Subscribe | UPI Odd Newsletter Subscribe LOS ANGELES, Nov. 16 (UPI) -- While the recorded-music industry coped with a severe sales slump over the past few years, Evanescence went against the grain -- selling 13 million copies of its debut album "Fallen" and becoming one of the top concert attractions in pop music. The band had its beginning when Southern California-born singer-pianist Amy Lee and singer-guitarist Ben Moody put it together to play songs they had been working on in Little Rock, Ark. They were already embarked on what turned into a phenomenally successful series of concert tours when Moody decided to leave the band. Advertisement In the space of less than two years, Evanescence has won two Grammys, for Best New Artist and Best Hard Rock Performance, and two Billboard Awards, for New Group or Artist of the Year and Soundtrack Single of the Year -- for "Bring Me to Life" from the movie "Daredevil." The band has also won for Best New International Artist at the MTV Latin America Awards and Best Rock Song of the Year at the 2003 Teen Choice Awards. Advertisement With the departure of Moody, Evanescence now more or less belongs to Lee. At 22, she has become not just the band's leader and principal songwriter, but also the executive producer of their new 2-disc DVD release, "Anywhere But Home," scheduled to hit stores Nov. 23. The band has been off the road for roughly two months, giving Lee more time to spend with her boyfriend, Seether singer-songwriter-guitarist Shaun Morgan. She has also been at work writing songs for the next Evanescence album. "I learned to use Pro Tools (editing) software, too," she said in an interview with United Press International. "I'm engineering the demos (for new songs)." Lee's propensity for taking charge naturally leads to the question: Will she also produce the band's sophomore album? "I guess I could, but I'd rather spend my time doing the artistic stuff," she said. Asked whether Dave Fortman, who produced "Fallen," would be back to produce the band again, Lee said he would be a "wonderful choice" -- but other than that she was noncommittal. "I would love for him to, but I don't know for sure yet," she said. "I just want to see what kind of vibe we're going to have for the music." Advertisement Lee said Fortman's production on "Fallen" -- which employed generous applications of choir voices and strings to support the moody, almost sorrowful lyrics -- resulted in an album that was "almost exactly" what she had envisioned going into the project. "We had to make a few compromises for 'first album's sake,'" she said, "with people telling us what to do." Lee does not intend to let that happen on upcoming projects. Multi-platinum sales of "Fallen" and sold-out arena concert dates have given the band sufficient clout to make its next album its own way. Lee said she has been asked "100 times" about the so-called sophomore jinx -- the notion that a recording act has its whole life to prepare for its first album but a considerably shorter amount of time to get the follow-up to market. "I understand that that's true, but I feel like the opposite," she said. "Really what it does, it set me up so that we've already sold records, and this (second) album is an opportunity for us to do whatever the hell we want -- to write what we want, and not to have to answer to anyone. Of course, I'm not going to make some weird left-field unlistenable album." Advertisement Lee said the experience of "Fallen" and the intense touring schedule have made her feel "like a different person" and left her with plenty of musical ideas for subsequent recordings. She also said it was remarkable to know that fans are affected personally by her music. "I use my music as a therapy, and it seems to me a lot of people use our music as a therapy too," she said. "It makes me feel like I'm doing this for a reason other than selfish gain." Of course, she said there is also a risk that the deeply introspective aspects of Evanescence's music might bring people down more than help them -- although she said she hadn't heard of any instances of that. "It isn't always the most helpful thing to listen to depressing music," she said. Lee has said on many occasions that she loves her work, and she plans to stay on the road for as long as that holds true -- but no longer. "When I ever get tired of what I do -- which I'm sure some day I won't want to be touring in a rock band, because it's stressful -- I'll get to the point where I'm not having fun anymore and then I'll quit," she said. Advertisement In the meantime, Lee is working on positioning herself as a film composer. "I want to get into scoring," she said, "so I can stay at home and have a life." -- (Please send comments to [email protected].)
