EVANESCENCE's AMY LEE 'Dreamed' About Being In A Band With EMMA ANZAI: 'We Feel Whole' Now

EVANESCENCE's current lineup features Emma Anzai of SICK PUPPIES on bass and EVANESCENCE's longtime bassist Tim McCord on guitar. Asked by Josh Olek on Australia's Triple M radio station if she and Emma met when EVANESCENCE and SICK PUPPIES were on tour together, EVANESCENCE singer Amy Lee said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "That's how we first met, was being on tour with [SICK PUPPIES]. She's still with them, actually. She's just a very hard worker. But, yeah, we met way back then, and honestly, for me at least, I always dreamed of one day maybe we could be in a band together, like a side band or something. And then there finally was this time where it all worked out."

Amy added: "Tim has been our bass player for — he was our bass player for 16 years, and he switched to make room for Emma. So he's on guitar now, which he's loving. It changes it up for him. He is enjoying it and, like, 'Oh, man. This is what I really wanted. It's my original instrument.' And now we get to have Emma. We feel whole."

Earlier this year, Emma told Bass Magazine about how she landed the gig with EVANESCENCE: "It was quite the surprise when it happened. When they needed a bass player after Tim switched from bass to guitar, I got the call and agreed to join them. SICK PUPPIES had toured with them long ago for one of our first tours, and I remember Amy being super cool. She's still the same now with support bands, the crews, and everyone she comes in contact with. I always remember that, because it was 13 or 14 years ago, and the women-in-music thing was different back then; we used to have conversations about it all the time. It's funny because it's evolved a little now, but we still currently have conversations about it. Being a woman — especially with me touring with all guys and having no other women around back then — it was great sharing our experiences and having her to hang around with. I was a lot younger, and I like to think I've learned a lot since then and grown a bit. At the time I was a little naïve, but she was helpful in solidifying what I had already felt. It's nice to come full circle and share these new experiences together. She's been such an anchor for me for so many years."

Guitarist Jen Majura's departure from EVANESCENCE was announced in May 2022 via social media. At the time, the band said in a statement: "It has been a very special chapter in the band with our dear friend Jen Majura, but we have decided it's time to go our separate ways."

A month later, Jen spoke about her split with EVANESCENCE during an appearance on THE HAUNTED guitarist Ola Englund's YouTube show "Coffee With Ola". At the time, she said that she was still "hurt" by the move and compared the situation to a divorce.

"I believe, honestly, it's three weeks now since I got the news, and I'm still in this blurry, oblivious momentum," she said. "I guess I'm still in shock, kind of, because after being married six years, all of a sudden you're divorced. You know me, I always try to find the positive in a situation, so every day, step by step — I'm not doing great yet — but every day I find little tiny things that I'm, like, 'Oh, actually, this is good.'"

Asked how she found out that her services were no longer needed in EVANESCENCE, Jen said: "Honestly, I was cleaning my apartment, and I got the phone call. And first of all, I was, like, 'Is this a bad joke?' And I remember, after I got the news, I hung up, and I have this hallway in between my studio and my living room, and I just lay there on the floor, staring at the ceiling, wondering what that was, and literally looking over to my suitcase that I had already started packing, because I was two weeks from going out on the road until pretty much the end of the year."

Majura, a self-described "half-Asian living in Germany," joined EVANESCENCE in August 2015 as the replacement for Terry Balsamo.

In 2021, EVANESCENCE released "The Bitter Truth", its first album in 10 years.

Photo by Travis Shinn