Few bands who sell 20 million albums can say that they’ve been together since the age of 13. However Live can stake that claim and they cite their teenage roots as the secret to their success. “The positive factor of being a group that long is that we weathered a lot of storms together. We were a band for eight or nine years before we became successful,” said lead singer Ed Kowalczyk. “The negative is that maybe it gets too easy. We are so used to each other that it’s harder to shake things up. Falling into a routine is the downside of knowing each other that long. But it all balances out.”
Live is known for being one of the legendary bands of the 1990s and they are proud to wear that badge. “The nineties was a great period for rock and roll consisting of strong songwriting with deep lyrical content. I look at being called a nineties band as a feather in our cap. I’m proud that we came up in a period of music that was a real revolution in a way,” said Kowalczyk.
The band’s 1994 sophomore effort Throwing Copper was a landmark album for the band and the record industry as it went on to sell 12 million copies spawning a host of hit singles (“All Over You,” “Selling the Drama,” “Lightning Crashes” and “I Alone”). When asked if he knew the record had this potential, Kowalczyk said, “I didn’t recognize it’s mass appeal but I knew there was something going on that was extraordinary. There was a definite spark to the album. I never experienced anything like it before. I never imagined selling 12 million records but I did think that ‘Lightning Crashes’ would be a definitive song for us.”
Live suffered some criticism for their 1997 double-platinum follow-up Secret Samadhi because it went into a different artistic direction. “ It was a complete turn around. It was not a pop record,” said Kowalczyk. “For us, it has always been about staying true to the artistic side. I didn’t get into this to have a career. I never want to copy myself because that’s when you give up being an artist. That makes me sick. I don’t like homogenized cookie-cutter stuff. I try to be unique record to record.”
Much like their inspirations Peter Gabriel and U2, Live is a true spiritual band that draws their energy from a higher power. “I got spiritual when I needed God. When the band decided not to go to college and jumped into the unknown with our rock band, I was doing a lot of searching,” said Kowalczyk. “My spirituality and love of rock music came together in a unique marriage. I was the guy in the band that was going to determine what the band was going to be about lyrically. It was a perfect match.”
Live’s shows have a reputation for being a unique experience that their fans savor. “We always try to make every show unique. We bring every ounce of energy to it every night. We are looking for a unique individual experience with those people in that venue that night,” said Kowalczyk. “It’s one of the things people appreciate about Live is how dedicated we are of everybody getting off. We cherish it. We want our music to not only be heard but experienced.”
The band’s latest album, Songs From Black Mountain, was a return to more familiar territory and Kowalczyk promises the next move will be more experimental. “I want to venture into new territory,” he said. “One of the most beautiful things about being a musician is that you never know what’s around the corner. I don’t know what’s going to inspire me next. It’s cool to live that way.”
Live will perform with Collective Soul at the Brookhaven Amphitheater on Sunday, August 19.
