INDY'S WEEKLY ALTERNATIVE NEWSPAPER HIGHLIGHTING ARTS, ENTERTAINMENT AND SOCIAL JUSTICE

Family Values Tour: Evanescence

With Korn, Atreyu, Flyleaf, Droid and Trivium
Verizon Wireless Music Center
Friday, Aug 10, 2 p.m.. $15.99-$65.50, all ages.

One can almost hear the hypothetical conversation that could have occurred between Evanescence singer Amy Lee and a friend on Monday, May 8.

“So Amy, how was your weekend? Anything much happen?”

“Except for the marriage and the new band members, not much,” Lee would deadpan in response.

Try topping that for a weekend of drama.

But that’s exactly what happened. On Saturday, May 6, Lee married her boyfriend, therapist Josh Hartzley, in her family’s home town of Little Rock, Ark. By the end of the weekend, she had fired Evanescence guitarist John LeCompt and drummer Rocky Gray and recruited Troy McLawhorn and Will Hunt as replacements.

Both events have been decidedly good for Lee.

“It’s made everything a lot better,” Lee says. “It’s made the shows definitely a lot better because everyone enjoys playing the music, so everything feels really good right now.”

As for the marriage, Lee’s answer almost goes without saying.

“Getting married kind of trumps it all,” she says.

Dismissing LeCompt and Gray was not easy, she adds, but it had become unavoidable.

“Things were at a point that they were so bad that something like that had to happen. That’s never something you want. It’s a last resort,” Lee says.

The first order of business for Evanescence, which is touring behind its second CD, The Open Door, is co-headlining this summer’s Family Values Tour with Korn. A headlining tour in the fall is also planned.

Lee says she is excited to showcase the new Evanescence line up, which also includes guitarist Terry Balsamo (Lee’s main songwriting collaborator) and bassist Tim McCord.

“I think that [the line up change] has made the show a lot better and given the show the ability to really grow and evolve,” she says. “And we are changing things more often now and getting more creative with the set, because it’s not like we’re limping through and having a hard time working together.”