| |
| |
 |
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
Evanescence has sold over 15 million records in three years. Amy Lee is the rock band's singer-songwriter and creative fulcrum within the group. But the 25-year-old still throws up on stage.
"Oh, yeah, I've totally 'barfed' during a concert," she admitted. "It does happen on stage, you know."
Aren't rockers consummate professionals and masters of their stage craft?
"No, people 'barf' on stage all the time. They just don't admit it. Think about it. When I'm running around onstage, I'm also clenching the stomach muscles around the diaphragm to project my voice. That's where you feel the nausea first.
"I've never barfed on the crowd, but it has come up in my mouth before. I've just had to turn away and swallow."
Speaking backstage shortly before her recent gig in Melbourne, Amy Lee dispensed with the formulaic rules of the rock star interview.
There are no cronies present, no questions are off limits and she is refreshingly candid — and detailed — in her answers considering she had to perform before a sold-out arena an hour later.
Lee plots the direction of one of the world's most successful rock outfits currently (since the release of their debut album Fallen in 2003, Evanescence have sold more albums than Coldplay and Oasis), but chats with the openness of a raw teenager playing in a college band.
"The fans know I'm honest with them," she shrugged. "I can laugh at myself and they know that."
Fallen rock star
When she was an Arkansas teenager, Lee was sitting at a piano during a Christian youth camp, playing Meat Loaf's I'd Do Anything for Love (But I Won't Do That).
She caught the attention of fellow teenager and budding guitarist-songwriter Ben Moody. They formed a band called Evanescence, cut a few demos and it all came together in 2003, when their first album Fallen was released.
Fallen sold over 14 million copies worldwide and is one of only eight albums in the history of the US Billboard chart to spend at least a year on the Billboard Top 50.
Their debut single Bring Me to Life was an international smash and became the official theme for WWE's No Way Out. Another single, My Immortal, was included in the movie Daredevil.
Two Grammy awards in 2004 confirmed Evanescence's arrival.
"The global success of Fallen happened pretty quickly and it was a nice surprise," recalled a level-headed Lee. "It enabled us to travel the world, but I never thought that we couldn't improve. Fallen was a big moment in our career, but for me it was a cornerstone, a step for us to move up from."
But 14 million in sales can inflict a severe strain of Second Album Syndrome. The fans and the record company demanded Fallen Part II and they wanted it yesterday.
Not only was Lee unwilling to retread old musical ground, she was dealing with internal division that threatened to cut down the band in its prime. In the middle of a world tour, co-founder Moody quit. But Lee insisted losing her musical partner (and ex-boyfriend) saved the band.
"It's a difficult thing when the main guitar player leaves the tour in another country," she admitted. "But it was the best thing that ever happened to us. We were at a split in the road and we couldn't have gone any further. The band was going to die and fail if something drastic hadn't happened."
Another door opens
Lee and Moody reportedly haven't spoken since. Moody has recently released his first solo album and writes songs for Avril Lavigne and Kelly Clarkson; Lee roped in guitarist-songwriter Terry Balsamo and returned to the studio.
The result was the more eclectic second album, The Open Door, which is out now in Singapore.
"Ben was miserable, and it was making everyone else miserable. So, he had to leave and Terry has been great on the second album. It's a new path musically, which is just what we needed," said Lee.
"I never wanted to make Fallen Part 2. That's a common mistake in this industry to hurry up and strike while the iron's hot. You have to put time into it, wait for inspiration. We spent a month on each song."
The album sold almost half a million copies in its first week in the US, crashing in at No 1 on the Billboard charts.
On stage in Melbourne, Lee captivates her audience. There is clearly no chance of her "barfing" into the mosh pit.
But her stage persona is merely that, a persona, and not one she particularly craves offstage.
"When I'm on tour, I'm an extrovert, jumping around shouting 'hey, it's me'. It's such a contrast to my introverted home life," she said.
"Touring is fun, but if I had a choice, I'd play fewer shows and stay home more with my two cats. I really miss them. I was looking at their pictures last night."
That's hardly Ozzy Osbourne, is it?
"Hey, I'm a big nerd, a total goofball," she said. "If I had to sum myself in three words: Big dumb nerd." - TODAY/st
|
