Tori Amos
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My 'Tori Story': It was the summer of 95..I was a grungy grrrl listening mosty to HOLE, L7 and a whole lot of Nirvana. I thought I was the toughest thing around, never mind the fact that I was constantly battling depression. Then I met this girl named Sarah, and were fast friends. She was totally infactuated with this singer called Tori Amos. In Sarah's fanatic nature she played a bit of music by this woman every day. The songs grew on me. A couple of months later I went to my first Tori concert. It was at Constitution Hall in DC for the Dew Drop in Tour. I still wasn't the biggest fan. Still a devotee to the likes of Courtney Love I saw anything outside the realms of shouting a bit suspect. But, I was a fan of concerts, no matter the artist so I tagged along with my friends to see the show. The set at first didn'g grab me. I still wasn't very familiar with the material so I politely watched on while Sarah sighed with eatch song. Then she performed WINTER. (The song was a complete opposite of what I had with my own father. It was bittersweet to hear about her with her father.) I cried. When she performed Me & a Gun, I never felt such a feeling. I had escaped a rape only a year prior, and her images so mirrored my emotions, that I felt comforted, that I wasn't alone. I went home, and listened to a bootlegg my friend had on repeat. Then I began to devour her music.. one album at a time. After a an end to a pretty traumatic relationship, I became a bit of a fanatic. Choir Girl Hotel had just come out. I taped all of the television appearances, talked to her via radio call in show, and watched her in a small club for the sneak preview tour. I'm a little less fervant now as I was then. My friendships with other Tori fans (Sarah in particular) have dropped off, so I am no longer 'in the loop.' I'm less excited by big arena shows, but I'll always get any Tori Amos album that comes out and pour over the lyrics and each note trying to decode exactly where she's coming from. Last tour I handed Tori a small chapbook of my poetry. Her words have shaped mine, and her honesty has given me the courage to never water down my message, no matter what 'ears' may be listening. |
more to come on this site...
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