Editing Live (band) (section)

===''The Death of a Dictionary'' and ''Mental Jewelry'': 1984–1992===
Live started in the early 1980s under the name First Aid, as a trio of Taylor, Dahlheimer, and Gracey. Kowalczyk joined in 1984, when the group lost a talent show. They went through various different names, including Action Front, Paisley Blues, and Club Fungus, before settling on Public Affection in January 1987. Gracey picked the name based on a comment by his girlfriend at the time.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.angelfire.com/rock2/patdahl/interviews/York_Sunday_News.html |title=York Sunday News-April 17, 1988 |website=Angelfire.com |date=April 17, 1988 |access-date=December 14, 2016}}</ref> When the band graduated from high school, they recorded a self-released [[compact cassette|cassette]] of original songs, titled ''[[The Death of a Dictionary]]'', in 1989. In 1990, they released an [[Extended play|EP]] of demos produced by Jay Healy, titled ''Divided Mind, Divided Planet'', via their "Black Coffee" mailing list. They played regular concerts at [[CBGB]] in New York City, which helped earn them a contract with [[Radioactive Records]] in 1991. In June that year, the band changed its name to Live.<ref name="allmusic">{{cite web|last=Ankeny|first=Jason|title=Live – Music Biography, Credits and Discography|website=[[AllMusic]]|url=http://www.allmusic.com/artist/live-mn0000270667|access-date=January 19, 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://mediafiveent.com/archive/viewprofile.php?id=174 |title=Media Five Band Archive for Public Affection |website=Mediafiveent.com |access-date=December 14, 2016}}</ref>

Under the new name, the band entered the studio with producer [[Jerry Harrison]] (of [[Talking Heads]]) and recorded the EP ''[[Four Songs (Live EP)|Four Songs]]''. The single "Operation Spirit (The Tyranny of Tradition)" went to number nine on the [[Alternative Songs|Modern Rock]] chart and was followed by their debut album, 1991's ''[[Mental Jewelry]]'', which Harrison again produced. Pat Dalheimer said, "So important to have somebody else in the room to help us, especially with arrangements. I mean, we were still learning how to write songs...Jerry just seemed to know everything...this guy's a wizard!"<ref>Malandrone, Scott [http://www.bassplayer.com/article/patrick-dahlheimer-live/jan-00/4566 "Patrick Dahlheimer: Live In The Fast Lane"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111102041511/http://www.bassplayer.com/article/patrick-dahlheimer-live/jan-00/4566 |date=November 2, 2011 }} ''[[Bass Player (magazine)|Bass Player]]''</ref> Some of the album's lyrics, written by Kowalczyk, were inspired by Indian philosopher and writer [[Jiddu Krishnamurti]].<ref name=allmusic />