When bands take a hiatus, it’s a countdown to when/if they will ever get back together. And after several years, it didn’t look promising. But thankfully, the wait is over and the band LIVE is back and Ed tells me that they are even better than ever! I had the chance to talk with singer Ed Kowalczyk about their reunion, new music, and new tour.

I asked Ed what the process was for everyone to reunite and he said, “Our hiatus turned into a lot longer than everybody had anticipated, but that’s life. Gosh, it’s been almost three years since I reconnected first with Chad Taylor.  We had a beer together and missed each other and just said, ‘Hey, let’s play!’ And last May, we played our first show back together in six or seven years. Then when we did, we were super busy all summer. We did some really great shows, mostly just festivals. We did go to Australia and South Africa for full tours, which was really fun. Then we hit the studio and now we have a new song called Love Lounge, which came out June 22nd and premiered on rollingstone.com.  We also have an EP ready to go that we’re mixing now that we’re hoping to drop when we’re finished with the tour, so a lot’s happening. I mean, it’s been an incredible thing. I think the main part of how we got back together, was just a break, we kind of came full circle and we just missed each other. We missed the camaraderie, the chemistry we have.  Chad Taylor and I being the sort of de facto creative leaders of the band, we hit it right back off again and hit the ground running.  I think people are going to be pretty surprised, pleasantly, about what we’ve been up to in the studio. I’m really excited about that.”

While on his hiatus, Ed had a solo career and I asked him if he felt that experience helped him grow as an artist and he responded, “I think it did. I think we all did in our own ways when we were apart grew as musicians and as people.  I did so much of what I was doing was sort of acoustic or semi-acoustic.  As far as the proverbial chops go, I definitely built up some new ones having to play whole entire concerts and tours essentially by myself or just maybe one other person, or some different line ups. But, I think I definitely grew. The guys actually mentioned when I break down and do a couple of songs acoustic in our encores and stuff, just how I play and how I react, and interact with the crowd has totally transformed from those years of doing it by myself. I think the band, in some ways, is better than ever, stronger than ever. Our performances are great!”

I asked Ed if there were any concerns that the lapse in time would have diminished any of their fan base and he said, “I think we didn’t know what to expect all together. We had high hopes for it, but it was a long break and so when we came out last year, it was just such a great feeling.  First of all, right away, the demand for the band was through the roof. I mean, we did festivals that we had never done before from Lollapalooza to Austin City Limits, Voodoo Fest. We actually had done Voodoo Fest before, but we did a lot of first time things. Like I said, the demand for the band all over from not just the business side and shows, but also our fans was really exciting and we’re just full of gratitude for it. Everybody was just so happy that we were back and it didn’t seem like the fans really missed a beat. They were a huge part of why we’re back together, if not the only thing. It was just constantly reminding us how much they love this band and the music and the memories they have and also looking forward to what we’re doing in the future.”

Live’s new single, “Love Lounge,” Ed says, “I love it, it’s heavier than I think we’ve been in terms of energy and it’s just a really explosive track. I would say the lyric is a lot like.. Well, if I were going to relate it to another one of my lyrics would be like “I Alone,” which is this idea that you kind of, you use the metaphor of more romantic love to explore the deeper realm of universal love. I’ve always liked to do that, because it is rock and roll and you want to have these songs that are sexy and have power, but at the same time try to push beyond those parameters and make it about something more universal. I think we nailed it, but the energy of the track is just mind blowing. We put out a little teaser and I can see already that people are just like, ‘Wow.’ They weren’t expecting us to be as explosive and have this much energy. Not many bands can say that they could do that after such a long break to be so reinvigorated.”

Live is starting their tour with Counting Crows and Ed is looking forward to playing in the summer. He said, “There’s just nothing like these amphitheaters, for getting people out. They all sound and look great. Again, we’re just outside in the summer playing rock and roll. It’s not much better you can do than that, in terms of just having fun. I love the Counting Crows, Adam and I are good buddies, we go way back. It’s been great to reconnect with him and we’ve toured with them before, a few times. So there’s a lot of camaraderie there and we’re just really looking forward to it. I think it’s a great line up. I think the fan base of both bands appreciate lyrics and melodies.  That’s what you’re going to get in droves in this show between the two bands. I think it’s just an incredible testament of our longevity of both bands. There’s just so many great songs that you know, so I think as far as quality for the fans, it doesn’t get much better.”

For fans, expect 70 minutes of Live playing. So about 15-17 songs in there and Ed says, “I don’t jibber jabber a lot between songs. I like to keep it rocking, so I think the fans will get a full spectrum of our old and new stuff.  We’re going to play Love Lounge, of course, and possibly another new one at some point during the summer and get people jazzed for the EP. But, we’ll touch on every album hopefully and play all the songs that we’d get in trouble if we didn’t play like, ‘I Alone,’ ‘Lightning Crashes,’ and ‘Dolphin’s Cry.’ They’re all in there. I think the sets going to be great.”

Ed tells me his greatest musical accomplishment to date is, “I have to say and it may be cliche to say so, but I think this stuff that we’re working on now.  Simply because of the context and the fact that it was such a long break.  I think that we surprised not only ourselves, but we’re about to surprise the fans with an incredible amount of quality and new direction, that I know we didn’t anticipate.  So I know the fans don’t, which is really thrilling.”

Don’t miss Live on tour with their original lineup and new music. They will be touring with Counting Crows and will be playing at Al Lang Stadium in St Petersburg on July 31st.