Check out these HOT interviews with Live from Rolling Stone, Spin, and Stright out of York

To Rolling Stone '94 Interview
Spin '95 Interview with the band
SOY w/ ED
SOY w/ Chad Taylor
SOY w/ Chad Gracey
SOW w/ Pat Dahlheimer

The story of LIVE could be written as a case study for Rock & Roll sucess stories 101. Four friends from a town in the middle of nowhere start a band to relieve boredom. Band plays it's share of local dive bars and teeny-bopper dances. Band wins local high-school talent show, and it's members start thinking, "Hey, maybe we've got something here."

"In most high schools we would have been the geeks," drummer Chad Gracey says. "But then we started this band," adds songwriter and lead singer Ed Kowalczyk, "and people thought we were the coolest."

Obviously, people outside the band's hometown of York, Pa. think Live are pretty cool as Throwing copper, their second release, is shaping up to be one of the surprise records of the year.

With quiet, stirring moments sprinkled among epic songs with crashing climaxes, Throwing Copper is an emotionally charged but intimate record that for the most part steers clear of the ideological rantings that filled Live's first release, 1991's Mental Jewlery. At the time, band members - bassist Patrick Dahlheimer and guitarist Chad Taylor completed the lineup - avereged 20 years of age, a fact they felt was an immediate strike against them.

"I think a lot of people, especially critics," says Gracey, "thought we were too young to speak about the issues we tackled in the songs." Says Kowalczyk: "We haven't lost the passion and intensity of self-discovery. But this time, we wanted to show more of our personality."

The thoughtful Kowalczyk's intensely personal lyrics are the centerpiece of Live's music. From the aching tale of losing a friend ("Lightning Crashes") to the search for inner peace ("Pillar of Davidson"), Kowalczyk doesn't shy away from going out on an emotional limb. Many of the songs, he says, were inspired by life in the bands hometown. "Some of the songs come from having my heart broken," he says, "which really made me look inside myself. But at the same time I really felt this record needed to be about York.

"People think 'Shit Towne' [which aptly describes teenage alienation] is all negative, and a good part of it is," Kowalczyk says. "But there is something beautiful about York: It's isolated, but yet there's also a peacefulness."

With sales of Copper likely to top 1 million by year's end and two videos ("Selling the Drama" and "I Alone") entrenched in MTV's rotation, the members of Live are finding themselves being pushed further into the spotlight. But while they find the attention flattering, they seem wary of their newfound celebrity.

"I get really scared when people call me a rock star," says Taylor. I just wanted people to like my music."

"We have a really strong foundation in our music and in our lives," Kowalczyk sats. "It doesn't matter if we sell 100 or 100 million records."

On the off chance that Live do sell only 100 copies of their next record, they could always go back for a guest appearance at the high school talent show. "We go back there a lot," Kowalczyk says of his last institute of higher learning. "We pass it on our way to the bars." - Matt Hendrickson

SOY: What is your approach to the guitar as an instrument? Are you really attached to certain ones, or are they more utilitarian to you?

TAYLOR: I definitely don't think about the equipment or effects or anything like that. I prefer less. Less is more in my world. I like to use the instrument to express my feelings and thoughts. I feel that complex things, technology, gets in the way of that. However, my preference is definitely an electric guitar over an acoustic guitar. I'm really into feedback and distortion using tubes, valves - which kind of have their own life. I'm definitely not a digital person at all.

SOY: Will you continue to do more "textural" guitar work on the next album (as you seem to do a lot more on Throwing Copper than Mental Jewelry)?

TAYLOR: I think that the guitar work on the next record tends to be leaning towards the best of both worlds in between Mental Jewelry and Throwing Copper. There's a lot less guitar in the new songs, however when there is big guitar, it's probably bigger than ever.

SOY: Will you try to get a little bit more into soloing? TAYLOR: For right now, I think that the solos are just going to stick with the concerts. We put solos in Waitress and into the end of TBD and then there's of course the solo at the end in White, Discussion. Quite frankly that feels like plenty for me right now, so I would expect to see the solos still happen live but probably not on the record.

SOY: Do you have any kids or do you want any in the future (I wasn't making an offer or anything) and are you the dad type?

TAYLOR: Let me see -- children. I am married but I don't have any children, but I do see myself having a lot of kids in the future. I just need to make room in my life for them right now.

SOY: What kind of effect(s) are being used on 'Lightning Crashes'? Someone told me it's a rotovibe or maybe a Univibe but I'm not sure...

TAYLOR: The effects that are used on Lightning Crashes - I normally hate to talk about this kind of stuff but - since this is probably my last interview for this record I will answer it. On the record, I am actually using a rotovibe. I definitely prefer the sound of the univibe but we wanted to go for a kind of gritty Velvet Underground, Lou Reed type of sound and the rotovibe was definitely more in that line, a lot more tape hiss and that type of thing so that's what I'm using. So good guess!

SOY: Are there any plans to release guitar transcription books (or are they available) of Mental Jewelry and/or Throwing Copper?

TAYLOR: No there are no plans for that.

SOY: I think that your sparring use of the guitar and effects set up the mood for many of the songs on Throwing Copper perfectly. I am particularly interested in 'Dam at Otter Creek'. What effects do you use?

TAYLOR: Okay, here we are again back on the effects questions. On 'Dam at Otter Creek' on the record my guitar is running through LOTS of amplifiers, but in particular I'm using Lesley (sp?) cabinet which if you've seen any of the Throwing Copper shows it's the cabinet that sits in closest to Chad Gracey. It's the small one. Basically the rotovibe or univibe was an effect designed to emulate or simulate the Lesley speaker cabinet so 'Dam at Otter Creek' is the Lesley cabinet, it's the really fast thing, sounds kinda like an organ.

SOY: If you and all the other guys are friends, who are you closest to?

TAYLOR: Well, as far as the friendship in the band goes, we're all very close friends. I don't think there's any one particular guy that I'm closer to than any other. I think every day my mood would make me gravitate towards one guy or another. If I'm in a bad mood I usually hang out by myself, try not to bring any of the other guys down, because we're out here to do work together. When I'm in a songwriting mood, I hang out with Ed. When I'm in a mood to have lots of fun and laugh and hoot and holler, I go and hang out with Patrick. I guess in a more day to day situation I'm probably still hanging out with Chad Gracey probably the most.

SOY: I'm an "aspiring" guitarist and was wondering if you could give me some hints on how to get started.

SOY: Who first inspired you to be a musician?

ED: I'd have to say when I was 5 years old, a friend of my mom's daughter, she was about 3 years older than me. I remember singing to songs on the radio with her like Sonny and Cher and I used to lip sync all the time with her and one day she told me to get some kahonies (sp?) and open up my mouth and sing. I realize at that point that I actually could sing in tune and I love to sing ever since I was 5 so that's the answer to that. I guess who the person was is inconsequential -- it was just a friend.

SOY: How did you come to appear in an ad for Iomega? Are they fans of the band or do they just think that you represent 'generation x'?

ED: There's a lot of people talking about the Iomega ad where I appear. Just to let everybody know they used my image, they use my face without my permission and we are suing them. It's the first lawsuit that we've ever gotten involved in but it really pissed us off because they used it without asking. Once -- and if -- we get any kind of settlement from it, we're going to donate it. It's just corporations sometimes feel they can do whatever they want and we are suing them.

SOY: What prompted your interest in Hinduism, and which Krishnamurti texts are on your list of required reading?

ED: I found Krishnamurti in a bookstore in York one summer when I was 18, I think. Out of his books I would probably get 'The Awakening of Intelligence' is a really good one to get because it's really thick. You spend like $15 bucks and you get like 300, 400 pages and it's really great. Really anything that he directly wrote like the commentaries on living are really great and 'You Are The World' and 'Freedom from the Known' are really good ones.

SOY: Hope this doesn't count as a silly question .. but do you have a special someone in your life?

ED: Yes, I have a girlfriend that I've been involved in for a year and it's one of the coolest thing that's ever happened to me - besides the band.

SOY: I would like you to once and for all clear up the Hitler on the Top song reference and any Nazi referrals.

ED: I've been really anxious to clear up this thing about the lyrics to Top. A lot of times I write lyrics in a very stream of conciousness kind of way and in no way is the Hitler referal in that song sympathy at all. I think if you know our history, you would probably know that. The way the lyrics go, the song is really about leaders in general and people's affection for them and I think that you can insert any leader, any ideological megalomaniac in place of Hitler, and for that matter, any leader - any religious leader or political leader; because the song is really about personal responsibility and it's not about Hitler or the Nazis in particular. That was just what I decided to write about that day. The word "Hitler" in the "robe of truth" - the phrase "Hitler in a robe of truth" is real because that's what the German people gave to him - a robe of truth, he was their deliverer and he was going to deliver them from all their pain and it ended up being a catastrophe, the holocast and everything. The song's about liberating yourself from leaders and that kind of influence.

SOY: Who the heck is that "Ah instructed you" guy?

ED: For all the people who want to know about the sample of the guy that says "I instructed you" and all that in White, Discussion - it is taken from a shortwave radio broadcast of a guy somewhere in Colorado, I think. I don't know for sure because I don't know much about the radio, and I just heard him and taped him one day because I thought he had an amazing voice. So there's no more mystery to that!

SOY: Just wondered what significance the iris of the eye has for you, you seem to mention it a few times in your songs.

ED: I really believe in that cliche "the eyes are the window to the soul." I think that eyes are beautiful and you can tell everything by a person's eyes. To me, irises, and eyes in particular are important to me in my life. So that's it!

SOY: What year and color is your Les Paul? I think it's one of the neatest colors, kinda plain in a utilitarian sort of way..

ED: I bought my Les Paul for $600 in a second hand store. I agree with the question, that it's the neatest color of a Les Paul I've ever seen and it is a very utilitarian looking guitar and I love it, and I'll never sell it, and it sounds SWEET. Thank you.

SOY: What's the best book you've ever read?

ED: The best book I've ever read was - as far as entertainment - would have to be "All the Pretty Horses" by Cormac McCarthy. Definitely! It's a very entertaining book - you thought I was going to say Krishnamurti - but I DIDN'T.

SOY: In Past, Present, and Future you were wearing a little pendant on a chain around your neck. What was it?

ED: It was probably an emblem of a snake - I think it's the necklace that I wear has a snake and a turtle pendant on it because I have a snake and a turtle as a pets. My mom got it for me so I could take them on the road with me, isn't that sweet?

SOY: Ever going to write a book and stop teasing us with your glimpses of passion and emotion and give us some verse/prose to sit down, devour and digest?

ED: If I ever get sick enough of music, I think I might try to do that. But I'm having such a good time writing lyrics that I really don't have the energy or the time to do it yet. I've always loved to write and I never considered myself anything but a lyricist so maybe I'll sit down someday and try it out!

Soy: I saw Live in England this summer, at Wolverhampton and you said in one of the interviews that the worst place you'd ever played was Europe in general, why is this?

GRACEY: Personally, I don't like going to or playing in Europe. It's hard to explain exacly why so I'll leave it at that.

SOY: I want to know how it feels not to be as well known as, for example, Ed, is. I also want to know how you taught yourself to play drums, I read somewhere that you never took any lessons, is that true?

GRACEY: I'm not in this band to be a famous individual, as none of us are, so I really have no problem with it. I am self taught. I learned by listening to records and figuring out what was being played.

SOY: I have seen you use two make of drum kits. I know that the one you are playing now was not the make/model I originally saw you play in the early videos/shows. What kit do you play and is there a specific endorsement deal with that company? If not why did you choose the set you play on?

GRACEY: Unless you saw me in Brazil where I used a rental Yamaha kit, you have never seen me play any other make of kit except for Pearl. I have a Pearl endorsement. I have used different models for various performances.

SOY: I noticed that you don't seem to use double strokes all that much when you record. Is there any reason for this, or is it just "your style"?

GRACEY: For everyone asking me about techniques and "double strokes" and all that stuff, I really don't know anything technical. I have no idea what I play in technical terms. I am self taught and play by feel and feel alone.

SOY: Do you think your move to Portland will effect the dynamics of making music together with the band?

GRACEY: No, I don't think moving to Portland will effect the band that much. We will just have to plan practices more and not be as spontaneous as far as getting together on a moment's notice.

SOY: I was wondering what kind of influence Neil Peart had on you when you were growing up, and how it felt the first time you heard your playing being praised by him. I was impressed when I first heard that a few years ago, considering he is not so quick to speak favorably about a lot of drummers. Anyway, he's right on the money. Everything you play just feels right.

GRACEY: I am not a huge Neil Peart fan. I am not directly influenced by him. I was very flattered by his acknowledgement, however, and happy that he mentioned exactly what I try to do, and that is play parts that fit right in but still drive the music.

SOY: What kind of sticks do you use?

GRACEY: I use Promark sticks.

SOY: How long have you been playing drums and sax? Do you still play sax anymore?

GRACEY: I have been playing drums for over 10 years. I don't play sax anymore.

SOY: What kinds of music do you listen to personally?

GRACEY: I listen to mainstream rock like STP and Soundgarden.

SOY: As a fellow self-taught drummer, I'm amazed at your creativity and the beats and fills you come up with. Do you create these from specific influences or do you just play what feels right? If influences, who do you cite as a percussive muse?

GRACEY: I mostly play by feel. I am, however, influenced by everything I listen to with drums in it. Right now I am really influenced by Eric Krietz from STP and Matt Cameron from Soundgarden.

SOY: What's up with the backwards baseball cap? Is there a specific cap you wear consistently or do you switch them out?

GRACEY: I always wear a baseball cap to keep the hair out of my face. Now that I have cut my hair, I still wear it out of habit. I wear it backbwards because the brim gets in the way of my sticks.

SOY: How come you never get to speak during interviews? You always get to be with Ed and never talk. I read that you're like the silent leader or something. Aren't you tired of always being in the back?

GRACEY: No one is NOT letting me speak, I just don't feel like talking sometimes and Ed talks a lot so he usually says everything.

SOY: We heard on the rockumentary that you weren't playing drums on the CD version of "I Alone." Is this true?

GRACEY: You are mistaken. In the rockumentary we said that I didn't play drums in the I Alone VIDEO. I certainly do play drums on the CD version.

SOY: What is your favorite (I mean REALLY favorite) song of Live to play on drums?

GRACEY: White, Discussion. SOY: Do the members of +Live+ see each other as brothers or just close friends???

GRACEY: We consider each other brother for sure.

SOY: If all of you were 60yrs old..could still play..and Ed still sing.. Hmmm.. would you perform in a Reunion concert???

GRACEY: We sure as hell would play a show at 60 if we still could.

SOY: How many years do you think +Live+ will continue for???

GRACEY: As long as we can.

SOY: Everytime I see you in any sort of performance you're always completely focused on drumming. Is it *that* difficult?

GRACEY: No it's not that difficult. I'm focused because it's difficult. I'm focused because I'm into what I'm doing.

SOY: And also, you're listed in the credits on both MJ and TC as singing background vocals. Is this only in the studio?

GRACEY: I only sing in the studio.

SOY: What bass equipment do you use? Guitars? Amps? Effects?

PATRICK: My onstage gear for this tour has included two Precision Basses, a '65 and a '64. (I'm sorry to say that the '65 became firewood after I tossed it at the MTV Awards). '71 Gibson Les Paul Signature bass, '76 Gibson Thunderbird, new 5-string Jazz Bass (A prototype the nice people at Fender sent me) and a few Vigier six and four string basses. As far as amplification, it's been strictly Trace Elliot. Eight 4 by 10' cabinets with four horn boxes. Two AH600SX heads with separate power amps. Plenty loud! My dandy tech Jamie Cullington maintains everything with ease. Stomp boxes are D.O.D. Chorus and Octave Pedal.

SOY: I don't know if you have ever thought of this, but you seem so different from the other members of the band. From the rockumentary from MTV, you acted alot different. Do you ever think of yourself as a different type of person?

PATRICK: Differrent? I'll just say that there is no one like me.

SOY: Who are your influences? What bass players if any do you feel make you the bassist you are now?

PATRICK:Early on my biggest influence was my first instructor Don Carn, who has become a friend. He turned me on to his own style of thumin' the bass. Other players I really admire are Bootsy Collins, John Entwistle of The Who, and Flea.

SOY: Patrick, on "Mental Jewelry" it seemed that every bass line was deeply funky. What happened to all the popping stuff?

PATRICK: On the last record the songwriting developed to a point where I didn't need to take up as much space, sonically and I found that simple lines worked around the material much better. Besides - everyone thinks they can slap!!

SOY: Why do you wear your bass so low that you have to hunch over to play it?

PATRICK: I can hide my chubby that way.

SOY: How much do you write? Did you write the bass line to "Pillar of Davidson"?

PATRICK: I do write all of the bass lines. As far as songwriting, we all take credit for that.

SOY: What are the positive and negative things about being well known as you are right now?

PATRICK: It's a great way to meet people but most of the people you do meet you don't want to know anyhow.

SOY: You seem fairly quiet as far as the media goes... is that just something you prefer to shy away from, or is it lack of coverage as far as you're concerned. I've noticed that cameras tend to focus on Ed, sometimes Taylor. Does that bother you?

PATRICK: I'm a MUTE!!!

SOY: What's the best book you've read? PATRICK: 101 Ways To Pick Up Girls by Seymore Hiney.

SOY: What other music are you into? Do you ever sit and listen to Live?

PATRICK: I really dug the last Black Crowes record and P.J. Harvey's last. As far as listening to Live, I only seem to do that when I'm goofed up on something. I can swear I hear things that are not there.

SOY: How do you feel now that you're a big "rock star"?

PATRICK: Jaded, rich, stuck-up, and egotistical!!

SOY: Is your label treating you good?

PATRICK: As good as they can.

SOY: What are your plans for the future?

PATRICK: The near future includes sleep.

SOY: What do you think of SOY and Megaphone?

PATRICK: All of the time invested in the projects sometimes makes me think that people spend too much time thinking about us. But then I realize that it's a passion for a lot of people, just as it is for me.

SOY: What does it feel like knowing you are the best bass guitar player this millenium??

PATRICK: Uh.... somebody forgot to tell me I was

SOY: How old were you when you picked up a guitar for the first time?

PATRICK: Fourteen... I think.

SOY: Do you see yourself as the mentally stable member of the band??? Not that the others aren't...

PATRICK: Stable, please define.

SOY: What's your favorite Modern Rock/Alternative band...

PATRICK: Don't have one. Thank you.