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“I think I can be kind of a di cult
artist in some sense of the business side
of it,” Lee admits with a laugh, talking
to
Ravinia
Magazine about the lavish
concept in advance of Evanescence’s
venue debut on Tuesday, July . “I can
only do what I really want to do. I have
a hard time forcing myself to do what I
think is the smart thing business-wise
or from a marketing standpoint. I hear
words like that and they generally make
me turn in the other direction and want
to do something else. is [album and
tour] didn’t come from anybody saying
this would be a good idea, this might
be something that people will love and
maybe we could make some money.
It’s the opposite. e idea itself was
extremely lo y and expensive and crazy
and di erent. And there’s risk involved
for sure, because you’re taking music
that already worked, people already
liked it and it’s been there for a long
time, and you’re gonna go in and mess
with it, change it, and show it to them in
a di erent way that they might not like,
but it’s something I just felt passionate
about.”
“I feel like we spend a lot of time
focusing on the rock aspect of the band,
which is awesome and it’s a big part of
it,” Lee continues. “[But I remember]
in junior high having the idea of what
this band could be. It was about this
combination and contrast between
being heavy but also like a beautiful lm
score and programming in the electron-
ic world. I grew up inspired by bands
like Massive Attack, Portishead, Björk,
Tori Amos, and so many other things
that aren’t rock, and I thought it would
be really cool to show the di erent color
palette of something that’s really always
been there for me that people maybe
didn’t see before. I thought it was just
going to be a fun experience, but it
really snowballed into something bigger
because you’re really starting from
scratch on the songs.”
In fact, it’s that very sense of de-
construction and synthesis in being
accompanied by a live orchestra that will
take center spotlight at Ravinia for the
co-headlining concert with the virtually
unclassi able but regularly riveting vi-
olinist Lindsey Stirling. e pair of mu-
tually admiring artists rst linked up on
Synthesis
for the fresh cut “Hi-Lo,” and
though they’re each turning in separate
sets, chances are their paths will cross
onstage at some point. “It’s a perfect
match even if she wasn’t on this album,”
Lee observes. “She has this beautiful
classical side and is an amazing violin
player, but she comes in and mixes that
with so many di erent types of music,
especially in that dubstep/electronic
world that she ts so well.”
Lee also notes that the tag team will
increase the scope and production of
their engagements, but at the same time
the present orchestral tour is bringing
it all in closer to the chest. “I’m looking
forward to and curious about what the
di erence will be, playing in bigger
outdoor places with this show—it’s
very di erent from the shows we’ve
been working on for my whole career.
It has always been such a big part of my
role onstage to keep the energy high,
keep everything going, keep the crowd
from sitting down, and keep everybody
screaming. is is such a contrast, as we
intended it to be. We’re actually choos-
ing places that have seats and encour-
aging people to sort of enjoy it like you
would an opera or a theater show.
“It makes you focus on a completely
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