Pre-Evanescence
Long before Evanescence hit it big, Plumb was making that kind of music. Today, as a young mom with a new CD and a heart for the hurting, she discusses those things and more.
by Andree Farias | posted 4/10/2006
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In 2003, right around the time Evanescence was exploding in popularity with their debut, Tiffany Arbuckle-Lee—better known as Plumb—was releasing her third album. Little did Evanescence fans know that their singer, Amy Lee (no relation), once cited Plumb as one of her chief vocal influences. Plumb considers the nod flattering, but she doesn't think much of it. Her energies are diverted instead to her new daytime job—motherhood—and the calling that she's heeded ever since she first picked up the pen to write a song: help victims of abuse, whether physical, verbal or sexual. In this conversation with Christian Music Today, Plumb candidly takes the time to discuss motherhood, her new album, her concer for abuse victims, and more.
It's been three years since your last studio album, Beautiful Lumps of Coal. Why the lapse?
Plumb It's funny when people say I took so long. A lot of artists take a year for each step of making a record. You take one year to write a record, you take another year to record it, and then you take another year to tour it. It doesn't seem that long to me for some reason. The minute I released my last record, I spent one year touring it. Then I spent one year writing for Chaotic Resolve and one year recording it.
And then you had a baby.
Plumb And then I had a baby. So I've taken this year just to be a mom and everything has gone a lot quicker. So [the process] to release a record actually doesn't seem that long. It's like, "Oh, yeah, it's that time to release a record." Pretty much that's what I've been up to, from writing and recording and being pregnant to delivering a baby and promoting in between.
Has motherhood affected the way you create music?
Plumb I don't think I can put my finger on how it's affected it. I'm sure I'm much more intentional about the level of honesty and truth that I speak of. I have to give my son something he can love and respect and feel proud of, just a whole other level of accountability. [It's] one more thing to inspire me every day of my life.
Does being a seasoned female "rock star" take a back seat to being a mother?
Plumb It's an easy thing to put on the back burner when you have a child. For me at least, it's such an easy decision. But it's been nice. I've really had time to learn the ropes of motherhood. I'm a mother first. I want for [my son] to never, without a shadow of a doubt, have to wonder whether he was more important. Absolutely, he is.
As a songwriter, artist and performer, is it difficult to let go sometimes, especially when duty calls?
Plumb No, for some reason it's not, just because I think one of the best things I can give him is a break away from me. I spent the whole day with him yesterday, and in his mind, having me 24-7 is the best thing in the world. But it's not the best thing, for him or for me. It's good for us to have a break from each other, even if it's just a couple of hours for me to write songs, a couple of hours to do some interviews, or to run to rehearsal for an hour, or stand on a stage for an hour to do a concert. Whatever that little break is, I think it really forces me to be a better mom because of it. But I'm never away from him—and I hope to never be until he's much, much older—for long. I think the longest I've been away from him is a day, and I want it to stay that way for as long as I can.
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