Articles about Alive Options

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Not sure if another version of this article is floating around. It was posted today and references the upcoming July 2 show

Kowalczyk very much 'Alive' in solo debut
By Brent Hallenbeck, Free Press Staff Writer • Thursday, July 1, 2010

The band Live made Ed Kowalczyk into a rock star with music and lyrics that exemplified the emotional alternative sound of the 1990s. That was 15 years ago, however, which posed an interesting dilemma for Kowalczyk and his debut solo album, which comes out Tuesday, July 6 and is called (with more than a hint of irony) “Alive.” How can he stay true to the sound that made his career while acknowledging that he’s a much different person than he was a decade and a half ago?

“It comes back to, I guess, the core sort of idea that I have about the way that I like to hear music, that I like to experience it,” the vocalist and songwriter said by phone recently from his home in Southern California. “I want that inspiration hit, if you would, that peak and that valley and that whisper to a scream that happens in almost every song.”

While his sound might be the same, he’s a father now, as he addresses in the song “In Your Light,” so he recognizes that he’s mellowed in many ways. But other songs on “Alive,” such as “Zion,” “Rome” and “Grace,” address a spiritual sort of angst that echoes the more earth-bound angst Live’s lyrics reflected in the band’s mid-’90s heyday.

“You hope it’s a little wiser,” Kowalczyk said. “That’s how it’s supposed to work.”

Another example of how things have changed in the past 15 years is that Kowalczyk, whose band used to fill arenas, is playing a show Friday, July 2 at Higher Ground where tickets were sold for 99 cents as a promotion through local FM radio station 99.9 The Buzz. The show, which sold out easily, is an example of how musicians famous and little-known alike are trying new ways to reach crowds as free online access to music makes huge dents in the record industry’s profit margins.

“A whole bunch of people are going to get to experience this new chapter of my life. Having that opportunity anywhere is what we’re all about,” Kowalczyk said. “It’s sort of a Wild West approach at this point for a lot of artists. It’s exciting. There’s more creative control.”

Kowalczyk is cagey about the future of Live, saying only that “I don’t have any future plans with it at the moment.” He’s more interested in the present.

“This is a whole new set of inspiration, and the chemistry of the new (solo) group is just thrilling on so many levels,” Kowalczyk said. “It’s a new era for me, a recapture of a spark and a passion that might have been missing from doing the same thing over and over again.

“That’s one thing that’s really heartwarming for me to hear every day. Whatever was missing from music in the past couple of years is back.”

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