Name : Evanescence
Profession : Rock band
Evanescence Trivia
* Band Members: Amy Lee (vocals, piano), John LeCompt (guitar),
Terry Balsamo (guitar), Will Boyd (bass) and Rocky Gray (drums).
* Co-founders Ben Moody (ex-guitarist) and Amy Lee (vocals) met at a
camp in 1994, where they began working together on music.
* Before choosing Evanescence, the band went by several short-lived
names, including "Striken" and "Childish Intentions".
* Prior to Ben Moody's exit in 2003, he and Amy Lee would write alone
and then put their song ideas together. Only one song that was written
by both of them physically in the same room was ever recorded. The track
was called "Catherine", and was scrapped from the album "Origin" before
its release in 2000.
* Most of the songs on the 2003 release of Fallen were written from
2001-2002. Some tracks are from even earlier writing sessions, the oldest
being My Immortal, whose first recording was made in 1997.
* When guitarist Terry Balsamo entered in 2004, his new band members
referred to him as "Banana Baggins" or "T Baggins".
* Against the band's wishes, three songs were removed from the final
Fallen track listing before its release. Two of these tracks ("Missing"
and "Farther Away" are available as B-sides and bonus cuts to import
singles and albums, while "Breathe No More" is availible on the soundtrack
to the movie "Elektra".
* The band was told that adding a rapper permanently to the line-up
was their only chance at finding success.
* Their first concert was in December of 1998.
* Debut album "Fallen" is 6x platinum
Evanescence Detailed Biography
Evanescence is a rock band from Little Rock, Arkansas, USA. Evanescence
was founded by Amy Lee and former lead guitarist Ben Moody. The two
met at a youth camp in Arkansas, where Moody heard Lee playing "I'd
Do Anything for Love (But I Won't Do That)" by Meat Loaf on the piano.
The pair discovered they shared a love of Jimi Hendrix and Björk, and
they began to write songs together (the first was "Solitude" by Amy
Lee, followed by "Understanding" by Ben Moody, "Give Unto Me" by Amy
Lee, the fourth song written by them was "My Immortal"). The songs were
altered lyrically and musically by Ashley Hincher, which is the reason
for having the names of both of them in the credits for writing them.
For some time they were unable to find other musicians to play with,
and did not have the funds to pay for professional assistance, thus
they were unable to play live shows. However, two songs of theirs, "Understanding"
and "Give Unto Me", found their way onto local music charts, and demand
for a live show increased. When the band finally made an appearance,
they became one of the most popular acts in the area. They went through
several names, including Childish Intentions and Stricken, before deciding
on the name Evanescence (meaning to fade away, or dissipate like vapor).
Amy said she loves the name because it is mysterious and dark, and it
puts a picture in your mind, which is what she wanted to do. Their first
full length album, Origin (released in 2000), is relatively unknown.
The band also released two EPs, which are highly sought after by collectors
due to their scarcity: the self-titled Evanescence EP (1998) of which
about 100 copies were made, and the Sound Asleep EP, also known as the
Whisper EP (1999), limited to 50 copies. Not atypically, Origin and
the EPs contain demo versions of some of the songs on their first major
label debut album. In fact, the recording of "My Immortal" found on
Fallen can also be found on Origin, minus a handful of additional instrumental
accompaniments. However, Lee herself does not consider the record to
be an actual album; rather, she considers it merely a bundle of demo
songs (some of which she says are not done properly) that was sent to
record companies. Only 2500 copies of this record were ever made, limiting
its availability to the handful lucky enough to obtain one in the early
years, or to those who are willing to pay the hundreds of dollars the
discs now fetch. In response, Lee encouraged fans to download the band's
older songs from the Internet during an interview. (Strangely, none
of their post-Origin music is currently available for legal download.)
Not surprisingly, enterprising bootleggers have been selling fake copies
of Origin, usually as a "Russian re-release," for high prices. It is
highly encouraged that fans not risk money on a copy of Origin as it
is likely not an original copy, nor does it benefit the band any longer.
