocalist Ed Kowalczyk – an experience Taylor describes as both heartbreaking and liberating. Taylor and Kowalczyk’s roots go back to kindergarten. But musical differences were making both parties unhappy.

“You only want what’s best for your friend,” says Taylor. “And he wants what’s best for me. We love each other. But our time making music together was up.”

In fact it was old Live recordings that in some ways inspired Taylor and the Gracious Few. What he wanted more than anything was to go back to his rock roots, while Kowalczyk was going on more singer/songwriter path.

“Ten years ago I was sad that Live wasn’t doing Live. We were still an active band and I really felt that we were loosing our way. I held my breath time and time and time again thinking, well on this next record we’ll get back on track, we’ll go back to making music that we used to make when we were younger. It just sort of never transpired. I have to tell you honestly there’s no one to blame for that – time did that…I’ve even gone back now and listened to some Live records that I haven’t listened to in 15 years just to hear what I was up to when I was younger. I think I was inspired by my own work. “

Taylor took the same business acumen with the Gracious Few as he did with Live and his film projects. He put together a business plan and went after funding with the mantra bigger, better, faster, stronger.

“I instantly put back on my producer hat for the Gracious Few with a business plan in hand and some of the concepts behind what I had done in film finance,” explains Taylor. “We instantly had a number of suitors and we just looked for the best person to work with the band. I grew up with family members that were very business savvy and entrepreneurial. It was one of things I had figured out very early in the days of Live. We were so young – 15-year-old kids, trying to figure out how to buy a van, how to buy a trailer, how to get to CBGBs for less money. I figured out that a band is only going to go as far as we can spend money. So it became very important for me to understand financial instruments and how to use them to forward the artistic endeavors. But make no mistake, I do it first and foremost just because I want to make music.”

Taylor describes the Gracious Few’s sound as being filled with “drama.” They made a conscious effort to write music that can “really explode on the stage,” because the live performance is so key to a rock band’s interaction and success with fans. The entire album was cut live in the studio in keeping with an old-school feel.

For a band that has every reason to be ego filled, these guys are not. They interact with fans online and after shows, directly. “We love to connect. That’s what this is all about.”

[OutToDry]

If it happens in the right context and there is healing, and 4 for focus of Live, then I'll embrace it.

[PillarOfDavidson]

If it happens in the right context and there is healing, and 4 for focus of Live, then I'll embrace it.

I have a feeling that CCP agree 110% with you.