Amy Lee of Evanesence joins us to talk about their new song "Afterlife" + what else we can expect from the group during #AudacyCheckIn 🤘
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00:00This says a lot about you because you have maybe the greatest fans I've ever dealt with.
00:05They are nice.
00:06We're so grateful for our fans.
00:07Well, we've been around, you know, for a while, this is a big community.
00:14It's Abe Cannon.
00:15It's an Odyssey check in with Amy Lee Evanescence and the new song Afterlife is so awesome.
00:21And I was so excited to finally hear some new music.
00:25We are very excited to have new music as well.
00:28This is the first of many.
00:31We are working on a lot of songs right now for the new album, but, you know, this came
00:34up through Netflix and we're just really excited to have an excuse to get in there right away.
00:40So thank you for listening.
00:41We're real excited about it.
00:43And how cool is it?
00:44Like when I was growing, you and I are the same age.
00:45I think you were born in 81 also, I think.
00:49So soundtracks were such a massive part of our childhood growing up.
00:53Like I just watched singles last night.
00:57Oh, my God.
00:58That was like a hit album.
01:00Yeah.
01:01Yeah.
01:02It was massive.
01:03And like I was thinking about, I'm like, man, Devil May Cry, you know, it's an actual soundtrack.
01:07And it's rare now when they're actually putting, you know, together a real soundtrack.
01:11It's like, like, I remember the Batman Forever soundtrack that had like seal kiss from a
01:15rose on it.
01:16And like, right.
01:17You're so right.
01:18I remember that, too.
01:19City of Angels was where that Alanis Morissette Uninvited song happened.
01:24It was like huge to me.
01:26It was like one of those things where I had the idea kind of like for our band, it's like
01:31cinematic strings and stuff, but like, yeah, rock like temporary.
01:36Yeah.
01:37All that crossbreeding was so beautiful and epic, dark.
01:41The Crow.
01:42What about the Crow?
01:43Oh, my God.
01:44The Crow is the best.
01:45So is there a new album coming out or what?
01:46What are we looking at here?
01:47Yeah.
01:48I don't have a date for you.
01:49We're just working.
01:50We got off the road in November or something.
01:54Yeah.
01:56And we've been just creative.
01:59We were, you know, taking I like to when we book shows and we happen to have time in between
02:04that makes sense.
02:05Like, you know, we have a show on a Saturday and we have another show, but it's not to
02:09like the next Thursday because it's festivals or whatever.
02:11It's like, hey, let's stick around, get an Airbnb and like get some instruments together
02:15and see what who's got an idea.
02:18So we were doing some of that and that can be fun and productive.
02:21We got some cool locations out of it.
02:23We did one in Italy.
02:24It was nice.
02:26But, you know, really like spending the time in the studio, like me, just focusing and
02:32us taking the time to like turn some of those ideas into real songs has been happening since.
02:38So I've got a lot, a lot cooking, a lot cooking.
02:42I don't have a date for you, but there'll be more and more and more music coming out.
02:46I'll tell you this.
02:47I interviewed you at Aftershock.
02:48We had that mobile trailer, if you remember.
02:50Yeah.
02:52This says a lot about you because you have maybe the greatest fans I've ever dealt with.
02:56When I posted your interview, your fans are so crazy and they're just all nice.
03:01Like you don't have like, there's a lot of fans who have mean fans.
03:04Yeah.
03:05They're just so pleasant.
03:07Beautiful people.
03:08Hey, man.
03:09Leadership comes from the top down.
03:11That's true.
03:13They are nice.
03:14We're so grateful for our fans.
03:15Well, we've been around, you know, for a while.
03:17This is a big community.
03:19We've got a really killer family of fans around the world that are, you know, like fans, ride
03:26or die.
03:27Yeah.
03:28So I'm glad they treated you nicely.
03:30Always be nice to me and that'll be the case for you.
03:34It's been 22 years since your first album.
03:36Like you were 21.
03:37I'm just thinking about like, how is this rock star life?
03:41Has it lived up to what you expected to be 22 years later?
03:44Like, is it all you expected?
03:47Life is not ever what you expect.
03:50I mean, in my experience, one of the cool things about it is that it can always surprise
03:55you.
03:56You never know.
03:57You know, you just have to, for me, if I'm following my heart, you know, and not compromising
04:04on the stuff that I care about.
04:06And sometimes that's the harder path.
04:08A lot of times that's the harder path.
04:10Like, it's going to turn out okay.
04:12Like it's going to turn out right in a deep way.
04:17And, you know, having figured out how much I love making music at such an early age and
04:23to have had this band, you know, form up and happen at such an early age has been hard
04:32at times.
04:33You know, I was 21.
04:35That album cover up there.
04:38Yep.
04:39That was my 21st birthday.
04:43So like, it was insane.
04:45And there's a lot of pressure and a lot of fights.
04:48I had to fight really hard for what I wanted, you know, because at the time, like what,
04:52what do I know?
04:54You know, some apparently a lot, apparently, you know, well, I trust me, there was lots
04:59I did not know.
05:00But, but I knew what I wanted as an artist.
05:04And I knew that it was good.
05:07And I think that the thing is to not start second guessing yourself when you know what
05:13sounds good to your own ear, and what feels right to your own heart, you know, when you're
05:17telling your story and making your music, and it's not like something else, because
05:21you didn't rip it off.
05:22It's real.
05:23It's from your heart.
05:24You know, like, yeah, you fight for that.
05:26Because nobody knows like you, you know, who you are and what who you are as an artist
05:33and what it what it should be like.
05:35And people will tell you that they know better than you.
05:38And there's always something to learn.
05:40But for me, like, having the journey be a lot of fighting was hard, exhausting.
05:47And like, I took time between every album, you know, regroup, and make sure I knew who
05:52I was and what I wanted to be doing and be willing to, like, accept the idea that maybe
05:57it wasn't the same more.
05:59And because of that, every time it eventually came to me in a way that was truly like, oh,
06:04yeah, this is what I want.
06:05This is coming out of me, whether I planned it that way or not.
06:09And I have to I have to do this.
06:11I want to do this.
06:12I was born to do this.
06:13And, you know, with age comes confidence, you know, and, you know, with success comes
06:21fans and support, you know, and I I'm happier now doing what I do with my band than I ever
06:30have been before.
06:32So I don't know.
06:33I don't even remember the question anymore.
06:35Just live live from your heart.
06:37Yeah.
06:39I'm scared to walk off the edge of the cliff, you know, and take a chance on something because
06:43it could be worse.
06:44But yeah, it could be better, too.
06:46Yeah.
06:47One of my favorite quotes from David Bowie is he says, just keep going into the water
06:49until your feet barely don't touch the ground and then you're in the right spot.
06:54Just really uncomfortable.
06:55Just kind of uncomfortable.
06:56Yeah.
06:57You're in the right spot.
06:58Yeah.
06:59Is it hard for you to, like, go bowling on a Saturday night when you've played in front
07:01of 50,000 people the night before?
07:04In the same town?
07:05Yeah.
07:06Just leave town and it's all fine.
07:11No, I, I, I, I pride myself on my ability to blend in and not be like a celebrity girl.
07:19Yeah.
07:20I, you know, I, there are times when you got to leave the scene, but no, I'm, I'm, I'm a
07:26New Yorker.
07:27I like to just be in with the people.
07:30You could just put it.
07:31Could you just put a hat on and like go to Target and not be bothered too much?
07:33I think pulling, pulling my hair back is number one.
07:37Like if I don't have my long hair down, that's right away.
07:40Helps a whole lot.
07:41Yeah.
07:42Um, I don't know.
07:43And then just look normal.
07:44Act normal.
07:45Nothing to see here.
07:47You're not going out in the dress you wear on stage.
07:49Nah.
07:50You know, I lead the choruses in chains.
07:53Yeah.
07:54Do you sing choruses into your phone and stuff?
07:56Are you one of those?
07:57If I wasn't using my phone to zoom, I would close this and tell you how many voice notes
08:00I have.
08:01It's like a thousand.
08:03I used to back in the old days, I used to carry around like a voice memo tape.
08:09I have a whole bunch of tapes that I went through recently for that anniversary ball
08:15and thing.
08:16Finding out like lyric creation moments and stuff.
08:19But I still do the same thing.
08:21It's just easier now because I have my phone in my pocket all the time.
08:23So any little melody idea or whatever.
08:26Yeah.
08:27Me talking to myself.
08:28There's so much of that.
08:29And I use it.
08:30I really do.
08:31And then we get into a situation later where you're like, okay, time to write a song.
08:35You know, what do I do?
08:36Just start scrolling through those times when you felt naturally inspired, you know, for
08:41the kickoff idea.
08:43I remember a long time ago, like watching an interview with you, maybe with like MTV
08:47or something.
08:48And you mentioned that you had a backpack full of journals that you used to have.
08:51Do you still have that?
08:52Oh, yeah.
08:53Oh, yeah.
08:54I mean, there's one.
08:55This is just one.
08:56Oh, wow.
08:57Uh, yeah.
08:58I don't have more in this room.
09:00Oh, yeah, I do.
09:02I got this one right here.
09:03So the phone hasn't replaced your journals.
09:04You still do both?
09:05No, I mean, I write in my phone a lot.
09:07And you know, it's nice because it's not all messy and I can see where I'm at and I can
09:11just like erase the bad stuff.
09:13But something about really just having a pencil and especially when like when we're in the
09:18studio and we're like tracking on a song or writing a song and I don't have lyrics yet,
09:25like just to constantly as the song's going over and over and over as we're recording
09:29a guitar to just feel like there's no pressure on me, but I'm in the room and I'm just hearing
09:34it and feeling it over and over and over again.
09:35It's super helpful to just like have the journal open and go, ooh, and write down an idea really
09:40quick.
09:41A lot of work gets done on that back couch.
09:45You know, going back to like you and I are the same age, like I feel like we were born
09:48at the perfect time because we got to like live life the old way.
09:53Like I had to like memorize phone numbers.
09:55I would walk to my friend's house like, hey, is Adam home?
09:58Can Adam come play basketball?
09:59Yeah.
10:00Now you just text your friend, I guess, if you're a kid.
10:03I know.
10:04I know.
10:05It's weird.
10:06It is weird.
10:07It's weird how like addicted I am to my phone now.
10:11Me too.
10:12I really have to make an effort not to be, but I can only imagine, you know, just waking
10:18up to a world where that's the only way that it's ever been.
10:21That would suck.
10:22It's like the magic of just waiting in line for concert tickets.
10:25That was a big deal.
10:26Oh, it's so magical waiting in line.
10:27Yeah.
10:28It was great.
10:29But you know what was about it?
10:31Like when you didn't have your phone to just disconnect from everybody, then you ended
10:36up talking to the person next to you.
10:38Like I don't know if we're elite anymore.
10:41Like it used to be just you.
10:43And I will say I'm in Nashville now, but I lived a lot of time in New York and I spend
10:48a lot of time in New York.
10:51People talk to each other.
10:52You have to because you're in such a close proximity when you're in a big city.
10:56Like you're just next to people and you're both trying to get the same guy's attention
11:00for your deli order or whatever, like just like walking around being next to somebody.
11:06That happens a little more.
11:07And it's part of why I really love the cities.
11:11That's why I like being in big towns is the community that just naturally happens living
11:17and being close to each other.
11:19So it's not dead, but.
11:21What is the best deli in New York when you were there?
11:23Which one would you love going to?
11:26Have you been in New York?
11:27Yeah.
11:28I haven't lived.
11:29I haven't lived there, but I've been there a bunch.
11:30I honestly feel like it's like your neighborhood bodega, like wherever is your neighborhood.
11:36Like yeah, you're going to take the trainer or a car or whatever to go somewhere.
11:39But a lot of days, weeks will go by and I wouldn't leave my block.
11:45Like I'm just like walking to different places that I go to.
11:48So you end up like having like a nearby little hole in the wall, shithole bodega that's like
11:54your favorite.
11:55Like I had a, I had a place and it's closed now, but I turned it into a 7-Eleven.
12:03There's still, I mean, there's always something new to discover in New York.
12:07So afterlife, do you want to talk about the new song?
12:09It's so great.
12:10I love the new song so much.
12:13We do too.
12:14Netflix via Mako, who is a guy that did score work on this series, Devil May Cry, had this
12:22song started and reached out to me and was like, hey, we'd worked together once before
12:25on a Lindsey Stirling track during the pandemic.
12:28So I made vocals to it and we were kind of just communicating via email.
12:31I still haven't met the guy in person, but he was like, hey, you know, like, check it
12:36out.
12:37Would this be cool?
12:38Would you sing on this?
12:39And that just like snowballed into, you know, finishing the song together and then getting
12:43it like, this is an Evanescence song.
12:44Let's get the band in here and like, yeah, take this all the way.
12:48And us getting to go into the studio with Nick Raskulinix, who we did our last two albums
12:52with and love working with him.
12:54He's right here in Nashville.
12:56So it's fun and easy for me and I could just keep going over there and annoying him.
13:01And just it just kind of just happened.
13:03Yeah.
13:04Kind of fast.
13:07I can't wait for when the album eventually comes out.
13:09I'm so happy we have a song right now.
13:11Just to close out, your fans are so wonderful.
13:15What do you want to say directly to your fans to close out this interview?
13:18Good job.
13:20Thank you for representing me well with this friendly stranger.
13:25You have my permission to continue to be kind to him so long as he is kind to me.
13:30And if not, then you know what to do.
13:32That's right.
13:33Immediately.
13:34Immediately.
13:35Attack me if you find out I'm not kind.
13:36You say they're nice.
13:37Now.
13:38Try insulting me.
13:39All right.
13:40Well, it's called Afterlife.
13:42We're playing it.
13:43It's awesome.
13:44Thank you so much, Amy.
13:46Thank you very much for always being so much fun.