{"id":308679,"date":"2026-02-20T21:39:07","date_gmt":"2026-02-20T21:39:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/308679\/"},"modified":"2026-02-20T21:39:07","modified_gmt":"2026-02-20T21:39:07","slug":"former-live-members-want-ed-kowalczyk-to-stop-using-band-name","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/308679\/","title":{"rendered":"Former Live Members Want Ed Kowalczyk to Stop Using band Name"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tTwo members of Live<\/a> posted screenshots of a cease-and-desist letter they issued to original frontman Ed Kowalczyk on Thursday asserting that Kowalczyk is no longer allowed to use the band\u2019s name in business operations. \u201cAs of Feb. 16, 2026, [Kowalczyk\u2019s] rights to use the LIVE brand were revoked by AFU,\u201d guitarist Chad Taylor wrote on Instagram<\/a>, referring to Action Front Unlimited, Inc., which owns Live\u2019s trademarks. \u201cI won\u2019t fight this in public. The courts will handle it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tTaylor also joined another founding member of the band, drummer Chad Gracey, in reposting the same letter<\/a>, this time with the words, \u201cYour license is revoked\u2026\u201d superimposed over it. Gracey simply wrote \u201cRevoked\u201d in his message.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe letter is titled, \u201cRe: Formal Notice of Termination and Revocation of Trademark License and All Purported Rights \u2014 LIVE Marks \u2014 Cease and Desist Demand.\u201d It contains a lot of legal wording about agreements and how the owners of Action Front Unlimited are now seeking to enjoin Kowalczyk from using the Live name \u201cin connection with touring, merchandising, recording, advertising, promotion, branding, or any other commercial activity.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cThe assertions contained in the recently circulated \u2018cease and desist\u2019 letter from certain former members of LIVE are without merit,\u201d Kowalczyk\u2019s attorney Mitchell Schuster of Meister Seelig & Fein, PLLC, tells Rolling Stone. \u201cEd Kowalczyk has served as the band\u2019s frontman since its founding and remains in that role. The claims made do not alter that reality. We intend to address this matter through the appropriate legal channels and are confident it will be resolved in Ed\u2019s favor in court.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tLive, whose popularity hit critical mass in 1994 with the singles \u201cSelling the Drama\u201d and \u201cLightning Crashes,\u201d originally split up in 2009, two decades after they formed in York, Pennsylvania. In 2010, Live\u2019s non-singing members filed a breach-of-contract lawsuit<\/a> against Kowalczyk alleging he\u2019d entered into a publishing deal that they claimed owed them money. In 2012, Taylor, Gracey, and bassist Patrick Dahlheimer sued Kowalczyk via Action Front Unlimited for trademark infringement<\/a>, objecting to the billing \u201cEd Kowalczyk, formerly of Live\u201d; Kowalczyk countersued. That same year, they reunited, though with singer-guitarist Chris Shinn<\/a> replacing Kowalczyk until the latter\u2019s return in 2016.<\/p>\n

\t\tEditor\u2019s picks<\/p>\n

\n\tIn 2022, Kowalczyk allegedly fired the other musicians, taking control of the band. While Kowalczyk toured as Live, the other musicians fought amongst themselves, with multiple lawsuits filed. The musicians settled their suits last year.<\/p>\n

\n\tA 2023 Rolling Stone article<\/a> detailed the band\u2019s nasty breakup and the subsequent fallout.<\/p>\n

\t\tTrending Stories<\/p>\n

\n\tIn May 2025, Gracey posted video of himself performing \u201cLakini\u2019s Juice\u201d<\/a> with Shinn on vocals; the YouTube post said it was mixed by Taylor. Shinn is currently on tour with Dahlheimer playing bass, and Taylor appeared as a guest<\/a> in February. Meanwhile, Live, with Kowalczyk fronting a group of touring musicians, have dates scheduled throughout Canada in February and March.<\/p>\n

\n\tThis article was updated at 3:35 p.m. on Feb. 20 to include a statement from Ed Kowalczyk\u2018s lawyer.<\/p>\n