EVANESCENCE Singer: 'It Was Always About The Music For Me'

Kelly Crane of Dubai, United Arab Emirates' GulfNews.com web site recently conducted an interview with EVANESCENCE lead singer Amy Lee. A few excerpts from the chat follow below.

On whether Ben Moody, EVANESCENCE's now-departed co-founder, guitarist and songwriter was ever missed:

Amy: "Hell no. What this band is and has been is something I feel very strongly about. It's always been me and someone which created a sound. Now it's me and others — a band. It sounds different, which comes across in the music. Each song carries a part of each person and I love that. In any song on the last album I can hear the personality of each person."

On the transition from a duo to band:

Amy: "It's hard. It's pushed me out of my comfort zone. We'd sit around and jam and all have an input and it wasn't something I was used to. But I realised the end result was the music had such depth which meant vocally I could start to have more fun."

On EVANESCENCE's journey so far:

Amy: "So much has happened. But it's the beauty of what makes the show so appealing today. The gig in Dubai will be like watching the soundtrack of my life — the highs, the lows. But the best part is that we are still here today. It's been a long road but it's been a good one too. It's part of my history and this is my victory moment. We made it, yeah, we did."

On the pros and cons of the festival circuit:

Amy: "Obviously it's great. You are talking numbers up to 85,000 people stretched out in front of you. But it's hard to compare something like that to the intimacy of a small venue. At a festival you sort of feel like you have to prove yourself a little because while some people know who you, are people came for the overall experience and not just for you. It's a bit like when you first start out and you feel you have to prove yourself a little. Where as a small venue you know it's your show. It's easier to just be yourself and I believe that's something which is very important."

On her attention-grabbing outfits:

Amy: "I started designing my own clothes because my fashion choices suddenly became something everyone had an opinion about. It's just not my thing. I wore clothes which didn't say anything. It started in high school. I came from a small town where I looked like everybody else. So I made clothes by hand which I felt represented me more."

On drawing attention with her looks:

Amy: "It was always about the music for me. This is real life. It's not about being perfect — I've never claimed to be. I don't think I'm awesome. At 13 years old I held this unrealistic belief I was going to make it. But by keeping my head in the right place I guess I have."

Read the entire interview from GulfNews.com.