It took a song on the 2003 Daredevil soundtrack for Evanescence's career to be brought to life, but the band has been maintaining its pulse within the music industry ever since.
The band did experience its fair share of obstacles along the way to fame, though.
"Ben [Moody], who Amy Lee wrote the music with on the first record, just kind of split in the middle of the tour," said Terry Balsamo, the guitarist for Evanescence and replacement for Moody. "I was in a group called Cold who had just done a tour with Evanescence, so Amy called me up and asked if I wanted to do tour lineups and stuff like that."
Those students that share Balsamo's love for music, particularly Evanescence, will be able to see the band live at the Bryce Jordan Center (BJC) at 7:30 p.m. Saturday with opening acts Julien-K and Shiny Toy Guns.
When Cold's record label's interest began to wane, Balsamo became a permanent member of Evanescence and began to write and record music with Lee, the group's lead singer, for an upcoming album.
"As far as transitioning to songwriting with Amy, it was actually really smooth," Balsamo said. "It was all just natural; the touring was as well."
In 2006, the band released The Open Door, which included the single "Call Me When You're Sober." The band dodged a more severe obstacle right after the album was recorded.
"I had a stroke about a year and a half ago ... I had finished all the guitar tracks on [The Open Door] on a Saturday, and Monday morning I had the stroke," Balsamo said. "It was good timing if anything."
Although his hand suffered an injury from the stroke and hasn't fully healed yet, Balsamo is still capable of playing on the tour.
Another obstacle for the band is one all current artists are facing: the digitalization of music and the surge of music piracy.
"I definitely think [digitalization] is killing the industry in a lot of ways, but once the happy medium finally happens and works its way through it will be better," Balsamo said. "If the happy medium isn't reached, then it's pretty much going to kill the whole industry."
The American perspective on the music industry also needs to be changed, Balsamo said.
"You go into a mall nowadays, there's not even a CD store in there," Balsamo said.
"Music is kind of like 'whatever' in our country and it sucks, not because I'm in the industry, but because I have a love for music," he added.
Evanescence's set will contain music off its latest album, tracks from Fallen and even songs from a demo back from before the band was signed, Balsamo said.
"We'll have a good mix of songs that Evanescence fans should be happy with," Balsamo said.
The BJC will allow the audience to have a more intimate experience with the band by minimizing venue space with curtains, Bernie Punt, BJC director of public relations, said.
"We're hoping to have three to four thousand people show up," Punt said. "The [BJC] will be in a theater setup, so it's going to be fantastic."
The venue will also include general admission for the floor, and tickets for students will be $20.
"There are no seats on the floor so everyone can get really into the band," Punt said. "It'll be a good experience for the band, too."
With the theater setup, the lack of empty spaces at the BJC should provide a great atmosphere for the audience, Punt said.
"What I like about college venues is that the arenas are big enough to have all our lights and stuff so we can still put on the same show, but it's a little smaller and a little tighter," Balsamo said. "It makes it more fun for everyone."
