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Evanescence
Background information
Origin Little Rock, Arkansas, United States
Genre(s) Alternative rock
Years active 1998–Present
Label(s) Wind-up
Website Evanescence.com
Members
Amy Lee
Terry Balsamo
Will Hunt
Tim McCord
Troy McLawhorn
Former members
Will Boyd
Rocky Gray
David Hodges
John LeCompt
Ben Moody
Evanescence is a Grammy Award-winning American alternative rock band founded
in Little Rock, Arkansas in 1998 by singer Amy Lee and former guitarist Ben
Moody.[1] After recording two private EPs, and a demo CD named Origin with
the help of Bigwig Enterprises, the band released their first full-length
album, Fallen, on the Wind-up Records label in 2003. Fallen sold more than
14 million copies worldwide and helped the band win two Grammy Awards.[2]
After abrupt changes to the band's lineup, Evanescence released their second
studio album, The Open Door, in 2006.
History
Early history
Evanescence was founded by singer, pianist and songwriter Amy Lee and former
lead guitarist and songwriter Ben Moody. The two met in 1994 at a youth camp
in Little Rock, Arkansas, where Moody heard Lee playing "I'd Do Anything for
Love (But I Won't Do That)" by Meat Loaf on the piano.[3] Their first songs
were "Solitude" and "Give Unto Me," written by Lee, "Understanding", and "My
Immortal", written by Moody. The songs were edited by both artists, and they
shared equal credit.
Two of Lee and Moody's songs found playtime on local radio stations, raising
local awareness of the group and demand for a show. The band eventually
appeared live, and became one of the most popular acts in the area. After
experimenting with band names, such as Childish Intentions and Stricken,
they decided on Evanescence, which means "disappearance" or "fading away"
(from the word evanesce, which means "to disappear"). Lee has stated she
loves the name because "it is mysterious and dark, and places a picture in
the listeners' mind".[4][5]
Their first full-length demo CD, Origin (released in 2000), is relatively
unknown. The band also released two Extended plays (EPs). First, the
self-titled Evanescence EP (1998) of which about 100 copies were made, and
second the Sound Asleep EP, also known as the Whisper EP (1999), limited to
50 copies. Origin and the EPs contain demo versions of some of the songs on
their debut album, Fallen. For example, the recording of "My Immortal" found
on Fallen can also be found on Origin, minus a handful of additional string
accompaniments. Only 2500 copies of this record were produced; in response,
Lee and Moody encouraged fans to download the band's older songs from the
Internet.[6][7]
Fallen
In early 2003, the lineup was completed by Amy Lee and Ben Moody's friends,
John LeCompt, Rocky Gray and Will Boyd, all of whom worked on Evanescence's
earlier songs. Meanwhile, Evanescence signed on with their first major
label, Wind-up Records, and began work on their next album, Fallen. While
they were looking to promote Fallen, Evanescence accepted an offer from the
video game company Nintendo to perform on the "Nintendo Fusion Tour" which
they headlined in 2003.[8]
Fallen spent 43 weeks on the Billboard Top 10;[2] has been certified 6x
Platinum;[9] and has sold more than 14 million copies worldwide,[2]
including 6.6 million in the United States.[10] The album was listed for 104
weeks on the Billboard top 200, and it was one of eight albums in the
history of the chart to spend at least a year on the Billboard Top 50.[10]
Evanescence's major label debut single "Bring Me to Life", which features
guest vocals from Paul McCoy of 12 Stones, was a global hit for the band and
reached #5 on the American Billboard Hot 100.[11] It provided Evanescence
with their first UK #1 listing,[12] where it stayed for four weeks from
June-July 2003. The song also became the official theme for WWE No Way Out.
The equally popular "My Immortal" peaked at #7 in the U.S. and UK
charts,[11] and both songs were featured in the soundtrack for the action
movie Daredevil. "Bring Me to Life" garnered recognition for the band at the
Grammy Awards of 2004, where the band won the Best Hard Rock Performance and
Best New Artist awards and were nominated for two others.[13] The two other
singles off Fallen are "Going Under"(sample (info)) (#5 US Modern Rock
Tracks,[11] #8 UK Charts) and "Everybody's Fool"(sample (info)) (#36 US
Modern Rock Tracks,[11] #23 UK Charts); all were promoted by a music video.
Anywhere but Home
In 2004, Evanescence's new lineup released a DVD/CD compilation entitled
Anywhere but Home. The DVD includes a concert in Paris, as well as
behind-the-scenes features, including shots of the band backstage, signing
autographs, and warming up. The CD contains a previously unreleased song
entitled "Missing" (sample (info)), which was internationally released as a
single and reached #1 in Spain. Also on the CD are the live songs "Breathe
No More" (from the Elektra movie soundtrack), "Farther Away", and the band's
cover of Korn's "Thoughtless".
The Open Door
To promote the band's second album, The Open Door, Amy Lee and John LeCompt
visited cities in Europe including London, England on September 6, 2006;
Barcelona, Spain on September 8, 2006; and Paris, France on Monday,
September 11, 2006. At the previews, the new album was played to fans who
won various competitions, Lee and LeCompt answered questions and performed
acoustic tracks from the album before signing autographs. On October 2,
2006, the day before the album was released in the United States,
Evanescence appeared on Late Night with Conan O'Brien and performed the song
"Call Me When You're Sober"(sample (info)). The band also spent time in New
York City for press and a photo shoot for Metal Edge magazine.[14]
The 13-track album[15] was released in Canada and the United States on
October 3, 2006;[2] the United Kingdom on October 2, 2006; and Australia on
September 30, 2006.[16] The album sold 447,000 copies in the United States
in its first week of sales and earned their first #1 ranking on the
Billboard 200 album chart, becoming the 700th #1 album in Billboard since
the chart became a weekly feature in 1956.[10]
The album progressed slowly for several reasons, including Amy Lee's desire
to maximize the creative process and not rush production, other band
members' side projects, guitarist Terry Balsamo's stroke, and the
controversy surrounding the dismissal of their former manager.[17] Although
Lee stated on Evboard that Evanescence's new album would be completed in
March 2006,[18] the release was pushed to October 3, 2006, allegedly because
"Wind-up Records...wanted to make a few changes to the upcoming single "Call
Me When You're Sober", which hit modern rock and alternative rock radio on
August 7, 2006.[19] The music video for "Call Me When You're Sober" was shot
in Los Angeles and is based on the fairy tale Little Red Riding Hood. The
Open Door became available for pre-order on the iTunes Music Store on August
15, 2006; the music video for Call Me When You're Sober was also available.
Lee claimed that she wrote a song for the 2005 film The Chronicles of Narnia:
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, but that it was rejected due to its
dark sound. Lee went on to state that it was just "more great stuff for [The
Open Door]".[20] Another song supposedly written for Narnia was the
Mozart-inspired "Lacrymosa".[14] The producers of Narnia, however, refuted
her claim, stating this information was "news to them" and that no
Evanescence music had been planned for inclusion in the soundtrack.[21]
The tour for The Open Door began on October 5, 2006 in Toronto and included
locations in Canada, the U.S. and Europe during that year. This first tour
continued on January 5, 2007 and included stops in Canada (alongside band
Stone Sour), Japan and Australia (alongside band Shihad) and then returned
to the US for a second tour in the spring (alongside bands Chevelle and
Finger Eleven).[22][23] As part of their tour, Evanescence performed on
April 15, 2007 on the Argentinan festival Quilmes Rock 07 along with
Aerosmith, Velvet Revolver and other famous local bands.[24] Also, they will
co-headline on the Family Values Tour 2007 along with Korn and other
bands.[25][26]
Lineup changes
On October 22, 2003, Moody left the band during the European tour for
Fallen, reportedly because of creative differences.[27][28] In an interview
several months later, Amy Lee said: "...we'd gotten to a point that if
something didn't change, we wouldn't have been able to make a second
record." This became a point of confusion for some people, as Moody and Lee
stated on the Fallen album cover that they were best friends.[29] Since
then, Lee has said it was almost a relief that he left because of tensions
created within the band.[29] Moody was replaced by Terry Balsamo from
Cold.[30]
On July 14, 2006, it was confirmed by a spokesperson for the band's label
that bassist Will Boyd had left the band for "not wanting to do another big
tour" and wanting "to be close to his family." Amy Lee originally broke the
news to the fans in a post on an unofficial Evanescence site, EvBoard.com.[31]
In an interview with MTV, posted on their website on August 10, 2006, Lee
announced that Tim McCord, former Revolution Smile guitarist, would switch
instruments and play bass for the band.[32]
On May 4, 2007, John LeCompt announced that he had been fired from
Evanescence, and also stated that drummer Rocky Gray had decided to quit as
well.[33] Both musicians posted on their personal MySpace pages to confirm
the news report, however, neither elaborated about the circumstances
surrounding their departures. A statement has been posted on the Evanescence
website on May 6, 2007 by the band to confirm the split of the two band
members.
On his MySpace blog, LeCompt stated that Lee called his cellphone to fire
him, and that no warning had previously been given nor were any negotiations
made available.[34] Gray later released a statement on his MySpace stating
that he was served a gag order by label Wind-up which prevents him from
discussing the reasons for his departure from the band.[35] On the band's
official website, Lee wrote that the band was still alive and that no tour
events had been canceled or changed.[36]
On May 17, 2007, Wind-up issued a press release stating that two Dark New
Day members, drummer Will Hunt and guitarist Troy McLawhorn, would be
joining the band to replace LeCompt and Gray.[37] However, Lee wrote on the
EvThreads.com message board that "We're just borrowing Will and Troy for a
while" and that they would not be leaving Dark New Day.[38] Hunt and
McLawhorn will tour with Evanescence until at least September 2007 to finish
the Family Values tour,[39] though it is unknown if they will remain with
the band beyond that time.
Labeling controversy
Originally promoted in Christian stores, the band eventually made it clear
they did not want to be considered as part of the Christian rock genre.
Wind-up Records chairman Alan Meltzer issued a press release in April 2003
asking for the band's music to be removed from Christian retail outlets.[40]
During a 2003 interview with Entertainment Weekly, Ben Moody stated, "We're
actually high on the Christian charts, and I'm like, What the f--k are we
even doing there?"[41] This seemed to go against earlier sentiments by Moody
that "We hope to express in our music that Christianity is not a rigid list
of rules to follow..." and also "The message we as a band want to convey
more than anything is simple—God is Love."[42] This has led to criticism of
the band within the Christian community, even more so given that the band
themselves approved of the plan to distribute Fallen to the Christian
market.[43] Terry Hemmings, CEO of Christian music distributor Provident,
expressed puzzlement at the band's about-face, saying "They clearly
understood the album would be sold in these [Christian music] channels."[44]
In the wake of the controversy, "Bring Me To Life" was shed by many
Christian radio stations; the song was Top 5 on Radio & Records' Christian
Rock Top 30 one week, and completely gone the next. Ex-vocalist and
keyboardist David Hodges eventually left the band over the controversy, with
other members stating that he had been pulling them in more of a Christian
direction than Lee and Moody were comfortable with.
When asked by Billboard in 2006 if Evanescence was a "Christian band," Amy
Lee responded, "Can we please skip the Christian thing? I'm so over it. It's
the lamest thing. I fought that from the beginning; I never wanted to be
associated with it. It was a Ben thing. It's over."[45]
References in other media
In American military sci-fi author John Ringo's novel Cally's War,
Evanescence and their debut album Fallen are mentioned twice, along with a
brief consideration of writing styles and the impact the album had on youth
in 2003.
Professional wrestler Christian Cage's current theme song is an instrumental
version of "My Last Breath" by Evanescence covered by Dale Oliver entitled
"Take Over". It is featured on the 3rd Degree Burns album.
Band members
Current
* Amy Lee – vocals, piano, keyboard (co-founder, 1998–present)
* Terry Balsamo – guitar (November 16, 2003–present)
* Will Hunt – drums (May 17, 2007–present)
* Tim McCord – bass (August 2006–present)
* Troy McLawhorn – guitar (May 17, 2007–present)
Former
* Will Boyd – bass (June 2003–June 2006)
* Rocky Gray – drums (2002–May 4, 2007)
* David Hodges – keyboard, piano, backing vocals (1999–December 19, 2002)
* John LeCompt – guitar, vocals on live "Bring Me to Life" performances
(2002–May 4, 2007)
* Ben Moody – lead guitar (co-founder, 1998–October 22, 2003)
Discography
Title Date of release (U.S.) Record label
Evanescence EP 1998 Private release
Sound Asleep EP 1999
Origin November 4, 2000 Bigwig Enterprises
Mystary EP January 2003 Wind-up Records
Fallen March 4, 2003
Anywhere but Home November 23, 2004
The Open Door October 3, 2006
References
1. ^ Berelian, Essi (2005-08-15). The Rough Guide to Heavy Metal. New York:
Rough Guides, p. 115. ISBN 1-84353-415-0. OCLC 60560760.
2. ^ a b c d Evanescence.com (2006-04-26). Evanescence steps through "The
Open Door". Press release.
3. ^ D'Angelo, Joe. "Evanescence: The Split", MTV.com, 2004-02-27.
4. ^ [V] Special: Evanescence: Anywhere But Home. Astro.com.my (2006-11-06).
Archived from the original on 2006-11-09. Retrieved on 2006-11-12.
5. ^ Evanescence. Encyclopedia of Arkansas. Retrieved on 2006-11-12.
6. ^ Evanescence EPs and pre-Fallen Material. EvanescenceReference.info.
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7. ^ Interview with DC101 radio on February 24, 2003.
EvanescenceReference.info (2003-02-24). Retrieved on 2007-03-14.
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Values Tour Bill", MTV News, 2007-03-26. Retrieved on 2007-03-27.
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43. ^ Parrish, Robin. "Evanescence ignites controversy with new interview;
Wind-Up Records issues recall of product", Christian Music Central.com,
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