Thomas
Viscount/Viscountess of EvThreads
I was an eagle in flight...
Posts: 714 
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Post by Thomas on Aug 16, 2012 21:25:26 GMT -5
Going against what its name suggests, the band Evanescence has no intention of disappearing. Yes, the ACT-caliber word means exactly that -- to vanish or disappear. Releasing its self-titled third album last September after a hiatus that lasted a couple years, lead singer Amy Lee is back to prove she's still got what it takes to be a rock star.
Storming the Tyson Events Center Monday with its Carnival of Madness Tour, the band will perform its Grammy award-winning hits along with the brand new stuff. The Weekender caught up with Lee in a recent interview to find out what's been happening in the interim.
Weekender: Have you always been one to hang out with the guys?
Amy Lee: Well, I'm definitely used to it. I love my girlfriends; I miss them a lot when I’m on the road. And I was thinking about this the other day: female musicians are most of my favorite singers. But when you’re young the pool of guitarists and drummers to choose from -- they’re all dudes. It’s not specifically a gender thing,
W: Why do you think there aren’t more women in rock?
AL: They’re too smart; they have better things to do! (Laughing).
W: Did you ever find it hard to be taken seriously with the kind of music you wanted to make?
AL: The thing was earning respect. People wanted to get critical, they wanted to claim we were trying to trick them by putting a chick in front. I grew up in a musical family but I was originally inspired by Mozart. I wanted to be a composer so being a singer, a quote on quote rocker, that wasn’t the idea at first. It was just getting people to see I was a real musician and I think I’ve proved that.
W: How did you find your powerful voice? Where did you get the guts to sing like that at first?
AL: When I sing full voice, which I do a lot, it’s about getting the emotions out. It’s like being in a fight, when you’re pouring out your soul you can’t always tell how aggressive you’re being. This is just what’s inside of me.
W: Still live in Arkansas?
AL: I haven’t lived there in a very long time I got out as soon as I graduated from high school. I live in New York now. But I lived everywhere when I was growing up. My dad was Radio DJ so, like being an Army brat, we moved all the time. I only lived in Arkansas from 13 to 18 but that was where this band began so it is significant.
W: 2007 was your "Open Door" album tour but then there wasn’t a new album until 2011, what were you doing in the in between time?
AL: We have a really international fan base, so a year and a half after the album was released we were still touring all over the world. Part of it is just the touring that gets to you. After that we... I needed a fresh start. I got married that year. I wanted to be normal and live in my house, wake up in my own bed. You miss out on a lot of things, soul-quenching things that you don’t realize while you’re away. I needed that stability. Plus, it takes a minute to get new inspiration. At that point we disbanded indefinitely.
W: So you didn’t know if you’d ever get back together again?
AL: No. The future was not clear. But then it made me want to write again. Because it wasn’t something I was doing for a job, it was something I wanted to do... like it was when I was a teenager first starting to write.
W: What are you working on now?
AL: Just focused on the tour right now. I woke up on the bus today, and we’re getting ready to do a show in Laredo, Texas, tonight. It’s weird, there are moments of down time sometimes but you can’t force creativity.
W: What’s it like on the tour, is there a bus? Crazy?
AL: We have had those times, especially when I was younger. But as a singer I have to be pretty mellow in order to keep it going. Now it’s more just laughing, talking, drinking a beer and watching a movie, rather than running in circles around the bus and doing drugs.
W: Where do you keep your Grammys?
AL: On top of my speakers in my studio at home. I should really get a glass case for them. I always worry they’re going to bounce off my speakers from the vibrations …
W: Who inspires you most musically?
AL: I've always been a really huge fan of Björk, Michael Jackson, Soundgarden and Nirvana and more recently I really love My Rival Sun.
W: Carnival of Madness Tour? How mad is the show going to get? What kind of show can we expect from you guys?
AL: It’s been really awesome; we’re not quite halfway through it. I’m enjoying watching Halestorm -- getting to really watch the whole show and meet them. I’ve toured with other women before but (lead singer) Lzzy is the real thing. Makes me really proud that the whole front-woman thing is working for somebody else. Oh, and Chevelle, as always, is great. It’s been nice ‘cuz we can hang out back stage. We’ve got a lot of stuff for you guys. I think you are going to like it.
W: Do you ever get tired of singing the hits?
AL: Yes. Of course! But that tends to be the thing in any show, the moment that saves your ass. It’s the moment if you screwed up or fell down, I bring “Bring Me to Life” out and they forget everything else that happened and just sing along. I’ve had moments, especially when the second album came out where I thought "I don't want to be known for this." I don’t feel that way anymore, it's nostalgic. |
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Post by rionka on Aug 16, 2012 21:50:27 GMT -5
Source please, thank you! There's a lot of broken signs in that text, as I can see...
I'm sorry, the source is already there.
EDIT: interesting, that sign problems are obviously not your fault, now i saw it in different older thread. I guess someone was playing with a charset?
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Thomas
Viscount/Viscountess of EvThreads
I was an eagle in flight...
Posts: 714
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Post by Thomas on Aug 17, 2012 1:04:56 GMT -5
Source please, thank you! There's a lot of broken signs in that text, as I can see... I'm sorry, the source is already there. EDIT: interesting, that sign problems are obviously not your fault, now i saw it in different older thread. I guess someone was playing with a charset? The source was always there, LOL. I don't know what you meant with 'broken signs' or something, HAHA. |
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Post by rionka on Aug 17, 2012 11:13:18 GMT -5
It's OK now, but it was broken yesterday. lol.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Aug 17, 2012 11:37:23 GMT -5
^ What do you mean with broken?
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Aug 17, 2012 12:15:23 GMT -5
W: Do you ever get tired of singing the hits?
AL: Yes. Of course! But that tends to be the thing in any show, the moment that saves your ass. It’s the moment if you screwed up or fell down, I bring “Bring Me to Life” out and they forget everything else that happened and just sing along. I’ve had moments, especially when the second album came out where I thought "I don't want to be known for this." I don’t feel that way anymore, it's nostalgic.
Start playing your less known songs, then.  ...Or at least I would prefer Snow White Queen, ATILF, Farther Away, Cloud Nine etc. over BMTL any time. |
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Aug 17, 2012 12:16:19 GMT -5
^ I'd prefer any other Ev song over BMTL, except swimming home.
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