The Evolution of Live's songwriting Options

[Merica]

The following is an answer Chad Taylor gave on the old White Discussion message board when asked about how their songwriting process has evolved over the years. If you've read CT's famous letter response then it's not groundbreaking stuff, but some of you might not have seen it before as it was on WD. So here you go.

hmm…..songwriting is a strange beast. I’d have to answer this question by era:

Public Affection – DOAD to Mental Jewelry: When we were kids its was really pretty simple, we began with straight forward chord progressions or guitar riffs; then a melody would take shape. It nearly always began with music. I think this is how we became a good jam band but that got lost in the mix of hit singles, etc. Ed didn’t play that much guitar, so the music was predominately left to CG, PD and I but Ed also had a great feeling for early singer songwriter songs like “Mirror Song” but tracks like “Take My Anthem” or “Waterboy” were fueled by PD’s bass. “Operation Spirit” was a track I brought Ed…then he sand those incredible lyrics and it was like YEAH, we’ve got a song now!

Throwing Copper: Many factors contributed the sonic and songwriting style change between MJ and TC. First off, we toured for a long time for MJ and many of the bands we supported influenced us.

As time passed, the songwriting became so important to our commercial survival that the process had to change. We stopped standing in a room pounding out ideas because it always caused band tension. In particular, Gracey would get flustered with jamming one section over and over until either PD, Ed or I would land on a solution that fit the previous section. The final piece of that puzzle changed when CG got married and moved to the west coast. We no longer could simply jam and formulate ideas.

Ed and I rented a rehearsal room in Lancaster (the main reason why I moved there) and we began to slowly assemble the vast majority of TC on own own. For example, we wrote “Selling The Drama”, “Lightning Crashes” and “All Over You” just the two of us hanging in a room. We bought a coffee pot, smoked cigars and worked day and night to write the album. We also wrote “White Discussion” and “Dam At Otter Creek” in that room. We finally had enough songs to call in CG and PD.

I was worried that PD hadn’t had a chance to contribute and went to his little apartment in York to see what gems he might be sitting on. When he played me the lines to “Pillar of Davidson” I instantly got chills. I knew had taken the next step as a songwriter.

Ed seemed overly frustrated with the absence of PD and CG. I did all I could to help him see the value everyone brought to the table. To this day, I believe that the old line-up ended in that room; at least for Ed. It was simple for either he and I to just write what we wanted and present to the guys. In hind sight, we totally fucked up. Our internal communication with horrible and we simply didn’t know any better. I’ve asked myself a million times why I didn’t tell CG to not move to the west coast or demand that PD show up. I’m a better leader now but it hurts to know that I could have done more to protect the creative chemistry of the band. I’ll blame it on youth but who knew….

Secret Samadhi: Okay, we were all kinds of fucked up for this album. TC had hit like…well, thunder. We were all visually famous thanks to MTV spinning Lighting Crashes more than any other video that year. I hated every second of that and don’t ever care to go back. The success turned all of us just a little dark…no really dark. We rented a house in Jamaica to get away from America. In Jamaica we weren’t known and could try to find our way back into being a band.

We went back to the style of writing on MJ. Just the four of us standing in a room….except now its wasn’t a garage but a huge fucking mansion with a butler and staff. The rum punch supply was endless. I recall writing “Unsheathed” standing in front of my amp for a few hours meditating on how incredible the reverb sounded. I had “Lakini’s Juice” left over from a demo I had written at my house in Lancaster (the only song I ever wrote there). Ed brought in “Freaks” and “Rattlesnake”…oh and “Turn My Head”. Now that’s an album that really features the band. PD took Ed’s track “Ghost” to another level showcasing his bass grooves. We had really hit our mark and I honestly feel like this is the very best LIVE could have ever been (or most likely will ever be). We could do no wrong.

I knew I was on a roll. I had delivered “Operation Spirit”, “Selling The Drama” and “Lakini’s Juice” to the band. All three went straight to #1. To be clear, there is no way that these songs even exist without ED, CG and PD but I did pull those tracks from the skies. This is part of the reason why I became so pissed off at Ed when he started to claim all the credit for writing all of the LIVE songs. That’s just total bullshit and the Copyrights reflect the truth.

Distance To Here: Ed literally freaked out at the decline in record sales after TC. Seriously, the album debuted at #1 for God’s sake. He was fiercely determined to get back to the model of TC. That meant a lot less jamming and way more of he and I writing together. I brought in “Change,” “Still Aroused By Love”, “Stood Up For Love,” “Don’t Wait”….whereas Ed crafted more singer songwriter songs like “The Distance,” and “Dolphin’s Cry”.

….as you can see there was a pattern of individual writing, Ed and I and then band jams. The best LIVE albums always featured just enough of each to give the recordings diversity. By the time Birds of Pray came along, Ed had called me to tell me that he no longer wanted to write to my songs. I guess I should have seen it coming when the rockers from TDTH got scrapped from the final track list.

I was busy making babies and starting a family. Sorry to the fans for taking my hands off the wheel but I think everyone understands we had to go through these steps.

I finally got up the nerve to begin to write my own melodies and lyrics and can now comfortably write nearly anything that moves me. My first ever vocal performance was on a track called “Ain’t No Use”. Now I write all the time by myself and with the guys.

Ed had basically left the band in all spirit by SFBM. He was now barking orders at management to tell the band where and when to show up. No one to blame but myself for tolerating that BS.

Gracious Few: CG, PD and I had to come to terms. We did so by getting in a room (nearly a garage) with no agenda but to make really, really, really loud rock music. We loved the instrumental jams enough to invite Kevin Martin in the become a real band….then Hennesy.

TGF returned us to our roots and thankfully, we became better friends than ever and work every single day together. There is not a day that goes by where I don’t talk to those guys. I brought in “Honest Man” and “Appetite” with the very kind assistance of Kevin Martin, PD, CG and SH. Kevin in particular encouraged me to write melodies….a total rush! I’m forever grateful for these dudes!!

The new LIVE tracks are powered by this same passion and we found a spiritual brother in Chris Shinn who truly loves the band process. Gone are the days of tension and songwriting is a beauty rather than a beast. It’s a long road and there are NO rules. We are just making this shit up. Aren’t we all?

Thanks to Jimmy Lang for getting this site together.

Love CT