Melodic rock band Live are headed to New Brunswick this weekend to close out Fredericton’s FredRock Festival this coming Sunday night.
Since vaulting to stardom in the mid-1990s, the group has captured people’s hearts with hits like “I Alone”, “Overcome” and “Lightning Crashes”. With worldwide record sales of over 20 million, they have often been compared to heavyweights such as U2 and Sting while also earning the respect of current generations of musicians like hard rocker Daughtry.
The group’s Fredericton show is their only Atlantic Canadian appearance and only one of four Canadian dates the group is slated to play before wrapping up their current tour towards the end of July.
When Live front man Ed Kowalczyk recently checked in with [here] Magazine from his home in California, he said that Live are looking forward to their upcoming New Brunswick show.
“I am looking forward to getting out there. Live has been going out on small tours with dates here and there but we haven’t undertaken any widespread touring this year.”
Among the dates currently on schedule are a handful of solo shows for Kowalczyk which are spread between the US and Europe. Those solo shows are merely the tip of the iceberg, however.
“It has been a creative year for me personally,” he says. “I’ve been busy writing material for my solo record and am just really taking it month to month and day to day.”
Kowalczyk then confirms that he is at the half-way point of writing a still untitled solo record with a still undetermined release date.
“All the songs I write start on the acoustic guitar,” he explains. “I’ve always done acoustic style shows for promotional purposes with Live but this year, I decided to start to do full solo shows and really explore those smaller venues and connect with the audience on a more intimate level. I’ve been having a great time doing it, even with the venues slowly getting larger and larger.”
Live’s most recent release is the live CD/DVD combo “Live At The Paradiso “” Amsterdam” and was released via independent label Vanguard. Kowalczyk said that the live record was a one-off deal with the label and is excited about the prospects of looking at options to release his solo record.
“I am really enjoying the freedom of going project to project with no real deadlines to meet. I’ve been associated with major labels for the bulk of my career and love the openness I have available to me now,” he admits. “There are so many possibilities and options out there now that weren’t available to artists as recent as 10 years ago. I am really looking forward to how I can use the web and get music to the fans without having to worry about meeting a deadline that was set for me by somebody else.”
Those looking to stay updated with Kowalczyk as he performs and ramps up work on his solo album can stay current with him at www.eddieklive.com. A quick browse of the website shows a batch of video blogs, written blogs in addition to offering visitors a free MP3 download of one of his songs. He also promises that audio “bootlegs” of his solo shows will be made available on the site.
Don’t miss what could be one of Live’s last shows in quite some time when they play the FredRock Festival in the New Brunswick Capital City this weekend. Details including ticket prices can be found online at www.fredrockfestival.com.