Interview with Solo Artist and Live frontman Ed Kowalczyk

If you’ve listened to any alternative rock music over the last fifteen years then you’ll know the name Ed Kowalczyk. Ed was the unmistakable bald headed singer of the very popular post-grunge band Live in the mid 1990s that brought you such classic hits as “Lightning Crashes,” “I Alone” and “Lakini’s Juice.” Ed has for the most part kept a low profile since Live released its last album in 2006 but now he’s back and instead of being backed up by his Live bandmates he’s now branched out on his own. Ed just recently over the summer released his debut, eleven song solo album titled Alive and while it shouldn’t be mistaken for just another Live album, Ed does stay true to his roots enough to please his long time fans. He’s currently out on the road in support of the record with many more dates planned well into the New Year. Recently I spoke to Ed about Alive, the work behind it and we reminisce a little bit about his time in Live.

You were of course in the very famous ‘90s rock band Live and now you’ve gone solo. How does it feel to be a solo artist with no band behind you?
Ed: Well you know I do have a band behind me actually, it’s an amazing band that I met in Austin last year that of course performed on the solo record and they’re the same guys on tour with me now. I did go out on an acoustic solo tour which I’d never done before, that was just me with no band behind me but now I have an amazing band behind me supporting this amazing material that I recorded last year in the Fall.

You seem to be content being solo now, but is there anything in particular you miss about being in a band?
Ed: No, you know I was the main and primary song writing force behind Live so my craft in that sense was just sitting down and writing songs and melodies, that hasn’t changed at all really. When I was recording this record I really felt like it was just another record, it wasn’t quantitatively that different. What was extremely different though was the way that my new musicians interpreted the songs, mainly my new drummer Ramy Antoun, he just totally blew my mind with how he interpreted the music and it just really re-energized me as a performer and as a writer and everything. I have James Gabbie on lead guitar who did some amazing artistic work on his work and same with Chris Heerlein on bass. As much as it was the same in terms of my craft and bringing in songs and bringing everything together as I’d always done in Live, it was really a revolution in my life in terms of how I was hearing these songs played and performed and that was thrilling.

What has the fan reaction been like so far towards you as a solo artist? Have the fans been receptive to your new musical direction?
Ed: Extremely receptive, it’s been more than I could have dreamt of really. When you go out as somebody who’s been associated with a certain group of musicians and a certain name for a long time you’re a little bit on pins and needles like “ok, let’s go try this out.” And you know, the way these new songs, the context that this record provided for the new stuff incorporated with my work with Live, it works together in such an amazing synergy that it’s so natural and people have been just blown away by it. Not only natural but really sort of slightly reinterpreted and reinvented from the old way of doing it which has really given it a new spark so I think the fans have all been really pleasantly surprised.

Your debut solo record Alive just came out earlier this month. How do you feel about the record now that it’s been released?
Ed: It’s exciting, really exciting to finally get this labour of love it took me a few years to really put together, conceptualize, get it all done, to have it received like this has really been amazing. The first single “Grace” has received a lot of radio attention worldwide which is always great you know it’s going to point people towards this whole album which I’m really proud of.

Now you said a couple of minutes ago that you were the primary songwriter in Live and obviously you were the primary songwriter with the solo album Alive. Did you collaborate with anyone or was it all you?
Ed: I did, I actually did, one of the most amazing and fun things about this record and just a solo career in general was you know not really having any preconceived notions or even limitations about who I could work with or where or when. One of the collaborations was an impromptu writing session with my friend Chris Daughtry and myself up here at my house with a song that I had pretty much fleshed out and we started playing each other some ideas and next thing you know we’re writing together so that’s a beautiful song that went on the record it’s called “Drink (Everlasting Love).” Then I worked with an amazing man, producer, co-writer, visionary named Greg Wattenberg and we did the single “Grace” together and another song called “Stand.” So on three tracks I had really amazing experiences collaborating on this record.

In terms of production, did you work with anyone or did you do it more yourself?
Ed: I worked with a friend, it was kind of co-production, I gave him the producer credit but the truth is when you’re somebody as invested artistically as I am in my music and as a writer and everything, it’s always co-production even though CJ Erikson my friend was sort of at the helm so to speak. But it was really a team effort and all my records are even if I do have a producer really.

I noticed that there is a lot of religious and spiritual imagery evident on Alive; at least it’s more evident than when you were with Live. Was this deliberate on your part or did the lyrics just sort of come out that way?
Ed: Well the lyrics always just sort of come out that way, wherever I’m at in life, whatever experiences I’m going through is what ends up colouring the record lyrically. I’ve never been shy to tell people that I’ve always been a man who’s interested in the search for truth and spirituality which is very interesting to me. I’m a Christian and on this record you know, the imagery and the metaphors pointing more towards that direction, but what I really wanted to do with this record was follow the U2 mode of being emphatic about my faith but at the same time remaining inspirational and open from the heart to anybody who wants to come and partake in it if you would…

I also saw that the album is doing extremely well particularly in The Netherlands. Is there any reason in particular that you know of that it’s doing so well there?
Ed: The Dutch have always had an incredible appetite for what I do, whether it was with Live or with a solo album and it’s one of those things that I don’t want to jinx by thinking about it too much, it’s just one of those magical sort of long-standing things, relationships. They’ve always loved the lyrics I think more than anything and they’re just really really hungry for it. And you know I enjoy that in a lot of ways worldwide.

What types of fans are you finding that are coming out to your live shows? Is it mostly Live fans or do you find that you’re reaching out to new people with your solo material?
Ed: Well it’s really early to tell because I’ve only done about fifteen live shows so far, I can sense a little bit of both. Of course there are some Live fans who have been with me from the beginning but there’s definitely some new fans, there’s definitely some people who I’d like to say have the cool uncle who turned them on to my music, it’s like “I was eighteen when that record came out and you were just being born.” “Yeah so how did you find out?” “Oh my uncle or oh my brother turned me on to you” or whatever. So that’s kind of fun and that’s moving in to this record definitely into my experience here with the reception of “Grace” from radio and people say “hey, I really like that song and I just discovered all your music in Live.” I noticed that also on Facebook and the internet, there are a lot of new fans.

You said you’ve only played only fifteen gigs so far but are you staying only to solo material or are you doing any Live songs?
Ed: Oh no, I’m doing about nine songs from the new record which is the most that I’ve done from a new record in a really long time and then about seven or eight of the classic Live songs from my music in Live. The way they’re blending together is really amazing, the energy from these songs is really a return to form in a sense that they integrate with a lot of the songs from the mid ‘90s that people know and love from Live. It’s a really great hyper-set in that sense and it kind of says a lot about where I’m at as an artist which like I said is a return to form but at the same time with new musicians and a new interpretation and a new spin on it which the fans are loving.

I know you probably get these questions a lot so I’ve intentionally tried to stay away from them, but how do you feel about your time in Live? Are you proud looking back?
Ed: Oh sure, absolutely, I mean what I’ve taken from those years is a lot of amazing moments of connections with human beings all over the world and fans and this incredible sense of community that the music engendered in people all over. And that has definitely stayed with me and continues to be the foundation I expand on with this solo music and that was really the essence of this new chapter in my life was to find a way to continue that tradition in my life, that trajectory if you would into more and more of that communal experience. Music can do a very unique thing, the power of music and I just want to continue with that. But yeah, definitely a lot of many, many amazing moments along the way.

What are your long-term goals for your solo career? Do you see yourself doing this in five years time?
Ed: I do, I definitely do, I feel like I’m at the tip of the iceberg with this in so many ways, not just creatively but also with the new guys I’m playing with and the new sort of spark in creativity, it’s hard to see anything but an expansion into new areas of creativity and just lots and lots of fun. At this point, you know like I said, I’ll be doing this for a while.

What do you have planned in terms of music and touring for the fall and early 2011?
Ed: Well we’re going to Europe at the end of August and we’ll be starting the first leg of our U.S. tour in September and then in October we’re going down to Australia and New Zealand, probably South Africa as well. That’ll take us to the end of the year and then we’re going to get back and do a west coast leg of a U.S. tour probably early 2011 so yeah, lots of touring.  [ END ]