In 1991, I was beginning my career as a "journalist." In 1991, live were beginning their careers as recording artists with Mental Jewelry. And in this big, crazy, world, our paths crossed when they were my first assignment. I will spare you the tragic-comic details of the awkwardness on both sides of that interview. Time marches on and Live (singer Edward—he was just Ed back then, but I digress—Kowalczyk, bassist Patrick Dalheimer, and the Chads, drummer Gracey and guitarist Taylor) are out on their latest headlining tour, supporting their fourth massively-selling record, The Distance to Here. And me, I'm interviewing Ed(ward) and Patrick from live. My, how times change.

The fourth time out has making records gotten harder or easier?

EK: I think we worked harder on this record than ever before. I know as a lyricist, I worked harder on the lyrics than anything I ever have in my life. I wanted each song to have a real emotional singularity. What I mean is, on Secret Samadhi, and even portions of all our records, I employed a more random style, it was much more off the cuff. On this record, one of the breakthroughs for me was...take a song like "Run To the Water"; I really worked hard on that song. There were actually three or four different versions of lyric and melody before I decided on the one that I thought communicated the idea. "Run to the Water" is a good example of where I was going lyrically on every song. I think there is enough content in it, message-wise, that people will get an uplifting feeling from it, but it doesn't matter what your background is. On Secret Samadhi I would turn to things in my own life that would encapsulate my own emotions but not necessarily lots of other peoples. I think this record is much more accessible that way, which is an accomplishment.

PD: I think this record was easier, and more enjoyable than the last record. The Distance to Here is definitely on the positive tip. Secret Samadhi was a record we needed to make, mostly as a reaction to throwing copper, to the success, to the touring, to the shake-up in our personal lives. It was definitely a darker, moodier record. After we got done touring for Secret Samadhi we took a year off and I think we pretty much, as four individuals, figured out where we were and came to terms. I just started to walk my dogs and go to the grocery store a lot.

Your lyrics seem to be a big part of your band. What percentage of your fans have you found really place an emphasis on them?

EK: most. I would say that that's one of the things I've noticed is that people are really into the content of the lyric. "Lightning crashes" is a great example. People, worldwide, have been coming up to me for years and saying that it made some kind of difference in their life.

PD: Fred Durst (Limp Bizkit) came up to Ed at a party and told him his lyrics have always been inspirational to him, and then we get into the van and listen to "take that cookie and shove it up your...", we're like "Ed, man, I can totally see where he's coming from...!"

Ed said he worked a little harder on the lyrics. How else did you guys experiment on this record?

EK: Overall, for us this record is pretty raw. There's some really pretty organ, and some harpsichord solos in "The Distance", and there's a little bit of groove-expanding loops on "Voodoo Lady", but they're pretty tucked away. Basically, it's a guitar record. We've experimented a little bit with textures, but overall it was a musically raw approach to it.

Tell me your favorite song on the record and the most important song on the record. And there is a difference.

EK: Yeah! For me, the most important song, personally speaking, is "The Distance", simply because of what it represents for the progression of Live into the next part of its career. My favorite song, too, is "The Distance", because where it has taken the band is a totally different place, but somehow recognizably us as well, which is something I didn't try to do. It was just sort of an unconscious thing, coming into a place in my life with creativity that bubbles under with an uplifting sense, even a sense of humor, you know, "let him find his lucky penny/put it in his pocket and shake it all around". And then going into the guts of the song, which is basically about spirit but has a quality that makes it a really good pop song. But if you want to dig into it, its maybe one of the most important lyrics I've ever written.

PD: My favorite song, today anyway, is "Voodoo Lady". And I think the most important song on the record is the last song "dance with you". For me, it's just emotion pure and true. Musically, there's not a lot going on, there's not a lot of elements, but the emotion that I get is so overwhelming and so powerful, it kind of wraps up the whole record. It's kind of like the bow on the box at Tiffany's.

The Distance to Here—that album title sounds perhaps a little retrospective.

EK: It is on one hand, because it's about what I felt was the simultaneous end and beginning of an era for live. Mental Jewelry broke us out, throwing copper was a huge success, Secret Samadhi was much more experimental, more cerebral, almost a retreat from being a band with a huge message, and now the distance to here. We've taken the treasure from Secret Samadhi in the sense of what we did experimentally, in songs like "Voodoo Lady" and "The Distance", which are really the biggest stretches for Live artistically, but at the same there's a passion and an urgency that people say reminds them of our first album.

PD: It's where we are, and everything that's brought us here. From being 15 and Chad and I sitting in my room playing the same song over and over again to being on stage at Woodstock. And everything in between. The record lets you know indirectly where we are as people.

Is there any millennial tint to any of this? Does the turning of the century affect you very strongly?

EK: It doesn't really in any sort of superstitious way. I was thrilled by the idea of putting out a record with this kind of lyrical message at a time that's so tense. My semi-sort of inspiration for keeping a positive, modern gospel-meets-intense rock n roll theme definitely comes from the state of the world right now. I think if anything 1999 is focusing people's attention and energy on our species and where were headed, and what this century has been. Like I said, I'm not superstitious, but I think anything that focuses our attention on ourselves is a good thing. I figured I'd milk it as much as I could.

PD: We held it back intentionally a little bit. There's a weird strange significance about the turn of the century. I know people have ideas that the new century will bring all this change, and whether I believe that or not is not important, but we're standing on the brink of something that's a big question mark. What is going to happen and what could happen? And what are you going to do about it?

You touched on this a little before, Ed. There are some bands that always sound like themselves, no matter what they're doing. Like U2. And there are bands you cant recognize from song to song. You can tell, no matter how much you experiment, that live is live. What do you think the essence of your sound is?

EK: That's cool! One of the things that has an impact on me as far as bands that are instantly recognizable is the vocal. Vocals like Bono's are so imbued with his own passion that it becomes a huge signature because it's so filled with him. John Lennon, same thing. Then there's subtle things too, like the fact that Tom Lord-Alge has mixed most every live song that has been released to date. That may be something that that people don't necessarily recognize right away, but he's been able to capture the essence of my voice and the dynamics of the band in a really unique way in the past five years.

PD: That's the four of us being true to ourselves and not trying to jump on a bandwagon or a trend. I think we know- its not a secret - to hold a core audience you have to maintain elements of what your band is about. I don't know if we do that consciously, but that is always prevalent. I don't know how to tag it. I don't know if its Ed or if its sonic, what's going on musically, but I will agree that there's definitely a thread that holds everything together.

Its a little odd that a band like you has been around so long and there are no scandals, no jail time, no nothing.

PD: Its funny, I was sitting with someone last night watching vh1 behind the music, and I was saying they couldn't do one on us, because what would they say? no one's died, no ones had a serious drug problem. its silly, it would be so boring.

Was it something in the water in York, Pennsylvania that makes you so grounded and boring?

PD: I think first off its our parents. being a parent now I can see that what you're given by your parents remains with you until the day you die. all our parents did something pretty right for us to be—let alone doing what were doing, the whole music thing—but for four people to be on track mentally, and together, is a bizarre thing.

It's been almost ten years. Where do you guys fit in the music business?

PD: We're right below Kid Rock and Limp Bizkit! And they've just passed a law I think that Fred Durst is god. I think that just went through congress.

What do you think of bands like that, who don't necessarily take all this as seriously as you do?

PD: I trip on them. I think they're fun to watch. They're enjoying it, people are enjoying it, so more power to them. Music needs that. If you had a bunch of, I don't want to belittle us, but if you had a bunch of people like us running around in the music business it would just be a bizarre place.

You guys have been pegged as a fairly intense band. Is there a lighthearted live?

EK: Absolutely. Without a doubt. It's funny because if most journalists could spend about an hour on our tour bus any given night, it would really change peoples' perceptions about live. I think that when we started out it was really do or die for a couple of years, because we were sort of from the middle of nowhere, where there typically weren't many rock bands and we had a lot to prove, a lot to accomplish. And there was fierceness about our band that charmed a lot of people into getting into live, but at the same time put some people off. And by the time we've gotten to The Distance to Here, it's a band that's more at peace with itself than ever.

PD: people think we're just these morbid, introspective, mummies walking around. When were together doing what we do, making a record, we're totally serious. But when were just Patrick, Chad, Chad, and Ed, it's like a bunch of goofy teenagers again.