Billboard Interview on Leftover 'Songs and Ideas'

[eternalullaby]

Amy Lee knows that Evanescence fans hope for something shorter than a five-year wait for the group's next album. But she's not making promises either way.

"I only get into that (creative) mode when I'm home and finally separated from the chaos of public life," Lee, who's currently out with Evanescence headlining this summer's Carnival of Madness tour, tells Billboard.com. Lee does, however, have a batch of material that she worked on in the initial stages of the group's latest album, 2011's "Evanescence," which was scrapped when she changed producers (from Steve Lillywhite to Nick Raskulinecz) but may offer a starting point for what comes next.

"I definitely have a lot of songs and ideas and things we haven't shared yet, and I still believe in them," Lee says. "Whenever we have a song or an idea or anything, whether it's Evanescence or whether it's not Evanescence...it can be anything, I just hope that if it's good I have an opportunity to share it with everybody. So we'll see; you may still get your chance to hear all this stuff."

Meanwhile, Evanescence is enjoying its Carnival of Madness run. It's something of a victory lap for "Evanescence," the long-awaited follow-up to 2006's "The Open Door," and Lee says the album, which debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 last October, is "a really positive thing in my life. This has been a lot of going out there and seeing new things and being able to have some new inspiration. So the writing will come. I'm not worried about that."

Evanescence wraps up the Carnival of Madness tour on Sept. 2 and has a short U.K. swing planned for November. Some other dates may be added to the schedule, but Lee intends to have the touring cycle wrapped up by the holidays. "The first order of business is going to be to soak up some good family time," she says. "The older I get, it's not just about kids of my own but just spending time with my living family. That's something I really end up missing a lot on the road, just down-home family time with my husband and my parents and my grandparents, cousins, weddings, funerals, family gathering. You miss a lot of that stuff when you're on the road, and it's starting to hit me that, 'Oh, I can't get that back...' "

Nevertheless, there's still more to come from "Evanescence." The tracks "The Other Side" and "Lost in Paradise" are both being worked as singles, with a video planned for the latter after Carnival of Madness wraps.

"That whole thing has gotten confusing to me," Lee notes. "In some countries they're going with one single at one time and another one in America and blah, blah, blah...When it's just a radio single and you're not making a video, I kind of lose interest, anyway. And, for me, it's really less about radio than it ever has been. I don't feel like radio is the driving force of what makes people buy music anymore. So what is a single, then? A single is just somebody's favorite song."

VIDEO: www.billboard.com/news/evanescence-s-lee-on-2011-album-success-1007868152.story#/news/evanescence-s-lee-on-2011-album-success-1007868152.story

[deadlypoison]

Amy! How can you miss funerals?

She sounds so tired of all this. Sure she's enjoying the tour but you can tell she can't wait to be home again..

[harridan]

True. Radio doesn't do much for the band and the stations that actually play Ev don't really care whether a song is a single or not. I'm getting excited about LiP. We might finally get a video soon!

[WhisperedDreams]

Interesting. So, does sound like this might be the end of the "Evanescence" tour and she's going to take time off again.

It also sounds like she plans to write again soon. She'll take her time off, then jump back into music. It's obviously her passion, and I don't think she'll ever tire of music. I'll be real curious to hear what she writes next. Hopefully whatever is "missing" from their latest release (and i know I'm not the only one who felt something was "missing") will be present in the next release.

[Deleted]

I vote for Your Love to be on the next album! Or at least like 'Together Again' and released for charity etc etc

[danielfer88]

Ok, this interview is kind of bittersweet right? On one hand we have the idea that this era is coming to an inminent end. On the other hand, we found out that the LIP vid might still be recorded someday after de COMT.

She also mentioned that she misses her family and the fact that she may have children on her own. The fact that she mentioned funerals means she really regreated not having been there when her granny passed away. It must have been pretty sad for her.

Besides, the very mention of the scrapped songs from the previous sessions may hint the possibility that she will start a solo career after this era, and we don't know how much time that will take.

[Lycrymosa]

Although she hasn't given us a time period, I'm glad that shes talking about getting back into the studio with Ev. This tour just wasn't long enough, this era just seems to be over so quickly!

I'm hoping that the wait will only be 2-3 years, but if she decides to have children, it may be longer. I guess it depends on when she decides to have children. Before or after the next album.

They have a really good line up right now and really good momentum, it would be a shame to put it all on the back burner again

[Morgan]

I don't think she sounds tired of this. I kind understand her, it's about creativity, sure she loves touring but loves writing more thant anything. And right now she's feeling creativity knocking at her door but can't write because she's not under the circumstances she likes to work with. So she loves the tour but wants it to end NOW cause she wants to get back on the train, plus I can sense a tiny teeny bit of discontentment or bitterness towards the way the label has been handling their singles and stuff.
Great, cause that means they might actually change companies for good!
And I think she loved a lot of the Lillywhite Session's work and wants to share it soon. i think it's stronger now that want because the hype of the huge love for the songs in Ev3 is fading out, cause as humans, we always want more. She wants more music.
And I think near the end... well, I KNOW I GET THAT about mising funerals. When my dad died, recently, the funeral and wake helped me to keep going on. Cause it kept me busy and un-sad. You need this kind of things to hope with death, at least some of us it depends on your personality, I guess maybe Amy and I share that characteristic.
I think she also might feel a bit guilty for not helping her family as much as she would love to for being busy on tour.
This is sure though:
WE ARE GETTING ANOTHER EV ALBUM RELATIVELY SOON.
WE ARE GONNA GET THE LILLYWHITE SESSIONS EVENTUALLY.
At least from my side of the screen.

[princeofpersia]

Aug 21, 2012 18:56:56 GMT -5 deadlypoison said:

Amy! How can you miss funerals?

I think she is talking about those guilty feelings when you lose someone and you're not able to be there at least for the funeral. like her grand ma.

Anyway, Go Amy! and be sure we're right behind you. no matter how many years it will be.

[Syahrul Amin]

im hoping theyre making music vids for LIP and TOS i know its too much butt

[Christopher James]

im sure she is ready for some time off, like they have been touring for almost an entire year already so ya i get where she is coming from. i do hope they film a video for LIP. If they do give us another album i hope that they give us a few songs inbetween to hold us off.

[carolexodus]

Aug 22, 2012 13:52:57 GMT -5 Christopher James said:

If they do give us another album i hope that they give us a few songs inbetween to hold us off.

This^^ Maybe releasing old songs like "If you don't mind" or "Your Love" or some other song they may have there.

What she said about missing funerals made me very sad for her. That was probably a shitty situation, knowing one of your relatives died and you just can be there to say the last good-bye and be with your family.
When my grandma died in 2006, all i wanted to do was lock myself in my room and cry. And when i went to the funeral, i didn't want it to end. I just stayed there hughing her cause i couldn't accept she was gone. I remember it like it happened yesterday.

[marycourage]

oh how I wish they'd schedule at least one concert in Scandinavia. ;_; plzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Somehow I think it won't be such a long break this time around. Or I hope it won't maybe 2 years. *crossesfingers*

[mydnyghtamethyst]

Aug 22, 2012 16:13:09 GMT -5 carolexodus said:

What she said about missing funerals made me very sad for her. That was probably a shitty situation, knowing one of your relatives died and you just can be there to say the last good-bye and be with your family.
When my grandma died in 2006, all i wanted to do was lock myself in my room and cry. And when i went to the funeral, i didn't want it to end. I just stayed there hughing her cause i couldn't accept she was gone. I remember it like it happened yesterday.

I know what you mean and I know exactly how Amy feels. When my mom died suddenly in March 2011 I was living in Indiana, while she was in Pennsylvania. But I had no way to get over there and my family just cremated her. Four months later, when my fiance died, even though his body was rigid and frozen, I just wanted to stay there, laying across his chest and never leave casue it was the first time I was able to physical hold or even touch him in over a year. It got to the point where the people who ran the parlor were even getting annoyed with me.

But anyway, I feel so selfish by saying this, but I personally want this era to be over asap so that Amy can get in her family/private life time so she/they can get to the next project. This sounds so wrong, but it's probably how it will be as long as Amy/Ev are touring and whatnot.