Group
Live
US alt rock band
- From
- York, United States
- Since
- 1990–present
- Rating
- ★ 4
- Releases
- 106
- alternative rock
- post-grunge
- rock
- grunge
- hard rock
- pop rock
About
Live , often typeset as Līve, LĪVE, or +LĪVE+, is an American rock band formed in York, Pennsylvania, in 1984 by Ed Kowalczyk (lead vocals, guitars), Patrick Dahlheimer (bass), Chad Gracey (drums), and Chad Taylor (guitars).
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Live earned early fame for their single "Operation Spirit (The Tyranny of Tradition)", whose video received airtime on MTV. Their second album, Mental Jewelry, released in 1991, enjoyed modest sales. Their biggest success came in 1994 with their third album, Throwing Copper, which sold eight million copies in the U.S. 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 ten 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 twenty million albums worldwide.
When touring, Live has used additional musicians, including Kowalczyk's younger brother Adam, British keyboardist Michael "Railo" Railton, rhythm guitarist Christopher Thorn of Blind Melon, and guitarist Zak Loy of Alpha Rev.
In 2009, Kowalczyk left the band; he was replaced by singer Chris Shinn and the band released the album The Turn in October 2014. Kowalczyk rejoined Live in December 2016 and in 2018, they released a new EP, Local 717. In June 2022, Kowalczyk fired Taylor after taking majority control of the band. Gracey and Dahlheimer were also let go shortly after. Kowalczyk is the only remaining member of the original lineup and has been performing and recording as Live with other musicians as of October 2022. In November 2022, it was reported that Gracey filed a lawsuit against Taylor and Dahlheimer as managers of their company, ThinkLoud. In February 2026, Taylor and Gracey issued a cease and desist letter to Kowalczyk, asserting that he no longer had rights to use the band's trademarks and demanding that he stop using them for touring and other commercial activities. Kowalczyk has continued performing since the revocation, re-branding the act as +LIVE+, while his attorney has disputed the claims and stated that they will be addressed in court.
Heard on the radio
-
I Alone
Members
-
Ed Kowalczyk lead vocals, guitar
-
Patrick Dahlheimer electric bass guitar
-
Chad Gracey drums (drum set)
-
Chad Taylor background vocals, guitar
-
Adam Kowalczyk guitar
-
Chris Shinn lead vocals, guitar
Discography
Albums
EPs
Singles
-
Lady Bhang (She Got Me Rollin’)
-
Love Lounge
-
The Way Around Is Through
-
Mystery
-
2006 Friends of Live Holiday Gift
-
The River
-
The River
-
2005 Friends of Live Holiday Gift
-
We Deal in Dreams
-
Sweet Release
-
Run Away
-
Heaven
-
Forever May Not Be Long Enough
-
Simple Creed
-
Overcome
-
They Stood Up for Love
-
The Dolphin’s Cry
-
1999 Friends of Live Holiday Gift
-
1998 Friends of Live Holiday Gift
-
Freaks
-
1997 Friends of Live Holiday Gift
-
Lakini's Juice
-
Turn My Head
-
1996 Friends of Live Holiday Gift
-
White, Discussion
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All Over You
-
Selling the Drama
-
White, Discussion
-
I Alone
-
Horse
-
Lightning Crashes
-
Pain Lies on the Riverside
-
Mirror Song
-
Operation Spirit
-
Meltdown
Live
-
Sink Into Eden (Live)
-
Woodstock ’94
-
Amazon Front Row EP
-
Live at the Paradiso - Amsterdam
-
Forever
-
2002-07-06: The Paegent, St. Louis, MO, USA
-
From Canada
-
1997-07-18: The Howard Stern Show: New York, NY, USA
-
1997-02-15: Saturday Night Live, New York, NY, USA
-
Live
-
Supernatural
-
Dawn of Culture: USA Radio 94
-
I Alive
-
Yorksters in Boston
-
All Over You (MTV Unplugged)
-
Shit Town
-
The Slacker Generation
-
Live² at Hollywood Rock
-
1994-11-19: The Academy, New York, NY, USA
-
2000-04-07: Jet Studios, Brussels, Belgium
-
Plugged Up & More
-
Secret Samadhi Concert Broadcast
-
1994-06-03: 99x Acoustic Sessions, Atlanta, GA, USA
-
1992-09-06: The Roxy, Hollywood, CA, USA
-
2000-06-12: Dance With Pinkpop: Megaland, Landgraaf, Netherlands
-
1997-03-02: Riverside Theater, Milwaukee, WI, USA
-
1992-02-14: DNA Lounge, San Francisco, CA, USA
-
Rolling Rock Town Fair 2.0
-
Rattlesnake (Paradiso 1997)
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Selling the Drama
-
SFX Radio Network Presents: LIVE
-
1999-07-23: Woodstock '99, Rome, NY, USA
-
The Distance to the Hague
-
2000-10-14: 99x Acoustic Sessions, Atlanta, GA, USA
Compilations
Links
Listen
Concerts
Artist rename
Also known as
Līve
Tags
- alternative-rock
Identifiers
- MusicBrainz
- cba77ba2-862d-4cee-a8f6-d3f9daf7211c
- ISNI
- 0000000111671481
Data from MusicBrainz, saved 7 Nov 2026. Photo from Wikimedia Commons, covers from the Cover Art Archive and Apple Music.