you for a while

My good friend Saar posted a recent Tori Amos interview to Undented.com…and it was a good one, so I’ll share some thoughts. Ms. T. was asked some interesting questions regarding ADP, her physique, her relationship with the piano, her competitive nature, and her take on forgiveness.

The interviewer, Jaan Uhelszki, compliments Tori on her appearance on the American Doll Posse cover and Tori alludes to a “strange” work-out routine. Of course, the interviewer just has to know (as do I…and probably many of you reading this. Tori is CUT these days!) and Tori admits that playing the piano really works out her arms. I believe it…play Cornflake girl for 2 hours straight and you have worked out yours arms enough for the month. She also says that she’ll go into her sauna in the barn in Cornwall in an almost vain effort to keep warm. While in the sauna she’ll just dance all crazy-like for about an hour to any one of 6,000 songs. Hm. Sounds like a very Tori-like workout to me! Wonder which song really gets her jiving?

When asked if she aims to experiment with different sides of herself through her music, since she has essentially been “the girl with her piano” for such a long time, Tori basically says, eh…no. She explains that she has always had a life outside of the piano that she kept separate from her relationship with the instrument. She played the piano and then she was the preacher’s daughter. She played the piano and then she is a wife and mother. She aims to keep her bond with the piano very special. So, she has never felt like she was trapped in one image. She has always felt that she’s had various aspects of herself there…they just aren’t always in her awareness as she plays.

Then the obligatory, “Which ‘doll’ does Mark like best?” question. She says she doesn’t know for sure, but she has a hunch he has a thang for all of them.

Tori was asked to reflect a little on the competitiveness of the music industry. She told the interviewer that many woman in music believe that in order for them to succeed, another woman has to fail. That this is true for all musicians male or female–like there is only so much room for good guitarists or drummers in the world. She considers this idea ludicrous and aims to break down that stereotype. For there to be real success for woman, we can’t be jealous of the few woman who make it. We have to support them and seek to join them.

Lastly, the interviewer showers Tori with praise…for her attentiveness to her audience and to others around her, her talent, and her “sex-kitten” ness. Tori admits that she is often hard on herself for making mistakes that we don’t really get to see. Forgiveness, though, is crucial to growth. She has adopted the mantra: “I’ve got to give people a break if I expect them to give me a break.”

Thanks Saar, for posting this cool article, Thanks to Undented.com for publishing it, and thanks to David Anderson for transcribing it!

Filed under: Press/Articles on November 16th, 2007