via Twitter
@AmyLeeEv:
"Comes w the deluxe. Making of album and video, WYW video and a little more. “@jk_rz2011:what's gonna be on the dvd? Whens it coming out?”
@AmyLeeEv:
"Dvd comes w deluxe CD, same day (10-11) so I DEF rcomnd you go deluxe! You get all 16 songs we recorded+DVD which is behind the scenes+video"
Evanescence's self-titled third album is in stores now.
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
Amy Lee talks hiatus and new album
"I’m not into the fame. It’s just not real."
By Karen Bliss
Where has Amy Lee been? Enjoying life, her husband, friends, cooking, learning the harp and taking time for herself. The Evanescence leader didn't care if she ever returned to the spotlight. Her rock band had sold 15 million copies of its 2003 debut, "Fallen," and 5 million of the follow-up, 2007's "The Open Door." When that tour cycle was over, she said sayonara for a bit. So the fact that a new album will be out October 11 means she is ready, willing and happy.
"It's awesome to be back here now because it took me running away and going, 'Okay, I'm willing to throw it all away at this point...,' Lee told MSN. "Having that letting-go feeling and that disconnect, I guess, the freedom to be able to let it go, made me love it again... It made me remember Evanescence, the records we've made, the way that we sounded. It wasn't a character that I created. It's really me. But after a while, it starts to feel like this character. [I'm not always] singing about the deepest darkest pit of my soul, you know what I mean? It's all so dramatic, which is real but after a while, I'm like, 'Man, I'm sick of it.'
"This is about the band. I love them. They're great," Lee continues. "And this is the exact same lineup that we had when we finished up on tour before but, in general, when everybody around you all the time is revolving around me, I'm not into the fame. It's cool. It's just not real. It's not quite reality. It's all completely self-centered [and] I'm not that way. I like to do for other people.
Lee is chatty, friendly, down-to-earth and very open, sitting in a private screening room in the lower level of a posh Yorkville hotel in Toronto. She's in town well in advance of the release of "Evanescence," the band's self-titled third album. The band -- Lee, drummer Will Hunt, bassist Tim McCord and guitarists Troy McLawhorn and Terry Balsamo -- had just played Winnipeg's The Rock On The Range concert and has return visits to Canada scheduled for Toronto's The Sound Academy on October 25 and Montreal's Metropolis on the 26. Lee can't wait.
Evanescence -- produced by Nick Raskulinecz (Foo Fighters, Rush) and mixed by Canadian Randy Staub (Metallica, Nickelback, Bon Jovi) -- is a big-sounding album ranging from the introductory first single, "What You Want" to the intense ballad "Lost In Paradise." Lee, a classically trained pianist with an outstanding, crystalline rock voice, also plays harp on "Swimming Home" and "A New Way To Bleed."
Lee always wanted to learn a new instrument, but didn't have time after the band became successful. So when Evanescence came off the road in 2007, her husband bought her one that Christmas. "I got hooked up with a really great instructor and she came over once a week and I was practicing like an hour a day and just doing that," she says.
She eventually got back to the piano and writing songs on her own, as well as collaborating with McCord, Balsamo and a programmer friend of hers, also named Will Hunt (not to be confused with Evanescence's drummer). "It was this really cool experimental journey, but it was really like solo music that I was working on," Lee realizes now. At the time, however, she thought it was for Evanescence.
"I didn't give us enough time to really create together to make it an Evanescence album," Lee explains. "So I jumped the gun. That was part of it. Steve [Lillywhite] wasn't the right producer [she originally hired Lillywhite, a veteran producer for U2, Peter Gabriel and 30 Seconds to Mars]. We just weren't ready. At the end of the day, I was like, 'Okay, for whatever reason this isn't working. It's not sounding like I meant for it to sound and I can't put out something I'm not happy with it.' I'm never gonna do that."
By the time Raskulinecz came into the picture, Lee had a clear vision of the direction.
"After going in the studio the first time and not being ready, we just crammed. We spent months at a time together -- Tim, Terry and I -- from last summer on," says Lee. "We'd shack up at my house for a month; we went to a remote place in California for a month; we went and worked with our drummer in Florida for a while and were constantly hammering out sessions and we finally got it.
"I really believe each person in the band brings something unique to the table," adds Lee, who has seen a handful of bandmates leave the lineup since Evanescence formed in 1995, including co-founder Ben Moody.
"It's subtle, but, honestly, I think the biggest difference is with every other album it's just been like one or two people writing the songs and then everybody else kind of comes in last minute, plays their instruments, which is totally normal; there's nothing wrong with that. It doesn't mean we're not a band," she says mockingly, obviously recalling hearing that kind of comment in the past. "A lot of bands do that. There are principal writers. But this time there's invested writing, real spins and created parts by everybody and a lot of the songs were created with us sitting around at our instruments in a live setting just jamming. That's totally new for me. It gives it like this live band, rhythmic energy."
That type of enthusiasm is contagious and rubs off on everyone, making it the perfect timing for Evanescence's return to the marketplace -- break over, well rested and reinvigorated. "Well they're invested," says Lee. "We're a team. It feels more like a team. I am the director, but we're all onboard and invested and if something doesn't work out, we'll all be sad; if things go well, we're all gonna be celebrating. It's more like that."
Source: entertainment.ca.msn.com
By Karen Bliss
Where has Amy Lee been? Enjoying life, her husband, friends, cooking, learning the harp and taking time for herself. The Evanescence leader didn't care if she ever returned to the spotlight. Her rock band had sold 15 million copies of its 2003 debut, "Fallen," and 5 million of the follow-up, 2007's "The Open Door." When that tour cycle was over, she said sayonara for a bit. So the fact that a new album will be out October 11 means she is ready, willing and happy.
"It's awesome to be back here now because it took me running away and going, 'Okay, I'm willing to throw it all away at this point...,' Lee told MSN. "Having that letting-go feeling and that disconnect, I guess, the freedom to be able to let it go, made me love it again... It made me remember Evanescence, the records we've made, the way that we sounded. It wasn't a character that I created. It's really me. But after a while, it starts to feel like this character. [I'm not always] singing about the deepest darkest pit of my soul, you know what I mean? It's all so dramatic, which is real but after a while, I'm like, 'Man, I'm sick of it.'
"This is about the band. I love them. They're great," Lee continues. "And this is the exact same lineup that we had when we finished up on tour before but, in general, when everybody around you all the time is revolving around me, I'm not into the fame. It's cool. It's just not real. It's not quite reality. It's all completely self-centered [and] I'm not that way. I like to do for other people.
Evanescence -- produced by Nick Raskulinecz (Foo Fighters, Rush) and mixed by Canadian Randy Staub (Metallica, Nickelback, Bon Jovi) -- is a big-sounding album ranging from the introductory first single, "What You Want" to the intense ballad "Lost In Paradise." Lee, a classically trained pianist with an outstanding, crystalline rock voice, also plays harp on "Swimming Home" and "A New Way To Bleed."
Lee always wanted to learn a new instrument, but didn't have time after the band became successful. So when Evanescence came off the road in 2007, her husband bought her one that Christmas. "I got hooked up with a really great instructor and she came over once a week and I was practicing like an hour a day and just doing that," she says.
She eventually got back to the piano and writing songs on her own, as well as collaborating with McCord, Balsamo and a programmer friend of hers, also named Will Hunt (not to be confused with Evanescence's drummer). "It was this really cool experimental journey, but it was really like solo music that I was working on," Lee realizes now. At the time, however, she thought it was for Evanescence.
"I didn't give us enough time to really create together to make it an Evanescence album," Lee explains. "So I jumped the gun. That was part of it. Steve [Lillywhite] wasn't the right producer [she originally hired Lillywhite, a veteran producer for U2, Peter Gabriel and 30 Seconds to Mars]. We just weren't ready. At the end of the day, I was like, 'Okay, for whatever reason this isn't working. It's not sounding like I meant for it to sound and I can't put out something I'm not happy with it.' I'm never gonna do that."
By the time Raskulinecz came into the picture, Lee had a clear vision of the direction.
"After going in the studio the first time and not being ready, we just crammed. We spent months at a time together -- Tim, Terry and I -- from last summer on," says Lee. "We'd shack up at my house for a month; we went to a remote place in California for a month; we went and worked with our drummer in Florida for a while and were constantly hammering out sessions and we finally got it.
"I really believe each person in the band brings something unique to the table," adds Lee, who has seen a handful of bandmates leave the lineup since Evanescence formed in 1995, including co-founder Ben Moody.
"It's subtle, but, honestly, I think the biggest difference is with every other album it's just been like one or two people writing the songs and then everybody else kind of comes in last minute, plays their instruments, which is totally normal; there's nothing wrong with that. It doesn't mean we're not a band," she says mockingly, obviously recalling hearing that kind of comment in the past. "A lot of bands do that. There are principal writers. But this time there's invested writing, real spins and created parts by everybody and a lot of the songs were created with us sitting around at our instruments in a live setting just jamming. That's totally new for me. It gives it like this live band, rhythmic energy."
That type of enthusiasm is contagious and rubs off on everyone, making it the perfect timing for Evanescence's return to the marketplace -- break over, well rested and reinvigorated. "Well they're invested," says Lee. "We're a team. It feels more like a team. I am the director, but we're all onboard and invested and if something doesn't work out, we'll all be sad; if things go well, we're all gonna be celebrating. It's more like that."
Source: entertainment.ca.msn.com
Monday, August 29, 2011
Billboard: Fall's Most Anticipated Albums
Evanescence | "Evanescence"
Date: Oct. 11 Twitter: @Evanescence
Touring: Oct.-Dec. South America, Europe, U.S.
Earlier this year, Evanescence frontwoman Amy Lee said in a statement that her Grammy Award-winning band was "reinventing our sound" and "experimenting with things we've never done before" for its self-titled third studio album. The Nick Raskulinecz-produced (Foo Fighters, Deftones, Rush) set is the band's first release in nearly five years. In recent weeks, vocalist/pianist Lee previewed several aggressive new tracks to MTV from Blackbird Studio in Nashville. The heavy "What You Want" touches on themes of freedom while "The Other Side" finds Lee singing about "death in a way that's sort of bitchy."
Source: billboard.com
Date: Oct. 11 Twitter: @Evanescence
Touring: Oct.-Dec. South America, Europe, U.S.
Earlier this year, Evanescence frontwoman Amy Lee said in a statement that her Grammy Award-winning band was "reinventing our sound" and "experimenting with things we've never done before" for its self-titled third studio album. The Nick Raskulinecz-produced (Foo Fighters, Deftones, Rush) set is the band's first release in nearly five years. In recent weeks, vocalist/pianist Lee previewed several aggressive new tracks to MTV from Blackbird Studio in Nashville. The heavy "What You Want" touches on themes of freedom while "The Other Side" finds Lee singing about "death in a way that's sort of bitchy."
Source: billboard.com
Thursday, August 25, 2011
Evanescence's Amy Lee Says "Don't Freak Out" Over Epileptic Seizure
BY KAREN BLISS
The specific Out of the Shadows campaign is over, but Evanescence singer-pianist Amy Lee won’t ever stop bringing to light the realities of epilepsy. Her brother, Robby, had his first seizure when he was 8-years-old.
According to the Epilepsy Foundation, Epilepsy is a medical condition that produces seizures affecting a variety of mental and physical functions. Seizure happens when a brief, strong surge of electrical activity affects part or all of the brain.
Seizures can last from a few seconds to a few minutes. They can have many symptoms, from convulsions and loss of consciousness to some that are not always recognized as seizures by the person experiencing them or by health care professionals: blank staring, lip smacking, or jerking movements of arms and legs.
Lee became the American chairperson for Out of the Shadows in 2006. Donations to the site at the time went towards epilepsy awareness and education.
“People don’t know what to do when someone’s having a seizure,” Lee told Samaritanmag, during a recent promo visit to Toronto for Evanescence’s forthcoming album (out Oct. 11).
“People freak out if someone is having a seizure. They think there’s something wrong with them or they’re on drugs or demon-possessed. I think, especially in young people, we have enough against us to make us feel awkward and different that things like that we should be able to understand because it’s totally not that weird. We all have our little differences and quirks about us. And I want to spread awareness. It’s really common.”
So what should we do — or more to the point, says Lee, what shouldn’t we do?
“If somebody has a seizure, you don’t put a wallet in their mouth; don’t put anything in their mouth; that’s this big weird stupid thing – they’re not going to swallow their tongue! That’s physically impossible,” Lee says. “You just want to make sure they’re not going to hit their head and give them some space and let them breathe, and just let them get through it. That’s it, and just don’t freak out. That’s part of it too. It’s normal. It’s gonna pass in a second. Call an ambulance if they need an ambulance.”
Source: samaritanmag.com
The specific Out of the Shadows campaign is over, but Evanescence singer-pianist Amy Lee won’t ever stop bringing to light the realities of epilepsy. Her brother, Robby, had his first seizure when he was 8-years-old.
According to the Epilepsy Foundation, Epilepsy is a medical condition that produces seizures affecting a variety of mental and physical functions. Seizure happens when a brief, strong surge of electrical activity affects part or all of the brain.
Seizures can last from a few seconds to a few minutes. They can have many symptoms, from convulsions and loss of consciousness to some that are not always recognized as seizures by the person experiencing them or by health care professionals: blank staring, lip smacking, or jerking movements of arms and legs.
Lee became the American chairperson for Out of the Shadows in 2006. Donations to the site at the time went towards epilepsy awareness and education.
“People don’t know what to do when someone’s having a seizure,” Lee told Samaritanmag, during a recent promo visit to Toronto for Evanescence’s forthcoming album (out Oct. 11).
“People freak out if someone is having a seizure. They think there’s something wrong with them or they’re on drugs or demon-possessed. I think, especially in young people, we have enough against us to make us feel awkward and different that things like that we should be able to understand because it’s totally not that weird. We all have our little differences and quirks about us. And I want to spread awareness. It’s really common.”
So what should we do — or more to the point, says Lee, what shouldn’t we do?
“If somebody has a seizure, you don’t put a wallet in their mouth; don’t put anything in their mouth; that’s this big weird stupid thing – they’re not going to swallow their tongue! That’s physically impossible,” Lee says. “You just want to make sure they’re not going to hit their head and give them some space and let them breathe, and just let them get through it. That’s it, and just don’t freak out. That’s part of it too. It’s normal. It’s gonna pass in a second. Call an ambulance if they need an ambulance.”
Source: samaritanmag.com
Amy Lee Attends EMI Canada's Evanescence Listening Party
By Karen Bliss, Toronto
Amy Lee was on hand for an invitation-only playback of five new Evanescence songs at Toronto's Liberty Studios on August 22. Hosted by EMI Music Canada, and attended by about 30 people, mainly label staff and media, radio and retail, Paul Shaver, EMI's vice-president, marketing and promotion, gave a small intro, before playing "What You Want," "The Change," "The Other Side," "My Heart Is Broken" and "Lost In Paradise."
"This is a great opportunity: we have an artist show up and want to present their music to ourselves, the industry," said Shaver. "It doesn't happen that much anymore. A lot of pride and love went into this record. A few of us had the privilege of going to Vancouver a few weeks ago [to The Warehouse] and Amy played us a few tracks in the studio when she was mixing and it was just fantastic. It made us want to recreate it here in Toronto."
The self-titled album, the first since 2006's The Open Door, due Oct. 11. It was produced by Nick Raskulinecz (Foo Fighters, Rush) and mixed by Randy Staub (Metallica, Nickelback, Bon Jovi).
"This is a great opportunity: we have an artist show up and want to present their music to ourselves, the industry," said Shaver. "It doesn't happen that much anymore. A lot of pride and love went into this record. A few of us had the privilege of going to Vancouver a few weeks ago [to The Warehouse] and Amy played us a few tracks in the studio when she was mixing and it was just fantastic. It made us want to recreate it here in Toronto."
The self-titled album, the first since 2006's The Open Door, due Oct. 11. It was produced by Nick Raskulinecz (Foo Fighters, Rush) and mixed by Randy Staub (Metallica, Nickelback, Bon Jovi).
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
A Peek at the New Evanescence Album
Amy Lee is awfully sweet. At a private listening session featuring tracks from the new album (it's self-titled, as far as I can tell) that came after a long day of press, she was bubbly and friendly, happy to chat with everyone in the studio about the new project.
A few minutes later, she and I were in the control room, listening to five tracks from the new Evanescence record at the volume of a 747 on its take-off roll. I was sitting behind a desk. Amy was prowling around the room, singing along, punching fists in the air. She's definitely proud of this work. After it was all over, we had a chat.
It is a dense record with big arrangements. VERY big.
"How many tracks were used in some of these songs?" I asked.
Amy thought for a moment. "The most we used was 190."
Gasp. "On ONE song?"
"Yeah, well, it's how we roll. The average is about 120. At one point, the engineer turned to us and said 'Uh, I'm gonna need another [ProTools] rig to handle this. Are you sure?' And I said, 'Dude, it's how we've always done things.'"
I digested this. "What about vocals? A big part of the Evanescence sound is how you multi-track your vocals."
"We do. There's the lead then a couple of harmonies doubled down here"--she gestures towards the floor--"and they're doubled higher up."
"So that's--"
"About ten tracks per lead vocal. Then there's the guitars. They're split through two Ampeg amps and doubled to make them nice and thick. Then you have to take into account the drums and the occasional string arrangements. Plus there's all kinds of programming going on--bass pedals, keyboards. And, of course, my piano."
No wonder it's been five years since the last album.
"What about the final mix?" I asked. "When you have that much going on, it must be a nightmare."
"It's tough," Amy said. "First, we record everything so it sounds glorious on the big studio monitors. Then we scale everything down so it'll sound good through smaller speakers and especially ear buds. Because let's face it. That's how most people listen to music these days. You have to find that trade-off point between what you can achieve in the studio under optimal listening conditions and how people are going to listen to the music in the real world. And the only way to do that by using compression."
"So we're back to 1968 when full-frequency studio recordings were mixed on crappy little speakers because that's the way most people were going to hear the songs--through a bad AM radio."
Amy smiled. "Exactly. But that doesn't mean it can't sound good."
Having heard five songs from the album, fans would be best served buying the CD so that Amy's work can be fully appreciated. This is one big-sounding record. Here's what I heard:
"What You Want:" Current single
"The Change:" A track that's being road-tested at various gigs this summer.
"The Other Side:" Chunk-a-riffic guitar. My favourite of these five.
"My Heart Is Broken:" Piano lead-in before all hell breaks loose.
"Lost in Paradise:" Amy displays stunning vocal control in the first section of the song, something she told me "required courage and self-confidence that I didn't have before."
The album will arrive on October 10 in two forms. The standard edition will feature twelve tracks while the deluxe version will have sixteen.
I wished Amy good luck with the record. She gave me a hug and was off to chat with someone else.
Source: alancross.ca
A few minutes later, she and I were in the control room, listening to five tracks from the new Evanescence record at the volume of a 747 on its take-off roll. I was sitting behind a desk. Amy was prowling around the room, singing along, punching fists in the air. She's definitely proud of this work. After it was all over, we had a chat.
It is a dense record with big arrangements. VERY big.
"How many tracks were used in some of these songs?" I asked.
Amy thought for a moment. "The most we used was 190."
Gasp. "On ONE song?"
"Yeah, well, it's how we roll. The average is about 120. At one point, the engineer turned to us and said 'Uh, I'm gonna need another [ProTools] rig to handle this. Are you sure?' And I said, 'Dude, it's how we've always done things.'"
I digested this. "What about vocals? A big part of the Evanescence sound is how you multi-track your vocals."
"We do. There's the lead then a couple of harmonies doubled down here"--she gestures towards the floor--"and they're doubled higher up."
"So that's--"
"About ten tracks per lead vocal. Then there's the guitars. They're split through two Ampeg amps and doubled to make them nice and thick. Then you have to take into account the drums and the occasional string arrangements. Plus there's all kinds of programming going on--bass pedals, keyboards. And, of course, my piano."
No wonder it's been five years since the last album.
"What about the final mix?" I asked. "When you have that much going on, it must be a nightmare."
"So we're back to 1968 when full-frequency studio recordings were mixed on crappy little speakers because that's the way most people were going to hear the songs--through a bad AM radio."
Amy smiled. "Exactly. But that doesn't mean it can't sound good."
Having heard five songs from the album, fans would be best served buying the CD so that Amy's work can be fully appreciated. This is one big-sounding record. Here's what I heard:
"What You Want:" Current single
"The Change:" A track that's being road-tested at various gigs this summer.
"The Other Side:" Chunk-a-riffic guitar. My favourite of these five.
"My Heart Is Broken:" Piano lead-in before all hell breaks loose.
"Lost in Paradise:" Amy displays stunning vocal control in the first section of the song, something she told me "required courage and self-confidence that I didn't have before."
The album will arrive on October 10 in two forms. The standard edition will feature twelve tracks while the deluxe version will have sixteen.
I wished Amy good luck with the record. She gave me a hug and was off to chat with someone else.
Source: alancross.ca
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)