Will Hunt: “Synthesis has done is broadened our horizons”

February 5, 2018 By Justin No Comments

“When I’ve gone into all these different projects, I’ve always tried to be the chameleon. I feel like… I’ve actually conformed to the music,” Evanescence‘s longest standing drummer Will Hunt admits, struggling for the right phrase. “Whereas in Evanescence, I’m encouraged to be myself, and be okay with that.”

He’s talking from the perspective of having played with bands from Black Label Society, to Device and Crossfade. But by the time he joined the group – fronted by iconic vocalist Amy Lee and formed back in 1995 – for third album Evanescence, he was ready to dive into the inherent challenges: complex rhythms, classically-based composition, and Lee’s penchant for originality.

The band’s latest release Synthesis from November, a masterpiece re-configuration of past classics with orchestral and electronic composition, is no different.

Ahead of the quintet’s nearly sold-out Australian tour in four days, Hunt sat down to chat about being thrown into the deep end with these orchestral shows, relating to rhythm guitarist Jen Majura‘s initial struggles after joining in 2015, and embracing his imperfections.

Amy’s described getting to play the Opera House as a dream come true for her. Do you feel the same way?

“It doesn’t matter if you’re from Australia, if you’ve ever been there or it’s something you’ve seen in person. I think as a musician and performer… Even in America, I grew up seeing pictures of that place and knew what it was from a very young age. I remember being in Australia back in 2012, and we were staying across the street from there [the Opera House]… I saw it and was just like, ‘Wow, man! What an incredible-looking building’.

“I was never thinking in the back of my head that in four or five years I’d be playing there… I was thinking about everything that’s happened and the people who’ve performed there. Now we’re doing it. I remember when our manager said that we have sold-out nights at the Sydney Opera House, and I was like, ‘Hold on a second, you said what?’. It’s very surreal (laughs).”

There’s this raw live energy created from you guys only having 30 minutes with the band and orchestra before a show, which is awesome! Was it more invigorating or challenging?

“Yeah the orchestra thing is very different for us, and no-one’s really doing this the way that we are. Therefore there’s not really a road map where we can take cues from other bands and make it ours. So for us, going into this initially, it was – I don’t want to say scary – exciting, but also like, ‘Whoa, what do we do here?’.

“We’ve had a lot of shows with orchestras now. We’re in a really good place where we’re happy and comfortable with the show, and having a lot of fun with it. It is very cinematic, but we’re having a good time. It’s a cool thing. [Source]

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Evanescence Got Sued for $1.5 Million by their Former Manager

January 31, 2018 By Justin No Comments

A frivolous lawsuit by Evanescence’s former manager took an unexpected turn.

Amy Lee and Evanescence have come out on top in a court battle instigated by former manager Andrew Lurie over allegedly unpaid commissions.

Lurie, of the now-bankrupt 110 Management, was signed by Evanescence in 2006 and managed them until 2015. During that time, Evanescence dropped three albums — The Open Door, Evanescence, and Aftermath — and did numerous tours worldwide.

These ventures were lucrative enough to see Lurie and 110 Management pocket well over $5 million in commissions.

However, after Lee terminated the firm in 2015, Lurie went to court claiming he was owed in excess of $1.5 million in commissions arising from the band’s various revenue sources. Lurie additionally claimed that he was entitled to commissions from Fallen, Evanescence’s wildly successful debut album, as well as their Anywhere But Home DVD, both of which had already been released when Lee hired 110 Management.

The ex-manager had also signed an agreement to earn “reduced” commissions from some of the band’s tours but later reneged, alleging that the agreement had been to merely “defer” them.

Lawyers Tracy B. Rane and Edwin F. McPherson proved on behalf of Evanescence that an extra $4,833.66 was all 110 Management was owed from the band’s tours and albums.

Lurie and 110 Management were then shocked as the judge ordered them to pay up $1,036,773 to Evanescence.

That arbitration award ended an eventful, three-year legal dispute for the band. Evanescence is currently touring North America in preparation for the release of Synthesis, their latest album.

McPherson called the case ‘frivolous,’ while questioning why Lurie deserved payments from previous albums. “We are very pleased with the outcome of this case, so decidedly in favor of Amy Lee and Evanescence,” McPherson told Digital Music News. “The case has confirmed my faith in the system — for weeding out and stopping bullies.”

So is Amy Lee singing all the way to the bank?

Well, not quite.

The approximate $1 million reward recompenses Evanescence for legal expenses incurred during the long, drawn-out court battle. But reports say the band spent $885,000 in attorney fees and paid an extra $72,000 for an expert witness. Plus, there is all the time and energy spent in courtrooms to consider.

On the plus side, Lee and band won a psychological and moral victory. They proved they ain’t no swindlers and got the person who would tell their fans otherwise.

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Sad News from Amy Lee

January 12, 2018 By Justin No Comments

Amy Lee Net would like to wish Amy and her family the deepest of condolences. Please remember to give her and her family some privacy during this difficult time!

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Happy Birthday Amy Lee!

December 13, 2017 By Justin No Comments

Wishing Amy Lee of Evanescence a very happy birthday. We at Amy Lee Fans hope you have a wonderful day.

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Evanescence on the cover of Stencil Mag!

December 9, 2017 By Justin No Comments

Check out Evanescence on the cover of Stencil Mag which Features interviews from the following: Evanescence, Stone Sour, Sleeping With Sirens, Trivium, We Came As Romans, Miss May I, Marmozets, The Darkness, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Embrace, Theory, 36 Crazyfists And So I Watch You From Afar, Beatsteaks, Lights, Bayside, Movements, Broadside, CHON, Jamie Lenman, Lonely The Brave, The Xcerts, Then Comes Silence, Alaska Alaska, David Caffrey, Taylor Gray, Jonathan Gilmour, Jon Davis-Hunt.

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Evanescence featured on Metal Hammer 2018 Calendar

December 8, 2017 By Justin No Comments

Evanescence is featured on Metal Hammer bumper end of year issue, which includes three great gifts: a best of 2017 album, 2018 calendar and wrapping paper! ORDER THE METAL HAMMER END OF YEAR SPECIAL HERE Also features a Big Review of 2017, featuring all the stories that mattered and brand new interviews with the bands that defined your year.

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Amy Lee on Lean Forward Podcast Episode

December 7, 2017 By Justin No Comments

Amy Lee of Evanescence has sold over 20 million albums worldwide, sells out arenas throughout the world, and has had radio hit after hit in multiple countries, and for some reason decided to sit down with Jay and Jacob to chat about it all. In Episode 15, the fellas dig deep with Amy about all things music including working on her new album “Synthesis” (which debuted at number 8 on the Billboard 20 charts) with David Campbell (Beck’s dad). Post-show, she also sent along her own quick hits with descriptions of why she likes the tunes she picked. And Jay & Jacob included their own Best of 2017 playlists.

Amy’s Picks

K Flay, Giver – I’m really into this girl right now, hard to pick just one song to share. This is from her latest album. She started out by making some hip hop music as a joke in college and then realized she loved making music and started doing it for real. I think she is seriously talented.
Glasser, Apply – I love this. It hits me right in the Bjork. It’s dark and heavy and primal and innocent at the same time.
Bjork, Blissing me – It’s impossible to choose one Bjork song from the new album, to sum up, or represent it. There are too many aspects worth focusing on, it’s something that you have to go through, you really have to listen to the whole thing. One of my favorite parts of the new album is its lyrics. The poetry. Most of the songs could just be read without music and stand alone as a great poem. I chose Blissing Me, because listening to the words and hearing the story play out made me smile, and connect with my own feelings and experience about music. Also, they remind me of classic Bjork- Headphones from Post.
Kiara, Gold – In contrast, I’m not sure this song means anything at all. They chopped bits of her singing a fully written part, scrambled and reposted them into a new melody made of clippings. It’s fragmented and fantastic.
Erykah Badu, Phone Down – This is from the album Mixtape. Every song on the album has something to do with phones and it’s awesome. I saw this live at the King’s Theater in Brooklyn, NY last year and she was unbelievably cool.

[Read More]

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Amy Lee Says ‘New’ Song ‘Hi-Lo’ Was Written 10 Years Ago

December 6, 2017 By Justin No Comments

Amy Lee spoke to the 105.7 The Point about the two new songs that are included on the band’s latest album, “Synthesis”. The set is a reimagining of some of EVANESCENCE’s best-loved tracks is the band’s first full-length effort since its 2011 self-titled release.

“[The song] ‘Hi-Lo‘ we’ve had in the bank for a long time,” Amy said (see video below). “I wasn’t quite finished [writing it before], but it’s just a song that never fit anywhere that I’ve been holding on to and waiting to find its right home for 10 years. So it’s this weird thing that I feel very close to already that I’ve had to listen to with my family and my friends to now finish it out and have the orchestra on it. That’s what it needed — it needed that beautiful, luscious emotion that [longtime collaborator, orchestra arranger and composer] David Campbell put on there. But I wrote that song with our producer on this album, the guy that did all the programming, Will [Hunt, not to be confused with EVANESCENCE’s drummer, also named Will Hunt]. It was our first collaboration together 10 years ago. And the other one, ‘Imperfection’, is brand new. We just wrote it this year. And it was very collaborative between Will, again, and also David Campbell, the arranger. He’s done all the string arranging for EVANESCENCE for all of our albums, but this one… We went in [and said], ‘Let’s go in and go really deep and rip [the songs] apart and elevate ’em to another place together and make something new.’ So for all of it, and the new [song] included, he was a real part of what laid the foundation of what was gonna happen. So it gave the music and the writing and everything a chance to grow in some different directions.”

“Hi-Lo” includes a guest performance by famed violinist Lindsey Stirling.

In support of “Synthesis”, Evanescence — Lee, bassist Tim McCord, drummer Will Hunt, lead guitarist/backing vocalist Troy McLawhorn and guitarist/background vocalist Jen Majura — is currently in the midst of its extensive “Synthesis Live” headlining tour of North America. “Synthesis Live” features Lee and the band performing with a live 28-piece orchestra and electronic programming.

Lee told Forbes about the fan response to the “Synthesis Live” tour: “I think our fans like it a lot. It’s a way to experience this music, for them and for us, in a different way. We’ve been playing the straight-up original versions of our songs for many years now. So to have an opportunity to go to a different venue for most of these shows, go to a concert hall, sit down and listen to it, it’s a lot more like going to a show, like going to a movie, than going to a rock concert where you’re gonna jump up and down and make noise. There are parts that are very intimate before it goes big and epic and 28 orchestral musicians are going off. So it’s a very personal experience. The reaction I’ve seen has been really good, but it’s definitely different. It feels still weird to us on stage, we’re getting completely used to it. It’s definitely not a rock and roll show, but I think it’s really special and I’m absolutely positive I’m gonna remember these performances and this very special experience for the rest of my life.”

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Evanescence played Synthesis version of “Weight Of The World”

December 3, 2017 By Justin No Comments

On 11-30-17 at the Chicago Theater in Chicago, Illinois Evanescence played a Synthesis version of “Weight Of The World” which is not featured on their new album. You can watch it below:

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Amy Lee Has Had To Fight For Her Art

December 1, 2017 By Justin No Comments

Amy Lee spoke to Billboard about her beginnings in the music industry, saying that “it was sometimes difficult to distinguish the difference between just being treated like a young idiot — you know, ‘You’re just a kid, everybody knows better than you’ — and being treated that way because I was female. I learned as I got more experienced, and a lot of it was because I’m a female,” she said. “People naturally see us as the softer sex that’s going to step aside and let the men do the real work, so there’ve been plenty of times when I’ve had to look at that, recognize it, and go, ‘No, this is what’s going to happen, because I’m positive that I’m right, and it’s my art and you’re not going to change it.'”

One compromise that Lee had to make along the way was including a rap verse in EVANESCENCE’s original 2003 breakout hit “Bring Me To Life”. The song was recently re-recorded in a more stripped-down format — without the rapping — on the “Synthesis” album. Lee explained to News.com.au: “God bless the rap, it’s part of what got us on the radio, I guess. At least according to all the rules of radio that I don’t agree with or understand. The rap wasn’t part of our original idea or sound, it was a compromise in many ways. So to be able to go back to the original vision for the song was great.”

Lee added that she had made her peace with the original version of the song, saying: “That’s a struggle you always fight as an artist. If we only had the one hit, if no one ever heard from us again, then nobody would understand who we were. We’ve made it past that point, so the rap doesn’t make me angry anymore. I’m so glad to put a new version out there without the rap, though.” The rap on the original version of “Bring Me To Life” was performed by singer Paul McCoy of the band 12 STONES.

“Synthesis” was released on November 10. The disc sees many of EVANESCENCE’s songs reworked in new ways, incorporating orchestral and electronic elements into the original compositions. The “Synthesis Live” tour launched in October and like the album, it features a full orchestra and electronics. [Source]