The long saga of legal drama within the band Live now has a new chapter.
Former guitarist Chad Taylor has filed a cease and desist letter over frontman Ed Kowalczyk’s continued use of the Live band name. It comes after Kowalczyk, who formed the group with Taylor, bassist Patrick Dahlheimer and drummer Chad Gracey, claimed majority control of Live in 2022 and fired Taylor from the band. Kowalczyk has been touring as Live without the three other founding members ever since.
Taylor, who posted the cease and desist letter to his Instagram, now says, “I was not ‘fired.’ Ed never had the authority to remove me.”
“I remain a founding shareholder and director of Action Front Unlimited, Inc. — the company that owns the LIVE name and trademarks,” Taylor writes. “As of Feb 16, 2026, his rights to use the LIVE brand were revoked by AFU.”
He continues, “I won’t fight this in public. The courts will handle it. Thank you for the support while we work toward properly restoring LIVE.”
Gracey also posted the letter while declaring, “Your license is revoked.”
ABC Audio has reached out to Live’s rep for comment.
Kowalczyk previously left Live in 2009 and faced legal proceedings over his use of the band name in relation to his own solo shows. He reunited with Live in 2016.
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