Second Cup Cafe: Amy Lee Of Evanescence

With 15 million records sold worldwide, and two Grammy Awards for their debut album "Fallen," Evanescence continues its stratospheric success with its latest release, "The Open Door" (Wind-up Records), which debuted at number one on the Billboard charts. It reached platinum status in just over a month.

The album features the beautiful melodies, poignant piano and unforgettable vocals of Amy Lee, joined by the guitar of Terry Balsamo that blends the band's hard rock and classical sensibilities.

Lee joined us for a performance on the Second Cup Cafe stage.

Originally hailing from Little Rock, Ark., Lee spent nine years studying classical piano, which helps feed the band's mix of influences: rock, goth and classical. She explains on her band's Web site, "When I was in high school I listened to a lot of death metal bands. Both genres are intricate, complex types of music that are very dramatic, and I'm naturally drawn to that."

With "Fallen," says Lee, "we really took our time crafting this album and had the freedom to express a broader range of emotions: not just pain and sadness, but also anger and, yes, even happiness."

The production of "The Open Door" was made intense, Lee said on her band's Web site, because Balsamo suffered a stroke in October after recording the guitar parts. "Thankfully [he] continues to recover, we got a new manager, and I'd come out of a difficult breakup. But everything we've been through together has benefited this album."

With the recent additions of Dark New Day's Will Hunt on drums and Troy McLawhorn on guitar, Evanescence is finishing a tour of North America, supported by the Australian modern rock trio Sick Puppies and electronic rock act Julien-K.

For more information on Evanescence, visit www.evanescence.com.