News: Tori's "When You Were 17" Interview

Dear 17-year-old self,

I know you spend a lot of your time wishing to be older. You will be, trust me. The focused need to achieve will serve you well. However, being able to laugh could also serve you. You won’t stop making mistakes. There is no shame in an honest mistake. Not everyone is deserving of friendship. So why extend a hand of friendship to someone who is not prepared to uphold their end of the bargain? It’s better to be alone with your piano than stuck with a so-called friend who undermines you when they can get away with it. Friendship cannot be a one-way relationship. As for boyfriends? Well, what you find attractive now will bore you once you discover the definition of what a “bad boy” truly is. Respecting women and consequently not needing to verbally abuse women to feel powerful, these are truly the sexy bad boys. You will marry one.

Hugs,

T

P.S. Don’t cut your hair for the “Just Right” commercial.

Franco sent us this amusing and informative interview Tori did with Seventeen in which she reflects on her teenage years. Who knew she was allergic to nuts?

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When I Was 17
Tori Amos
Fifteen years of singing, playing the piano, and touring the country have given Tori tons of wisdom. Read all about her!

Where did you grow up?
Rockville, Maryland.

Were you a good student?
“Good student” might not have applied to me, but I did make the honor roll. I had a brilliant English teacher, Mrs. Barrett. She encouraged me to become a better poet.

What type of jobs did you work?
When I was 17 I made over $600 a week (a lot for 1981). I was playing in piano bars or hotel lobby lounges six nights a week from 6:00 to 11:00 pm. I had to go to school, rush home, change into a performer’s glamorous look. I did homework on my breaks, which were 15 minutes every 45 minutes.

What was the worst popular trend when you were going to school?
Mullets.

Do you have a quote in your high school yearbook?
I had a few references made under my picture. One was “Choir Flirt,” the other was “Most Likely to Succeed,” and, please don’t hate me for this, the last was “Homecoming Queen.” But I’ve always said all the nerds voted for me.

What did you want to be when you grew up?
I always wanted to be a player that could hold my own with the bad boys.

What is the craziest thing you ever did to get a guy to notice you?
This guy I liked asked me out on a date, but I was so nervous that I hadn’t eaten all day. After he asked me out I had some peanut butter on toast, went onstage, and near the end of the show I couldn’t breath. I still blame the peanut butter. I came off stage, still couldn’t breathe, passed out, and then the ambulance arrived. I was taken to the emergency room, given some kind of shot, and now I’m married to that guy.

What was your style when you were 17? What is it like now?
It was much harder to look like the magazines’ images back then. Clothes that you saw on TV or MTV were not found in the local mall like they are today. So I guess you could say my look was trying to be trendy, but missing the mark. Now, my best friend is the coolest stylist in London. Everything I wear has been inspired by our friendship.

What kind of clique were you in back then? Now?
There was a gang of us called “The Cool Chicks.” And no, we were not similar to the chicks in Mean Girls. Two of them still come to see me on every tour. Now, my friends are international, and it’s much more of a one-on-one with each of them than a gang. Most of the women I’m close with I also work with. When I do have a break in my day, that’s really reserved for [my daughter] Tash, who I find pretty fascinating. She’s 6.

What were your hobbies back then? Now?
I used to try and take a long hike every day off. I would go to Joshua Tree, lay under the stars, bring food, and hike all weekend. Now I live close to the coast of Cornwall, England, which has some of the most beautiful places to hike.

What rumors were people spreading about you then? Now?
The ladies in the church that were really prudish would say I was in league with the devil. There’s currently a strange rumor going around that I’m a vegetarian. I am choosy about supporting suppliers who believe in a free-range policy, but [I’m not into] slimy tofu with lentils.

What did you do for fun? Now?
Well, I missed all the trips to the Caribbean, which I’m still not over, because I was working. But we went to the movies or the mall and pretty much never stopped laughing. Now, touring is a lot of fun. It’s an incredible amount of work, but going to a new place every day is pretty exciting. I like to find out what’s happening in a city and then take Tash there. She makes me laugh, so we hang out together as much as we can.

What advice did your parents give you when you were 17? Now?
Don’t spend all the money you make. It’s still the same advice they’d say now.

What was your high school boyfriend like? Describe the guy you’d want to date now.
[My high school boyfriend] was a really nice guy. Now, I call my husband my boyfriend because he is who I really want to date, even if I weren’t married to him.

What does Tori Amos wish she knew when she was younger? She wrote it all in this note to her 17-year-old self.

Dear 17-year-old self,

I know you spend a lot of your time wishing to be older. You will be, trust me. The focused need to achieve will serve you well. However, being able to laugh could also serve you. You won’t stop making mistakes. There is no shame in an honest mistake. Not everyone is deserving of friendship. So why extend a hand of friendship to someone who is not prepared to uphold their end of the bargain? It’s better to be alone with your piano than stuck with a so-called friend who undermines you when they can get away with it. Friendship cannot be a one-way relationship. As for boyfriends? Well, what you find attractive now will bore you once you discover the definition of what a “bad boy” truly is. Respecting women and consequently not needing to verbally abuse women to feel powerful, these are truly the sexy bad boys. You will marry one.

Hugs,

T

P.S. Don’t cut your hair for the “Just Right” commercial.

Tori’s new album, American Doll Posse, hits stores May 1!