My favorite band of all time... LIVE... is no more. I remember back in college in 1990 a guy had a cassette bootleg of club gig when they first started out with their first album Mental Jewelry which wasn't even out yet. I've been a die hard fan since. I struggled being a fan after their 4th album The Distance to Here. I think that when the diversion started taking place. Ed seemed to pretty much take control and force the band in a new direction. No longer was band given credit for songs or lyrics... it was all Ed. Beginning with V, their 5th album and next 2 or 3, you could see it was the band... that well... made the band. Ed and his apparent ego sunk this band as evidenced by their lack of importance and relevance over the past 8 years or so and now by their ulitmate demise. The good news is that while Ed is solo writing about rivers, birds, butterflys, and unicorns, the remaining members are teaming up with the lead singer and lead guitarist from Collective Soul to form a new band called the Gracious Few. A few snipets have been leaked and I think it could be the solid alternative rock I used to love. Anyway, I'm bummed. Music is very important part of my life and I take it personal when I feel robbed of future happiness from a band I love. There were gumblings about this for weeks, but here's the official announcement from Chad Taylor's blog:
A personal message from Chad Taylor:
Dead Friend of Live,
Let me start by thanking you for your many years of devoted loyalty to our music. Bands are lucky if they have one hit and fade away but in the case of Live, you kept us relevant for more than 20 years. Today I am writing you as a fan of the band with sad news.
As many of you know, Live was having a hard time keeping things together. After many years of friendship, love and laughter it became clear that things had run their course. I was in denial. Our working relationship with Ed had grown cold and we were only on limited speaking terms for the last several months. We agreed for the sake of the bands future to take a break and announced the hiatus. During that time period we discovered a contract executed in 2005 that engaged the bands company into a legal obligation that did not have majority consent from the band. Ed’s signature was the only one required.
We were fast to try and open communication with Ed or his legal team but got no reply. Our hiatus had fast turned into a break up. Chad, Patrick and I have no plans to replace Ed at this point in time, however, he will no longer be a member of our band. We are excited by the opportunities ahead of us and will look to enjoin forces with vocalists and instrumentalists that will hold high the ideals set forth by the band and its fans. Yes, there may be future Live recording and tours but we are all very realistic that it will never be the same without Ed. That doesn’t mean that it can’t be great.
Like you, we are greatly saddened by the discoveries we made but as many of you know, life has a way of sorting things out. Ed will always be tied to Live and we will never make attempts to shadow his considerable lyrical and melodic contributions to our music.
Stay tuned to FOL for more details on our future plans. I would also ask that we all take the time to remember the positive energy Ed, Chad, Patrick and I spent so many years pushing forward. I’m trying hard myself to not be judgmental and let life flow freely around me.
Love,
Chad Taylor
On behalf of Chad Gracey and Patrick Dahlheimer
