Tori Amos - Interviews Archive

BBC Radio (UK, radio)
February 21, 1996

Tori Amos interview

Paul: Just before she headed out on a never-ending '96 tour we had a visit the other day with Tori Amos. Tori, nice to see you.

Tori: Hi, Paul.

Paul: Well, January '92 Little Earthquakes, January '94 Under the Pink, now a new year and another new album. This makes you sound like a very organized person to me, or is it just coincidence that you tend to put albums out in the early part of the year?

Tori: Um, most things aren't coincidental as far as dates. I'm a bit superstitious about dates. Um, I like to have a road tour that lasts about a year, and it just makes sense to uh, start in January and take the tour about 200 shows, which takes us right about up to Christmas.

Paul: Is that kind of daunting? Is that something you can look forward to as it stretches ahead?

Tori: (snorts) No, are you kidding I'm already just trying to... I'm ready to take a widdle nap right now. (laughs) I'm ready to... It's not the playing, it's everything other than the playing. Usually there are 20 some, 23, 24 interviews a day and I'm just ready to talk about tiling or planting rhubarb.

Paul: I'm glad you mentioned that, because it's on the list of questions here. So you just going to hold on until dec for a little rest are you?

Tori: Well, actually once I start the concerts which is in February, that's incredibly exciting for me because I get an adrenaline rush when I play, and uh, it's very much about the playing for me. when I'm not playing I'm not as comfortable.

Paul: And also you have a lot more songs to play, which must make it a lot more interesting for you as you approach a concert

Tori: Well, it's challenging this time because I'm bringing the harpsichord on the road, umm, bringing two just in case one goes down. And the Bosey, well, she's ready to put on a pair of high heeled shoes and play. She was with me last time. She's my 9-foot Bosendorfer.

Paul: Does it get harder as you're building the show and thinking about what you're going to put in it? I mean, there's some stuff from the first albums that are just going to get elbowed out. Or does the show just get longer?

Tori: Uh, a little bit longer but I do think people's attention span, for a concert, you know, there is a time when you end the story. Every good story has an ending. It's like every good concert so I try to feel the rhythm of that. Sometimes you go into a marathon, um, just because of what's happening in the theatre that night. you know, it's like cooking. There are certain spices, and each song holds its own, um, taste. So, each night it depends on what I want to serve up.

Paul: So no two shows are the same?

Tori: No, never.

Paul: The other thing about the new album of course, is this is your own production; this hands your own hands in it, and I'm sure the others did as well as far as the credits are concerned. Is it fair to say it's more your own creation?

Tori: Oh yeah, yeah yeah yeah yeah. Um, on the other two I've worked with collaborative with, but this time I've brought my live sound men in. So, I did collaborate with the technicians with the sound; they're very much involved in how it sounds. as far as the instrumentation and the content: the arrangements, the musicians and everything I just said, "I don't want to censor," and even if something sounds absolutely ridiculous, the idea, I want to try it before we don't give it a shot.

Paul: Does that mean you recorded a lot of stuff that you didn't do from other sessions?

Tori: Oh, the stuff we didn't use... those babies get erased.

Paul: The first single, was that one that was particularly close to you?

Tori: Well, this work is really a novel. I don't feel that I can separate them. To me that's just like, you know, the little flag you raise up and, you know, the crocodiles win...

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