Livalie

It has been said that from small beginnings come great things.

Local rock sensation Livalie is proving this statement.

Drew Cyphers (lead vocals), Paul Wright (guitar), Sean Cody (guitar) and Jeremiah Park (bass) met in middle school in the small town of Clover, S.C. They began playing music together in junior high, mostly covering alternative pop hits and calling themselves Overplay.

As the guys moved into high school, they started writing some songs of their own, changed their name to The Verge and gained a new drummer, New York native and current Winthrop student Pat Gerasia.

As the guys began to mature, so did their music. In the latter years of high school, they started concentrating more on expressing themselves through writing their own lyrics and music.

Another way in which they found they could convey their ideas was through their name, which they changed to Livalie (Live-a-lie).

"The name Livalie comes from the idea of who people become in today's society," Wright said. "They live their lives with alter egos, being one person in public and a completely different person in their private lives."

"No one is really true to themselves anymore - politicians, music artists, the average businessman; almost everyone 'lives a lie.' People constantly sell their integrity, morals and values for anything. You won't ever see [us] posing as anyone else or changing ourselves onstage. We are who we are. Our music sells itself. We don't need to have a crutch to help us," Wright said.

Not long after high school graduation, Livalie was joined by another new member, longtime friend Kyle Sanderson, on piano, keyboards and synthesizers. Sanderson is also a student at Winthrop and was originally intended to begin helping out with Livalie's management before the decision was made to incorporate him into the band.

"We added Kyle when we decided to start over with our sound," Wright said. "We weren't satisfied with the direction our music was heading, so we made some changes. Kyle is responsible for a great portion of the sound that makes Livalie who we are."

Livalie has certainly come a long way from playing high school dances and friends' birthday parties.

Over the past few years, they have been busy writing and recording new songs as well as performing at assorted venues around the Rock Hill and Charlotte areas. The band has also been concentrating on gaining a national fan base, playing shows all over the East Coast, from Florida to New York.

Lately, Livalie has been receiving a lot more attention, even getting some airtime on local radio stations like 106.5 "The End."

Much of this attention is due to the uniqueness of their sound. Although Livalie is most often classified as hard rock, it is not rare to find melodic keyboard progressions, haunting vocals and intricate harmonies among their roaring guitar riffs and powerful bass lines.

They attribute this distinctive sound to a mixture of influences like Sevendust, Trapt, Incubus and Rage Against the Machine. Some of their most recent recordings, such as "The Plunge," have an edgier, almost eerie sound, prompting comparisons to bands such as Evanescence and Breaking Benjamin.

Livalie is looking to release their first album in January of next year, an EP titled "A Perfect Compromise."

They have been hard at work in the studio over this past year, collaborating with Jamie Hoover at Liquid Studios in Charlotte to finish up this record. The album will feature six original songs titled "Enemy," "Makeshift," "Brace for Impact," "Carry On," "Chasing the Color of Truth" and "The Plunge."

"A Perfect Compromise" will be sold hardcopy as well as on iTunes, Rhapsody and Napster.com.

While their album is sure to be impressive, it will certainly pale in comparison to one of their concerts.

"Livalie definitely knows how to put on a show," Jessica Henson, freshman education major said. "Their energy is incredible; they really know how to hold a stage and capture an audience. You can tell they put their hearts into every performance."

You can see and hear it for yourself Thursday, Nov. 8, since Livalie will be playing at The Money along with Picture Me Free from Clemson, S.C.

You can look for other upcoming shows, keep tabs on the album release date and listen to some completed songs on Livalie's MySpace page at www.myspace.com/livalierocks.

For seven long years, local rock band Livalie (live-a-lie) has been dreaming of recording and releasing their own album. Since the composition of their first original song, the members of the band have been relentlessly pursuing this goal.

"I think it's every band's dream to record a legitimate CD," guitarist Paul Wright said, "Whether or not that becomes a reality is solely up to the band."

After many disappointing at-home recording attempts, the band decided to try professional studio recording in the summer of 2006. Only able to complete a few tracks, they received good feedback from sound engineer Jamie Hoover, who later became responsible for the mixing and engineering of the band's EP.

"It ended up being a learning experience more than anything," sophomore music major and drummer Pat Gerasia said, "We weren't completely satisfied with what direction we were going in musically."

By the time Livalie was ready to record again, nearly a year later, a very different band walked back into the studio. Their sound had changed significantly, especially with the addition of junior business administration major Kyle Sanderson on keyboards and synthesizers. After years of experimenting and exploring various types of music, Livalie had finally found what they were looking for, and established their own distinctive sound.

Livalie began laying down tracks for their much anticipated debut album in the summer of 2007. Each track took an average of 10 to 15 hours to complete, with each member of the band recording his own part separately.

"Putting all of our parts under a microscope allowed us to really clean up our sound," Gerasia said.

The entire process took about six months and was finally released on February 22, 2008, as an 8-track EP entitled "A Perfect Compromise." According to Wright, the title was chosen mostly in reference to the band finally locking into a style and sound that they are all satisfied with. Each musician brings something very different to the table, and "A Perfect Compromise" is an expert fusion of these differences into an exceptionally cohesive album.

While still reminiscent of alternative rock bands like Incubus and Sevendust, there is something exclusively unique about the music on this album. Maybe it is the piercing vocal harmonies, or perhaps their masterful blending of mellow yet elaborate piano progressions with fierce guitar riffage. Or, it may be the incredibly precise drumming paired with dynamic bass lines. Whatever it is, it is working.

The album bursts from the gates at breakneck speed, with the emotionally charged first song, "Brace for Impact." Lead singer Drew Cyphers' powerfully clear, almost pop-like vocals both contrast with and complement the heavy instrumentation.

The opening track leads seamlessly into "Makeshift," which showcases intricate keyboard/synth sequences and then "Enemy," which is arguably the most solid song on the album that includes an impressive blend of vocals and instrumental music that is uncanny for such a young band.

"Carry On" is the earliest written track included on the CD, written in 2002, during the band's early high school years. Its ballad-like quality adds to the dynamic nature of the album, and is somewhat unexpected amongst the aggressive characteristics of the other songs.

Next is "The Plunge," a song that was very important in Livalie's musical shift.

"We felt ["The Plunge"] was really the first song that really defined the sound we were looking for," Gerasia said. Almost eerie melodies weaved throughout intense chord progressions prompt comparisons to bands like Evanescence and Breaking Benjamin.

The next track, "Chasing the Color of Truth" has a similar feel to that of "The Plunge." But, Livalie brought in good friend and fellow musician Brian Doring to play cello, setting it apart from any other track on the album.

Ending with an acoustic version of "Makeshift," Livalie demonstrates their raw musicianship. While volume and intensity are trademark Livalie qualities, this song shows another facet of their musical ability. This version of the song urges the listener to pay more attention to its stirring, motivational lyrics, and the style has a more appropriate feel for the message than the original.

Needless to say, the 128 in-studio hours plus two months of mastering was time well spent for this small-town band. Livalie's undeniably impressive debut EP is already grabbing the attention of listeners both locally and nationally. Record companies are taking an interest as well, as Livalie is currently in talks with a few independent labels and management companies.

A national summer tour is currently in the works, but the dates have not been finalized as of yet. In the meantime, the band is playing as many shows as their schedules allow, mostly around North and South Carolina. Locally, you can catch Livalie playing at The Money on March 28, along with Sent by Ravens and Restless Oblivion.

To hear the finished product and keep tabs on tour dates, visit Livalie's MySpace page at www.myspace.com/livalierocks. A few of their tunes are also now being featured during 106.5 The End's "90 Minutes" segment on Sunday nights. Hard copies of "A Perfect Compromise" are available online at Livalie's MySpace page, or through any band member; just look for Pat or Kyle around campus. The album is also accessible electronically via iTunes, Rhapsody, AmazonMP3, eMusic and GroupieTunes.

Evil doers and such beware, upcoming area band Livalie challenges all to show their true colors. This six-piece band, based in Clover, is part of a three-band lineup that includes Restless Oblivion and Sent By Ravens, performing tonight at The Money in Rock Hill.
The band’s name speaks to pretense and deception, of hidden agendas by those who present a public face while harboring a private side that smacks of sinister. They observe that “no one is true to themselves anymore and almost everyone lives a lie.” Thus, the name Liv-a-lie.

But that’s where the negativity stops. The band uses this as a springboard for a positive spin with its anti-fake battle cry, “We are who we are.” No excuses here.

What you see is what you get, which is especially true onstage and in their music. With an alternative rock sound, Livalie easily edges into user-friendly and catchy mainstream territory.

That direction is a good thing, especially when one considers the style and finesse that has brought to the band and its members — Paul Wright on guitar; Pat Gerasia on drums; Sean on guitar; Jeremiah on bass guitar; Kyle Sanderson on keyboards/synthesizers; and Drew Cyphers on lead vocals.

Many compare the sound found in their recently released debut EP “A Perfect Compromise” to be a combination of Breaking Benjamin, Incubus, Trapt and Linkin Park. That list might also include Panic at The Disco and 30 Seconds To Mars.

Driving the push for interpretative reckoning is the curious and catchy quality of heavy grooves, pop with hooks, riffing guitars, lush piano, synth flash and, oh yes, stylistic vocals.

Guitarist Paul Wright states that Livalie “is an indie-style band but creative. The best thing is we’re very intense live. There’s nothing like doing a live show.

“We have a high energy level that just lights up the whole room and we sound just like our CD, we reproduce it — do it all live,” said Wright, who cites their ability to “play very tight and very coordinated without chaos” as key performance factors.

“We’re not striving for a mainstream sound, it just flows out,” he adds. Mainstream? Maybe. But melodic and memorable — absolutely. All this and more makes Livalie worthy of truthful exploration.

Forget definitions, just let the music do the talking with Livalie with Restless Oblivion and Sent By Ravens tonight at The Money, 111 S. Cherry Road, Rock Hill. Call the club at 329-2710. Get more on the bands at myspace.com/livalierocks, myspace.com/restlessoblivion1 and myspace.com/sentbyravens.