Ben Moody

Ben Moody Birth Name Benjamin Robert Moody II Date of Birth January 22, 1981 Origin Little Rock, Arkansas Genre Gothic rock Alternative metal Nu metal Gothic metal Hard rock

Ben Robert Moody II is the co-founder and former lead guitarist for Evanescence from 1995 to 2003. Ben's father is a prominent photographer in the Little Rock area. His mother is an acting teacher.

Career

Evanescence

Ben met Amy Lee in 1994 at a youth summer camp in Arkansas. He claimed she was playing Meatloaf's "I Would Do Anything For Love" on the piano, but this was later refuted by Amy in an interview for the magazine Rolling Stone, stating that she was playing pieces by Bach, Beethoven and Mozart on the piano. The two quickly became friends, and began writing and playing music together at local shops. Within the next few years, they sold their EPs at local shows. They released the demo album, Origin, in 2000. Wind-up Records signed them in 2001, and released their debut album, Fallen, in 2003. He left the band in October 2003 in the middle of an European tour in support of Fallen, citing creative differences.

Solo Career

Beginning in 2004, Moody began collaborating with a variety of artists, working in multiple disciplines. That year, he co-wrote the track "Nobody's Home" for Avril Lavigne's second album, Under My Skin, and wrote and recorded the track "The End Has Come" with Jason C. Miller and Jason "Gong" Jones for The Punisher soundtrack. He then wrote with David Hodges, Kelly Clarkson, and others for Clarkson's second album, Breakaway, working on the songs "Because of You" and "Addicted".

In early 2005, Moody played lead guitar for the song "Forever in Our Hearts", the 'song for tsunami relief' made exclusively for iTunes. He collaborated with singer Anastacia on the song "Everything Burns", which is featured on her album Pieces of a Dream and the Fantastic Four soundtrack. Moody then assisted Lindsay Lohan on her album A Little More Personal (Raw) and worked with Bo Bice on the song "My World" (a cover from SR-71) for his debut album The Real Thing.

In April 2006, Moody began working on the debut album of Billings, Montana singer-songwriter Hana Pestle. He co-produced and co-wrote alongside Michael "Fish" Herring, and contributed vocals and instrumentals to the album. He later produced the Godhead album The Shadow Line with Julian Beeston, and played a clown in their music video for the song "Push". He collaborated with David Hodges again on American Idol Chris Daughtry's debut album, Daughtry, for the song "What About Now".

In 2007, Moody worked with Céline Dion on her album Taking Chances, and began work for his solo album.

In December 2008, he released the Mutiny Bootleg E.P. and announced that his solo album would be released on March 3, 2009. This release would be delayed, however, as was hinted at in February 2009, when Moody's official website displayed the release as "available 2009" instead of the March 3 release date. On June 9, 2009, Moody's debut solo album, entitled All for This, was released digitally via Amazon.com, iTunes, and Amie Street through Moody's label, FNR Records. His second album, You Can't Regret What You Don't Remember, was released on November 11, 2011.

We Are the Fallen

Shortly after the release of All for This, it was announced that Moody had created and is also currently a member of a new rock band called We Are the Fallen. The members of the band include American Idol 7 finalist Carly Smithson as the lead singer, former Evanescence members Rocky Gray and John LeCompt, and Moody's friend Marty O'Brien. We Are the Fallen made their first public appearance together for a press conference at SIR Studios in Los Angeles, CA, on June 22, 2009. Their debut album, Tear The World Down, was released in May 2010 to generally positive reviews. The band toured for most of the year in support of the album and filmed their first live DVD, Cirque Des Damnés, at the Avalon Theatre. The DVD was scheduled for release in late 2011.

The Halo Method

In 2012, Moody teamed up with former Papa Roach drummer Dave Buckner and former Rockstar Supernova frontman Lukas Rossi to form a new project called The Halo Method. Before their debut show on the Shiprocked cruise in November 2012, former In This Moment bassist and multi-talented studio engineer Josh Newell became their permanent bassist. The band has since played a few shows, released an EP, and is had their second Shiprocked show in late January 2014.

Acting

Aside from his music endeavors, Moody works with his television and film production company, Makeshift Films. He has also done some film work, such as his cameo as a zombie in Resident Evil: Apocalypse (recognized by Milla Jovovich in her commentary). He can also be seen in the 2007 release of the low-budget, Lionsgate film, Dead and Gone.

Representation

Ben Moody is published by BMG Chrysalis Publishing worldwide.

Leaving Evanescence

Ben left the band on October 22nd, 2003, after a Berlin concert, after creative differences caused a rift between him and Amy. The two are reported to have been in a relationship sometime in the past, and this relationship is actually what inspired most of the songs in Evanescence's pre-2003 repertoire. In the past, Amy would only say that the songs were about an "abusive relationship" with an unnamed person.

Ben has caught a bad rap from some fans since his departure. In an interview with MTV, he explained his reasons for leaving the band:

I have a lot more peace about it, even more than the day I left. ... I still feel it was the right decision because Evanescence has carried on, and they've had great success since me. So I know for a fact I made the right choice. If I stayed, I think Amy and I would have destroyed it because we just weren't heading in the same direction; we were pulling it in two different directions. It was bad. [...] There was animosity at the time because I was so upset that I had built something for so long and we couldn't make it work. I was pissed off about that. At the same time, I was denying my responsibility for that, you know? Now I can go back and go, "It was what it was." As much as they can't blame me for who I am as a person, I can't blame [Amy], or the rest of them for who they are. I totally love them and have absolute respect for them. If I didn't, instead of jumping ship, I would have taken it down. I would much rather see them succeed, because I have nothing but respect for them.

In August 2010, Moody released a statement on his history with Lee and Evanescence, where he said that he was a different person at the time, his friendship with Lee had deteriorated, and they had conflicting opinions, personalities, and desires with the band. Moody apologized to Lee for comments he made to her in anger. He said he realized the band would end if he stayed and believes he made the right choice. Amy did not reply to the statement.

He started an independent cinema label, called Makeshift Films, and an independent music label, called FNR records, producing Hana Pestle, an alternative rock/acoustic artist. For this label, Ben produced his solo works too: the Mutiny Bootleg EP and All For This.

We Are The Fallen

In 2009, it was announced Ben Moody would be joining ex-Evanescence members John LeCompt and Rocky Gray along with former American Idol contestant Carly Smithson (Vocals) and bass player Marty O'Brien to form We Are The Fallen. The group released their debut album "Tear The World Down" on May 11, 2010.

Trivia

• He's 5' 8½" (1.74 m) tall.
• Ben Moody's favorite drink is Dr. Pepper.
• Once he was asked to join Living Sacrifice, but he refused to keep staying in Evanescence.
• The first song he learned to play on the guitar was "Rape Me" by Nirvana.
• He first wanted to become a drummer but had to give it up because of wrist pains.
• He studied the piano, but he never studied the guitar.
• Once, by mistake, he brought Evanescence to a gay pub.

References

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