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Staring out the window of an Auckland, New Zealand, hotel, Amy Lee still can’t believe how far she’s come the last four years.
On the last night of Evanescence’s tour overseas, Lee prepares for the show by listening to her iPod to clear her mind. A sell-out crowd of more than 20,000 awaits the band, but Lee says she’s got to get in the zone.
“I have to be in a certain place before a show starts,” Lee says during a recent phone interview with the Journal. “I have to be able to give the audience all of me during the show. It’s what I want to give every time.”
The lead singer has seen many peaks (recently engaged) and valleys (lawsuit against management) since the band broke into mainstream radio with its 2003 debut “Fallen.”
“It’s been insane for the last couple of years,” Lee says. “I didn’t think it could get more hectic after the last album, but it has.” Lee is referring to the band’s sophomore album, “The Open Door,” which debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Top 200 Album Chart and has since gone on to sell more than 1 million copies.
Lee explains that after the success of the six-time platinum “Fallen” and two Grammy Awards, Wind Up Records wanted to capitalize on the band’s popularity. “There was a lot of pressure put on us to make this album quickly. But we all felt that we had to do the best music we could and took our time,” she says. “This album grew out of the band organically. To us, it was more important to put out a quality album than to strike while the iron was hot.”
With their latest video, Evanescence have finally done what most artists do with their first.
“It’s mostly live performance,” singer Amy Lee said recently on the set of their “Sweet Sacrifice” video. “It’s not so much fluff and flying and tricks and wolves and stuff. It’s more really just about the song, and that is unique for us. We usually do crazy stuff.”
The video does have a “cool twist,” which Lee refused to reveal, but it will mainly feature the band performing on a set inspired by 2000’s psychotherapist thriller “The Cell.” “Like we’re in the walls of our minds, sort of,” Lee said.
Paul Brown, who has directed videos for Audioslave and Matisyahu, helmed the project, which will feature scenes of the live footage projected onto a wall.
“It’s gonna be sort of like a video within the video,” Lee said. “Since the song is our heaviest single, we really wanted to focus on mostly performance but still have something about it that’s really unique. And I think [Paul] really hit the nail on the head.”
The only connection to the other videos for 2006’s The Open Door — for “Call Me When You’re Sober” (see “Evanescence’s Amy Lee Isn’t Afraid Of Big Bad Wolf In ‘Sober’ Clip”) and “Lithium” (see “After Facing Big Bad Wolf, Amy Lee Faces Herself In Evanescence Clip “) — is that Lee’s wearing a big dress in them, she joked. “But is that really an Evanescence thing?” she pondered.
Amy Lee finds songwriting therapeutic. Whatever emotions the alluring lead singer and pianist of Evanescence is feeling in real life, she transfers out of her system and onto paper. For Lee, it’s her way of coping with the stress created by life’s everyday disappointments and distractions.
Lee’s words are eventually turned into dramatic songs that carry her siren-esque voice over an ethereal hard rock and classical backdrop.
When fans find the same music and lyrics comforting, it brings out an entirely new emotion for Lee.
“When fans come to us and say they connected to our music, that it helped them through a hard time, that’s the ultimate compliment,” Lee said last month on the phone from Australia, where she was wrapping up a tour of the island continent.
Evanescence, which will headline a concert featuring openers Chevelle and Finger Eleven at the Pan American center Monday, has won two Grammys, but Lee said she finds more personal satisfaction in the reaction of fans to that of award committees.
“We’ve performed all over the world, sometimes our fans can’t understand what we’re saying, but they’re moved to tears,” she said, “and that’s a very gratifying experience.”
Evanescence’s second full-length album, “The Open Door,” debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 when it was released on Oct. 21. The first single, “Call Me When You’re Sober,” reached No. 4 on the Hot Modern Rock Tracks chart and No. 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. “Lithium” has also charted, although not as high.
Fans who can’t make it to Evanescence’s performance at The Pearl at the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas can still catch all the action online, Access Hollywood has learned.
The Palms has teamed up with iTunes to off fans “Live from Las Vegas,” a concert series including exclusive audio and video available on iTunes.
In addition, the concert by Evanescene will be the first performance inside The Pearl — the brand new $80 million theater inside The Palms.
“We are thrilled to offer live performances from Grammy-winning artists such as Evanescence at The Pearl on the iTunes Store,” said Palms owner George Maloof. “Not only is The Pearl the most stunning concert venue in the country, but it’s the first major live music venue to be built from the ground up with iTunes in mind.”
“iTunes is the world’s most popular online music store and we strive to bring music fans great exclusive content,” said Eddy Cue, Apple’s vice president of iTunes. “The ‘Live from Las Vegas’ series has already proven to be a hit and we look forward to many more stellar performances at The Pearl.”
The concert series will regularly feature extended song lists and special behind-the-scenes video including candid interviews and even recording sessions in Studio at the Palms, the casino-resort’s state-of-the-art recording facility.
The upcoming “Evanescence: Live from Las Vegas” performance joins an amazing performance and interview with GRAMMY-winning artist John Legend from inside Studio at The Palms, and Australian rockers Wolfmother from The Lounge at The Palms.
“I lost my PSP,” she told What’s On while on tour in Australia. “I left it on the airplane. Now I have a 15-hour flight ahead, and all I can do is stare at the chair in front of me.”
While Lee is clearly upset, it’s hard to feel too much sympathy for Evanescence’s leading lady. After all, Lee and her band mates have been one of rock’s most successful acts since breaking onto the scene with the 2003 release Fallen. But it’s the group’s highly anticipated follow-up, The Open Door, that’s truly certified Evanescence as modern rock royalty.
Following co-founder Ben Moody’s departure from the group in late 2003, skeptics who thought Evanescence’s appeal was yet another here today-gone tomorrow fad were almost certain that the band’s second CD would be a flop. They were wrong. Proving that she was more than just the face of the group, Lee’s compelling lyrics, poignant piano playing and stunning vocals took The Open Door to the top of the Billboard 200 chart.
“I remember we were about to go onstage when we heard the news,” Lee said. “It’s something you can never plan or expect. Really, I thought The Killers would sell more CDs because they were more fashionable.”
