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Bittersweet Memories of LiVE
http://blindinfluence.com/2009/12/bittersw...-their-breakup/
In 1990 I was 22 and hired as the National Promotion Director for Radioactive/MCA Records. We had just signed a band called Public Affection. Soon after a name change to 'Live,' the release of a single called "Pain Lies on The Riverside," and the video making an impact at Mtv (yes, kids, Mtv actually had music videos on it the first ten years it was around,) resistance from radio began to slowly break.
I was working an uphill battle to get a band played on the radio that radio programmer directors thought wasn't 'alternative enough.' The biggest complaint I heard was that there was no way the singer was 19 years old because he sounded like he was in his forties. (Bands like Doughtry and Nickleback followed in Ed's boisterous 'voicesteps.') Regardless, I knew that Live had 'that thing' that star quality shows.
Granted, I thought that about some other bands that didn't receive the luck and timing that Live received, but Live had "it." I've been wrong too.
When I saw Pearl Jam in a showcase at a music industry conference in New York before their first album was released I thought, "Wow, that singer is charismatic, but their songs are too long and will never get played on radio."
Before that incidence, I saw Nirvana in a similar situation in San Francisco on their tour for the Bleach album and I thought, "these guys are the most powerful three piece band ever, …too bad they'll never get past college radio." Nirvana did okay, and so did Dave Grohl's Foo Fighters. So, I'll admit that my premonitions aren't always correct.
The Throwing Copper album, which I was thanked on the back of, dropped right after "Smells Like Teen Spirit" from Nirvana came out and ushered in a new, but short, era of alternative rock for Mtv and for radio. Live was in the right place, with the right album at the right time.
Live hit the second wave of Mtv the way Duran Duran hit the first wave of Mtv. Five videos from Throwing Copper were on Mtv, the album sold eight million copies and was the third album in history to top the Billboard chart at #1 over a year after being released.
"Lightning Crashes," Live's biggest hit (a ballad; the ballads are always the biggest hits,) was rocketing up the charts when I moved on. As much as I enjoyed working with them, there were issues at the label and I realized that I wanted more of a life than Los Angeles would provide me with.
Live was building their career, but riding on their success would only go so far for me. It was also great working with Dig, The Ramones, Shirley Manson in Angelfish before she joined Garbage, and other great bands. But I needed clean air and a more heartful city to live in so I found a position at I.R.S. Records. They wanted someone in Seattle or Denver so I had them move me to Colorado.
It was bitter-sweet to separate from the wonderful guys in Live and others at that time. Last night that bitter-sweetness struck my heart again. Chad Taylor announced that Live had broken up after almost 20 years and almost 20 million records sold worldwide.
Live has always used their Friends of Live printed newsletter, which became an online newsletter and then a website, to build a passionate fan base through conversations with their fans the way we all use social media.
Chad Taylor is very active on his Facebook page and his blog which is where the news first broke. To me Chad represents new media. He's always had a warm heart and been more transparent and communicative than the rest of the band. All the guys are great, but Chad was always the one going out of his way to do what he thought was best for the band and the fans. It's no surprise that he's the one building relationships online.
Eddie Kowalczyk, on the other hand, is reminding me of the older ideas of broadcast media. His only interaction with the public in months has been a blurb announcing what he's doing in the studio recording his first solo record. I'm not in his shoes and I don't judge anything besides the difference in the communication styles I've seen between him and Chad online.
As time goes on with Ed on a solo journey, and the other guys releasing an album under the name The Gracious Few, I'll be curious to see how their two styles of interacting with fans will affect their careers.
If Ed only broadcasts and announces to fans through mainstream media, while Chad continues to engage in peer-like conversations with fans through social media, will that affect Ed's solo career? Or will the music make the difference in an age where radio is less relevant daily and we live online connecting to tribes and Trust Communities?
Time will tell. As someone who spent the better part of almost 4 years in the early days with Ed, Chad, Patrick and Chad, I wish them all well and look forward to seeing where life and music take them next.
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