Everybody's Talking About
Evanescence's Amy Lee Speaks Out
Following a string of news from the band's camp, frontwoman Lee returns from honeymoon and explains.
By Spin Staff 05.21.07 3:00 AM
The last few weeks have been exponentially tumultuous for the chart-topping goth rock entity known as Evanescence. First, guitarist John LeCompt and drummer Rocky Gray mysteriously departed from the band. The same weekend, Evanescence frontwoman and leading force Amy Lee married her therapist, and soon after, whisked off for a "remote" honeymoon. Dark New Day drummer Will Hunt and guitarist Troy McLawhorn were also announced as the newest members to the band's lineup. Meanwhile, LeCompt and Gray were spouting their side of the story, and a few scathing comments about their former band mate, as Lee was hopefully lying on a beach soaking up some much needed rays into her pasty skin. But now, Lee has returned and exposed her side of the situation at hand.
"First of all, and most importantly, I am now officially Mrs. Amy Hartzler! Josh and I are married, and it is the most incredible thing to happen in my life so far (and I've seen some pretty incredible stuff)," Lee wrote to Evanescence's fan club message board. "We just got back from our beautiful, remote honeymoon… and unfortunately discovered that the fact that I was unable to defend myself for a week was taken advantage of quite a bit."
"They were very vocal about the fact that they didn't really care about Evanescence at all, and just stayed around for the money," continued Lee, offering her version of the "truth" behind LeCompt and Gray's firing. "I treated both John and Rocky with nothing but kindness and respect, and I got nothing but jealousy and resentment in return. They were miserable… I love this band too much to see it driven into the ground."
Lee then adds her two cents to speculation claiming Gray left the band voluntarily. "Rocky didn't quit. He never talked to me or our management at all... but he did tell most of the crew and the rest of the band that he planned to quit." Lee then claims crewmembers warned her, allowing time "to replace him [Gray]" and "continue the tour as scheduled." In conclusion, Lee forecasts rebuttal. "Well, I hope that's real enough for you. I'm probably going to be reprimanded for saying so much, but somebody's got to tell the truth."
In response, fans and critics alike are offering their take on Lee's "truth," her ruling fist over Evanescence, and the band's future.
Here's what bloggers are saying about Amy Lee's online explanations and the recent news from the band's camp:
"Thank you Amy Lee…erm… Amy Hartzler…thanks for coming out and trying to clear up the mess that has been the past three or so weeks surrounding Evanescence. Rumors kinda suck, especially ones that make you out to be some sort of emotional vampire psycho bitch." -- adistgruntledlunchlady, blog.myspace.com
"Queen bi-atch strikes again -- first Moody and the first album, now LeCompt and the second album… I'm not convinced of Amy Lee's apparent godhood." -- Josh, blog.myspace.com
"You're losing it. 'I love this band too much to see it driven into the ground.'? What band? You've replaced the band twice so far. I'm beginning to think 'the band' isn't the problem. All you do is 'drive' the musicians out of the band. What an idiot." -- Manboy21882, roadrunnerrecords.com
"To me the worst thing John [LeCompt] has said was "her [Amy] lyrics are as deep as the two-dimensional surface they are written on." I was quite offended by that." -- Feelinglikeafreakonaleash, blog.myspace.com
"Evanescence is HER band and it is currently HER vision. Although Ben Moody had a big hand in the establishment of this band, he's been gone for quite a while now and it's clear that this band can survive without him. They're much bigger now than they were three years ago, clearly. Co-headlining with Korn is obviously MASSIVE." -- 7dustfan, roadrunnerrecords.com
"Things have only aggravated in the past two weeks. And I'm done. I'm tired of it. I'm tired of the lies I (or actually we) are being fed… I'm thinking about closing my Amy Lee/Evanescence fan site." -- Clayton, blog.myspace.com
On the Web:
evanescence.com
Talk: Will Amy Lee drive the coffin nail that ends her own project and vision?
To all the ridiculous comments I have read on article.
Do ANY of you know what its like to be in a band? Tour FULL time with the same people for YEARS on end. Are any of you who judge a band even musicians? And more than that, can you do more than read music on page? None of you know what it is like to write music,play shows or tour with the same 4 people for 3-4 years. People get bitter REAL quick about everything. It gets worse when money and fame are involved. There will always be one dominant person in a band who needs to be in control. And if you don't like it, keep your uninformed opinions to yourself.
I completely agree with ViolaGirl. Seriously, keeping a band together is pretty much like taking care of a child. I've been around music my entire life, and bands breaking up and reforming doesn't make it any less of a band. That's a part of the music world that just happens more often than not. Just like relationships. Sometimes it takes a while to find the one that's really going to stick around forever. I have complete faith in Evanescence and in Amy Lee. She's done nothing but deliver fantastic things so far, no matter what the circumstances. I think it's a really good character trait that no matter how much crap is going on in the band, she makes sure that something fantastic is delivered. I'm personally very glad that she's stepped up and said the truth to the public. Amy is really good about not jabbering on and on and on and talking crap about people, she keeps the personal stuff personal. People need to know that she can say the truth to the public when need be, and I think she really proved it.
Again, I agree with ViolaGirl. If you don't know anything about music and keeping a band together, don't even make a comment about dysfunction in a band. You have no idea what it's like and how hard it is.
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