Y Kant Tori Read
Tori Amos Biography Part 2
When she was 21, the newly-monikered Tori Amos packed up her bags and moved to LA to seek her bliss with the rest of the struggling musicians; Tori simply did not see herself going any further on the East Coast hotel piano bar circuit. Initially, she achieved some small time success, scoring a gig as the Kellogg’s “Just Right” girl (a role Tori unabashedly took out from underneath up-and-comer Sara Jessica Parker). She also managed to find herself on the set of the soap opera “Trial by Jury.”
The year 1985 was ill-fated for Tori. Upon giving a ride home to a fan after a piano bar gig, the fan stole her away and sexually assaulted her at knifepoint for hours before he let her go. Tori was only able to come to grips with this horrific experience years later, upon watching the movie “Thelma and Louise.” (She was inspired to write her memoir-esque song “Me and a Gun” at this point.) 1985 wasn’t all bad though. Tori did meet friend and guitarist Steve Caton around this time who continued making music with her for years (up until the “Venus” period).
Not so much later Caton, Tori, and two other musicians–Matt Sorum and Brad Cobb–formed Y Kant Tori Read, an 80’s rock band named for Tori’s experiences at the Peabody, where she was chided for not learning to read sheet music, preferring instead to play by ear. Y Kant Tori Read was signed to a six-record contract with Atlantic Records–the self-titled debut album, though, didn’t do so well. The mainstream audience just didn’t “get” the band’s signature style and the bouncy, wild, red-headed front woman. Y Kant Tori Read failed, marking Tori’s only musical failure to date. Tori took the rejection personally (press often referred to her as a “bimbo”), but she persevered–as Tori always seems to do.
The band broke up (although, of course, Tori and Caton remained friends) and Tori began singing backup and writing songs for other popular artists. It was a little bit before Tori was able to reclaim her identity as a “girl and her piano” kinda girl, and the Little Earthquakes album began to take root in her head.
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