Live (band)

Live (band)

Live ( /ˈlaɪv/, often typeset as LĪVE) is an American rock band from York, Pennsylvania, composed of Chad Taylor (lead guitar), Patrick Dahlheimer (bass), Chad Gracey (drums), and Chris Shinn (vocals). Live's original lead singer Ed Kowalczyk left the band in November 2009.

Live achieved worldwide success with their 1994 album, Throwing Copper, which has sold eight million copies in the US. The band had a string of hit singles in the mid 1990s including "Lightning Crashes", which stayed at the top of the Billboard Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks chart for 10 consecutive weeks and the Modern Rock Tracks (now Alternative Songs) chart for nine weeks from February 25 to April 22, 1995. The band has sold over 20 million albums worldwide. Their last three studio albums fared only moderately well in the US, but they continued to enjoy success in The Netherlands, South Africa and Australasia.

When touring, Live have used additional musicians, most notably Ed's younger brother Adam Kowalczyk on rhythm guitar and backing vocals. British keyboard player Michael "Railo" Railton and guitarist Christopher Thorn of the band Blind Melon have also toured with Live.

On November 30, 2009 Chad Taylor revealed that what had initially been termed a "two-year hiatus" was more likely the end of the band, due to what he felt were inappropriate and possibly illegal actions by Ed Kowalczyk, which have resulted in a lawsuit being filed against him by the other three band members. In June 2011, Taylor revealed that he, Gracey and Dahlheimer were to reform Live without Kowalczyk, who confirmed that he would not work with the other three again. In March 2012, Chris Shinn, formerly of the band Unified Theory, replaced Kowalczyk as lead singer.