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The Associated Press (US)
November 14, 2002

Tori Amos Traces a Journey

FAIRFAX, Va. (AP) - Tori Amos (news)' new album, "Scarlet's Walk," traces the journey of a woman across the country. A journey she literally made.

Amos said she had to want to not be recognized, which some entertainers just can't bear. The pianist said the songs are based on real people and events, but it took her a long time to do it.

"...And spending time in these places, sometimes I spent more time in certain ones, longer than others," Amos told The Associated Press. "I was able to do research without knowing I was doing the research."

Amos also embraces her Cherokee heritage in the album and on her current tour. She said her grandfather passed stories on to her in the oral tradition the way Cherokees have been doing for hundreds of years.

"It really was like a metaphorical campfire," she said. "You sit down. He would light his pipe. That smell that permeates to this day. And it was like a ceremony every night. And the story would just change, slightly, sometimes every night. You can give him the subject matter and he would just go."

The songstress, who wrote "Silent All These Years," said she's become more aware of her grandfather's intentions when he told her stories, now that she's got a child of her own.

"I believe that my grandfather really did put this chip under my skin," Amos explained. "And so that when I became a mom, and I would be telling my little girl stories to try and get her to sleep, his stories would kick in."

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