The Tonight Show with Jay Leno (US, TV)
September 17, 1998
Tori Amos interview and live performance
"Jackie's Strength" / interview
transcript
Jay: Good to see you. Have a seat. Here you go. Great as always. How are you, buddy?
Tori: I'm good.
Jay:Now, you used to live here, right?
Tori: Yeah.
Jay: But what jobs did you have here? Did you have regular straight gigs when you were working in L.A.?
Tori: Well, I was playing piano bar.
Jay: Right.
Tori: I'd do weddings.
Jay: Oh really?
Tori: [Turns to face Lucy Lawless] I could have done your wedding. I did, you know, "We've Only Just Begun" and all those fantastic, favorite songs. I mean, they're good, but you know...
Jay: Do you ever hear from people who go, "Wait a minute! At our wedding..."
Tori: "You played in my wedding," yeah.
Jay: Oh, that's kinda cool.
Tori: There's a bootleg out of me playing at somebody's wedding when I was... [audience applause] See, they know.
Jay: Were you ever fired from a gig?
Tori: I got fired all the time because they didn't like my dress sense, because I was into leather. That was my Lita Ford... So that didn't work out too well.
Jay: Yeah.
Tori: But I was trying to make, you know, pay my rent by doing -- I mean, this is funny because they are actors, right. They are like the real [Tori points to the other two guests] they do it. And I would try and make a little extra money doing commercials and stuff. And I tried to get the part in Howard the Duck.
Jay: Oh, the movie, Howard the Duck?
Tori: Yeah. But it was a band. So I thought I could audition as one of the band members. I mean, you know, why not? I can do better than some stupid actress that can't play anything. I don't mean you [referring to Lucy Lawless], but I just have to say one thing. I know musicians being actors, it's like, ugh, it's horrible. But think about it. They have three chords and they think they're like, you know, it. And they just go, "Ok, strum, strum, strum, I know a song. Strum, strum, strum." But I didn't get the part.
Jay: Well, you are lucky you didn't get it. See, it would have ruined you. You would have been out of show business. Well, no you wouldn't. You are great, you would have always done something.
Tori: Well...
Jay: Well, congratulations. This is the new CD. It's called From the Choirgirl Hotel.
Tori: Yeah.
Jay: Good to see you, pal. Please come back.
screen shots
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