Evanescence’s Amy Lee Thinks Nathan Fielder Is ‘Some Kind of Genius’
In the third episode of The Rehearsal’s second season, “Pilot’s Code,” Nathan Fielder’s quest to improve inter-pilot communication brings him to his most extravagant simulation yet. In a bid to understand the mind-set of a pilot who’s open to feedback, he turns to the widely celebrated story of Captain Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger, who, in 2009, successfully landed a passenger plane on the Hudson River after an engine was struck by a flock of birds. Fielder’s curiosity hinges on an interaction and an absence: In the black-box recording of Sully’s famous flight, there’s a notable 23-second stretch of silence as he navigates the descent, after which he is heard asking his co-pilot for ideas. What happened during that stretch, and what made Sullenberger the kind of captain who would solicit feedback from his first officer?
To answer these questions, Fielder turns to Sullenberger’s memoir, Highest Duty, and proceeds to subject himself to a series of simulations that draw from the captain’s life experiences, meant to help Fielder better understand the guy. He goes all the way back to infancy in a sequence that produces the indelible image of a fully-shaven Fielder in diapers going through the motions of being a baby, complete with breastfeeding by a colossal puppet standing in for Sullenberger’s mother.
The memoir leads Fielder to a potential revelation. He discovers that, from 2002 onward, some years after his father’s death, Sullenberger begins to mention popular music with greater frequency. Fielder theorizes that the captain’s purchase of an iPod, and subsequent cultivation of a musical taste, made him better in touch with his feelings. One group stands out: the rock band Evanescence, which is mentioned in Highest Duty more times than any other musical act. (Curiously, this detail did not factor into Clint Eastwood’s 2016 biopic, Sully, starring Tom Hanks.) Aside from not quite being a band you’d expect a to-the-point older pilot from Texas to really dig, the Evanescence finding also leads Fielder to an unexpectedly plausible theory that explains the 23 seconds of silence up in the sky: The chorus to the band’s early-aughts banger “Bring Me to Life” also happens to be 23 seconds long. “Pilot’s Code” builds these data points up to a climax involving Fielder, as Sully, popping in headphones, closing his eyes, and listening to the chorus as the plane simulator descends toward the river. It’s a quintessential Rehearsal moment: absurd, goofy, but, within the context of everything that has come before, transcendent.
“I don’t even know what word to put on it,” Amy Lee, Evanescence’s lead singer, says about the sequence. “It’s just blowing my mind. It’s really beautiful.” Speaking from her home in Nashville, Lee discussed the episode, the aviation community’s strong affinity for the band in general, and whether she’d undergo one of these rehearsals herself.
Did you watch the episode?
I sure did.
What’s going through your head?
Oh man, it’s going to take me more than ten minutes to answer that. The show is so brilliant. I started watching at the beginning of season two because of our placement, and I’m obsessed with it now. So now I’ve gone back and started watching season one. It’s just so thought-provoking and a completely unique format for a show in general, even setting aside how fascinating the subject matter has been so far. I just find it really difficult to describe, too. I remember that when they asked us about licensing the song, I was struggling to understand the concept.
How did HBO describe The Rehearsal to you?
Let me pull it up. So this was last fall: “HBO’s meta docu-comedy” — which, already, I’m like, Okay … — “The Rehearsal is on its second season, and it features an exploration of the life of the ‘Miracle on the Hudson’ pilot, Sully Sullenberger, based on his memoir, Highest Duty. Sullenberger is a fan of the band, and the creative team is interested in using ‘Bring Me to Life’ in re-creations of the moments leading up to the fateful flight in episode 203 … ‘Bring Me to Life’ is used as Sully listens to the song on his iPod in his hotel room and then continues as he jogs down a path …” I didn’t even understand that it was Nathan who was going to be running down the path in the episode. I thought it was going to be an actor. “… After an interruption, Sully is once again listening to the song on his iPod.” That’s it.
And that was an easy “yes” for you?
Literally, my response was “Sounds really weird and fun. Thanks!”
What do you think of the way the song was used on the show?
First of all, I’m really, really into this season. And I have to say, of all the episodes I’ve watched, this one, which features our song, had the most awkwardness of anything I’ve seen so far leading up to it. The part with our song is just so beautiful. I don’t even know what word to put on it. But, also, with everything else the show is going for, how do we make it better for pilots? What could be improved with communication? People need to be allowed to have vulnerabilities. People need to be allowed to be human. If we didn’t need a human in these jobs that are so sensitive, then it would just all be robots. So let’s embrace the human element anyway.
It’s such a wonderful thing to imagine that something like a song can give you an outlet to be vulnerable when you don’t feel like you’re really allowed to be. I relate to that. This show made me get so into my own head. It made me think about the beginning of my career, when we were writing and recording that song. And then even more so in the aftermath of the song’s success and being in the spotlight for the first time and how much I felt like I had to project strength and couldn’t show my weaknesses because I was a woman — but also because I was 21 years old and had to fight for everything creatively and prove myself as worthy. It’s interesting because of what the song was doing in the show and what I know that it has done for people around the world, because they’ve told me about it: It gave someone an outlet to be allowed to break down. I don’t know — it’s just blowing my mind. It’s really beautiful.
Do you buy Fielder’s theory about Sully’s 23 seconds of silence in the black-box recording?
It’s totally possible. But we’ll never know, especially given the way he outlined what he was sensing through the writing of the book about what pilots need to do to keep their job. So it’s totally possible, and it means so much to me, even if it was just in his heart.
I remember that day, too. We were New Yorkers, and we were in the city at the time, and it was such a fascinating event. And then later, I do remember hearing when his book came out that he mentioned our music too.
Have you read it?
I didn’t. I feel like I might now.
I’m guessing you’ve never had a chance to meet or speak with him, then?
No, no.
If you could, what would you tell him?
What would I tell him? [Pauses.] Well, I don’t know. “Thank you”? “It’s okay to feel feelings — but you’ve maybe figured that out”? I don’t think he needs my help at this point.
But it made me think about something else interesting, too. I don’t know why, but people in the aviation industry — flight crew, pilots, people in the airport — we seem to have a lot of fans there. I’ve never really thought about why, except that we’re an international band, so maybe people who travel a lot are more exposed to our music. But watching this, I wonder if it has to do with this need for an understanding or a place that’s safe to feel vulnerable. We have a lot of fans among cops, firefighters, and the military, too, which in my mind is like, Well, they have to project strength too, be strong in difficult situations, and not wear their hearts on their sleeves, but that doesn’t mean they’re not human. And if our music has been an outlet like that for people, I mean, it’s such an incredible reward for me to know that.
Is this the weirdest story you’ve heard of “Bring Me to Life” being important to someone?
This is 100 percent the strangest licensing we’ve ever had as far as “Bring Me to Life” being used for something. This is the most unique thing that I can think of because it was also … kind of about the song?
Were you familiar with Nathan Fielder’s work before The Rehearsal? Have you seen Nathan for You or The Curse?
I haven’t seen his stuff before, but I recognize him. I’ve definitely seen his comedy in some form somewhere, and now I’m clued in to the fact he’s some kind of genius.
The Rehearsal is really strange and thought-provoking. I’m laughing out loud at parts that aren’t even funny, but, like, I just can’t believe it. Like, in the first episode of the first season, when he’s talking to that guy in his house and then he gets to the part where he’s like, “This moment where I’m sitting here and talking you, I’ve actually built an entire set of this moment and rehearsed it,” then he shows the set and it’s exactly the guy’s house and he’s sitting there having the same conversation almost exactly, and I’m just sitting there going, What is this?! I love it so much. I want to go shout from the rooftops and tell everybody to watch it, but I feel like I have to give some serious disclaimers. Oh God, like the choking on the milk from the puppet boob? I was literally sitting there looking through my fingers.
What do you think The Rehearsal is fundamentally about?
It’s almost like a battle against anxiety, because anxiety comes from not knowing what’s going to happen and a fear of what could happen. So if you had the chance to rehearse these things you’re looking forward to with trepidation — the same way we’d rehearse one of our shows — it eases all of that, and you feel prepared for the moment.
But I feel like the path that he’s going down with pilots this season feels like he’s actually searching to solve a problem. It’s about the crashes and about the communication and about the social world of that community, which we as people who aren’t in that community don’t know anything about. It’s so fascinating to see that there’s a deficiency right here. It seems like what Fielder is trying to do would be really good for people.
Last question: You’re in a high-pressure situation. What’s your song?
Erykah Badu brings me a lot of peace. It feels like having a sister-doula-mama who has my back. So her mixtape. I listen to that a lot.
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