According to Rolling Stone, the band's former business partner Bill Hynes was singled out by Chad Taylor as the primary cause of the strife within the band. Notably, the guitarist accused Hynes of conning Live out of over $10 million through various business dealings. But beyond the many charges of financial misconduct against Hynes that are largely unrelated to the band and its music, Taylor also suggested that Hynes manipulated multiple bandmates, playing them off against each other as the charges added up and Live's financial situation remained in disarray.

"Chad Gracey appears to continue to work with Bill Hynes, despite being warned that he could be placing himself in criminal jeopardy," read an email Taylor wrote to Ed Kowalczyk in June 2022. "Ed, more importantly, someone is playing heavily with your past emotions. That is not me, and it is not Patrick [Dahlheimer]." In his reply, Kowalczyk supposedly wrote that "Bill Hynes is innocent until proven guilty" and that Taylor should direct all subsequent concerns to the frontman's lawyer.

Regarding Kowalczyk's decision to stop playing shows due to the intra-band tension, and his concerns about getting sued again, Taylor theorized that Hynes and Gracey might have influenced the singer to make the move. Gracey disputed this, telling Rolling Stone that it was simply a matter of Kowalczyk wanting to avoid further drama. "Ed, to his credit, doesn't have anything to do with this," the drummer explained. "He just wants to go play with Live, which he should be able to."

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