 Chad, to put it quite simply, is an extremely talented guitar player and song writer. But, who is he, and where did he come from? I have created this page to let you know a little more about Chad. If anyone has more info, e-mail me. Ok, so according to the man himself a lot of the info is incorrect. Go figure =) I'll be working on getting some correct info. For now, I've edited this page with the info I know. Much thanks to Chad, his dad, and many other people for helping out. |
Born: November 24, 1970.
Birthplace: Owings Mills, Maryland
Schools attended: Jacob L Devers Elementary School, Edgar Fahs Smith Middle School, William Penn Senior High School.
Parents: David Taylor, general contractor.
Marital Status: Married.
Former Jobs: Worked in the kitchen at Granfaloons.
Other instruments played: Chad played trumpet all through high school. This is where he learned how to read music, and other music stuff that he doesn't use in playing the guitar and songwriting. He also studied music theory on the piano for a little while with his music teacher, Don Carn.
First guitar: Chad received his first guitar, a 1970 Les Paul Standard, from his dad when he was 10.
Chad's History with the band: Chad met his fellow bandmember Ed in kindergarten at Jacob L Devers Elementary shool around 1975. He then met other band members Chad and Patrick in 1983 at Edgar Fahs Smith Middle School. Their music teacher threw Pat, Chad, and Chad together for a talent show in eighth grade. Chad said they won the whole $20 and wasted it all on arcades and pizza. After losing the Battle of the Bands competition under the name First Aid (they were also known as Action Front), Ed came up to Chad, Chad and Pat, and said they needed a lead singer. They agreed, and the band was formed. Having toyed with many names such as Club Fungus and Paisley Blues, the guys decided on Public Affection. The first official gig they played was at the Jewish Temple November 25, 1987 for a sellout crowd of 400 people. Chad remembers that when this girl they knew from school, Dana, flashed him, he knew that playing in a band was going to be his life. Chad's father also had an important part with the band. He would lug them around wherever they had to go, and was always supporting them. 
He even called manager David Sestak (their current manager) and told him "Either you're going to listen to this band or you're going to make the biggest mistake of your life." Mr. Sestak gave them a listen, and liked what he heard, and thought they should make their own album. But the guys didn't have any money. So, Chad came up with the idea of selling bonds at $100 each, and pretty soon raised $5000. Their album, called Death of a Dictionary, was released on their own Action Front records. There were about 2000 copies released. The guys played an endless amount of gigs at the Chameleon Club in Lancaster, and CBGB's in New York city. At a gig at CBGB's Gary Kurfist came backstage and signed the guys to Radioactive records. This lead to the need for a new name. The guys thought and thought about new names, and then Chad had a dream with Matt Gracey wearing a hat with the name Live on it, and immediatly called Ed. So, that's how they got the name Live, and the rest, they say, is history!
If you have seen one of Live's concerts, then you know how physical Chad can get playing the guitar. Due to this, Chad lost the super-scapular muscle group, which is over his left shoulder. It's a repetitive strain disorder that happens cause Chad always lifts his shoulder when he plays. After some physical therapy and acupuncture, Chad says the pain is gone, but the muscle group can't be fixed. He can't slide up the neck while applying pressure, but the pain is gone, at least. Let's all hope for Chad's sake that the pain doesn't return.
© 1997-1999 Julia Brault