Turmoil can lead to the creation of good art. However, the "tortured-artist" syndrome didn't affect Evanescence leader Amy Lee, at least not in the stereotypical way.
Lee's group had gone through some changes. Co-founder/guitarist Ben Moody left in a much-publicized tiff; guitarist (former Cold axeman) Terry Balsamo suffered a stroke and had to relearn the guitar, as well as how to use his body again; Lee parted ways with her manager in another highly publicized conflict; bassist Will Boyd left the band, replaced by Tim McCord; and Lee's former boyfriend entered rehab. (Drummer William "Rocky" Gray and guitarist John LeCompt stuck with Lee throughout the turmoil.)
On top of all that, the band toured for 1 1/2 years promoting the album "Fallen," and released a live DVD/CD package, "Anywhere but Home."
Other bands might have had a breakdown after all that — but not Evanescence. "I definitely feel like the challenges we've been through as a band have made us stronger," Lee said during a teleconference with a handful of journalists. "It's weird. Bands break up all the time over things. Instead of letting the things hurt us, we became a lot closer.
"The band really had to lean on each other when Ben left. I felt like, in a weird way, we really became a band that day because we knew that we'd be able to survive and continue after the struggle and the negativity was gone."
LeCompt learned all of Moody's parts and continued the tour without missing a date. "After Terry's stroke, we got even closer," said Lee. "Terry and I had gotten to be so close on tour, and we were good friends. We could trust each other."
That trust helped Lee as she began writing songs for a new album, "The Open Door," which debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Top 200 Albums chart last week. "I feel very vulnerable when I'm writing. And in the past, I've never been able to sit and write music with someone in the same room. But I'd sit at the piano and Terry would be at the guitar ... and we'd just start building off of each other.
"I really didn't feel this weird sophomore-record pressure. I didn't want to make the first record again. I feel like 'Fallen' did amazingly well, and I can't expect that second record will sell the same number or more. 'Fallen' did better than we expected, but it gave us a lot of freedom this time around. We had already established our sound, and (now) we could do whatever we wanted and actually expand the box."
The songwriting wasn't the only thing that changed during those heavy times, said Lee. She finally learned she couldn't make everyone happy. "We toured for a year and half, and it was crazy. I didn't know how to say no back then. So the train just wouldn't stop. It was just crazy.
"I have to keep reminding myself that it doesn't matter what anyone else thinks about me because they don't know me. I've been through a lot and I've met a lot of people. I've learned that everyone isn't just like you. And after being taken advantage of a little bit and making enough mistakes and bad decisions, (I've) learned.
"The fact that we are on the brink of actually going on tour and getting to make music the center of attention again and the center of our lives is a really exciting thing. We're happy to be going on tour."
After a pause, she added, "It's been a long time. So I'm a little bit nervous."
If you go
What: Evanescence
Where: The Great Saltair
When: Wednesday, 7 p.m.
How much: $25
Phone: 467-8499 or 800-888-8499
Web: www.smithstix.com
E-mail: scott@desnews.com