Amy Lee of Evanescence Weighs In On Touring With Halestorm and Becoming an Underground Act
Evanescence rose to mainstream success early in their career, but with their release of their latest self-titled disc, founding member Amy Lee considers her band more of an underground success. As the band kicks off the Carnival of Madness tour, Lee sat down with Fuse to talk about touring with Halestorm, her writing process and why she thinks Evanescence never fit in.
When asked where her band fits in, Lee was quick to respond, saying emphatically, “I don’t think we fit in. I don’t think we’ve ever really fit in, and I like that.” She went on to talk about the ever-changing landscape of rock music, explaining, “Rock’s becoming more of the underground again in a lot of ways. There’s a lot of things that are awesome that people are listening to that are underground just because of the way things work and the internet, it’s all about finding that specific thing you love.” However, she is thankful for her band’s early success, admitting, “I’m glad that we are at this point now after we had the crazy mainstream success that we had and developed that fanbase because they’re with us, but it’s like we have this secret. Like it’s like this underground community that’s bigger than you would probably think.”
When it comes to sharing the Carnival of Madness stage with Halestorm and Lzzy Hale, Lee couldn’t be happier. “We played with Halestorm, I went on the side of the stage just to hear her sing and she sounded incredible, unreal, like one of those old classic rock voices and I was like ‘Wow, she’s great,’” said Lee. Of course, that’s not the only reason. “It’s cool to have another female on the road,” Lee said. “Not just because it inspires me musically – because it does – it makes me feel this sort of pride and ‘yeah, go get’em’ when I see a chick rocking. Also, she’s really down to earth. I’m looking forward to hanging out and getting some girl time in.”
Lee also dove into the writing process for Evanescence saying that her favorite part of it is finishing a song. “That moment,” she explains, “The bridge is done, the chorus rules, the choruses are groovy, you just know. It’s the best feeling ever. I can’t’ really describe it, it’s like something that didn’t exist the night before that you become so obsessed with you can’t imagine living without.”
Catch Amy Lee and Evanescence out on the Carnival of Madness tour now through the beginning of September. View all the dates here.