After just over three weeks in the studio in New York, Evanescence's Amy Lee says she feels "like I'm making the best album of my life."

"I know that seems weird to say, but I wouldn't be here in the studio making another record if I didn't think it was going to be better than anything I've ever done," Lee -- who came to fame with Evanescence's seven-times platinum 2003 debut "Fallen" and continued with 2006's double-platinum "The Open Door" -- tells Billboard.com. "I feel like so much has already happened. I don't even know where to begin to try to describe it...'cause it's just so many things at once. I'm really excited."

Lee began writing for the as-yet untitled album -- which is due for a fall release, with a first single out in the summer and a tour to follow -- more than a year ago, then accelerated the process when she began working with percussionist and producer Will "Science" Hunt (not to be confused with Evanescence drummer Will Hunt), who's been her chief collaborator on the new songs. The result, Lee says, is "a lot of electronic influence -- industrial is a better word for it," but she promises it's not going to be a wholesale reinvention of the Evanescence sound.

"It wouldn't be an Evanescence album if it didn't sound somewhat like Evanescence," explains Lee, who's incorporating the harp, which she learned to play between albums, in several of the new songs. "I feel like our band has always had programming and inspirations from Bjork and Depeche Mode and Massive Attack and that kind of thing. It's not like we're making one of those records; it's just, like, that is playing a bigger role in the sound of Evanescence this time. Those little nuances and hints come in in ways that are cool. The sound that we're going for as a group is to fuse synthetic instruments with organic instruments and create something that sounds like a whole new place. It just sounds larger than life."

Lee says the group -- which also includes guitarist Terry Balsamo and bassist Tim McCord -- and producer Steve Lillywhite are currently recording about 16 songs and is "still working and...finishing writing here and there. Some of them aren't finished lyric-wise or writing-wise, but I really feel like it's mostly there." Some of the songs, Lee acknowledges, are compositions for potential film projects that weren't used.

Lee confesses to being a bit apprehensive after the long gap since "The Open Door," but she says a pair of one-off shows during November in New York and Brazil gave her confidence that Evanescence's following is still intact. "I was really nervous 'cause it had been so long," she says, "but it was amazing to see how many fans there still are that are waiting for us after all this time. It's really inspiring, and it makes me excited to show them how much we've grown."

Lee is, not surprisingly, less excited to talk about We Are The Fallen, the group formed by Evanescence co-founder Ben Lee and other former members -- John LeCompt and Rocky Gray -- whose debut album comes out in May. "It just doesn't have anything to do with me or Evanescence," she notes. "The only thing that bothers me about it, really, is I keep hearing...about 'the original members.' The only original members of Evanescence are me and Ben; John and Rocky came into the band after we'd already recorded "Fallen," so there's a lot of years there...that didn't include anybody but Ben and I. Other than that, I don't have an opinion or anything to say about it."

Source Billboard.com

And the name? “We just picked it randomly,” Lee mused. “We wanted a word that is not heard in everyday life, something unique and original to us. It gives a visual picture.” For those hardcore Scrabble players, evanescence means “a dissipation or disappearance like vapour.” (Just thought you’d like to know.)

Now armed with their second album, set to debut this fall, and its first single, with the priceless title, “Call Me When You’re Sober,” Lee talks about her natural growth as a female artist and coming to terms with her artistic freedom. “I didn’t want to make the same album twice. Terry really pushed me to better myself and to not be afraid. Before, I was holding back for security. And now I was allowed to grow and that gave me confidence as an artist.” Under the watchful eye of longtime friend and producer Dave Frontman (Bif Naked), Lee’s unrelenting fearlessness is evident in the new album, which explodes with unconventional experiments on an epic scale, combining hard rock, gothic flair, and classical flavours, bringing a whole new sense of music to the surface.

The lyrics explore truth, consequence, redemption, and the sweet taste of empowerment—sentiments that mean the world to Lee today. “I don’t have anything to prove. I don’t have to prove what my sound is like. I’m not afraid to say what I want to say anymore.”

Lee’s unwavering sense of self transcends to her unique fashion style. Lee calls it “spooky cute”. Sitting cross-legged on the sofa in her black Ben Sherman skirt, Lee proudly points out her own personal touch: an intricate cupcake she sewed on herself. The outfit is topped off with a grey T-shirt (complete with little red hearts across the front) and a simply fabulous pair of kitten earrings. “I love Victorian fashion, the goth look, and mixing it up with something fun. For me it’s all about fun.”

Now, with The Open Door on its way to an iPod near you, as well as a club/theatre tour in the fall, Lee, at the ripe age of 24, is a well seasoned artist who knows exactly what she wants. As to her advice for women trying to break into the biz, she stands firm. “You have to feel what is right in your heart. If someone is telling you to do something just because it’s good for business, it’s a lie. Just trust yourself; it may take longer, but not everybody knows what they are talking about.”

What’s on your iPod?
Our album! I can’t help it, it gets me excited about what I’m doing. And the new Beck song, “Girl”. It’s really cute.

What’s your favourite golden oldie?
“Everything She Wants” by Wham! (An oldie for me is something from the ’80s.)

What’s your guilty pleasure?
“Everything She Wants” by Wham! (laughs)

Favourite reality show:
I would rather watch the static on television than watch a reality show.

What are the perks of the business?
Getting into Nobu [the hottest sushi stop for celebs and the like] at the last minute.

Biggest pet peeve:
People who think they are so cool because they are famous.

What do you do in your spare time?
Play with my cats.

Celebrity crush:
Hyde from That ’70s Show.

Most memorable part-time job:
Animal control. I was like a janitor. I would clean up cat poo.

Most regretted fashion moment:
I went to the Video Music Awards in Miami and it was really hot. I wore this short skirt with fur winter boots. I looked stupid. I’m making myself a wall of my worst-dressed moments; I’ve got three and I’m working on three more.

What three things would you bring to a desert island?
My piano and my two cats.

Words of advice:
In this industry and in life, you have to trust yourself. Do what feels right in your heart.

Source: http://www.fazeteen.com

In front of a shining black Baldwin piano, Amy Lee of Evanescence made her first real performance in over a year…and it was a good one. On February 23, 2009, the hauntingly beautiful singer/songwriter could be found at a taping of Legends and Lyrics in Nashville, Tennessee, sharing the stage with artists Gavin DeGraw and Dwight Yoakam.

Though out of her element in an ''in the round" session, she quickly made herself comfortable at the piano, performing an acoustic set with guitar (cue Terry Balsamo of Evanescence) and cello. The trio can only be described as raw, ethereal, and haunting.

Lee, the first of the artists to perform, began with Bring Me To Life from the album Fallen, setting the bar for the program. Before delving into Lithium, from album The Open Door,  Amy felt the need to clarify the meaning of the song. Speculating that there were likely many interpretations, she explained simply that the song was about choosing to feel over choosing numbness. Good Enough, also from album The Open Door, was described by Lee as the “happy song” of the evening. Before Call Me When You’re Sober, again from The Open Door, she went on to explain how the song was created from two very different pieces, one from her, one from Terry.

For Amy’s final song of the evening, it was a surprise and an honor to be privy to her new song, one that had not yet been performed for a public audience. From the first few notes and syllables uttered, Lee held the crowd, including Gavin DeGraw and Dwight Yoakam, in the palm of her hand. The piece, entitled Your Love, was described as being about love that cannot work. It took a few moments for the spell to wear off once the song was over.

There are artists whose live performances fall short, that disappoint. Amy Lee is not one of those
artists. Her emotions run deep and when she bares herself to her audience, it’s difficult not to take notice; you cannot just hear her words, you feel them as well.

These sessions of Legends and Lyrics are expected to begin airing in April 2009. Mark your calendars, you won’t want to miss this one.

Source: http://www.upvenue.com/music-news/blog-headline/1032/amy-lee-legends-and-lyrics.html

Evanescence’s goth empress Amy Lee has survived the collapse of her band, a traumatic breakup, one (allegedly) very evil manager — and a death-by-coyote? “I’m only happy when it rains,” she tells Blender.

By Josh Eells

Two days ago, Amy Lee was dying in a cemetery.

“It was a shoot for the new Johnny Cash video,” she explains. “The concept is all these celebrities — Justin Timberlake, Tony Hawk, P. Diddy — dressed in black like Johnny Cash. You know, expressing the pain of the world. They said I could do whatever I wanted, so I said, ‘Why don’t I go to a cemetery and lay some flowers on a grave?’ We shot it at Trinity Church,” she says, referring to the soaring neo-Gothic cathedral three blocks from Ground Zero in lower Manhattan. “It was really creepy,” which, coming from her, is high praise.

Lee, 24, is the singer from Evanescence, the most popular goth-rock band in the world. Sitting in a park on a blindingly sunny July day, however, she couldn’t look less like a princess of darkness. She’s wearing pink shades, a purple-and-white-striped tank top, a flowing black skirt and flip-flops, and her raven tresses are pulled back into a loose ponytail, revealing a pale, pretty face. She’s nibbling on a double-meat turkey-and-cheese Subway sub — a foot-long, because “I’m going to save the second half for dinner,” she says. If it weren’t for the silver death’s-head pendant dangling from her neck, she could be any NYU coed lazing away a summer afternoon.

“Anyway,” she says about the video shoot, “I really wanted to wear this coat I’d just bought — long-sleeve black velvet, very dramatic. But it turned out to be the hottest day of the year, like a hundred degrees. So I’m walking around in this 10-pound coat buttoned all the way up, tail dragging behind me, just so, so hot. But I had to wear it — it used to belong to Tim Burton.”

She looks up from her sandwich and lets out an ironic laugh: “God. I am so goth.”

For the past three years, Lee’s life has been straight out of a Lemony Snicket novel — one unfortunate event after another. First she broke up with her boyfriend. Then her band imploded. Next came stalkers and therapy; then another breakup; a bandmate’s stroke; an alleged sexual assault and ensuing seven-figure lawsuit; another bandmate’s retirement …

“It’s been an eventful couple of years,” she says, grinning and tossing crumbs to some pigeons.

Back in 2003, Evanescence were the unlikeliest success story in music. Five shaggy kids from the aptly named Little Rock, Arkansas — a town whose most famous musical export up to that point was a certain sax-blowing ex-president — they were either dismissed as a cash-in gimmick (Linkin Park with a cute chick) or ignored altogether. But then their “Bring Me to Life,” a monster collision of snarling guitar riffs and Lee’s icy, ring-wraith vocals, landed on the Daredevil soundtrack, and faster than you could say “Bennifer II” they were skyrocketing to the top of the charts. Lee became an overnight icon for legions of 14-year-old girls with Emily the Strange posters on their walls and black lipstick in their purses, and Evanescence’s debut, Fallen, went on to sell 6.5 million copies, win two Grammys and park in the Top Ten for nearly a year.

But it all came crashing down in October 2003, when Ben Moody, the band’s guitarist and Lee’s co-songwriter, decided­ he’d had enough and quit the band mid-tour. It was a doubly painful blow for Lee: She and Moody had been best friends since 1994, when they met at church summer camp. The pair dated briefly but eventually grew to be more like siblings — a rock & roll Pugsley and Wednesday. Lee soldiered­ on after the split, insisting it was a long time coming and best for everyone, but at the time she was devastated.

“I don’t hate Ben,” she says today, eyes glistening. “I just don’t ever want to speak to him again. He was truly kind of poisonous. Some people just aren’t good for you — it doesn’t mean they’re Satan, but you can’t have them in your life.” She says they haven’t spoken in nearly two and a half years, since the night of their Grammy triumph. Moody has left her a few voicemails, but she doesn’t respond. “It’s manipulative. We need to just live our separate lives.”

Lee has been staring intently at her fingernails, slowly chipping away at the dark blood-red polish. Suddenly she looks up, embarrassed. “Wow, I’m being so bad right now. I’m going to burn for it. I’m going to get a pig heart in the mail from his mother after this interview. But it’s the truth.

“Relationships are fascinating to me,” she continues. “You pour your heart into someone, share everything, and it feels so good at first. But then you realize, ‘I am completely vulnerable. This person can destroy me.’ That inspires me.”

If she’s right, then last winter must have been inspirational beyond belief. In late November, Lee and the band fired their longtime manager, Dennis Rider, just one album into a three-album deal. When Rider sued Lee for breach of contract, seeking $10 million in damages, she struck back with a countersuit detailing exactly why he was being given the boot — and it’s a doozy: It alleges Rider “neglected Lee’s career and business and focused his efforts on having extramarital affairs … becoming intoxicated during business meetings, physically­abusing women and boasting about it … and using Lee’s corporate card to purchase gifts for his mistress,” one of which was an $18,000 car. And there’s more: The suit also accuses Rider of making “overt and unwelcome sexual advances” toward Lee, including once when he “put his head in Lee’s lap and ran his hand up her leg” and another time when he said “he wanted to perform a gynecological examination on her.”

When we ask about the case, Lee goes even paler. “I should absolutely not talk about it,” she says. “It’s possible I could have no money by the end of this thing. I could be destitute.”

Rider had been the band’s manager since 2002; he shepherded them through every step of their career and wielded enormous power. “I was very young and vulnerable,” Lee says. “And to have my trust be completely dashed and thrown back in my face — that’s what hurts the most.”

(Rider strongly denies the allegations and quickly issued a statement calling them “appalling,” “untrue” and “disappointing­ beyond words.” When reached for further comment, his attorney told Blender, “I think we will stick with our previous policy of allowing the matter to play out through the court system.”)

“Dennis was a good guy, and I think he meant well,” says new guitarist Terry Balsamo. “I personally didn’t see a lot of that stuff going on, but he and Amy obviously had their differences.”

Emphasizing that she’s speaking generally, and not about anyone in particular, Lee admits that she has “allowed people to take advantage of me. I’m learning as I grow up that some people are really hurtful and mean and evil. People aren’t always going to have a conscience and be good to me. They’ll put their heart on a shelf and do what they have to do to get ahead.”

But as sordid as all this is, the suit’s most startling revelation might have come in what was essentially a footnote: a copy of Rider’s termination notice that Lee’s attorneys included as evidence. “As you are well aware,” it reads, “Ms. Lee was recently in an abusive relationship with Ben Moody. She has no intention of associating with any persons who engage in that sort of … illegal conduct.”

Does that mean Ben was physically abusive, we ask?

Lee inhales sharply: “I’m not going to answer that. Sorry.”

In February 2005, Amy Lee vanished. Evanescence had just finished another exhaustive round of world touring to promote a live CD and DVD, and the label was already pressuring her to start making the next album. Overwhelmed, she retreated to her house in L.A.’s Topanga Canyon, locked the door and pulled the phone out of the wall.

Lee spent the next 10 months writing songs. “That’s my favorite part,” she says. “I go into this kind of weird, dark, obsessed-with-my-own-sadness funk.” She painted — stuff like the five-by-six-foot anatomical heart spewing a fountain of blood that currently hangs in her apartment. She composed some music for the Chronicles of Narnia movie, only to have Disney brass reject it as “too dark” and “too epic.” And she did something her mom had been asking her about since the last album: She started going to therapy.

“For the first, I don’t know, lots of sessions, I’d just go in and cry,” Lee says. “Every time. I guess I was letting out all the ghosts of my past.”

It’s a slightly surprising admission, if only because she’s already so fearlessly confessional in her lyrics. Evanescence’s debut was largely about an abusive boyfriend, full of tortured screams and pleas for salvation; it may have sounded like typical teenage Sturm und Drang, but there was real anguish underneath.

The band’s new album is also intensely personal. But where Fallen was a cry for help, The Open Door is a liberation statement. “It’s so clear now that I’m unchained,” Lee sings in the very first verse, and more than one song sounds laser-targeted at Ben Moody.

Much of the album also addresses Lee’s breakup with Shaun Morgan, singer for the South African hard-rock band Seether, whom she dated from mid-2004 until last fall. “It was good for a while,” she says. “But it ended really, really wrong. It’s just that fatal thing — girls are so attracted to assholes.” Morgan recently announced he was canceling a tour to enter rehab, and The Open Door’s first single, “Call Me When You’re Sober,” addresses his troubles — a sassy, almost flirtatious kiss-off to a manipulative lover.

On Fallen, Lee was like a vampiric­ Kewpie doll, haunted by her demons but also fragile and sexless. “When you’re young, you’re so awkward about yourself and your body,” she explains. But now she’s getting less shy about embracing her feminine side — and about being sexy. “I feel so much better now, so much more confident. So free.”

The black cloud that’s haunted Lee hasn’t blown over completely, though. Balsamo suffered a stroke in November, when a blood clot in one of his neck arteries entered his brain; he says he’s only about 60 percent recovered and still has some paralysis in his left arm. And in July, bassist Will Boyd announced he was quitting to spend more time with his family, leaving the band scrambling for a replacement.

 But Lee isn’t worried. “I’ve really broken down the door of being afraid all the time,” she says. “I’m not going back to where I was — ever.”

The next afternoon, Lee phones Blender. It’s a wet, gray Friday, and she’s playing the piano and listening to the drizzle on her window. “I love it,” she says, laughing. “I’m only happy when it rains.”

She’s at her brand-new apartment near Manhattan’s tony Gramercy Park that she shares with her cats, Shermie and Stella. (Her last pet, a kitten named Zero, was eaten by coyotes before the move from California.) The building is part of a converted 19th-century church, complete with turrets, a spire, stained-glass windows and her favorite, a massive marble bathtub. “It’s like you’re being baptized,” she gushes.

Lee also has a new boyfriend, Josh, a 28-year-old therapist who lives in New York. They’ve been friends since Lee was a teenager, and she’s always kinda-sorta had a thing for him but could never bring herself to admit it. “To be honest, I felt like I wasn’t good enough for him,” she says. “He’s kind, he’s a good listener, he makes me do breathing exercises when I freak out. It’s the first stable relationship I’ve ever been in.”

Josh is also, she admits, at the risk of sounding “like a stupid obsessed weirdo­,” her secret muse. She wrote “Bring Me to Life” about him, and he inspired one of The Open Door’s most touching moments, a tender, album-closing ballad called “Good Enough.” It’s the sound of a woman who may have finally found true love — probably as close to contentment as a death-obsessed goth princess is going to get.

“When I first heard it, I was worried — like, ‘This is corny, it doesn’t fit our image,’” Lee says. “But you know what I’m realizing? Sometimes it’s okay to have a happy ending.”

Source: Blender.com

This was from the fall of 1998, a few months before the first EP was issued. Gabe interviewed Ben & Amy for Enclave.

Gabe: Who are you guys? Where are you from? How'd you meet? you know, bio stuff...

Ben: Evanescence consists of two people; Amy Lee and myself, Ben Moody I was born in Arkansas and Amy was born in Florida. Several years ago Amy and myself were attending a youth camp. I was playingwith the praise and worship group and Amy was a camper. During some kind of break/recreation time I was sitting in the gym watching a basketball game. On the other side of the court was a stage for plays and a piano. I was just sitting there bored to tears when all of the sudden I was given a quick jolt as my ears were filled with the sound of the piano intro to Meatloaf's "I Would Do Anything For Love." I looked over at the piano and there was this girl effortlessly displaying emmence amounts of talent. After my initial envious rage subsided I hopped to my feet and ranright through the basketball game straight to the piano and introduced myself. She then impressed me further with songs that she had written. I thought I was in heaven. But then she sang. I nearly died. coming from this tiny little youth camp reject was one of the most powerful, beautiful voices I'd ever heard. So I somehow convinced her to never play with anyone else again and she's been mine ever since. We've had the same dream from the beginning; to write with everything in us and totally do the music we love while at the same time using that as a tool to share with others what Christ has done in our lives.

Gabe: Who are your influences musically, lyrically and otherwise?

Ben: We have a huge list of influences. Musically we've been influenced greatly all the way from Living Sacrifice and Type O Negative to Portishead, Counting Crows, and Sarah McLachlan. One of our biggest influences (and one of our favorite bands) is Garbage. We try to take a little something from everthing that we get in to. Believe it or not, we're HEAVILY influenced by stuff we loved in the eighties. Lyrically, though, we're more influenced by authors and poets that we like. Alot of our lyrics stem from short stories that we've written or books that we've read or movies we've seen. We try to put originality and meaning first when when writing lyrics.

Gabe: How do you feel being Christian musicians when Christian music is sooo dominated by talentless hacks who provide no challenge in their music? (CCM)

Ben: It's not like it was a concious choice, actually. We're musicians who write about things that affect our life. If I was taking the trash out and was suddenly struck with the inspiration to write a song about it, I'd probably do it. Our relationship with Christ is one of the biggest parts of our lives so of course we tend to be heavily lyrically influenced by that. We didn't just decide to become "Christian musicians", it just happened that way.

Gabe: So far Arkansas' contributions to the Christian Music scene have been darker types of bands (Living Sacrifice, Mindrage, Eso Charis) and you obviously fit into dark, but far from metal. How did you get interested in goth music?

Ben: It's funny you should ask that. We happen to know all those bands personally. Alot of our musical background is rooted in metal. The majority of my inspiration to use the style of music you love to glorify God comes from Living Sacrifice. I've Loved them for years and so has Amy. They have one of the most incredible ministries I've ever seen. At the moment I happen to be going to Bible college with the bass player from Living Sacrifice. So I wouldn't really say that we're far from metal, we just desguise it. We kind of took what we felt were the best parts. We blended what's pretty close to the structure of traditional pop songs, the dark, melodic chord structure and agression of metal, threw in catchy melodies and an occasional catchy rock riff, and then we sat back and thought of all the ways to make it scary and we pretty much had our style. Although almost of our songs include all these things but one particular style normally dominates the others and the dominate style varies with every song so there's kind of something for every mood.
That's really all we try to do is make music that magnifies whatever mood your in.
There's nothing more iritating than turning on the radio right after you've just been hurt or betrayed and hearing some stupid pop song about standing by you or sunny days or some crap like that. When you're sad, you wanna hear from someone who's been there and understands. And you certainly can't turn to Christian music. We want people to know that your salvation is not going to keep people from hurting you and it's not going to stop you from feeling pain. But you are not alone. God made you the way you are for a reason. There are other people who think, feel, and dream the same way you do and Christ will never abandon you whether you go through trials or not. I think that's why we fell into the "goth" category. We're just emotional and we find that embracing your "dark emotions" and not denying them brings you one step closer to happiness. You'll never be able to love other people and share the love of Christ with others until you look at yourself through Christ's eyes and aceept yourself they way He accepts you.

Gabe: When's the album coming out and can you tell us who the label is yet?

Ben: I can't tell you the label yet but I can tell you that the album will be done through ABC Productions and will be produced by Michael Tate (of dc Talk) and Chad Chapen. Our goal is to release it in the summer.

Gabe: I've heard you've added some more people to the band. Who are they and how does this change the band's sound?

Ben: Actually, we lost a few people. Amy and I have spend endless hours triyng to put bands together so that we could play big shows but it has been borderline impossible. So we decided it would be best to stop trying and we decided to go back to just the two of us until we signed to a label and could hire a band.

Gabe: How do you describe the band's sound or what genre would you say it is?

Ben: refer to # 4 (sorry, i guessed I gave you more info than you wanted on 4)

Gabe: What bands do you listen to now, both Christian and secular?

Ben: We listen to the same old stuff really. Sarah McLachlan, Sacrifice, Mindrage, Portishead, Type O Negative, alot of classical music, alot of Garbage. I really like Savage Garden, Tonic, and Tool.

Gabe: It's 2am. You're hungry, what do you snack on?

Amy: Bread w/ honey, hot cocoa
Ben: Cereal. Love cereal, and anything with caffiene

Gabe: Where do you see the band going in the future? How do you think the sound will evolve?

Ben: Being that this will be our first cd on a major label, we're going to have to pay our dues before we can do everything we want. This first album is going to have a little more structure. We'll have to stray a little from the "rock opera" stuff where there's "movements" in the song and countless riffs and lots of theatrics. However, we eventually would like to perfect the art of portraying the entire human emotional process in one album. We see ourselves still being radio friendly, but continually growing in creativity. We are always searching for new ways to make people feel our music instead of just listening to it. As time goes by our style will evolve and though we can't predict how at this time, we can tell you that we will always retain the sincerity and emotion in every song we write.

Gabe: Okay, standard question. It's your fantasy dinner what four guests (dead or alive) do you invite?

Amy: Janis Joplin, Ben Moody, Bjork, and Beth Gibbens
Ben: The Mendoza's, Amy Lee, Jimi Hendrix, Weird Al Yankovich

Gabe: Do you have a website?

Ben: I'm pretty good with computers but unfortunately I haven't had enough time to get even the slightest bit good at making websites so we don't have one as of yet.

Souce: http://www.enclaveonline.org/
Thanks to NotAChristianBand.com

Amy Lee is in New York, deep in the throes of promotion for Evanescence's headlining fall tour, on the day that she speaks to AOL Music. Her voice -- frequently hiccupped by laughter -- is confident yet soft, with a girlish intonation, while her words are quick to exit a mouth that frames thousands of thoughts before the next.

Lee is currently enjoying her three-week hiatus from the road. To say the break is much-deserved would be an understatement. Evanescence have been touring behind their latest album, 'The Open Door,' for one year now, and in that time have suffered yet another lineup change with the exit of guitarist John LeCompt and drummer Rocky Gray. It's not all fodder for tragedy, though. Lee married her longtime friend, Josh Hartzler, in May, which she credits for her newfound -- and steadfast -- happiness. "I feel like I've knocked through a lot of walls and gotten to, like, a healthy place," she says assuredly. "I do think I'm in a good place."

It's a welcome assertion from the 25-year-old woman who's both cheered and jeered as a brooding, maudlin Gothic queen -- a reptutation that Lee, no matter how much she smiles, can shake. Ask her, however, and she'll give it to you straight: Nothing is ever as it seems.

Evanescence have been on the road for a year now and are headlining a fall tour. That's a pretty rigorous schedule. Are you tired?

Well, I've done it better this time. When we toured 'Fallen,' I was absolutely exhausted. We didn't take hardly any time off between tours. Touring for a year means a bunch of tours with a couple days or a couple weeks off in between. We did the same thing this time, except instead of taking a day off before going on another tour, we took two weeks here and there. I've actually had three weeks off just now, so I feel pretty ready to go. And I've have enough time to really think about the set list and all the cool things I want to do that we haven't done in a long time. I just really want to make it the best tour because I know it's the last one, and I want to go out with a bang.

The band also underwent another round of lineup changes, with the exit of guitarist John LeCompt and drummer Rocky Gray, and the addition of guitarist Troy McLawhorn and drummer Will Hunt. How has not only this change, but the other lineup alterations in Evanescence, affected you?

People, when they talk about [the lineup changes], make it like this thing that happened over the course of, I don't know, a few months or a year or something. But it's been over the course of five years. But everything is really good right now. We did change a few members this year, and of course it affects me. It's a big deal -- it's not something you ever want to do. It would be so much easier if we could all just get along, and everything would work perfectly and everybody would not grow and everyone would stay the same person forever. But that's just not how it works. That's why you go through so many relationships in your life. We're all happier and we're functional now with Will and Troy. They love playing with us and I absolutely love playing with them. It's definitely a good thing.

Have you already started writing new material for the follow-up to 'The Open Door'?

There's always stuff kind of in my head or coming out. I've written a few things but I don't really know what its place is. I don't want to make a plan, and I don't want to give myself a date or worry about anything. I just want to write music and then figure out what to do. I really want to branch out and continue to move forward. I am writing but I'm not sure what to do with it yet.

You recently got married in May to your longtime friend, Josh Hartzler. Did you find it weird to say "my husband" at first?

Yeah., I'm just starting to get used to it [laughs]. For the first couple of months, you can't say it without laughing. It's like you're joking. It's really weird.

What's married life like for you?

It's good and it makes everything a little bit easier in a lot of ways. It's sort of like, everything isn't the end of the world and it's not all your responsibility. You're part of a team so you have the power from that other person, too, who's working with you. You're not just on your own. I don't know ... it's better than that.

What does your husband bring to your life that maybe you didn't have before or couldn't have on your own?

This could take a while. I'll just give you a short answer. He's actually a counselor -- like a psychologist. It's sort of cool 'cause it's a field that I was actually always into. I've definitely learned a lot from him besides that the other stuff -- like what he has to offer as far as mental health and rationalizing, not rationalizing, analyzing what's going on around me and why people act the way they do. I think the most interesting thing is that people hurt you. When people are being mean or cruel, and you're like, "Why would you do this?" it's really just projecting their own pain in a different way. It makes it easier to turn your anger or hatred at whatever into pity and love for other people ... if that makes any sense. I don't know if it even sounds like I'm talking about my husband right now, but he's a really cool person with a lot to offer.

I understand the band's new single, 'Good Enough,' was written about your husband. Was this before the two of you were together?

Well, we met when I was, like, eighteen years old, but we didn't keep in touch very well, and he always just made an effort to find my number from a friend or whatever. When I first met him, I totally had a huge crush on him, but I was in another relationship, and I didn't address it and tried to push it down. But it's funny because it's just like nature -- it's just meant to be.Years later, I got out of a hard relationship with a difficult breakup and was so not ready for another relationship He called me like the next week or the next month and was like, "Hey, we should hang out. I'm in town." We had been living across the country from each other. So I met him at this party, knowing that it was dangerous, and I wrote the song two weeks later. I waited until it was done then I played it for him. I knew I would be really nervous -- way more nervous than playing in front a huge crowd. He loved it.

How did growing up in a small town -- Little Rock, Arkansas -- shape who you are?

We moved there when I was a very impressionable thirteen year old, and I was on the hinge of going through that whole stage of "I hate this." We moved all the time because my dad's in radio, so it was like, "I was happy where I was, and then we moved. Why did we have to come to this podunk town?" There was just all this negativity. And I was different. I used to dress really weird ... not that I don't now [laughs]. I went to the school, and it was like a college prep school, and it was just really strange. It was a weird fit for me. I was kind of a loner there for a while. And I think that's what really informed me later because it was like, I was forced to think and feel, and all the things you do when you're a teenager and a pre-teenager. So, I started getting really into the writing. It became my outlet for all the bad stuff that I was feeling, and it's been a lot of that for a long time. I'm only really more recently becoming a person who can draw from all emotions to make music, not just the painful ones.

Do you remember the first song that you ever wrote?

I think so. I don't know which one counts, because at first I thought I wanted to be a classical composer, so there's one called 'Eternity of the Remorse.' It's really depressing and very dramatic [laughs]. I have the sheet written out from when I was, like, eleven. But then the first real song, I wrote for English class in the eigth grade. We either had to write a short story or a song. I was like, "I'm gonna do something nobody else is doing." And I wrote this song and recorded it on a cassette tape, playing guitar and singing with a friend of mine from choir who did backup vocals. It was strange to me and I kinda became obsessed with it because remembering who I was, I was like the quite girl in the corner and then I played the tape and everybody was freaking out. My teacher showed it to all the classes. It was a really cheesy song. It was called 'A Single Tear' ... "will linger here inside me forever." Seriously, it was so bad, but for an eighth grader they thought it was pretty impressive.

It seems there's always been some preconceptions as to who you are. Are there any you would like to shatter?

This is my chance [laughs]! I'm gonna say this 'cause a big part of growing up in this whole world -- this whole celebrity thing -- is learning that you have to let go of what people care and think about you. You have to let go of worrying about "Why do they think that? That isn't true. They don't know me." It doesn't matter. All that matters are your friends -- the people who actually know you. There's no way you can possibly convince the world who you really are when they've never even met you.

by Jessica Robertson

Source: http://www.popeater.com/

Evanescence's Amy Lee loves her some Halloween, which, if you ask us, is pretty convenient given she has a voice that could wake the dead. To that end, Lee, who just lent her pipes to a version of 'Sally's Song' on the 'Nightmare Revisted' soundtrack, and who is currently in the throes of writing new songs of her own, sat down with Spinner to reveal her Top Five favorite horror films just in time for the holiday.

1. 'Nightmare Before Christmas': I have to watch this movie at Halloween, and the fact that I get to be a part of it [on the 'Nightmare Revisited' soundtrack], as an uber-fan, is great. I watch this movie with my family every year. When this movie came out it, inspired me creatively. I was a big art nerd.

2. 'Halloween': You have to watch this movie, and the original is the one to watch. I've been watching this movie for so long and I have so many memories of being scared. Also, with the older movies, you feel like you're in a different time. I liked the new one a lot, too. My husband is a giant Mike Myers fan and even he liked it.

3. 'Carrie': This is such a great one. I just love seeing the downtrodden get revenge like that. And [Sissy Spacek's] a great actress in this movie.

4. 'Psycho': And then the Hitchcock movies. 'Psycho' is especially scary. It still creeps me out and it's very old. I didn't see the new one.

5. 'The Birds': This is one of the first scary movies I was allowed to watch. It was really scary when I was young and it's still scary now, in its non-gore way. It's very subtle.

Source: Spinner.com

The Gauntlet: Come vanno le cose?

Amy: Va tutto bene. Sono qui a New York da quattro giorni dopo gli impegni a Los Angeles per 'Nightmare'.

TG: Quando dici 'nightmare' ti riferisci al fatto che la scorsa settimana a Los Angeles è stato un incubo o alla promozione per l'album 'Nightmare Revisited'?

Amy: [ride] No, era riferito alla colonna sonora.

TG: E' andato tutto bene?

Amy: E' stato meraviglioso. Penso che la scorsa settimana sia stata una delle migliori, se non la migliore, della mia vita. Sono accadute tantissime cose. Andare a Leno è stato bello ma ci sono state un sacco di altre cose. Ho incontrato Danny Elfman che è sempre stato il mio eroe. E' stato incredibilmente gentile ed è stato meraviglioso per me essere invitata nella sua fantastica casa. Ho anche suonato ad El Capitan nella serata in onore di Danny [Elfman]. In quell'occasione ho suonato la canzone che lui scrisse molti anni fa. E' stato meraviglioso vedere i nostri mondi incontrarsi perchè sia il film che Danny Elfman hanno avuto una grandissima importanza nella mia vita. Fargli questo omaggio senza che risultasse orribile è stato veramente, veramente bello. Oh, sono stata anche a Disneyland.

TG: E' stata la tua prima volta a Disneyland?

Amy: Sì. Da bambina sono stata in Florida e andammo a Disney World ma non ci sono più tornata per anni. Dopo Leno ed El Capitan abbiamo passato lì un giorno intero. Con me c'erano mio marito e alcuni cari amici; Will Hunt [non il Will degli Evanescence] che ha prodotto 'Sally's Song' e sua moglie. Avevamo qualche ora da spendere e ci siamo detti 'andiamo a Disneyland'!

TG: Io sono del sud della California e sono obbligato. Mediamente in un anno vado a Disneyland 15 volte ma ci sono stati anni in cui siamo arrivati a 50!

Amy: Ci sono arrivata anche io!

TG: Ho due bambini quindi non è solo per me.

Amy: E' così bello. La maggior parte delle volte mentre sono nel parco vado per le strade. Amo Space Mountain. Ci siamo divertiti molto e l'abbiamo fatto per due volte. Mentre ripartivamo, sulla strada per l'aereoporto ho pensato che sia stata la settimana più bella della mia vita. L'unico rimpianto è stato di non aver fatto lo Space Mountain 3 volte. Ho detto 'E se tornassimo a Disneyland adesso?'. Non avevamo nulla da fare il giorno dopo. Tutti hanno pensato che fossi impazzita perchè avremmo dovuto cambiare i voli. Ci siamo messi a ridere e siamo tornati indietro. E' stata la cosa più divertente che abbia mai fatto ed è riuscito tutto perfettamente. Siamo stati così fortunati. Questa volta siamo riusciti anche a vedere i fuochi d'artificio. E' stato incredibile. Abbiamo passato l'intera giornata sui vari giochi. Divertentissimo. Siamo stati su Space Mountain altre tre volte e siamo saliti su tutti i giochi dei bambini.

TG: Sei stata su Mr. Toad Wild Ride?

Amy: No, su quello no. Abbiao fatto tutto il resto.

TG: Potrei parlare di Disneyland tutto il giorno ma sarà meglio tornare alla musica. Sally's Song è stata scelta da qualcuno per te?

Amy: Sono stata io a sceglierla. Non avrei mai pensato di diventare parte di 'Nightmare Revisited'. Ho parlato con il supervisore musicale e ho nominato l'album. Ero eccitatissima all'idea e mi sono proposta per fare una canzone. Sono una fan accanita. Gli dissi che il film era molto importante per me e che non avrebbe mai potuto trovare un fan più gande di me. Mi chiede quale canzone avrei voluto fare e ho risposto 'Sally's Song'. In realtà ce n'era anche un'altra che avrei voluto fare, ma più di tutte 'Sally's Song'. Mi risposero che erano disponibili 3 canzoni ma non pensai che funzionassero con una voce femminile senza sciuparle. Decisi allora di no perchè o realizzavo qualcosa di bello o non ne avrei fatto di niente. Immagino che chiunque fosse stato scelto per 'Sally's Song' abbia riununciato o non abbia potuto e quindi mi hanno richiamata. La cosa più bella è stata che ho avuto carta bianca senza alcuna indicazione da nessuno alla Disney o alla casa discografica. E' stata un'esperienza estremamente creativa. Dovevo solo andare a casa e pensarci; abbracciare tutte le cose che amavo delle canzoni e qualunque cosa potesse aggiungere il 'mio' tocco, secondo il gusto di Amy. Sapevo che volevo suonare l'arpa nella canzone ed è stato bellissimo farlo per la prima volta in questa occasione. Ho contattato Will Hunt, il produttore e batterista, e nell'arco di qualche giorno era pronta. E' stata fatta in completa libertà e penso che sia una delle cose migliori che abbia fatto ed non dovrà mai essere toccata. Nessuno creda di farne un qualche pazzo mix o trasformarla in una canzone pop o aggiungere parole e voci.

TG: Deve essere stato strano da grande fan di Danny Elfman, che è un brillante autore, avere campo libero per cambiare il suo materiale in qualunque modo fino a che non fosse andato bene?

Amy: Ero leggermente combattutta ed è stata dura. La canzone è veramente corta del film. Ho dovuto ad esempio aggiungere il chorus una volra in più o magari aggiungere un bridge. E' stata una cosa alla quale ho pensato molto. Mi chiedevo 'è sbagliato che scriva una parte della canzone?'. Nel contesto del film era solo una piccola parte dei suo pensieri. Dal momento in cui ho cominciato a lavorarci questa parte è venuta fuori e mi è piaciuta molto. Mi sono sentita come se l'avessi sempre voluta. Guardare lei che canta la sua parte era come il culmine del film. Nel film lei è così controllata e non canta mai le parole fino in fondo. E' così calma. Ma per me quando cantavo la canzone in macchina mentre andavo a scuola, le angosce esistenziali da adolescente venivano fuori e cantavo a squasciagola la mia parte preferita. Ho voluto renderlo almeno in parte nella canzone. Quando inizia il bridge, le emozioni sono al culmine. Allo stesso tempo la canzone è perfetta come quando Danny Elfman la scrisse. E' stata nella mia testa per almeno 14 anni. Non sembra ma penso più o meno di aver avuto 12 anni.

TG: Danny Elfman ha commentato la tua versione della canzone?

Amy: Sì. Ho sentito solo commenti positivi e mi fa molto piacere. Non avrei mai pensato quando ho realizzato la canzone che ci sarebbe stata anche l'occasione di suonarla live. Più tardi ho sentito dire in giro, chissà quando possa essere attendibile, che a lui è piaciuta molto. Dissero che aveva chiesto di me per suonare nella serata a El Capitan e ne fui lusingata. E' stato veramente bello dopo che ho suonato la canzone. Mi ha detto un 'hai fatto centro'. Ero veramente nervosa mentre suonavo l'arpa dato che era solo la seconda volta che la suonavo di fronte ad un pubblico e sapevo che questo avrebbe aggiunto ulteriore pressione. Non volevo tirarmi indietro e non mettermi alla prova. Ho lavorato con l'arpa e mi piace moltissimo. Ho anche scritto un po' con essa. Ho potuto suonare tutto il piano dato che la parte con l'arpa è molto piccola nella canzone. Ci ho pensato e ripensato e non volevo che fosse una copia di cose che avevo già fatto. Ho sempre voluto imparare a suonare cose più difficili. Voglio suonare pezzi più difficili con il piano e mettermi alla prova. Voglio imparare nuovi strumenti. Sono orgogliosa di me e del fatto che abbia scelto una strada più difficile. E' piacevole da vedere e il suo suono è bellissimo. Sicuramente in futuro suonerò l'arpa molto di più.

TG: Ci sarà un progetto solista o con gli Evanescence?

Amy: Non so cosa succederà. Sono ad un punto in cui non so cosa avverà dopo: un progetto solista o un film. Sono veramente interessata alle colonne sonore. Lo sono sempre stata. So solo che devo cavalcare l'onda degli Evanescence finchè va. Amo The Open Door ed è stata una cosa grande per me. Ho sempre avuto un vero amore per la composizione delle musiche per film. Ho messo un piede dentro e posso conoscere le persone giuste adesso. Devo solo trovare il progetti giusto per me, che mi appassioni. Ci potrebbe volere un po' di tempo. Spero che arrivi e che quelle persone abbiano fiducia in me e nel fatto che io scriva la musica per quel film. Oltre a questo, scrivo sempre canzoni. Ma non so che destino avranno per ora.

TG: Sei riuscita a assorbire qualcosa del genio di Elfman?

Amy: Un pochino ma non voglio sembrare solo una grande fan. Abbiamo parlato anche di argomenti normali. Abbiamo parlato di qualunque cosa volesse. Volevo essere una collega non una bambina.

TG: Scrivere colonne sonore è una cosa molto diversa. Certo, è sempre musica ma la connessione con i fans se ne va. Incidi una canzone e non c'è tour, passi alla successiva.

Amy: Esatto. E' così coinvolgente e drammatico. Con la nostra musica lo puoi avvertire. Io sempre cerco di catturare immagini e mettere le maggiori emozioni in ognuna. Amo mescolare molta batteria e molta chitarra, la paura e la rabbia che scivolano poi in vulnerabile assolo di piano. Puoi sentire tutte queste cose così diverse. Penso che sia totalmente senza senso ma penso che questo siano sempre stati gli Evanescence. E' la mia vita in un certo senso ma più grande e più drammatica. Scrivere la colonna sonora di un film è incredibile per un sacco di ragioni ma è catturare le emozioni delle persone e mostrarle al pubblico facendogli così capire le sensazioni dei protagonisti che fa il film. Penso che l'idea di starmene a casa a scrivere musica sia meravigliosa. Scriverne una parte e dire ok, esco, torno dopo, sono libera. E non essere in tour forsennati rimane un sogno.

TG: Questo è un sogno? Mi stai dicendo come scrivere una canzone bellissima e carica di emozione e poi lasciarla andare. Se n'è andata e non è più tua.

Amy: Ma è ancora mia. Porta il mio nome e posso vederla milioni di volte. Al posto di cantarla ancora ancora e ancora una volta fino al punto in cui non senti più quelle emozioni perchè ripeti le parole meccanicamente. Una delle cose che più mi annoia in tour è che non posso dire come mi sento in quel momento. Non canto quello che sento in quell'istante ma quello che sentivo 3 anni prima. Diventa così monotono. Avere la possibilità di usare il tempo per fare qualcosa di nuovo e attuale.. passa così tanto tempo prima che quello che scrivo venga pubblicato. Così quello che le persone pensano di me o credono che io provi è quello che ero 3 o 4 anni fa ed è sempre così. Ci vuole così tanto tempo dalla scrittura della canzone alla registrazione e al tour. Canto sempre qualcosa del passato. E' carino e sono orgogliosa del mio passato e amo le canzoni che ho scritto. Allo stesso tempo non è più quello che sono e quello che sento.

TG: Il fatto che 'Sally's Song' sia stata registrata come Amy Lee e non come Evanescence è un modo per lanciare una carriera solista?

Amy: Non è questo. Non so se succederà. E' una possibilità che ho ma non è detto che prenda quella strada. E' naturale che tutto proceda come band. Non sto per fare un annuncio. Fa tutto parte di me. E' difficile dire che gli Evanescence siano una cosa a sè stante. Ci sono Terry e Tim adesso, gli altri ragazzi sono stati cambiati di recente. Sapevano che c'era un tour e sapevano che ce ne sarebbe stato un altro una volta finito. Terry ha l'occasione di suonare in una band con il bassista dei Limp Bizkit. In molti sensi è quello che è accaduto l'ultima volta. Tra Fallen e The Open Door tutti hanno preso le loro strade. Poi Terry e io abbiamo scritto il cd, rimesso la band insieme e registrato per poi fare il tour. Non viviamo tuttti insieme nella stessa casa scrivendo canzoni tutto il tempo e giocando ai video games. Questa canzone è un progetto mio che mi ha appassionato tantissimo. Ho registrato io gli arrangiamenti e gli strumenti e non è stata in nessun senso una collaborazione come Evanescence. Non voglio essere falsa. Non voglio usare la parola 'Evanescence' e sfruttare il fatto che tutti conoscono quel nome.

The singer chats with SPIN.com about her band's infighting, a new solo album, scoring films, and more.

With Nightmare Revisited, Evanescence's Amy Lee has released her first new material since her band's 2006 multi-platinum hit, The Open Door. Add that to the departure of two Evanescence members and Lee's ever-growing musical independence, and the songstress has some explaining to do.

Lee, who is busy writing new material, talks with SPIN.com about the messy split of Evanescence's guitarist John LeCompt and drummer Rocky Gray, writing a solo album, scoring films, and "Sally's Song," her contribution to Nightmare Revisited, the new collection of covers from Tim Burton's 1993 film, The Nightmare Before Christmas.

On the state of Evanescence:
"It's a difficult situation, as is every dramatic situation our band has gone through. John [LeCompt, guitar], Rocky [Gray, drums] -- we outgrew each other. When they joined the band, Fallen was just completed and they were excited to be a part of something really big. From the beginning, their musical styles were very different from Evanescence. I think to a degree they got bored or frustrated. They weren't part of the creative process and were like, 'Why are we doing this?' Their writing just didn't work for Evanescence, and I have to do what's best for the band. I've had a little bit of contact with John since and it was positive. Very few bands have been able to maintain their original members forever."

On new songs and a solo album:
"I need to show that I’m more than a one trick pony. I'm writing here at the house by myself and it's been really good. But I'd really like to do something different next. [The new songs] are definitely different. I feel like I'm going back to my really old roots. They have more of my folky and Celtic influence than ever before. And it's not all sad -- it's nothing I would categorize as Evanescence."

On scoring films:
"My biggest dream from the beginning -- besides Evanescence -- is scoring film and writing music for film. And I've definitely had that in my head and have been trying to connect with the right people to get involved with the right project. I really feel like it would be great to get into a project that's bigger than myself and be the creator and not necessarily just the performer."

On Nightmare Revisited:
"The Nightmare Before Christmas is my number one biggest influence artistically in every way. [When I was young] I literally would sit in my bedroom and sing 'Sally's Song,' or in the car driving to school. The best part about it [recording the song] was that I had no restrictions or direction or anything. I picked the producer, who's a friend, and we just made the song however we wanted together. [We recorded the song] three months ago, in Fort Worth, TX."

By William Goodman

*****

La cantante parla con SPIN.com riguardo i problemi della band, il nuovo album solista, le colonne sonore, e molto altro.

Con Nightmare Revisited, Amy Lee degli Evanescence ha realizzato il primo nuovo materiale da quando nel 2006 la sua band ha pubblicato l'album ormai multi-platino The Open Door. Oltre a questo la dipartita di due membri degli Evanescence e la sua sempre crescente indipendenza musicale, la cantautrice ha molte cose da spiegare.

Lee, che è attualmente impegnata nella composizione di nuovo materiale, parla con SPIN.com riguardo la triste separazione del chitarrista John LeCompt e del batterista Rocky Gray, la scrittura di un album solista, le colonne sonore e 'Sally's Song', il suo brano contenuto in Nightmare Revisited, il nuovo cd di covers del film del 1993 di Tim Burton, The Nightmare Before Christmas.

Sugli Evanescence:
'E' una situazione difficile, così come tutte le altre difficoltà attraverso cui la band è dovuta passare. John [LeCompt, chitarra], Rocky [Gray, batteria] -- siamo cresciuti in modi diversi. Quando entrarono nel gruppo, Fallen era stato appena completato ed erano veramente eccitati di essere parte di un qualcosa di grande. Fin dall'inizio, i loro stili musicali sono sempre stati molto diversi da quello degli Evanescence. Penso che ad un certo punto si siano sentiti annoiati e frustrati. Non sono stati parte del processo creativo ed era come se si chiedessero, 'Perchè lo stiamo facendo?'. Le loro composizioni non funzionavano per gli Evanescence, e io dovevo fare quello che era meglio per la band. Da allora ho avuto qualche piccolo contatto con John ed è stato positivo. Pochissime band riescono a mantenere il loro membri originali per sempre'.

Sulle nuove canzoni e l'album solista:
'Ho bisogno di far capire alla gente che riesco a seguire più percorsi artistici. Sto scrivendo a casa da sola ed è veramente bello. Ma mi piacerebbe fare qualcosa di diverso dopo. Le nuove canzoni sono decisamente differenti. Mi sento come se stessi tornando alle mie vere origini. Adesso più che mai sento moltissime delle influenze folk e Celtiche. E non tutto è triste -- non è niente che potrei difinire come Evanescence'.

Sulle colonne sonore:
'Il mio più grande sogno, da sempre -- insieme agli Evanescence - è scrivere colonne sonore e musiche per film. Le ho sempre avute in testa e adesso sto cercando di mettermi in contatto con le persone giuste che mi possano aiutare ad essere coinvolta nei progetti giusti. Sono convinta che sarebbe grandioso essere coinvolta in un progetto più gramde di me e che mi veda come creatrice e non necessariamente come la performer'.

Su Nightmare Revisited:
'The Nightmare Before Christmas è la mia prima e più grande influenza artistica in ogni senso. Quando ero piccola stavo, letteralmente, seduta nella mia camera e cantavo 'Sally's Song', oppure in macchina mentre andavo a scuola. La parte migliore nel registrare questa canzone è stato che non avevo ricevuto restrizioni o direttive di alcun tipo. Ho scelto il produttore, che è un amico, e abbiamo realizzato la canzone così come abbiamo voluto. L'abbiamo registrata 3 mesi fa a Forth worth, Texas'

By William Goodman

Source Spin.com

By Mike Usinger
Publish Date: January 18, 2007

Proving he has no delusions of grandeur, John LeCompt knows full well that Evanescence is all about one person: Amy Lee. So even though the guitarist has been by the singer’s side since before the band had a record deal, he in some ways still considers himself hired help.
“Evanescence is Amy’s band,” the easygoing LeCompt says matter of factly, on the line from an Ottawa tour stop. “She’s the head of the whole deal and we all respect that. And that makes it fun for me. We’re doing so well that we are all totally taken care of on the road—we have all these people whose jobs are to make sure we’re happy. At home I’m a husband and a father of two, so I have to be a grownup. Out here I don’t have to be a grownup. I can just do the rock-star thing, and that’s totally cool.”
As the raised-on-death-metal guitarist notes, Evanescence is indeed doing well these days, something that—considering the drama of the past couple of years—few would have predicted. The soap opera started in the months after 2003’s Fallen rocketed up the charts, transforming the Little Rock, Arkansas, band from DIY nobodies into one of the decade’s biggest success stories. As students of ancient history know, Lee had a major falling out with founding guitarist Ben Moody, leading to his abrupt departure mid-tour. Considering that Moody cowrote most of Fallen with the singer, all but the faithful were ready to write Evanescence off as a one-hit wonder. Seeing how the debut album sold 14 million copies, few could blame them.
Initially determined to go it alone, Lee teamed up with Moody’s replacement, guitarist Terry Balsamo, to dream up The Open Door, a dark-skies fusion of nü-metal, coffin-black goth, and ethereal rock that shipped platinum right out of the box. Nothing—including the departure last year of long-time bassist Will Boyd and a mild stroke suffered by Balsamo—has slowed the band down. Whether you’ll argue the group is a one-woman show or not, there’s no disputing that Evanescence is now one of rock ’n’ roll’s few legitimate superstar acts. For LeCompt, who contributed to the writing of both Fallen and The Open Door, that means he’s achieved—and maintained—a level of success he never dreamed of back in the ’90s, when he played with a string of go-nowhere metal acts.
John LeCompt sounds off on the things that enquiring minds want to know.

On joining Evanescence: “It wasn’t as cut and dried as getting a phone call and asking me if I wanted to be a part of it. They [Amy and Ben] always had a hard time putting together a band because they were way more into the recording aspect. I’d help them out now and then, but they’d also get guys who didn’t prepare themselves—guys who’d show up and play out of tune. Because Ben loved my music from other bands, and because I’ve got my stuff together, I gradually ended up playing with them full-time.”

On Ben Moody: “I love the kid, but he was a real control freak—even worse than me. He wanted to have his hands in everything. But I contributed a lot of music, and some of it got used.”

On fan loyalty: “What’s cool about Evanescence is that the fans feel like they are part of it—they’ve literally grown up with us. A lot of kids were 12 or 13 when they first discovered us. Now they are 16 or 17 and they are still with us.”

“Most of the guys that I hung out with were always like ‘Dude, we’re going to make it by putting a band together and playing music,’” he relates. “I was always like ‘Dude, that’s never going to happen—it’s a huge world, we all live in a small town. Just play for the love of playing.’ It’s funny, but none of those guys play anymore.”
In some ways, however, the legacy of Little Rock’s now-retired rivet-heads lives on. LeCompt argues that Evanescence was strongly influenced by the metal bands that he and drummer Rocky Gray did time in during their younger years. That was especially true on Fallen.
“I definitely feel a lot of my spirit all over that record,” he says. “Ben Moody was so much younger than me—he kind of grew up watching bands that me and Rocky were in. He took a lot of influence from our playing, and he actually played guitar a lot like me because he learned from me.”
As much as he loved Moody, LeCompt figures that he has more in common with Balsamo, which meant that everyone in Evanescence was more or less on the same page when they were recording The Open Door. For proof of that, check out “Lose Control”, which counterbalances Lee’s funereal vocals with brute-force blasts of metal-church guitar.
“We’re the same age, so we have the same influences,” he says of Lee’s new right-hand man. “All the death metal bands that I like, he liked. We basically grew up in the ’80s in two different places but with totally similar tastes. Although we never met each other until the band [Evanescence], we just clicked automatically.”
Like both Balsamo and Lee, LeCompt realized that Evanescence had plenty at stake on The Open Door.
“It dawned on me that we could be one of those one-hit-wonder bands,” he admits. “But at the same time, I wasn’t really feeling that that was going to happen. Looking at the Internet and stuff, kids are really avid fans of the group. They don’t just like it because they like the songs, they like the whole thing: Amy’s beauty and where she’s coming from and the darkness of the band. So I figured we’d be around for a while, rather than people going ‘We’re tired of you—let’s move on to Fall Out Boy.’?”
Evanescence gives its Goth Talk–fixated disciples plenty to be captivated by on The Open Door. Featuring what sounds like a 100-strong chorus of fallen angels, “Your Star” drags classic rock through the fields of the Nephilim, while “Weight of the World” boasts enough bone-crushing riffage for the most loyal of Ministry fans. There are moments of obscene beauty (the black-skies ballad “Good Enough”) and moments that will convince you Lee is every bit as tortured as she makes herself out to be (the ode-to-the-afterlife “Like You”). Goth rock’s reigning Queen of the Damned is at her best on “Lacrymosa”, an operatic wonder that is equal parts Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Danny Elfman, and, of course, the band that made Little Rock famous.
“Terry and Amy had a lot of fun doing it [‘Lacrymosa’],” the guitarist reveals. “They were, for lack of a better way of putting things, going ‘What’s the most ridiculous thing that we can do?’ I mean, how do you expand upon Mozart, who was sort of like the metal god of his day? I don’t know if we made him sound better or cooler, but it definitely was as over-the-top as possible.”
Clearly vintage death metal and bombast-?injected goth aren’t the only things rocking Evanescence at the moment, which may explain why the band has never sounded grander.

******

By Mike Usinger
Publish Date: January 18, 2007
A dimostrazione che non soffre di delusioni di grandezza, LeCompy sa bene che gli evanescence sono una persona: Amy Lee. Perciò anche se il chitarrista è stato al fianco della cantante sin da prima che la band avesse un contratto, in qualche modo si considera ancora un aiuto assunto.
"gli Evanescence sono la band di Amy" dice LeCompt francamente, in una fermata dal tour in Ottawa. "é la mente di tutto quanto e noi tutti rispettiamo questo fatto. E rende la cosa più divertente per me. Stiamo andando così bene che ci trattano davvero bene in tour - abbiamo un sacco di gente il cui unico lavoro è far sì che noi siamo felici. A casa sono un marito e un padre di due figli, perciò devo fare l'adulto. In tour non devo fare l'adulto. Posso fare quelle cose da rock-star, ed è troppo figo."
Come nota il chitarrista cresciuto con il death metal, gli Evanescence stanno davero andando bene in questi giorni, qualcosa che -considerando i drammi degli ultimi due anni - in pochi si sarebbero aspettati. La soap opera è iniziata nei mesi dopo che Fallen ha scalato le classifiche come un razzo, trasformando la band di Little Rock, Arkansas, da sconosciuti a uno dei successi più grandi dell'ultima decade. Come sanno gli studenti di storia antica, Lee ha affrontanto una sfida enorme quando il chitarrista Ben Moody ha lasciato la band nel bel mezzo del tour. Considerando che Moody aveva scritto la maggior parte di Fallen con la cantante, chiunque tranne i più fedeli era pronto a scrivere che gli Evanescence erano una band da una sola hit. Visto poi come il debut album ha venduto, pochi avrebbero potuto contraddirli. Inizialmente determinata a continuare da sola, Lee ha fatto squadra con il rimpiazzo di Moody, il chitarrista Terry Balsamo, per sognare The Open Door, Una fusione a cielo nero di new metal, gothic nero come una bara e rock etereo che è diventato di platino non appena uscito. Niente - inclusa la dipartita del bassista Will Boys e l'ictus sofferto da Balsamo - ha rallentato la band. Che siate o no d'accordo che il gruppo è solo di una donna, non c'è disputa sul fatto che gli Evanescence siano una delle poche band che sono giustamente superstar del rock. Per LeCompt, che ha contribuito alla scrittura sia di Fallen che di TOD, questo significa che ha raggiunto - e mantenuto - un livello di successo che non avrebbe mai sognato negli anni 90, mentre suonava con band metal che non sarebbero andate da nessuna parte. John rivela ciò che le menti curiose vogliono sapere.


Riguardo all'unione con gli Evanescence: “Non è stata una cosa veloce e netta come una telefonata in cui mi si chiedeva se volessi essere parte della band. Loro (Amy e Ben) avevano sempre avuto dei problemi a formare una band perchè erano più nella registrazione che altro. Io li aiutavo ogni tanto, ma assumevano anche ragazzi che non si preparavano - ragazzi che si presentavano e suonavano improvvisando. Poichè Ben amava la mia musica nelle altre band e poichè avevo tutta la mia roba pronta. gradualmente ho finito per suonare con loro full-time."

Riguardo a Ben Moody: “Voglio bene a quel ragazzo, ma era un control-freak, peggio di me. Voleva sempre mettere le mani su tutto. Ma io ho contribuito a diverse canzoni, e alcune sono state utilizzate."

Sulla lealtà dei fan: “La cosa bella degli Evanescence è che i fan sentono di essere parte della band - sono letteralmente cresciuti con noi. Molti ragazzi avevano 12, 13 anni quando ci hanno scoperto. Ora ne hanno 16 0 17 e sono ancora con noi."

"La maggior parte dei ragazzi con cui uscivo erano tipo: "Amico, metteremo su una band e suoneremo!" dice "e io ero tipo: "Amico, non accadrà mai - è un mondo enorme, viviamo tutti in una piccola città. Suona per il piacere di suonare." è divertente, ma nessuno di questi ragazzi suona più.

In qualche modo, comunque, l'eredità degli ora-pensionati di Little Rock continua a vivere. LeCompt ammette che gli Evanescence sono stati molto influenzati da band metal in cui lui e Rocky Gray suonavano da giovani. Questo è specialmente vero per Fallen.

"Sento molto del mio spirito in quell'album" dice "Ben Moody era molto più giovane di me - è cresciuto ascoltando band in cui c'eravamo io e Rocky. Ha preso molta ingluenza dal nostro modo di suonare, e in realtà suonava la chitarra come me perchè ha imparato da me."

Per quanto ami Moody, LeCompt crede di avere più in comune con Balsamo, il che significa che tutti gli Evanescence erano sulla stessa pagina nel registrare TOD. A prova di cioò, ascoltate "Lose Control", che controbilancia i vocals funerei della Lee con colpi brutali di chitarra stile metal-church. Abbiamo la stessa età, perciò abbiamo le stesse influenze" dice del nuovo braccio destro della Lee "Tutte le band di death metal che mi piacevano, piacevano anche a lui. Siamo cresciuti negli anni 80 in due posti differenti ma abbiamo gusti simili. Anche se non c'eravamo mai incontrati prima della band, ci siamo trovati subito."

Come Balsamo e la Lee, LeCompt aveva capito che con TOD gli Evanescence avevano una grande posta in gioco.
"Mi è saltato in mente che potessimo essere una di quelle band da una hit"ammette "ma allo stesso tempo, non sentivo che sarebbe stato così. Guardando in internet, i ragazzi son davvero grandi fan del gruppi. Non gli piace solo le canzoni, gli piace tutto: la bellezza di Amy e la situazione da cui proviene e l'oscurità della band. Perciò ho creduto che saremmo stati in giro per un bel po', più che gente che dice: "Siamo stanchi di voi, buttiamoci sui Fall Out Boy." Evanescence danno ai loro discepoli fissati col Goth molto per catturarli in The Open Door. Con quello che sembra un forte coro di 100 angeli caduti, "Your Star" porta il rock classico nei campi dei Nephilim, mentre "Weight Of The World" mostra abbastanza riff spacca-ossa per i più fedeli amanti dei Ministry. Ci sono momenti di oscena bellezza (La ballata a cielo nero "Good Enough") e momenti che vi convinceranno che Amy Lee è davvero torturata dentro come sembra essere (L'ode alla vita dopo la morte "Like You"). La Regina Dei Dannati regnante nel goth rock dà il meglio in "Lacrymosa", una meraviglia da opera che miscela in parti uguali Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Denny Elfman e, ovviamente, la band che ha reso celebre Little Rock. "Terry e Amy si sono divertiti molto a comporre quella (Lacrymosa)" rivela il chitarrista "Erano tipo, per dirla senza impegnarsi troppo, "Qual'è la cosa più ridicola che possiamo fare? voglio dire, come ci buttiamo su Mozart, che era il re del metal dei suoi tempi?" Non so se l'abbiamo reso migliore o più bello, ma è stato il meglio che si poteva fare." Chiaramente il death-metal vecchio stile e il goth non sono le uniche cose belle negli Evanescence al momento, cosa che potrebbe spiegare perchè la band non ha mai suonato meglio.


Source: http://www.straight.com/node/66180

The countdown's on for Evanescence's new album "The Open Door" - dude, it's almost been four years since their last mega-selling phenom. So like, it's about time. Anyway, lead singer/composer/madame in charge spent a good hour amusing us with her co-hosting duties on MOD - check out the pics below! But first, we had a few minutes with Amy to talk about the new album, designing the art and cage diving!


MuchMusic.com: I gather that there's a theme of control for you right now, like YOU are in control! That's obviously affected your album, but how has it affected your day to day life?

Amy: Well, I'm kind of going through this thing now where it's all about the album, so it doesn't feel like there's much of a difference to me in my everyday life. I am the leader. I'm doing tons of work right now. I don't do all the press by myself, on this little trip I'm the only one who came up because the guys are just chilling and practicing by themselves for a couple of days. But, you know, we make it a team effort. I think that's an important part of being a leader, including everyone.

MuchMusic.com: There's a lot of talk about expectations for this album - it's your sophomore album, you can expect that. But what's your biggest expectation?

Amy: I feel like my expectations were going to be for the outcome of the music. That's already done, so I feel completely accomplished! I had tons of huge expectations for myself. I wanted to do things bigger and better and more emotional and more personal and more intimate than anything I've ever done. I wanted to do something better than "Fallen". I don't think that's hard. To try to top record sales is stupid and impossible because if you're trying to be an artist and your only goal is money, then you're never going to come up with a good piece of art. I was really just concentrating on music and all the things I wanted to try, and all the ways I wanted to branch out and incorporate different sounds into our music and different instruments, and more personal lyrics. To me, I really feel that I've accomplished everything I wanted to, and I feel satisfied. What everyone else expects, I don't know! We'll see. I'm sure that they can't possibly expect what's coming.

MuchMusic.com: The imagery for this album is beautiful. Do you have input on that like you do with your clothes?

Amy: I actually designed the album cover. I drew the door, and there's this waterfall - I'm gonna put it online, I keep meaning to do it but I've been so busy. But, I drew it and I showed it to my manager who showed it to the label and was like, this is my vision for the album, she's walking out the open door and I want to call it "The Open Door". And when I showed up to the photoshoot, I thought we were just going to find a big door but they'd actually recreated and drawn a full scale picture of the door I had drawn! Which was really awesome! I love it. I'm very involved with the art and the videos and clothing and everything else.

MuchMusic.com: Is there a movie that inspires you visually?

Amy: Yeah! Definitely, there's a few. "The Nightmare Before Christmas", "Edward Scissorhands", "Sleepy Hollow" - all the Tim Burton movies. Those are the biggest ones, all the Tim Burton stuff.

MuchMusic.com: You seem really open about talking about anything. Is that who you are as a person?

Amy: Yeah, pretty much. I think I'm a little bit better, older and wiser about who's just out to take advantage of me and I don't share so much with those people. But yeah, my life's pretty much an open book. I feel like it's just natural, especially in the art more than anything, to just say anything and everything. The more I get out of my system, the better I feel.

MuchMusic.com: Are you open to adventure?

Amy: (intrigued) Like what?

MuchMusic.com: Ummm, like bungee jumping?

Amy: I'm scared to bungee jump! But Terry and I really wanted to do the cage dive with the sharks, like really bad, on the side of a boat. Now Tim, our new bass player, is totally like, adventure guy and he wants me to skydive. I'm NOT skydiving! But I still think it might be cool to do the shark thing. I'm scared, but I think I might do it. I'm a certified diver, I can handle it!

~ Wendy Heisler


Source: http://www.muchmusic.com/insidemuch/couplaquestions/evanescence/

Interview: this is the v-spot top 20 videos countdown im mat pinfield and joining me right now is the lovely and talent Amy lee from evanescence.

I: Amy, great to have you here

Amy: thanks you great to be here

I: really good to see ya.listening to the new album I heard so many songs that are really, really open and honest, tell me about the lyrics.

A: thanks, I think they are evan more and open and honest from before, im kinda getting braver about saying what I really mean and not putting it in metaphor all the time. Which is scary? Because I can’t run away from it and pretend it’s about something else.

I: yeah

A: I love the new album.lyicaly I just and musically and everything I try to do evan better and ever more and just give has much has my self has I could.

I: Yh, we really have on this one.

A: thank you

I: witch I think is really kool. And obviously u no going threw writing changers with the Ben *not sure what he says* u knew Ben from when you was 15-16 years old. Then Ben of course going off doing his own thing, then you get terry into the band has it been a seamless thing ,was it great writing with him?

A: erm, nothing seamless but has far has writing it was just so grateful like from the first day terry and I went writing together we had erm a awesome start on like 2 songs that made it on the album, erm an I was really like pheww, thanks god like his amazing , his really good and everything I thought he would be, so that went great but its been a really big change for the band for sure erm seems like the whole attitude of the band and idea of the band has sort of changed so its all for good its all revolving. I think it’s better then ever has been.

I: that’s excellent. Now we will have more of Amy in just a minute but first we gonna check out the latest video from cassia.

I: im still sitting here right now with Amy lee, and Amy where about to roll out your new video for ‘call me when you’re sober’, this song has recently come out that’s its… people wounded whose its about at first of course was it about a another ex bf, a family member and it turn out to be about Shaun Morgan your boyfriend from seether. Witch you was gonna keep that a secret for a while.

A: well you no what. This song really does apply to a few different people, I was coming from that you know, a lot of the album is about that relationship, and a lot of things I was going threw my self. But erm... I don’t know... I hate that... I don’t want to hurt anybody erm… but it’s just a really open and real song so there it is what can I say. Relationships and brake-ups are really hard.

I: Amy, well obviously because it became public and Shaun decided to go in to rehab and it was hard for u to say no this isn’t about that.

A: that’s all, it’s just sort of like, there throwing it at me, and im like ok, sure, your right, I carnt say anything. But it really erm… its surprising how many people it applies to. Its just ermmm..iv seen a lot of people kind off threw there lives away when they don’t have to and there so talented and erm I defiantly would love it for everyone could get a little healthy and stop bring drama in to my life.

I: yeah absolutely

A: and there own.

I: absolutely, now let’s check out the video right now here it is the countdown debue of call me when you’re sober from Amy lee and her band evanescence, it’s in at 13.

I: and that was the countdown debue of call me when you’re sober by evanescence at number 13, still being joined right now but the very talented Amy lee. The new album is great by the way, what about touring, people are going to want to know when they can see evanescence again.

A: tour starts October 5th I think we are starting in Toronto, and it’s going to rule we are all just totally excited to get out there get everything ready and recording for like 2 years so erm every one is dieing to play again. But the new material is harder so you know; we have a lot of practising to do.

I: yeah, spend some time between now and then right?

A: yesss!

I: and rehearsals

A: next week, actuarially rehearsals start,

I: that’s good, well Amy best of luck,

A: thank you

I: it was great having you, really happy to have u stop by, the new single is fantastic, and I heard the album people. So when it’s out go check it out. Its great, good luck with the new album.

*****

Intervistatore: questo è il v-spot top 20 videos countdown, sono Mat Pinfield e con me c'è la bellissima e talentuosa Amy Lee degli Evanescence.

I: Amy, è bellissimo averti qui

A: Grazie, è bellissimo essere qui.

I: E' veramente un piacere vederti.Ascoltando il nuovo album so sentito così tante canzoni che sono  molto oneste e dirette.Parlami dei testi.

A: Grazie, credo che siano molto più dirette e sincere rispetto a prima, sono diventata più coraggiosa nel dire quello che penso senza dover usare metafore ogni volta.
Perchè mi spaventa? Perchè non posso fuggire dalla verità e far finta che siano cose riguardanti qualcos'altro.

I: Si.

A: Amo il nuovo album, per quanto riguarda i testi, la musica e tutto il resto ho cercato di migliorarmi e dare il meglio di me stessa.

I: Si, me ne sono reso conto.

A: Grazie.

I: Penso che questo sia davvero molto bello.Ovviamente hai dovuto affrontare molti cambiamenti nella scrittura dei testi, l'abbandono di Ben che conoscevi da quanto avevi 15 anni e l'introduzione di Terry come scrittore...è stato bello lavorare con lui?

A: Sono molto grata a Terry, sin dal primo giorno è stato meraviglioso lavorare con lui, abbiamo realizzato da subito due canzoni che sono poi finite direttamente nell'album, grazie a Dio lui è davvero bravissimo.E' stato davvero un grande cambiamento anche per la band, ma tutto è andato magnificamente, credo che le cose ora siano migliori di quanto non fossero in precedenza.

I: Questo è meraviglioso.Torneremo presto a parlare con Amy, ma prima dobbiamo dare un'occhiata al nuovo video di Cassia.

I: Sono ancora qui seduto accanto ad Amy Lee. Stiamo per parlare del tuo nuovo video per "Call me when you're sober", la vostra nuova canzone.
La gente si è chiesta di cosa parla il testo, alcuni hanno ipotizzato che si trattasse di un ex ragazzo o di un membro della famiglia e poi è saltato fuori che la canzone è dedicata a Shaun Morgan il tuo ragazzo che fa parte dei Seether.Relazione che tu stavi tenendo segreta da sempre.

A: Bhè vedi...questa canzone può benissimo adattarsi a più persone.La maggiorparte dell'album parla di relazioni che ho avuto e di molte cose che ho dovuto affrontare.
Hem...non voglio ferire nessuno, è una canzone molto onesta e diretta, cosa posso dire...i rapporti sentimentali e le rotture sono difficili.

I: Amy, forse riguarda il fatto che la vostra relazione è diventata di dominio pubblico, Shaun ha deciso di entrare in riabilitazione e per te deve essere stata dura dire di "No".

A: E' così più o meno.Mi hanno tirato tutto addosso ed io ho dovuto subire tutto.Ma non posso dire nulla.E' sorprendente come la canzone possa riferirsi a diverse persone.Ho visto molta gente gettare la propria vita Erano persone di talento, che non avrebbero dovuto fare questa scelta.Mi piacerebbe che la gente si preoccupasse un pò di più per la loro salute così da smettere di portare dei drammi nella mia vita.

I: Certo, assolutamente.

A: ...e nelle loro vite.

I: Assolutamente, ora guardiamoci il video, ecco la premiere del clip di "Call me when you're sober" degli Evanescence, direttamente alla posizione numero 13.

I: E questo era il debutto di "Call me when you're sober" alla posizione numero 13, sono ancora qui con la bravissima Amy Lee.Il nuovo album è grandioso ma dimmi qualcosa del tour, la gente vuole sapere quando potrà vedere di nuovo gli Evanescence Live.

A: Il tour inizierà il 5 Ottobre, credo che inizieremo a Toronto e sarà meraviglioso, siamo tutti molto eccitati di preparare tutto, abbiamo passato due anni a registrare quindi non vediamo l'ora di suonare live di nuovo.Ma il nuovo materiale è leggermente più complesso e difficile quindi abbiamo bisogno di molte prove ed esercitamento.

I: Si, passate molto tempo ad esercitarvi rispetto a prima, vero?

A: Si.

I: Poi ci sono le prove...

A: Inizieremo le prove la prossima settimana.

I: E' magnifico!Bhè Amy ti auguro tanta fortuna.

A: Grazie.

I:E' stato meraviglioso averti qui e siamo felici che sia passata a trovarci, il nuovo singolo è fantastico ed ho anche ascoltato l'album.Quando uscirà assicuratevi di ascoltarlo.E' grandioso, ancora in bocca al lupo per il nuovo lavoro.

Transcript: adsleonard (www.evanescence.it/bboard)
Video: Rain for EvanescenceWebsite.com (http://lnx.evanescencewebsite.com/MediaArchive)
Grazie a LostWord per la traduzione

AMY: Right after we got off the road we instantly went into, just hiding, and started writing for the next record. I’m really looking forward to touring again, it’s been 2 years since we played a show, by the time we play it’ll have been a lot longer.
The fans, I miss feeling that feeling on stage, the energy of everyone just kinda “feeling” at the same time. It’s just so powerful.
You can hear on the album a lot of the changes that I’ve gone through in my life. The album’s more mature. I mean, I’m a better musician than I was. Also I’ve gained a lot of confidence, I’m not afraid to do a lot of things that I guess on the first record I felt self-conscious about or maybe afraid to try.
Musically we really just tried so many new things. I feel like this record has a lot more soul, in more ways than one. Mostly I mean, I just really went with what I felt, even more specific and true to myself.
Like for example the first single CMWYS – it’s kinda impossible to misinterpret the lyrics. Like I really wanted to say something and it’s been said. You can look at it a different way, typical of my lyric-writing I guess. You can apply it to your life, think of it in 2/3 different ways which a lot of the writings go that way a bit.
Sometimes I’ve just really wanted to say something and said it and you can’t hide from it and I’m proud of that.
Lithium’s definitely a metaphor. I felt like I was in love with my sorrow, which I’ve always felt like. I get into these moods when I write music and it’s not the most depressed, it’s just this kinda strange low when I write. At the same time I wanna break free and feel free and happy, I think that was me getting ready to drop the ball and just change and move on.
Good Enough does frighten me. I think I’m kinda scared of it. I think it’s weird. It was the greatest song to write and to bring to the table when we were recording the album because its just really real and I was really saying what I really felt and for once that wasn’t miserable or stuck or trapped or sad or grieving, it was happy and I was like, “Well, I wrote a happy song, you guys are probably gonna hate it.”
And they loved it so, I’m in love with GE, it’s more the way I feel now. It’s the last song I wrote for the album, it’s really cool that it’s the last song on the album because its all of the things that I went through and the point that I got to.

JOHN: “All That I’m Living For” to me is, whenever I wrote the stuff that I did for that song I kept in mind what Evanescence was to me. I’ve been around for a long time. Although I didn’t have a lot of writing on the first record, I’ve been playing these songs for years so I think it has a lot of the overtones of what happened on the last record but way heavier.

TERRY: Probably the song called Your Star I like a lot, and Sober I like a lot for a single.

ROCKY: Just being able to do what I love to do everyday and being able to support my family doing what I like to do, you can’t ask for more than that really.

TERRY: A lot of cool stuff happened to us. The European tour I did with the band, and to see how big the band was and to stay so far away from home was really cool

AMY: These guys are hilarious. I am just constantly in stitches. I can’t keep up, half the time I don’t know what they’re saying…it’s hilarious. *all laugh*.
Touring overseas, it tends to be a little more stressful because you’re trying to cram it all in and they’re so many countries to go to and you’re so far from home. It’s a little harder but then again, the fans get crazier…


Source: http://www.canada.com
Transcript: Thanks to Ketan (Femme Metal Board)

AOLMusicTye: hi!
AOLMusicTye: thanks so much for chatting with us today

AmyOpenDoor: awesome. :)

AOLMusicTye: where are you right now?

AmyOpenDoor: in the middle of nowhere!
AmyOpenDoor: I'm in gulf shores alabama with my family.
AmyOpenDoor: right now I'm with my dad at an internet cafe having an iced coffee.

AOLMusicTye: haha. nice.
AOLMusicTye: has anyone recognized you yet?

AmyOpenDoor: nah. i look ridiculous.
AmyOpenDoor: I'm actually wearing something floral.... and I'm feeling nauseous about it. haha...

AOLMusicTye: floral! say it ain't so!
AOLMusicTye: this is going to TOTALLY ruin your rep ;)

AmyOpenDoor: i know.
AmyOpenDoor: well wadiya expect. i'm on vacation! :)
AmyOpenDoor: it's hard to be me ALL the time. ;)

AOLMusicTye: hehe. I'm sure.
AOLMusicTye: so first off, congrats on finally finishing the new CD
AOLMusicTye: it sounds awesome.

AmyOpenDoor: thanks!

AOLMusicTye: tell us a little bit about it. starting with the title...

AmyOpenDoor: well, i came up with the title for the album when terry and i had only been writing it for about 2 months.
AmyOpenDoor: I guess we were both a little blown away by the power we had as a team, and this new sound that started coming out. I thought it made a lot of sense, because i felt like we had the freedom to do whatever we wanted as writers
AmyOpenDoor: I'm older now and I'm not afraid to say as much :)
AmyOpenDoor: and also the music itself - i didn't feel bound by a structure or formula. and no one was saying no to my ideas.
AmyOpenDoor: the door was open for us to experiment and GET CRAZY!

AOLMusicTye: hence, 'The Open Door....'
AOLMusicTye: so you feel like the door had been more closed previously then?

AmyOpenDoor: i was trapped in a lot of ways...
AmyOpenDoor: I'm realizing more and more that a lot of my doors were closed because i was too afraid or insecure to open them.
AmyOpenDoor: ...but its beautiful outside. :)

AOLMusicTye: hehe. that's great.
AOLMusicTye: you really took your time putting the new cd together

AmyOpenDoor: yeah. I'm a perfectionist. especially now that I'm really the leader of the whole thing, i couldn't put out something that i didn't think was awesome!

AOLMusicTye: how long was the writing and recording process overall?

AmyOpenDoor: i think with writing and recording, this was about a 2 year thing.

AOLMusicTye: so much has happened between now and when 'Fallen' first came out
AOLMusicTye: what was the biggest hurdle you felt like you had to jump over to get here?

AmyOpenDoor: hmmm.... well, a lot has changed in the band. I guess I've realized how hard it is to keep a band together. It's like a 5-way marriage.
AmyOpenDoor: I think the scariest, most stressful thing was Terry's stroke.

AOLMusicTye: yeah, i can't imagine how scary that must have been

AmyOpenDoor: It was a real eye-opener. I think we both appreciate our lives and the time we have here a lot more.

AOLMusicTye: he's ok now, right?

AmyOpenDoor: yeah, he's had to work really REALLY hard with physical therapy to get back to rock star shape, but he's doing great.
AmyOpenDoor: He's going with me to Miami this weekend for some Latin American press. :) should be interesting.

AOLMusicTye: it's crazy how much drama there's been in the band over the last few years. It must have felt like a daytime soap for a while

AmyOpenDoor: haha. my life is that way. There's always something! Otherwise what would i write about?

AOLMusicTye: hehe. excellent point

AmyOpenDoor: Nah, I'm starting to feel a bit more in control of things.

AOLMusicTye: and i'm sure working on the album was very therapeutic in that sense

AmyOpenDoor: sweet! boys2men is on.

AOLMusicTye: haha. what song?

AmyOpenDoor: down on bended knee. haha!

AOLMusicTye: hehehe. the classic
AOLMusicTye: wait a minute...
AOLMusicTye: don't tell me you're a B2M fan?

AmyOpenDoor: i just miss the nineties.

AOLMusicTye: flower print and '90s R&B?
AOLMusicTye: who are you and what have you done with Amy Lee?!??!
AOLMusicTye: :)

AmyOpenDoor: I'm just keeping it real, ok?
AmyOpenDoor: actually i have no excuse for the floral. It's just my disguise.

AOLMusicTye: but this begs the question -- how different are you from the image your fans have of you?
AOLMusicTye: it's obviously not all black candles and Dead Can Dance

AmyOpenDoor: i think my serious fans get me pretty well.
AmyOpenDoor: evanescence is my outlet for a lot of heavy feelings
AmyOpenDoor: I'm a silly Adult Swim fan with big stupid furry boots on the side. i love to make people laugh.

AOLMusicTye: what's your fave Adult Swim show?

AmyOpenDoor: oh... there are so many. I love sealab, the brak show, aqua teens ... what am i forgetting?
AmyOpenDoor: harvey birdman...

AOLMusicTye: harvey bridman is hilarious
AOLMusicTye: boondocks

AmyOpenDoor: eh, boondocks isn't my favorite.

AOLMusicTye: you know, they just started showing Pee Wee's Playhouse!

AmyOpenDoor: oh i know!!!!! so happy about that!
AmyOpenDoor: it made me pull out Pee Wee's Big Adventure the other day! such a great movie.

AOLMusicTye: it's so twisted. everything went over my head when i was younger

AmyOpenDoor: haha. i always liked the weird creepy stuff mixed into kids movies. remember The Dark Crystal?

AOLMusicTye: of course!!

AmyOpenDoor: i still have a dark crystal lunchbox.

AOLMusicTye: heheh. that's so rad
AOLMusicTye: creepy little muppets, weren't they?

AmyOpenDoor: yes. sucking out the sweet little good characters 'essence??' scary!
AmyOpenDoor: it scarred me for life.

AOLMusicTye: hehe. so NOW we're getting to the source
AOLMusicTye: scary muppets and pee wee herman :)
AOLMusicTye: so, you said you're on vacation now... outside of working on the album, what have you done with the time off?

AmyOpenDoor: well, I've really been working hard. Interviews, photo shoots, the video shoot -- all that stuff really started cramming my schedule about a month ago.
AmyOpenDoor: I'm here for 3 days with the fam and then off to miami tomorrow for more interviews.
AmyOpenDoor: It feels good to be back though -- especially since the new album is so much more of my writing, and just more "me" in general. I'm really excited to see how people react.

AOLMusicTye: are there any big changes in your songs now that fans will pick up on?

AmyOpenDoor: i hope so.
AmyOpenDoor: There's a lot more soul to this album... i don't know how to describe it, other than when i listen to it, i can hear that i love my band even more than i did when i was recording Fallen.
AmyOpenDoor: I think that even in the scary sad songs i sound like I'm having fun with it. The music is harder to perform, and a bigger challenge is always more fun.

AOLMusicTye: so inquiring minds want to know... when's the last time you talked to Ben Moody?

AmyOpenDoor: i saw him when we won the grammys.
AmyOpenDoor: we said a quick congratulations and went our separate ways

AOLMusicTye: when was the moment you knew that the band was gonna be alright without him?

AmyOpenDoor: I knew as soon as i was told he was flying home in the middle of the night in Europe.
AmyOpenDoor: I just knew there was a lot of work to be done, and i wanted it bad enough to power through. we all did.
AmyOpenDoor: Honestly, it was a relief. I'd come to the realization weeks before that the band couldn't survive without some serious change.

AOLMusicTye: if anything, the band sounds even stronger on the new stuff.
AOLMusicTye: especially your vocals. you sound AMAZING

AmyOpenDoor: thank you :)

AOLMusicTye: is it true you've had no vocal training at all??

AmyOpenDoor: well, i started being in (and obsessed with) the school choir when i was about 13, so i know that helped. I even did the all-region and all-state tryouts every year, and that's a lot of extra training...
AmyOpenDoor: i don't know, I've just always sung and played piano a lot because i wanted to. and practice makes you better.

AOLMusicTye: heh. and it shows.

AmyOpenDoor: well thank you. i love my job.

AOLMusicTye: do you have any pre-show or recoding rituals that keep your chords in shape?

AmyOpenDoor: i warm up for about 20 minutes before we go on -- just silly choir warm ups work great.
AmyOpenDoor: then I listen to loud music and jump around for a minute to get excited. :) i guess you saw some of that on the dvd...
AmyOpenDoor: too bad you couldn’t hear the music we were actually listening to. pantera.

AOLMusicTye: NICE!
AOLMusicTye: if F**king Hostile doesn't get the blood pumping, nothing will...

AmyOpenDoor: its hilarious. I'm doing cartwheels and sweating to the oldies but we're listening to metal. righteous!

AOLMusicTye: so, just a few more things before we finish up....
AOLMusicTye: it's known you design a lot of your own clothes.
AOLMusicTye: any thoughts about putting out your own line someday?

AmyOpenDoor: i don't know. music is a much bigger passion for me. I love weird, fun fashion though.
AmyOpenDoor:The band has become such a full time thing, i don't know how i would have time, unless it was a lot later down the line. I think it would be fun, but i don't know.

AOLMusicTye: fair enough...
AOLMusicTye: what's the most extravagant thing you've bought recently?

AmyOpenDoor: Well, i guess the most expensive thing would be my new apartment in NY. manhattan living is WICKED pricey.

AOLMusicTye: hehe. seriously.
AOLMusicTye: how tricked out is your place?
AOLMusicTye: is it Cribs worthy?

AmyOpenDoor: its SO cool. the decorating is just starting though. It used to be a church, so it's all gothic inside.
AmyOpenDoor: when you walk down the hall to my door there's stained glass on the ceilings and stuff. its rad.
AmyOpenDoor: and yeah -- Cribs wants to do it as soon as i get finished with it.
AmyOpenDoor: won't be till the next season.

AOLMusicTye: awesome. we'll stay tuned.
AOLMusicTye: ok, what's the best thing about being a goth sex symbol?

AmyOpenDoor: what?? ;)

AOLMusicTye: hehehe. you tell me!
AOLMusicTye: you must get a million love letters a day.

AmyOpenDoor: well, for a year i got free baja fresh after going to some awards show so, i think that's been the best perk.

AOLMusicTye: what's the best thing a fan has ever given you

AmyOpenDoor: i went to italy and the fanclub pooled their money and bought me a corset and terry a GUITAR!
AmyOpenDoor: i wore the corset on stage that night. john played the guitar for a song or two. it was awesome!

AOLMusicTye: wow. that's amazing.
AOLMusicTye: where do you keep your Grammys?

AmyOpenDoor: in my studio, one on top of each speaker. for luck! :)

AOLMusicTye: hehe. perfect.
AOLMusicTye: so, the record comes out oct. 3.

AmyOpenDoor: yes...

AOLMusicTye: what's do you have lined up after that?
AOLMusicTye: hitting the road right away?

AmyOpenDoor: Well, we start touring right on top of the release. I think our first show is on October third, actually. so we gotta start hitting the whole world!
AmyOpenDoor: I'm ready to get back out there. i miss playing live. and we've got so much more to play now!

AOLMusicTye: great. can't wait to see you onstage again
AOLMusicTye: ok, i'll let you get back to mom and dad now

AmyOpenDoor: thanks. my 50 spf awaits...

AOLMusicTye: but it was great talking to you!

AmyOpenDoor: thank you for the interview. it was so nice.

AOLMusicTye: take care

AmyOpenDoor: you too!!!

*****

AOLMusicTye: ciao!
AOLMusicTye: grazie mille di chattare con noi oggi.

AmyOpenDoor: fantastico. 

AOLMusicTye: dove sei ora?

AmyOpenDoor: nel bel mezzo del nulla!
AmyOpenDoor: Sono nelle spiagge del golfo di Alabama con la mia famiglia.
AmyOpenDoor: ora sono ad un Internet Café, prendendoci un caffé ghiacciato.

AOLMusicTye: haha. carino.
AOLMusicTye: ancora non ti ha riconosciuto nessuno?

AmyOpenDoor: nah. Sembro ridicola.
AmyOpenDoor: Sto indossando qualcosa di floreale.... e mi sto sentendo nauseata. haha...

AOLMusicTye: floreale! Dimmi che non è così!
AOLMusicTye: questo rovinerà TOTALMENTE la tua reputazione 

AmyOpenDoor: lo so.
AmyOpenDoor: beh il vecchio aspetta. Sono in vacanza! 
AmyOpenDoor: è difficile essere me stessa TUTTO il tempo. 

AOLMusicTye: hehe. Sono sicuro..
AOLMusicTye: allora, prima di tutto, congratulazioni per aver finalmente finito il CD
AOLMusicTye: è fantastico.

AmyOpenDoor: grazie!

AOLMusicTye: dicci qualcosa riguardante l'album, partendo dal titolo...

AmyOpenDoor: allora, sono venuta a capo del titolo dell’album quando terry ed io lo stavamo scrivendo da circa 2 mesi.
AmyOpenDoor: Credo che eravamo entrambi molto presi dalla potenza che avevamo come squadra, e questo sound iniziò ad emergere. Pensai che aveva molto senso perché mi sono sentita come se avessimo la libertà di fare quello che volevamo come scrittori.
AmyOpenDoor: Ora sono più vecchia e non ho paura di dire le cose 
AmyOpenDoor: e anche la musica in sé stessa – non mi sono sentita obbligata a rispettare una formula o una struttura, e nessuno diceva no alle mie idee.
AmyOpenDoor: la porta era aperta per noi per sperimentare e DIVENTARE PAZZI!

AOLMusicTye: da adesso, 'The Open Door....'
AOLMusicTye: quindi ti sentivi come se la porta è stata più chiusa precedentemente?

AmyOpenDoor: ero intrappolata in molte cose...
AmyOpenDoor: Sto sempre più accorgendomi che molte porte erano chiuse perchè ero troppo impaurita o insicura di aprirle.
AmyOpenDoor: ...ma è bello da fuori. 

AOLMusicTye: hehe. È bellissimo.
AOLMusicTye: ti sei davvero presa il tuo tempo per mettere insieme il tuo

AmyOpenDoor: yeah. Sono una perfezionista. Soprattutto ora che sono veramente la leader di tutte le cose, non posso tirar fuori qualcosa che non penso sia bellissima!

AOLMusicTye: quanto è durato il processo di scrittura e registrazione?

AmyOpenDoor: credo tra scrivendolo e registrandolo, è stata una cosa di due anni.

AOLMusicTye: molte cose sono accadute ora e quando Fallen uscì
AOLMusicTye: qual è stato il tuo più grande ostacolo che hai dovuto superare per arrivare lì?

AmyOpenDoor: hmmm.... beh, molto è cambiato nella band. Credo di aver capito quanto sia difficile mantenere una band unita. E’ come se fosse un matrimonio a 5.
AmyOpenDoor: Penso che la cosa più spaventosa, più stressante è stata l’ictus di Terry.

AOLMusicTye: yeah, non riesco ad immaginare quanto sia stato brutto

AmyOpenDoor: Ci ha fatto aprire gli occhi. Credo che apprezziamo molto le nostre vite e il tempo che ci è concesso qui, ancora di più.

AOLMusicTye: sta bene ora, no?

AmyOpenDoor: yeah, ha docuto lavorare tanto con la terapia per ritornare alla rock star che era prima, ma sta benone.
AmyOpenDoor: Verrà con me a Miami questo fine settimana per un giornale Latino Americano.  Dovrebbe essere interessante.

AOLMusicTye: è assurdo quanti drammi ci sono stati nella band in questi ultimi anni. Come se fosse stata una soap per un bel po’

AmyOpenDoor: haha. La mia vita è così. C’è sempre qualcosa! Altrimenti che cosa avrei scritto?

AOLMusicTye: hehe. Buon punto.

AmyOpenDoor: Nah, sto iniziando ad avere le cose sotto il mio controllo.

AOLMusicTye: e sono sicura che lavorare all’album è stato molto terapeutico in quel senso.

AmyOpenDoor: caro! boys2men è in onda.

AOLMusicTye: haha. Che canzone?

AmyOpenDoor: down on bended knee. haha!

AOLMusicTye: hehehe. Classica..
AOLMusicTye: aspetta un secondo...
AOLMusicTye: non dirmi che sei una fan dei B2B?

AmyOpenDoor: mi mancano solo gli anni novanta.

AOLMusicTye: stampo floreale e R&B degli anni 90?
AOLMusicTye: chi sei tu e che cosa hai fatto ad Amy Lee?!??!
AOLMusicTye: 

AmyOpenDoor: lo sto facendo sembrare vero, ok?
AmyOpenDoor: ora non ho proprio scuse per i fiori . E’ solo un mio travestimento.

AOLMusicTye: questo fa sorgere la domanda – quanto diversa sei dall’immagine che i fan hanno di te?
AOLMusicTye: ovviamente non è tutto candele nere e Death Can Dance

AmyOpenDoor: penso che i miei veri fan mi conoscono molto bene.
AmyOpenDoor: evanescence è il mio sfogo per sentimenti molto più pesanti.
AmyOpenDoor: Sono una scema Adult Swim fan con grandi e stupidi stivali di pelliccia. Amo far ridere la gente.

AOLMusicTye: qual è il tuo Adult Swim show preferito?

AmyOpenDoor: oh... ce ne sono così tanti . Amo il laboratorio marino, il brak show, aqua teens…che cosa dimentico?
AmyOpenDoor: harvey birdman...

AOLMusicTye: harvey bridman fa morire
AOLMusicTye: boondocks

AmyOpenDoor: eh, boondocks non è il mio preferito.

AOLMusicTye: sai, hanno iniziato a trasmettere Pee Wee's Playhouse!

AmyOpenDoor: oh lo so!!!!! Sono così felice!
AmyOpenDoor: mi ha completamente presa l’avventura di Pee Wee l’altro giorno! Un grande film

AOLMusicTye: è così perverso. Quando ero piccolo ogni cosa mi passava per la testa

AmyOpenDoor: haha. Ho sempre apprezzato le cose strane che fanno rabbrividire mischiate con i film per ragazzi. Ricordi The Dark Crystal?

AOLMusicTye: certamente!!

AmyOpenDoor: ho ancora la scatoletta del pranzo dark crystal.

AOLMusicTye: heheh. È così strano
AOLMusicTye: i pupini spaventosi, non erano loro?

AmyOpenDoor: yes. Succhiando la piccola e buona essenza dai personaggi, spaventoso!
AmyOpenDoor: mi hanno spaventato da sempre.

AOLMusicTye: hehe. Allora, ORA andiamo al sodo.
AOLMusicTye: spaventosi muppets e pee wee herman 
AOLMusicTye: quindi, hai detto di essere in vacanza ora...a parte lavorare per l’album, cosa hai fatto nel tempo libero?

AmyOpenDoor: beh, ho davvero lavorato molto. Interviste, scatti fotografici, girare il video – tutte queste cose iniziarono a riempire i miei programmi circa un mese fa
AmyOpenDoor: Sono qui per 3 giorni con la mia famiglia e dopo via verso Miami domani, per più interviste.
AmyOpenDoor: Comunque, è bello essere ritornati – soprattutto quando il nuovo album ha così tanto dei miei scritti, e più di “me” in genreale. Sono molto eccitata di come le persone reagiranno.

AOLMusicTye: ci sono grandi cambiamenti nelle tue canzoni che i tuoi fan capteranno?

AmyOpenDoor: lo spero.
AmyOpenDoor: C’è molto più soul in questo album...non so proprio come descriverlo, ogni volta che lo ascolto, sento che amo la mia band ancora di più di quando stavo registrando Fallen.
AmyOpenDoor: Penso che anche nelle canzoni che fanno rabbrividire sembro che mi stia divertendo. La musica è difficile da performare e una grande sfida è sempre divertente.

AOLMusicTye: allora, teste avide di sapere vorrebbero sapere...quando è stata l’ultima volta che hai parlato a Ben Moody?

AmyOpenDoor: l’ho visto quando abbiamo vinto i grammys.
AmyOpenDoor: ci siamo congratulati e siamo andati per le nostre strade.

AOLMusicTye: quando è stato il momento in cui sapevi che la band sarebbe stata bene senza di lui?

AmyOpenDoor: L’ho saputo quando mi è stato detto che stava andando a casa nel bel mezzo della notte in Europa.
AmyOpenDoor: Sapevo solo che c’era molto lavoro da fare ed è stato brutto abbastanza da potenziarci. Lo abbiamo fatto tutti.
AmyOpenDoor: Onestamente, è stato un sollievo. Venni a capo di ciò settimane prima che la band non poteva sopravvivere senza alcuni seri cambiamenti.

AOLMusicTye: anche se, la band sembra ancora più forte nel nuovo materiale
AOLMusicTye: soprattutto nella tua voce. Sei GRANDISSIMA.

AmyOpenDoor: grazie 

AOLMusicTye: è vero che non hai mai fatto esercizi vocali?

AmyOpenDoor: allora, iniziai a far parte (e ossessionata) del coro della scuola quando avevo circa 13 anni, sapevo che sarebbe servito. Ho anche fatto dei tentativi in tutte le regioni e gli stati ogni anno, e c’è tanto allenamento extra.

AmyOpenDoor: non so, ho solamente cantato e suonato molto il piano perchè lo volevo, e la pratica ti migliora.

AOLMusicTye: heh. E si vede.

AmyOpenDoor: beh grazie. Adoro il mio lavoro.

AOLMusicTye: hai qualche pre-show o rituali che ti mantengono in forma?

AmyOpenDoor: mi riscaldo per circa 20 minuti prima che andiamo in scena – soltanto uno stupido riscaldamento da coro, fa benissimo.
AmyOpenDoor: dopo ascolto musica ad alto volume e saltello di qua e di là per un minuto per diventare emozionata  credo che lo hai visto nel dvd…
AmyOpenDoor: peccato che non puoi sentire la musica che stiamo ascoltando ora. Pantera.

AOLMusicTye: BELLO!
AOLMusicTye: se i fottuti Hostile non ti fanno pompare il sangue, nessuno lo saprà fare...

AmyOpenDoor: è divertentissimo. Sto facendo la ruota e sono tutta un baagno di sudore, ma stiamo ascoltando del metal. Tutto è giustificato!

AOLMusicTye: dunque, solo poche cose prima di finire...
AOLMusicTye: si sa che disegni molti dei tuoi vestiti.
AOLMusicTye: qualche idea di mostrare la tua linea di vestiti qualche giorno?

AmyOpenDoor: non lo so. La musica è una passione ancora più grande. Anche se adoro le cose fashion, divertenti e strane.
AmyOpenDoor:La band è diventata una cosa a tempo pieno, non credo di avere tempo, a meno che nonmi prendeva completamente. Credo sarebbe divertente, ma non saprei.

AOLMusicTye: abbastanza giusto...
AOLMusicTye: qual è la cosa più stravagante che hai comprato recentemente?

AmyOpenDoor: Beh, credo che la cosa più costosa è il mio nuovo appartamento a NY . La vita a Manhattan è veramente costosa.

AOLMusicTye: hehe. Seriamente..
AOLMusicTye: quanto è arredato?
AOLMusicTye: è degno?

AmyOpenDoor: è DAVVERO forte. Le decorazioni sono solo l’inizio. Era una chiesa, dunque è tutto gotico dentro.
AmyOpenDoor: quando cammini per la hall nella mia porta c’è un tipo di vetro macchiato sul tetto e cose simili. È strano.
AmyOpenDoor: e yeah – Cribs lo vuole non appena non avrò finito con esso.
AmyOpenDoor: non sarà fino la prossima stagione..

AOLMusicTye: fantastico. Staremo a vedere..
AOLMusicTye: ok, qual è la cosa più bella di essere un sex symbol gotico?

AmyOpenDoor: che cosa?? 

AOLMusicTye: hehehe. dimmelo!
AOLMusicTye: riceverai milioni di lettere d’amore al giorno.AmyOpenDoor: beh, per un anno mi davano baja fresh dopo qualche award show, quindi è stato il miglior vantaggio **baja fresh= tipico cibo messicano**.
AOLMusicTye: qual è stata la cosa più bella che un fan ti abbia dato?

AmyOpenDoor: Sono andata in Italia e il fans club raccolse i soldi e mi comprò un corsetto e a Terry una chitarra!
AmyOpenDoor: indossai il corsetto quella notte sul palco. John suonò la chitarra per una canzone o due. E’stato bellissimo!

AOLMusicTye: wow. È fantastico.
AOLMusicTye: dove tieni i tuoi Grammys?

AmyOpenDoor: nel mio studio, nella parte più alta di ogni speaker. Come portafortuna! 

AOLMusicTye: hehe. perfetto.
AOLMusicTye: quindi, il disco esce il 3 ottobre.

AmyOpenDoor: sì...

AOLMusicTye: che cosa farai dopo che uscirà?
AOLMusicTye: andrai in tour?

AmyOpenDoor: Beh, inizieremo col tour subito dopo l’uscita. Attualmente credo che il nostro primo spettacolo sia il 3 di Ottobre, quindi inizieremo a fare successo nell’intero mondo
AmyOpenDoor: Sono pronta a ritornare lì. Mi manca suonare dal vivo. E abbiamo più cose da suonare ora!

AOLMusicTye: perfetto, non vedo l’ora di vederti sul palco di nuovo.
AOLMusicTye: ok, ti lascio ritornare dal tuo papà e dalla tua mamma.

AmyOpenDoor: grazie i miei 50 spf aspettano...

AOLMusicTye: ma è stato fantastico parlare con te!

AmyOpenDoor: grazie dell’intervista. È stata così carina.

AOLMusicTye: stammi bene

AmyOpenDoor: anche tu!!!



Source: http://music.aol.com/artists/aim-celebrity-interview/evanescence-page-1
Grazie a Klaus per la traduzione

Voce formidabile. Suoni inusuali. Mix di ritmi. La leader degli Evanescence racconta in anteprima a 'L'espresso' il nuovo disco, 'The Open Door' 

Siamo un gruppo rock, non c'è dubbio. Ma rock epico, teatrale, dark... Così Amy Lee, cantante e anima degli Evanescence, ama definire la band che da Little Rock in Arkansas ha conquistato il mondo. 'L'espresso' ha potuto ascoltare in anteprima 'The Open Door', l'atteso cd che gli Evanescence lanceranno il 3 ottobre con un tour mondiale. Un passo indietro. Correva il 2003 quando 'Fallen' scalò le classifiche prima in America e poi in Europa, introducendo il pubblico a un nuovo concetto di rock sincretico, suonato da una band guidata da una ventenne dalla voce prorompente (Amy Lee), un pianoforte capace di distillare melodie orecchiabili, sostenuto da chitarre basso e batteria da heavy metal. Il tutto condito da crescendo di archi ed effetti elettronici. Un cocktail originale e commercialmente appetibile che spiazza la critica. Inizialmente gli Evanescence vengono erroneamente etichettati christian rock, poi heavy metal, gothic e nu metal. La verità è che Amy e compagni sono un passo avanti alla critica: hanno intuito la possibilità di coniare un nuovo linguaggio coniugando elettronica e pop a suggestioni di Jimi Hendrix e Björk. 'Fallen' si aggiudica due Grammy, vende 14 milioni di copie e proietta gli Evanescence nell'Olimpo del rock. Poi il singolo 'Bring Me To Life' viene inserito nella colonna sonora del film 'Dearedevil': per gli Evanescence è la consacrazione. Segue una tournée in 35 paesi davanti a folle adoranti.

A tre anni di distanza, Amy Lee per 'The Open Door' (Wind-Up Records) ha scritto 13 nuove canzoni che dimostrano l'allargarsi della gamma espressiva della band, che con Terry Balsamo (ex Cold) e John LeCompt alle chitarre, William Boyd al basso e Rocky Gray alla batteria, sostiene le evoluzioni vocali e pianistiche di una leader grintosa e spregiudicata. Il linguaggio del disco, crudo ma poetico, riflette le sonorità cangianti della band. Molti brani si avvalgono oltreché di archi, anche di un coro registrato in una cappella. La prima delle 13 tracce, 'Sweet Sacrifice', parte soft e diventa hard con versi come "un giorno affogherai nel mio sangue" e voce e chitarre in evidenza. Poi, l'esplicito 'Call Me When You're Sober' (il primo singolo) è destinato a scalare le classifiche. Si tratta di una ballata che parte con piano, voce e atmosfere blues per poi scatenarsi in un'apoteosi di chitarre, coro ed effetti vocali elettronici. L'estensione vocale della Lee e il suo ruvido lirismo sono apprezzabili soprattutto in 'Lithium' e in 'Cloud None' dove spazia con la libertà dell'improvvisatrice. Il coro e gli archi usati sono dosati con intelligenza. Si chiude con la melodica 'Good Enough', piena di ironia. 'L'espresso' ha incontrato Amy Lee a New York, sua città d'adozione. Lee, appena 24enne, ha più l'aria della brava ragazza che non della diva del rock.

Perché avete aspettato tre anni dopo il successo di 'Fallen' per tornare in studio?
"In verità fremevo per tornare in sala d'incisione, ma semplicemente non avevo il tempo di comporre. Siamo stati in tour per un anno e mezzo. Le mie giornate erano troppo piene. Poi ci è voluto tempo. Sapevo che in molti ci attendevano al varco e volevo che 'The Open Door' fosse il meglio di cui siamo capaci".

Come sono nati questi brani?
"In casa mia, con calma, mi mettevo al pianoforte e cominciavo a suonare, lasciando che le idee si cristallizzassero da sole. Terry, il chitarrista, veniva, ascoltava e poi insieme ci accorgevamo che stava nascendo un brano. Lavoravamo insieme per qualche settimana, quindi lui tornava a Jacksonville ed elaboravamo separatamente le idee per poi verificarle con il resto della band. Le pause sono essenziali per ricaricarsi e affinare il senso critico".

In una parola come definirebbe il nuovo disco?
"Sbalorditivo. Lo dico con tutta la sincerità e l'entusiasmo del caso. Sento che rispetto al precedente sono cresciuta come musicista e come persona. Nel prendere coscienza dei miei mezzi, ho preso coraggio. Nei testi sono riuscita a dire tutto quello che avevo in mente senza parafrasi o ambiguità. 'Call Me When You're Sober' è esplicito, diretto, disinibito. In passato scrivevo testi che si prestavano a più interpretazioni, che potevano valere per ogni luogo e ogni tempo. Adesso voglio essere più concreta".

Anche vocalmente ha preso coraggio, osa di più, per esempio nel brano 'Cloud Nine'...
"È vero. Esibirsi dal vivo è una scuola incredibile e mesi e mesi di tour ti consentono di provare e riprovare fino a capire come affinare la voce. In tre anni anche la voce è maturata e ho voluto metterne in mostra l'intera estensione, brano per brano".

Quando ha deciso di fare la cantante?
"Non l'ho deciso, è successo. Da quando ero una teen-ager sapevo di voler scrivere, era ed è la mia passione. Poi quando abbiamo formato Evanescence ho capito che la mia scrittura dava luogo a canzoni e volevo interpretarle. Per chi suona il piano, cantare è quasi un passo naturale".

Saprebbe descrivere il suo rapporto emotivo con la sua voce?
"La cosa incredibile della voce, del cantare, è che stai lì a cercare di esprimere emozioni, di tirare fuori qualcosa che hai dentro. È letteralmente tirare fuori dell'aria da dentro il mio corpo, espellerla fuori, cioè una manifestazione fisica di qualcosa di emotivo e personale. Cantare per me è definire il suono di un sentimento".

A cosa allude il titolo 'The Open Door'?
"Alla libertà di provare qualunque cosa, musicalmente".

Mentre scriveva, che musica ascoltava?
"Un po' di tutto, ma confesso che mi piace riscoprire gioielli del passato, in particolare 'Violator' dei Depeche Mode e un disco di qualche anno fa di Tori Amos. Poi con la band ascoltavamo molti heavy metal: Pantera, AC/DC che è la musica che ama Terry".

La musica degli Evanescence è difficilmente etichettabile perché mescola costantemente più generi. È una scelta voluta?
"Direi che è il modo in cui ascolto le musiche dei nostri giorni. Ho capito che ciò che funziona per noi è seguire il nostro istinto, il nostro gusto, senza limitazioni. Così abbiamo imparato a mescolare hard rock e pop, musica corale a elettronica, melodia a ritmi forsennati".

Quali sono le differenze principali tra incidere un brano in studio ed eseguirlo dal vivo?
"In studio è possibile controllare ogni aspetto fino alle minime sfumature, provando e riprovando fino a sentirci soddisfatti. Dal vivo invece abbiamo un'unica chance di dare il nostro meglio".

Che ruolo ha il pubblico?
"Fondamentale, è quasi un partner. Avere una massa di persone davanti, che canta con te, che conosce e ama le canzoni, ti dà un'energia incredibile. Sembra un'ovvietà, ma succede qualcosa di magico, un transfer di energia da noi a loro e da loro a noi che trasporta la musica e l'emozione a un'altro livello".

Dal vivo non vi portate dietro né l'orchestra di archi né il coro, è un problema?
"Coro e orchestra sono elementi essenziali della nostra musica. Dal vivo usiamo campionatori e registrazioni per una questione di costi, credo che il pubblico capisca".

La sua esperienza più bella con il pubblico?
"Eravamo ad Atene per un concerto all'aperto. Era la fine del tour ed eravamo stanchi. Una volta sul palco ci accorgiamo che l'impianto di amplificazione è disastroso: non riusciamo a sentirci. Ma appena ho iniziato a cantare mi rendo conto che le migliaia di persone che gremivano questo spazio, stavano cantando con me: sentivo meglio loro che me stessa e questo è stato trascinante".

di Alessandro Cassin


Source: http://espresso.repubblica.it/dettaglio/Aprite%20le%20porte%20al%20mio%20rock/1337548
Thanks to Liquid_Snake

Evanescence lead singer Amy Lee said guitarist Terry Balsamo is making "miraculous progress" recovering from a stroke he suffered last fall.

Lee said at Sunday's MuchMusic Video Awards that Balsamo is doing physical and occupational therapy and is re-learning the guitar.

She said they expect he'll be ready to tour again in October.

"He's doing really well," she said. "It's been a lot of hard work for him but he's completely determined and stubborn as a mule. So he's way better already but still recuperating a little bit."

Evanescence's second album, The Open Doors, will be released Oct. 3; Lee said it's heavier and more intimate than the band's debut album, Fallen.

"I think the lyrics are more personal and more direct ... I love it even more than the first one, for sure," she said.


Source: http://www.680news.com/news/entertainment/article.jsp?content=e061933A

Anyway, speaking of doing it for the love of music, we caught up with Evanescence's Amy Lee, who was looking particularly bewitching, and she told us about recording her band’s sophomore effort and how she dealt with the pressure of following up such a massive debut.

“You can’t listen to [the pressure],” she asserted. “You can’t let it affect the way you write. You have to write music because you want to, not because you have to.”

Lee said she put the finishing touches on the album just two weeks ago and is still “kind of spinning” because she doesn’t know what to do with herself after spending two years locked in the studio. The gothy songstress revealed she’s grown since we last heard from her and fans can expect more depth on the disc, due in October.

“I’ve just grown as a musician and a person,” she said. “There’s a lot that I’ve said now that I didn’t think I could say before — I was afraid to. Musically, there’s a lot that I don’t think I could have done last time. It sounds awesome. I really pushed myself to my limits. I hope everyone really loves it, because I do.”

by Heather Adler

Source: http://www.dose.ca

It's been a rough two years for Evanescence.

Last December singer Amy Lee filed a lawsuit against her former manager, accusing him of sexual harassment and defrauding the band. (He has denied the claims.) Her songwriting partner, Terry Balsamo -- who replaced former partner Ben Moody in 2003 -- had a stroke. (He's since made a full recovery.) Lee split with her boyfriend of two years, Seether's Shaun Morgan. And to top it off, "the cat ran away," says Lee.

"It was all really dramatic and weird." But tragedy creates great material: "It's only made the record that much better, honestly," she says.

Moody's departure meant greater creative control for Lee. "Before, I wasn't allowed to play any organ because Ben didn't like it. This time I could do whatever I wanted, and there's lots of organ. It's all over."

The first single, "Call Me When You're Sober," has remnants of Evanescence's old goth sound, but with woman-scorned lyrics ("You never call me when you're sober/You only want it cause it's over") and a bluesy arrangement of strings and organ, it sounds more Fiona Apple than new metal.

On "Good Enough," a plaintive piano ballad, Lee's voice drops to a lower register, giving it a richness and nuance not present on previous albums. "I just feel purified," says Lee. "I still listen to the album now, and it couldn't mean more to me."

Evanescence will release "The Open Door" on October 3 through Wind-Up Records.


Thanks to Oceanic
Souce: Ultimate-guitar.com

Singer talks about band's upcoming 'Open Door' in an exclusive Canadian interview

TORONTO - Just like one of the gang, Evanescence frontwoman Amy Lee emerges from a hotel suite, strides up to a pristinely arranged table of cold cuts and crackers, and declares herself famished.

Garbed in a pixie-like outfit, which sees her sporting a sleeveless heather-grey tee, over a black, pink frilly edge skirt and slightly worn Cons, the 24-year-old California native then joins her handlers in trying to figure out who'd be wearing what to last night's MuchMusic Video Awards.

Moments later, now fully energized, the fresh-faced singer/ songwriter tucks herself comfortably into a plush couch in her Yorkville hotel, eager to talk about her band's latest disc, "The Open Door," due in stores October 3.

"It's just killing me," she says with a mock laugh. "I wish we could put it out right now."

"I mean, who knows what's going to happen by October? We may all be worshipping polka people by then."

Three years after their major label debut, the multi-platinum, Grammy-winning "Fallen," Lee says the new record lets her finally stretch herself in ways even she didn't think possible. 
 

"The Open Door," the band's first album since the departure of lead guitarist and main songwriter Ben Moody in 2003, finds Evanescence rocking out way more, she says.

"I think if people expect this album is going to be softer and more feminine and more wimpy, they're going to be surprised," she begins carefully. "It's not an album full of "My Immortal"-like songs. Every song is completely different and I feel like at times it definitely goes heavier than we had the capacity to do before. But in a way that's still new and fun and unique and not trying to be like anything else that's out there."

Sidestepping Moody's abrupt departure for a moment, Lee admits that her work on the disc, which was recorded in Los Angeles earlier this year, helped her discover how to be a better artist.

"This time around I was in control completely and didn't have any real limits," she says. "I felt like I could do things that I didn't know I could do before and that's an incredible feeling. And I realized I could do a lot more things than I thought I could, as a singer, as a music writer, even as an engineer."

"It was nice to be able to write something and not have it shot down," she says, taking a mild swipe at Moody, who met Lee at a youth camp while they were teens, before forming the band in Arkansas in the late '90s.

It was also nice to collaborate with a different musician, she says, enthusing about Moody's replacement, former Cold guitarist Terry Balsamo.

"I've never really written with someone before. I don't know if Ben and I ever wrote a song together. It was always, I would write and he would write and then we would bring our ideas together."

"But the writing process with Terry was really, really great and different. We would just sit in a room and make demos. We'd work together and talk to each other and encourage one another. This whole writing together thing is good for me. I needed Terry to make it happen the way it did. I trust him and we trust each other to just try whatever."

Besides, since she started writing the album more than a year ago until now, Lee says she's been deaf to the cat calls of people who say she can't make it without Ben.

"Those I hate the most," she moans. "But I don't bother with any of it. It's not even worth it. All I have to say is, people who don't think I can do it - I can do it."

Again teamed with "Fallen" producer Dave Fortman (Mudvayne), the record - which features 13 tracks including the propulsive "Weight Of The World," the full-bodied, "Lithium," the haunting "Good Enough" and the gut-spilling first single, "Call Me When You're Sober" - is everything Lee had ever wanted to try both as a singer and songwriter.

"On this record, I tried things that I couldn't do before because I'm better now as a musician. And anything that I had wanted to try, but before was afraid to do, I tried that too. Because of that, I feel this album steps out. It's grown up."

Curling herself into the couch, streams of the late afternoon sun streaking its way across the room, she says that what's going to surprise people most about the new record is that the reincarnated Evanescence can do it all.

"You can't make a record thinking about sales or things like that," she says softly. "It's got to be natural. It's got to be that you're writing because you want to make music, not because you want to sell records. So, I just thought to myself, 'I'm going to write songs. I'm just going to write something that I can love. Period.'"

"The Open Door" will be in stores October 3.

By MARK DANIELL



Source: http://jam.canoe.ca