Happy Blogday, Tori!

NME’s Lucy Jones ties together Tori’s birthday and the current political and cultural environment in her post of today on the NME blog, Why We Need Tori Amos’ Outspoken Feminism More Than Ever. Drawing together the threads Pussy Riot, Todd Akin, and George Galloway, Jones presents the themes and messages in Tori’s music as well as her activist roles in founding RAINN and speaking out against sexual assault to make the point that Tori is as relevant today as when she burst onto the music scene twenty years ago.

On the other hand, taking a more personal approach, which we would expect many fellow Toriphiles share, blogger Mary reflects on the significance of Tori on her music in her life. Many thanks to her for sending us the link — and if you have a similar creation to share in honor of Tori’s birthday, please send them in and we’ll append them to this article.

Shirley Temples At Mr. Henry's - Tori's First Paying Gig

The Guardian’s Nige Tassell talked to a slew of musicians, actors and celebrities about significant firsts in their careers and the responses were compiled in an article that appeared in the January 12th edition of the paper. Our heroine leads off the column, reminiscing about the first time she was played to play live at a gay bar in Georgetown, Washington, DC after leaving The Peabody.

Of course, this may not new news to the seasoned Toriphile but if you haven’t seen this from previous interviews, it’s an amusing little story.

Thanks to Brian and @iammatthewwolf for the link!

Note: the Guardian article got noticed by BANG Showbiz so a repackaged version of her portion of the article has appeared elsewhere as well, such as CTV News and The Times of India.

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John Philip Shenale: The Glide Magazine Interview

As a producer, I understand that things are changing every album. And my relationship with Tori, from my historical point of view, is that she represents, for me, a complex, multi-faceted musical talent that always surprises me. And as a result, I love that situation because it’s always challenging and a new approach. It’s a constant question of how to handle the emotional fabric of the songs but still move forward. It’s always something new. And watching her create and invent really inspires me to do the same, so that’s where a lot of the impetus comes from. It’s always a psychological and metaphysical experience with her. She’s one of the deepest artists I’ve ever worked with.

We don’t get many chances to hear from John Philip Shenale, the composer and arranger behind so many of Tori’s orchestra-infused songs — and a major force involved in the creation of Night of Hunters. Glide magazine recently sat down with him for an extensive interview, which they published in two parts just as Sin Palabras was released last month. Click through the jump to check out the whole thing!

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Seattle Times Interview: Extended Edition

It’s not that they’re smarter than anyone else. It’s because they understand the form. They’re listening to it from an emotional level, they’re not listening to it as playwrights saying, “Well, is this an active part of the story?” You’re not getting a dramatist talking to you, you’re getting musicians who are understanding the emotion from the rhythm, the chord progression, the melody. Music is the language to musicians and everybody working on it.

For those of you who enjoyed Paul Pearson’s brief article on Tori in the Seattle Times on December 9, Paul has a treat for you: he has posted the uncut version of their Q&A on his blog. Head on over to see a much richer version of their conversation.

Los Angeles Times Interview (December 11, 2011)

There’s a sexy element to penetrating the dead guys and making a new being together. You’re not a sonic necrophiliac but you are walking into a specific space. You have to look at the music as a sonic architect and study how it is made. Then, you must step back or you can never create because you’re in such awe of it that you feel that ‘I can’t touch this because it’s sacred.’

The Los Angeles Times is running a feature on Night of Hunters for which Marcia Adair interviewed both Tori and Deutsche Grammaphon’s Alexander Buhr. The article takes a deeper look at the genesis and evolution of the album as well as toushing on the subject of womane in the world of classical music.

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Seattle Times Interview (December 9, 2011)

We get so distracted by the traumas that are happening in the world. It’s not as if they shouldn’t command our attention. But our own relationships have to command our attention as well. If there’s no healing within the sacred relationship of the home, then there’s no way we can have peace outside in the world.

Paul Pearson’s interview with Tori appeared in the December 9th edition of the Seattle Times. In it, she discusses the new album, its inspirations and discovering composers, such as Satie and Granados, she wasn’t very familiar with.

One note: the article states that next Wednesday’s show in Seattle will feature two sets, one with a full band and one with the string quartet. This information comes from the promoter’s listing for the show which was written back when the date was announced. It is incorrect as the tour is only with the Apollon Musagète Quartett.

Thanks mkgtweety for passing this article along!

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Chicago Tribune Interview (December 8, 2011)

I wish [Natashya] would be a veterinarian, quite frankly. This business is not something you would wish on a friend, much less a daughter. It’s not for a sensitive heart. But you’re in so deep by the time you realize how the business works, and you lie to yourself and tell yourself the business is filled with nice people.

Tori spoke to Allison Stewart of the Chicago Tribune and, in advance of Tori’s show at Chicago’s Chicago Theatre this Saturday, “the ensuing article”;http://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/ct-ott-1209-tori-amos-20111208,0,5140559.story appeared in the December 8th edition of the Tribune.

Thanks to mab for the link!

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Georgia Straight Interview (December 8, 2011)

I’ve realized that I have to keep listening to some of these composers in order to keep my palette expanding. If you’re just turning to other pop musicians who don’t have a big vocabulary, then how is yours going to grow?

Tori spoke to Alexander Varty for Vancouver weekly, The Georgia Straight. The article follows the usual formula but includes some interesting details about “Fearlessness” and “Orientale,” the piece from Grandos’ 12 Spanish Dances upon which her composition was based, and the effect that working with classical music has had on her own work.

Thanks to Jenn for the tip!

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Vancouver Sun Interview (December 7, 2011)

We were creating a new being together and having a love affair. My husband would say, ‘Why don’t you come in from the deck; it’s nine o’clock at night.’ I’d say, ‘I’m with the dead guys,’ and he’d say, ‘They better stay dead, wife.’

The Vancouver Sun’s Erika Thorkelson interviewed Tori and the resulting article appeared in the December 7th edition of the paper. Their discussion focuses mostly on Night of Hunters: its origins, how its pieces came together, working with her family to produce the record and working with the string quartet with whom she is touring to the support the album.

Thanks to George for the link!

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Globe And Mail Interview (December 5, 2001)

When I left the Peabody, I turned my back on all kinds of things, including the idea of classical music. I think I had a projection of what it was, that it was very closed to any other forms of music.

J. D. Considine’s article in the December 5th edition of The Globe and Mail starts like many other Night of Hunters pieces, discussing Tori’s early experience at the Peabody, but then delves deep into the process of creating Night of Hunters to the exclusion of nearly every other topic.

In it, Tori drops details about why she gravitated to Irish mythology to form the foundation of the song-cycle, the amount of work researching its sources and addresses in some depth the choice of Alkan’s Song of the Madwoman on the Sea-Shore, Prelude Op. 31, No. 8 to be the basis for “Shattering Sea.” A nice contrast to some other recent press.

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