KBCO Studio C (US, radio) KBCO, Boulder, Colorado (97.3 FM)
December 5, 2002
Tori Amos interview and private live performance
songs: Silent All These Years and A Sorta Fairytale
transcript
Kiefer: And good afternoon everybody. My name is Kiefer and it's such a pleasure to welcome back and old friend, Tori Amos. Thanks for coming by.
Tori: Hello Kiefer.
Kiefer: The show tonight is at Magness Arena and uh, what would you like to start off with?
Tori: Well, this is um, a song back from my past. So, we'll see if you recognize it.
Kiefer: Okay.
Plays Silent All These Years
Kiefer: Wow. Tori Amos, live in KBCO Studio C. That was just beautiful!
Tori: I didn't know there were all those people out there!
Kiefer: (laughs) Yeah, uh, I don't know, we usually lock the door, but I don't know what happened this time. Um, thanks for coming by. I know you've had a busy day and you've always been so generous with your time with Studio C, so thank you so much for coming by.
Tori: Thank you.
Kiefer: Congratulations on the new album, Scarlet's Walk. It's been met with almost universal praise and a lot of people have burned up a lot of adjectives trying to describe the concept of the record. But I stumbled across something last night and for me, it kinda crystallized it. And I wanna see what you think. They called it a, "Picturesque, spiritual journey through America." And I wonder if that really kinda brings it together. And, you know, what have you seen on this journey through America that you've taken?
Tori: Well, I guess, maybe um, being out there in places that you don't get to if you're always flying the coasts. I mean, you guys are sorta in the center so you know that. Unless you really immerse yourself in the country and see how people view things then you can't really write a story about her soul - the darkness of it as well as the light. And, so, yeah, I guess I discovered that people, especially in the last year or so are beginning to have a relationship with the soul of this creature we call America. Her soul. Not that she's um - the Native Americans have always had that relationship but I think that once we saw her bleeding in New York that day she came alive for a lot of people. That she was alive.
Kiefer: You were in New York uh, on December 11, or uh, September 11,right. Uh, what can you tell us that you know. maybe we haven't seen through the television or the stories that we've read?
Tori: Well, I think, um, more than anything you begin to see a rhythm in the small details of things. So you see people's hope go up when they had the descriptions of people on the posts. And then within a week these descriptions had changed. New flyers were put on the posts. And you knew that they were looking for remains. And I think this kind of - that kind of roller coaster that people went through. The hope into the grieving was really incredibly humbling. And maybe walking down and smelling her burning - New York burning just constantly. It didn't go away. It permeates so you know, you know that it's not something that's just been on the telly. You've felt it inside your soul. You can't get rid of that smell.
Kiefer: Great. Um, would you like to play another song?
Tori: Um, yeah, okay. This is one of the new gals.
Plays A Sorta Fairytale
Kiefer: Wow. Tori Amos live in KBCO Studio C. Scarlet's Walk is the name of the record. Are you Scarlet?
Tori: She's my alter ego, I guess. But, no, she's her own being. She started coming to me, this character, in small, bite sizes. And soon I realized that she was going to take over my life.
Kiefer: (laughs)
Tori: (laughs) I had no idea at first, but yeah, I guess some days she sorta takes over everything.
Kiefer: Since you were in New York on that fateful day and you've traveled through this country post 9-11, are you encouraged by what you see? About this soul of America you spoke of earlier?
Tori: In some ways, yes and in some ways, no. Because I think that there's been a lethargy that's set in people now. And they don't realize. I've just been over in Europe and Americans do not realize how we are perceived. We're perceived as the bully. And we're perceived as pressing our advantage. Taking advantage of a tragedy to press our leader's agendas. And I've never seen such anti-Americanism in my life. And it pains me, it brings tears to my eyes because I don't think that a lot of people would like their country to act as a bully but we are, in worldview, that way. And this is with our friends. This is not with our enemies. This is with our friends. So when your friend comes up to you and says, "You know, Kiefer, we've known you a long time and we don't always agree, but we're friends. And this is really troubling me." Then if you don't listen you're about to lose that being as a friend. And we're going to be very lonely and isolated if we don't begin to pick up the torch and decide, you know, are our leaders really representing this creature who is our true mother? I don't know.
Kiefer: Well, I guess we can always hope things will work out.
Tori: No, I guess we can always do something.
Kiefer: Well said. Uh, the show tonight is at Magness Arena. We've got tickets to give away. So 303-631-2973. Callers 1, 2, 3 and 4 picking them up. Thank you so much for coming by.
Tori: Thanks
Kiefer: You've always been so generous for coming by. We really do appreciate it.
Tori: Okay.
Kiefer: Tori Amos live in KBCO Studio C.
[transcribed by Ann (Kai)]
t o r i p h o r i a tori amos digital archive yessaid.com
