After a year and a half, Evanescence’s Amy Lee and Hellstorm’s Lazy Hale are getting their bands together and hitting the road.
The two bands worked on fresh material during the pandemic and will perform it live for the first time on a co-headlined tour, which will take place on Wednesday, November 10 at the new YouTube Theater in Hollywood Park in Inglewood and San Diego’s Viejas Arena. State University Saturday, November 13.
“It’s so exciting and it feels like we decided on this tour a long time ago, but it’s taking a lot of patience and waiting to actually happen,” Lee recently told Hale from their respective homes in Nashville. Said during the accompanying Zoom interview.
“We start rehearsals this week and I have a lot of emotions,” Lee continued, noting that the band had not seen Evanescence guitarist Jen Mazura in person since the album was finished because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Because of this, Mazura was stuck in Germany. . “These shows will be our first live shows, not livestreaming and virtual, so I am very excited to do it. I’m going to try to restrain my emotions, but I’ll also focus on new music. He can save me. “
While Evanescence dropped their first new album in a decade, “The Bitter Truth,” back in March, Hellstorm is currently finalizing its upcoming record and is already releasing its latest single, “Back from the Dead”. Have added it to your setlist. .
“I don’t think I’m the same person I was when I started writing songs for this record,” Hale said. He said most of the writing was done before the pandemic. But the shutdown kept the band in the studio and continued to write.
“We wrote a lot and threw away a lot; We recorded a lot and threw in a lot,” she continued. “New things just surfaced and the album began to shape itself into what it should be. Having that outlet and that direction was really life saving during that time and we put everything in it so it’s going to be a barn burner. “
Lee is also grateful for being able to make music during the pandemic. If anything, the extra time and effort put into the album rekindled her passion for creation, especially with an occasional song like “Use My Voice”.
“It’s nice to have music and to speak out against the world,” she said. “Last year, everything was so uncertain and that feeling just didn’t go away. We really needed something to believe in, to stick to, and to work on, so we didn’t feel like we only existed. It hurt us.” And given a purpose and voice in this whirlwind storm of loss.
“It’s really nice to make a statement with ‘Use My Voice’ to do something positive for the world and encourage people to vote. I think there’s a lot of frustration in everyone’s mind for a million different reasons.” That’s why music was our life saver and we love this album a lot because we poured our hearts out into it. We suddenly realized how much we love it, how much music matters and we are ready to fight for it We had to learn new ways to collaborate and come together and we made videos ourselves and did whatever it took to find that fire, that was good for me and good for music.”
Although they had previously crossed paths, Lee and Hale met when their band embarked on a package tour together in 2012. The pair bonded on the road and enjoyed watching each other perform night and night. Lee Guest and Hale provided backing vocals for “Use My Voice” and appeared in the music video on the track “Break In” on Hellstorm’s 2020 “Reimagined” EP.
“Amy is just special,” Hale said. “Something else happens when we get together and we put our voices together. It’s interesting because we have two different styles and two different voices, but when we come together, something Magic happens. So I’m looking forward to more on this tour.”
At the time of our interview, they were still putting together the setlist for the outing, but confirmed that the pair would find time to share the stage. Both women said they were excited about two female-fronted bands on the co-headlining tour and were able to bring out two female supporting acts – South African alternative rock band Plush and singer-songwriter Lilith Jar (Juliette Sims). ) – as well.
Lee said, “The fact that we can raise our fellow women in a rock where we’re not the most common type in that relationship, I think it’s so great that we can show that support and have a— You can move on to others.” “It wasn’t easy for Lazy or I to pull this off and so at least, in terms of choosing the starting band, we wanted to pay for it in a big way.
“Especially when the music is good, it’s first and foremost, but we’re bringing it in with this big show.”
Hale agreed.
Hale said, “I’ve had the opportunity to share the stage with Joan Jett and Lita Ford and I’ve had a chance to talk to Pat Benatar and every time I meet them, I’m their best friend not to give up.” Thank you.” “Because if they did, the story would have been, ‘Oh, they were trying to make it in the music business and it got so hard, nobody took them seriously and they gave up. That will be our narrative. But these women who came before us gave us hope.
“With Amy and I and how long we’ve been doing our craft and all the odds and doors that we’ve had to really beat to do what we love, we’ve had to beat other young ladies by having us on stage. Who can’t see themselves in any other artist. The fact that we can be is really important to them. I just feel like this tour is about us getting up there and doing our hair. There’s more to it than turning it around,” she said. “It really means something to people.”
Evanescence and the Hailstorm
Together: plush and lilith jar
When: 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, November 10
where: YouTube Theatre, 1011 S. Stadium Drive, Inglewood
Ticket: $39.50-$399 at 800-745-3000 or Ticketmaster.com
Too: Saturday, November 13 at 7:30 p.m. at Viejas Arena at San Diego State University, 5500 Canyon Crest Drive, San Diego. $39.50-$129.50 at Ticketmaster.com.
