Former Live vocalist Chris Shinn has opened up regarding his time with and departure from the group.

Shinn joined the “Lightning Crashes” outfit in 2012 and recorded a new album called The Turn, which was released in 2014. He was out of the band after original frontman Ed Kowalczyk rejoined in 2016. The Turn has been removed from streaming services.

Speaking with Rolling Stone, Shinn recalls that “there were never, ever problems” during his time in Live until one particular instance after he asked for some time off to attend a family reunion. Despite clearing it with the other band members — guitarist Chad Taylor, drummer Chad Gracey and bassist Patrick Dahlheimer — months in advance, an offer came to do a show during that time that they wanted to take.

“That’s when it changed,” Shinn shares. “Suddenly, now that I had asserted myself, they went, ‘What? You’re not going to make us money? How dare you?’ I put my foot down and said, ‘No. This is what’s happening.'”

“The vibe changed,” he continues. “It was unbelievable how cowardly it got from their end: ‘Because you cancelled this show, we’re going to lose this much money.'”

Shinn later learned that Live had been meeting with Kowalczyk “behind my back.” He was officially fired from the band during a phone call with Taylor.

“They never publicly thanked me,” Shinn says. “They never did anything of the sort.”

Flash forward to 2022 and changes are one again happening in Live. Kowalczyk fired Taylor in June after taking majority control of the band. Rolling Stone reports that Gracey and Dahlheimer have since been let go, as well.

“Being in Live was something I was so proud of,” Shinn says. “But now I’m just embarrassed by the whole thing.”

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