Anywhere but Home

Evanescence: The act or state of vanishing away; disappearance; as, the evanescence of vapor, of a dream, of Earthly plans or hopes.

The Emotions of Music

One of the impressive features of music is its ability to convey emotion. The motion picture industry is well aware of this and when it's done skillfully, a movie's soundtrack can make you laugh, make you cry, make you pee your pants. The first time I saw that commercial about abused and neglected cats and dogs with Sarah McLaughlin singing over it I could hardly stand it... I had tears in my eyes!

It was very affective.

While I have no love for religion, to put it mildly, I love to hear Gospel. Those singers so completely believe in what they're singing about that the love, emotion and passion radiates from everything they sing. What's not to love?

______________________________

Lord Osbourne and Gothic Classical

My introduction to Gothic classical came from an unlikely source. When, during the 80's, I went to see Ozzy Osbourne at the L.A. Forum, he opened his show with Carl Orff's Carmina Burana. He was then lowered from the rafters in the lap of a giant white Buddha. That opening 30 seconds of the show left a bigger impression on me than the Prince of Darkness' entire concert (nothing personal Ozz, you rock!). I spent the next year trying to find out what the music he'd used was - internet was not as readily available as it is now. It wasn't until I got my hands on the live tape (that's right; a cassette) "Tribute" that I was able to finally find out what the intro music was. I took the tape to the music department library of California State University Northridge, played the intro for a music professor and a student who were present and asked, "Who is this?"

They recognized it immediately. I could tell by the smiles which came over their faces. They gave me a name and a title and supplied me with a little history about the debauchery of which the piece is about. I've since owned several different performances of Carl Orff's "Carmina Burana"... on disc, and have been on an ongoing search for more Gothic classical.

(NOTE: "Gothic Classical" is not a real musical term. It is simply what I call that kind of music. If you know the actual term, please clue me in. I'm curious!)

______________________________

There is a performance video of Carl Orff's "Carmina Burana" below.

______________________________

But this piece isn't about Gothic Classical. It's about...

Goth Rock!

Rock music is just as affective at conveying dramatic, Gothic emotion as classical is, and my personal favorite purveyors in this genre is Evanescence. ...And my favorite disc by Evanescence is "Anywhere but Home." It's a live, CD/DVD set of a performance recorded in Paris, given to me by a cousin one year for Christmas.

Because Evanescence's line-up changes frequently, I'll concentrate on the musicians who performed on the live disc and DVD.

I was introduced to Evanescence when I saw a video called "Bring Me to Life" and have been a fan ever since. The musician in me loves the strong yet haunting quality of Amy Lee's voice, the incredible drum work of Rocky Gray and the crunchy yet tasteful guitar work of guitarists John LeCompt, Terry Basalmo and bassist William Boyd. But, it's not just the musicianship. If you listen to this disc with headphones or ear-buds on, you'll hear what I like to call "little bits of business" going on in the background: Strategically placed piano notes, choral voices and sound affects. To me, this is half the fun of listening to the disc, and I hear something new every time.

______________________________

The Behind the Scenes video below features Evanescence's tribute (on their "The Open Door" disc) to Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart with their remake of his hauntingly beautiful "Lacrymosa."

Useless trivia: I have Mozart's Requiem CD and both his and Evanescence's "Lacrymosa" occur at the same point on the discs.

______________________________

This is what it's all about. The very reason for listening to and enjoying music. When I'm walking and I have this music going, I'll be smiling for seemingly (to passers by) no reason at all, or I'm completely enthralled by what one of the musicians is doing at the time. The emotions run the gamut: Joy, sadness, amazement, curiosity (are all those cool "little bits of business" going on during the actual performance, or are they added later in the studio?) And because a live DVD of the same performance I'm listening to is included and I've watched it several times , I can see them, in my head, doing the songs I'm hearing. I can hear it. I can see it. I can feel it.

______________________________

The Magic of Music

I've been collecting live albums since before I started playing drums. The live album is where you really hear the band, what they're capable of, how they really sound - sans all the studio magic. It was through Grand Funk Railroad's Live: Caught in the Act that I learned much of what I know about playing drums and music. It was also from this album that I first realized a live recording can convey the magic of a performance. The give and take of energy and emotion between the artiste and the audience. It was this very magic of Peter Frampton's Frampton Comes Alive which made him an instant super star and changed the face of music forever. Suddenly, with millions upon millions possible, big business wanted in on rock-n-roll.

______________________________

So, if you're unfamiliar with Evanescence and feel like taking a step outside the box and letting your darker, more mysterious, Gothic side out to play, pick up "Anywhere but Home." ...or, at the very least, check out the live videos below. They're from the "Anywhere but Home" DVD, and located after the comments.

• Amy Lee - Vocals. Born Amy Lynn Hartzler, December 1981 and is from Little Rock, Arkansas. She is a classically-trained pianist and co-founder of Evanescence. Her influences range from Mozart and Celtic music to Bjork, Tori Amos and Danny Elfman (Jenna Elfman's uncle). She was married to Josh Hartzler (a cousin perhaps?) on May 6, 2007, and is currently writing for a solo album.
• William "Rocky" Gray - Drums. Born July 1974 in Jacksonville, Arkansas. He is married to Renee Gray and has two children - Abraham and Madison. As well as playing drums for Evanescence, Gray is known for playing guitar for Christian metal band Living Sacrifice.
• John LeCompt -Guitar. Born John Charles LeCompt, March 1973 in Little Rock, Arkansas. He is married to wife Shelly and has two children - Bethanie and John Charles LeCompt ll.
• Terry Balsamo- Guitar. Born Terence Patrick David Balsamo, October 1972 in Tampa Florida. In 2005 he suffered a stroke. His doctor told him it was the result of a blood clot in his neck, brought on from headbanging on-stage (you can't make this kind of stuff up!).
• William Boyd - Bass. Born William James Boyd, April 1979 in Little Rock Arkansas. Boyd also plays keyboards and drums. He left Evanescence because he didn't want to do another big tour.