Eddie Kowalczyk's Australian Tour, August 2009 Options

[dangum]

Ed Kowalczyk - Live and Solo
X-Press Magazine Issue 1172
30-July-2009

Live frontman Ed Kowalczyk will perform two special solo shows at the Octagon Theatre on August 12 and 13.
BOB GORDON reports.

After years of playing arenas around the world fronting Live, Ed Kowalczyk is revelling in the intimacy of playing solo shows, armed with only his voice and an acoustic guitar.
"This is like being in 1990, making music in a room with a couple of people for a couple of people. I'd sort of become completely separated from that. This has been an incredible sort of leap back into that world. I've rediscovered myself."

Ed (or Eddie, as the tour publicity goes) Kowalczyk's enthusiasm for the simple act of playing solo and acoustic resonates on many levels. While he's always been open and approachable with Live's fans, the logistics of a major rock band being on tour means that aside from a lucky percentage who may meet the band, most see and hear the music from a distance. In touring solo, Kowalczyk is meeting both the shier or timid fans, as well as those who maintain the deepest kinds of connections to his music.

"Yeah, I believe so. Also I've noticed that with this particular approach to the music that it's bringing out the people who are really hyped about the songs, who have had a really long-term relationship with my lyrics. Now for them, they've been able to see my face doing it right up close and experience it in a direct way that you can't get if you're 10, 15 or 100 rows back in an arena, or in a theatre even.

"It's just a whole new experience. It's just me and an acoustic so you can really hear the vocal and the lyrics, so it's just different in that it is a new reflection."
One of the most fascinating aspects for Kowalczyk is the ongoing reveal of how people relate to his music...
"It's been really extraordinary for me the way that people have grown with the lyrics," he says. "And basically, regularly, daily, how much the music still means to them. It somehow even means more now than ever. I mean, when I take a perspective on that, a lot of the music that I liked in my 20s I don't care about that much anymore (laughs). You move through phases of life where inevitably you drop off from things that once meant a lot to you.
"To hear people say that 10 years, or 15 years later, a song still means just as much to them, has been really amazing. It's something that you hope you're doing with your writing, but never really realise when or if you're at that point. So I'm just overwhelmed by that just about everyday.
"One of the tactile things about these shows is the sheer appreciation of the fact that these people have been able to grow with this music and having it mean more in the lives with the more experience that they bring to it. I mean that's what you dream of, it's great."

In the fans' eyes it's like new light shining through old windows. From Kowalczyk's point of view in re-treating these songs, it's like meeting old friends again.
"Absolutely. They really start there for me. Before they really go to the band and they get produced and arranged and added to, subtracted from - whatever happens in the studio and all the layers that go on there - they start in that sphere of me and the guitar. So for me to do that on stage and invite people into that experience, which is so personal to me, people are really appreciating that.

"A lot of people aren't aware that I can do it or am interested in doing it that that way (laughs). For me it's very natural and I've been doing it for years, but a lot of people have had no idea that it could be so compelling done it that way."

[dangum]

The West Australian Newspaper - July 23, 2009
Eddie's ready for the challenge of solo life
By: Ara Jansen

Eddie Kowalczyk tells Ara Jansen what it's like without the rest of Live in tow

It's easy to forget what up-close means when you are part of the massive machinantions of an internationally recognised rock band, but Live's Eddie Kowalczyk is remembering as he goes it alone for a series of Australian shows next month.

Touring under the name of Eddie Kowalczyk because he likes the intimacy of an affectionate nickname, the singer for the 20 million album-selling American rock giants had a notion to go back to his roots. Going solo for a while takes him back to the early days of Live almost two decades ago when Kowalczyk played more guitar and everything was done on a much smaller scale. The presence of Kowalczyk's younger brother Adam as a touring guitarist alongside Chad Taylor has meant the singer has concentrated on just singing and rarely straps on a guitar.

Now it's just Eddie, his guitar, his voice and no one to catch him. He's excited - actually thrilled - to be walking the line like this. "A lot of people think that it is an unusual thing for me but it's actually a space I am used to being in thanks to all the radio and promotion we have done over the years," Kowalczyk says. Dating back to some of Live's early material, the singer says it's been a wonderful opportunity to see the songs in a new way and in some cases reinvent them.

"I really love having this intimate connection with people. I can do what I want to the songs and it can be really spontaneous as I only have me to listen to. I'm only doing one new song, a couple of covers and the rest are all gems of Live songs." While the singer says there will be Live classics when he plays one show in Perth next month, it's also the opportunity to pull out songs he never felt got their moment in the sun.

"People are virtually on top of my during these shows and they forget the songs in most cases started like this, It's become a re-awakening and reconnection for me. Each night is about a connection and the repertoire, taking requests and being able to be with me in a way which hasn't happened for a long time because of all the lays that come from being in a big successful rock band. After a while you end up getting split from that part of yourself and your craft."

"I often play a song like Facing Ghosts which is probably the all-time favourite song I have ever written. I always felt it got buried on the album (The Distance to Here). So I've repossessed it and taken it back to its roots and people are seeing it in a different way."

Kowlaczyk is now writing his first solo album and will record in September. Live are also working on an album "This is a chance for us all to play around in different creative spaces," Kowalczyk says. "After 20 years that's a pretty natural thing to want to do along with what we have."

The solo shows have reinvigorated Kowalczyk's writing on all fronts and given him a surge of creativity on stage. "I'm also using the opportunity to talk about the songs and life without a script, making it very organic," he says. "People are not used to seeing me this way. With Live there's a definite persona and a definite way of being. It's not quiet though, even though there are less decibels. I'm belting these songs out, possibly louder than in the band, but this time I don't have anyone to compete with."

Eddie Kowalczyk performs at the Octagon Theatre at the University of WA on August 12. Tickets from BOCS. He is recording his shows and uploading them at http://www.eddieklive.com

[Merica]

Australia is nice to and about Live, isn't it?

[+Ed+]

Thanks a lot, Dangum! Stealing those for WFT with giving credit as usual, for sure.

[dangum]

Australia is nice to and about Live, isn't it?

That sentence makes no sense to me... I honestly have no idea what you're trying to say.


All tickets for the 2nd Perth show have been reduced to $40 each.
http://www.bocsticketing.com.au/events/eddie_kowalczyk.shtml

[Pokey]

Australia is nice to and about Live, isn't it?

Nice to about is Australia Live, it to isn't and


... those words may as well have been in that order, I don't understand..

[Wambangalang]

guys, i think what he meant is that the australian reports media nicely bald ed!

[dangum]

Rave Magazine
Eddie Kowalczyk
Monday, 03 August 2009

As ‘90s alt-rock titans Live enter an indefinite hiatus, vocalist EDDIE KOWALCZYK is picking up an acoustic guitar and booking a plane ticket to Australia. TOM HERSEY caught Eddie acknowledging the legacy of Live’s back catalogue and his plans to go solo, at least for a while.

While it may not be the polished roar of Throwing Copper or Secret Samadhi, Eddie Kowalczyk’s solo project is assured success. If only because it avoids the unholy trifecta of pitfalls associated with the oft-disappointing solo-project-in-the-wake-of-a-band-hiatus rock & roll cliché. Driven by either a refusal to acknowledge previous success, (Tom Morello refusing to talk about Rage Against The Machine in interviews for his solo project The Nightwatchman), a total stylistic deviation from the music the artist was recognised for (post-Black Flag Henry Rollins’ numerous spoken word albums). Or the musician who starts the side project that ends up sounding like a derivative attempt to recapture their previous success (Serj Tankian’s post-System Of A Down solo record).


Rock star ego in check, Eddie’s solo venture is centred around his career in Live. His upcoming run of shows will see the vocalist re-imagine some of Live’s back catalogue, connecting with music on a primal level lost playing in a stadium rock act “Me and an acoustic guitar is pretty much where the music starts for me. So these shows are just a very natural way to showcase some Live songs. I saw it as a chance to integrate with the fans at a new, fresh level, even reconnecting with them in a lot of ways and then reconnecting with the material at that stripped down, acoustic level.”

But try as he might, the disparity between a stadium rock band and a troubadour, lonesome upon a stage, is too great for some classic Live tracks, due in equal part to the songs not working in an acoustic environment and Eddie’s personal reverence towards the songs. “There are songs from the Live back catalogue that I just have no interest in breaking down to this place. Namely song’s like Lakini’s Juice or White, Discussion, songs that will always be identified by anyone who likes them as big, powerful, loud, distortion-riddled rock songs, which was the way they were meant to be. There are a few really heavy songs that I have no interest in meddling with because they’re great as is. But then on the other hand songs like I Alone were produced to have heavy guitars were written by me on an acoustic guitar before being brought to the band.”

But surely there’d still be that one guy, standing four rows back from the barrier, wearing a faded tour shirt from the late ‘90s, filling every moment of silence, yelling ‘Lakini’s Juice’? Apparently not.

“I’ve been pretty clear about the fact that this is an intimate acoustic set and so far no one’s come into the venue expecting anything more than me with a box with strings strapped to it. I think people are being so receptive to this because it’s been such a long time. The band Live has been together and touring and making records for almost 20 years and people are coming out expecting to hear Live songs, but played in a completely different light.”

Though the super fans who, when hearing the news that Eddie was touring, rustled through their wardrobes to find the most obscure item of Live merchandise to wear in tribute to the band, can take comfort in the fact that Eddie K will be sticking to the band’s classics. “I’m only doing one new song in the set. The rest of it is little gems that I’ve repossessed from the way they were produced. Like Face And Ghost from Distance To Here, I’ve kind of taken that song and said ‘ok, I’m going to do it in this acoustic way’ and it’s been a rebirth for a lot of these songs. So I’m taking old songs and making them feel new. Even though it’s mostly old songs, the set feels very fresh. It’s liberating and refreshing to take these songs back to that essential place. Before a song like Lightning Crashes even went to the band in the rehearsal space, it was an acoustic guitar and me sitting in a room. I think people are really surprised by that, having experienced that song in these big, very loud venues, to see them stripped down like that has been a pleasant surprise for most people.”

As we talk about his solo shows, Eddie keeps bringing up his connection with the fans. Which, given Live’s immense popularity in Australia, makes Australia the obvious choice to take his solo act overseas. Live have joined the ranks of stellar acts like ABBA, Pink and The Violent Femmes who have achieved more commercial success in Australia than their home country. So, Eddie, a devout Twitterer, sees the run of shows as a chance to connect with fans. “The shows have allowed me to be able to relate to people so intimately, as opposed to from 50 feet away on top of a stage in a big arena. The layers get removed and then you’re right there with the people, they’re right there on top of you. The shows have helped me reconnect with people and with my song writing process and that’s been very positive.”

With all solo projects, Eddie’s individualist musical venture is marred by inescapable question, does this mean the band’s breaking up? Focussing on the moment, rather than planning ahead, Eddie is having too much fun with his current run of shows to give an answer definitive enough to parlay the anxieties of Live’s devoted Australian fanbase. Instead, Eddie only offers, “I’m not the type of person that projects into the future too much. I’m really living month to month, or day to day with the song writing process. I’m going to record in September and then I’m going to put out the record early next year. Just by the virtue of the fact that I’ll want to do a lot with this solo project, that will take time. I’ll just be going with the flow, I’m not really in a position to predict when we’ll do the next Live record. But the band hasn’t broken up or anything.”

EDDIE KOWALCZYK plays shows at The Tivoli on Sunday Aug 9 and Monday Aug 10. www.eddieklive.com.

http://www.ravemagazine.com.au/content/view/16340/30/

[Emma]

I know first show was only tonight but im dying to know....can anyone tell me who the support act is yet? or if adam had joined him?

[dangum]

I know first show was only tonight but im dying to know....can anyone tell me who the support act is yet? or if adam had joined him?

The support acts are different for each state.

Brisbane
Kate Bradley - http://www.katebradley.com.au/

Perth
Prita Grealy - http://www.myspace.com/pritagrealy

Melbourne
Krista Polvere - http://www.myspace.com/polverekrista & http://www.kristapolvere.com/

Adelaide
Galleon - http://www.myspace.com/galleonmusic

Sydney
Leena - http://www.leena.com.au/ & http://www.myspace.com/leenamusic

Source:
http://www.coppel.com.au/artists/EddieK/index.html

Adam is performing in PA (USA) on the 15th of August, so I doubt he's coming to Australia.

[iateyourcookie]

I'd completely forgotten. My birthday is August 14th.

Got tix for the 15th. Gonna be an awesome weekend.

[EF341SC]

cant wait i is going 2 both shows in Perth and scored front row in the second show Woooooooooo Hoooooooooo

[SJN1279]

Gerrycan from SOY wrote a review from the first Australian show, here is an excerpt complete with a juicy tidbit:

Finally after a 3yr wait we got to see Ed & WOW he was awesome, the venue was sold out. He played about 17 songs...Meg wrote them down & will post when she has net access. He covered pretty much every album & he played ZION. He was almost about to play Pain Lies On The Riverside..but I yelled out Mirror Song & Ed went with Me ....sorry Claire...ha she mentioned it to Ed & he has promised to play it in Sydney.

Claire also asked him about the direction of his album...I won't steal her thunder BUT let's say it's great news...she can tell you

[Pokey]

I know first show was only tonight but im dying to know....can anyone tell me who the support act is yet? or if adam had joined him?

haha you really got your hopes up by the sounds of it

[Liveman94]

EDDIE K LIVE REVIEW:

We arrived at the Tivoli about 7:35 – there was a long line out the door with everybody keen to see how Ed would sound and most speculating as to why he was here; I heard one guy say that Ed was “on holidays and he does these shows to pay for them…” LOL! Once inside it was a fairly relaxed atmosphere and it was seated which apparently is not the norm at Tivoli shows or so a security guard told me. My friends and I were about 12 rows back on the left side of the stage – pretty good view!

Just after 8:00pm Kate Bradley came on – I think she played about 7 songs – no covers; she has a strong voice and a couple of ok songs there…reminded me a little of Jeff Buckley (I think she must be a fan) Kate did say that “she is a huge fan of Ed’s” which is nice to hear, she was pretty gracious and thankful for the opportunity to play which was nice and the crowd was kind to her – and frankly she did a reasonable job. Finished up about 8:40pm – there was a small musical interlude – it was some rocking old school blues.

EK walked out just on 9:00pm – said “hey” and launched into ‘Get Ready’ which I got to say was amazing, Ed’s voice is just so strong at the moment and was the deepest I’ve heard Him since the original IWTL take – ‘Get Ready’ was ethereal! It was an absolutely amazing performance, I hope he felt good because He certainly sounded it, the voice that man has is almost Angelic at times and soulful and bluesy at others, there was a slight Bob Dylan-esque twang on occasion but there are few modern-day rock singers that could pull off such a great vocal performance for 95 mins without hardly a breather.

The crowd was appreciative and applauded quite loudly, only really sung on AOY LC and DWY though and then EK had to goad them a little bit – Ed did NOT say ‘sing-along’ nor should he have to its implied at a LIVE/Ed show…I guess Aussies don’t really get many acoustic gigs with such anthemic tunes to sing to.

Set list:

Get ready
STD
Nobody Knows (Ed mentioned this was written lyrically in Canberra)
The Distance (ED was ‘shakin’ His money maker’ as he put it lol!)
I Alone
Face & Ghost (Brilliantly done – a real highlight)
Turn My Head (Messed the start slightly with tuning problems…funny but great).
The Dolphin’s Cry (Awesome)
Zion (ED said “It might make the album he will record in Austin” re-named just: “ZION” I think he’s struggling to get it just right lyrically but it sounds good)
Mirror song (ED was gonna play PLOTR but someone called Mirror Song and the crowd agreed – good of Ed to change it)
Supernatural (great cover)
Overcome (Good – prefer piano version – but still good)
Heaven (Poss best of the night he gave it all in this one – Also said about changing singular ‘daughter’ to plural ‘daughters’ to avoid fist fights – pretty funny stuff.)

Encore: (less than 2 mins break)
AOY
Lightning Crashes
Dance with You

There may have been one more song but it escapes me…much sorry.

At one point a guy in the crowd screamed for ‘Mystery’ Ed said “it was too long a flight to remember all the lyrics, but I’ll think about” – did not play it though He looked pleasantly surprised it was called for. There was no ‘Forever’ or ‘Blowin in the wind’ but hey can’t have everything.

Crowd wise their was one jerk the whole night kept yelling at ED to “get on with it” while ED was tuning – and when Ed came back for the encore the jerk yells out “bout F*ckin’ time” The guy was even mocking Ed’s sha-la-la’s at the end of F&G – I did not care for that guy at ALL…he was a tool.

Thanks a-LOT EK it was a great show.

He’s a star and the voice is just as good as ever…man I was blown away.
Highly recommended get out to see Ed and you won’t be disappointed – and have fun!!!

Best,

Sam