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Ed Kowalczyk remembers going to see Audioslave at their Los Angeles concert last Christmas, and being knocked out. "It was the most amazing rock show I've seen in years, totally unleashed rock music, and it blew my mind," he recounts. "They put me in a place I hadn't been for a long time, it took me ages to come down from their buzz."
Live's new album 'Birds Of Pray' has a similar sonic blast, more so than any of their past recordings. Kowalczyk attributes this to producer Jim Wirt (Hoobastank, Incubus, Something Corporate). 'Birds Of Pray' was going to be the toughest Live record ever long before Kowalczyk went to see Audioslave. He had gone through a major change in his life with the birth of his daughter Ana last March (he sings about it on the first single Heaven, Every Time I See Your Face and Sweet Release) and his move away from spirituality. Going off the road while awaiting his daughter's birth, he says, chilled him out.
Live also wanted to make a record that showed they were turning each other on, 16 years later. They were a long way from the teenagers who made their debut during a lunchtime school talent quest in their hometown of York. These days, Kowalczyk, his wife and child live with three dogs and horses in the mountains outside Los Angeles. The track Rivertown takes a look at how America's pioneers went west to find a new life, and why his generation of Americans continue to head to California as a rites of passage. Guitarist Chad Taylor is in Pennsylvania; bassist Patrick Dahlheimer in Miami; and drummer Chad Gracey in Portland, Oregon. Before recording began with Wirt in Santa Monica, Live met in Nashville and rehearsed Ed's new songs at Javelina, (the studio where Elvis recorded his early RCA hits), hitting the honky tonk bars at night. The southern vibe seems to have channelled the spirit of Lynyrd Skynyrd, especially as they worked on the guitar blitz Life Marches On.
Says Ed: "Live always managed to have that soaring European sound and that southern melodic rock. Life Marches On is our most American sounding track yet." On that song, Kowalczyk sings, "Whatever happened to our generation." He explains, "The last few years has been a tumultuous time for the world, with terrorism and wars. No matter what happens, though, the planet keeps spinning, movies keep being filmed, musicians keep writing, and painters keep painting. It's about moving on. That no matter what, we're still here and have to make the best of it. In my case, it's making the best music I can make."
The birth of Ana was such an amazing experience, he says, that it ended his decade-long spiritual search. It had started when he was 18, when he discovered a book by Indian guru Krishnamurti. In 1996 he discovered Adi Das Samraj whom he calls his guru, and his life took on a a strict regimen of meditation, study and vegetarianism. "I'm not searching for truth and happiness, I have found it," he declares. That theme is extended on The Sanctity Of Dreams, about asserting one's self and taking control.
"It is saying,This is me, this is where I'm going, it's my dream and my vision that I'm following. I'm not looking to be a spokesperson for some ideal or guru. This record demands my heart and attention, and that's very important to me."
Live's strong bond with its audience came from their combined quest for spirituality. There are over 100 fan sites dedicated to them, and their official website gets 15,000 hits a day. They have sold 20 million records and their albums have squatters' rights to No 1 on the charts. Does he think this move from spirituality could affect their popularity? "The beauty of being a member of Live is the relationship with our fans. People were interested in trying to feel where I'm going. People who know me expected me to write about the birth of my daughter, which was a first time for me. One thing people will hear on this album is the story of the end of my search. I've looked outward for happiness, and I found it with the birth of my child. But I agree, it will be interesting to see what people make of it."
In the wake of September 11, TV stations used the Live track Overcome while showing footage. Yet some Americans were so stunned when confronted with hate and evil that they abandoned their spiritual path. Do some of the disillusioned lyrical moments on 'Birds Of Pray' suggest that Kowalczyk was one of these? "I don't know if I became disillusioned with anything I'd previously been positive about. If anything, I turned inside and questioned the depth I had reached. I had to ask myself if I could go any deeper. The disillusionment you hear on the record is probably more my shedding ideas that didn't. But it's not being disillusioned in a fatalistic way, where I'm thinking that everything is fucked. To me, life has just become uprooted."
Christie Eliezer
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'Birds Of Pray' is out now through UMG.
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