On Wednesday morning, March 5, 2003, Tori was a special guest on Scott And Todd in the Morning on radio station 95.5 WPLJ in New York City. You can now read a complete transcript of the interview courtesy of Liz.

More Details

You can see a photo of Tori at the radio station at plj.com (Thanks Kristy!).

Interview Transcript

DJ 1- At this time a very talented young lady, Ms. Tori Amos everybody.

Tori- Hi guys.

DJ 1- Welcome

Tori- Thank you

DJ 1- Now I've heard a rumor that you have a little friend with you this morning.

(Tori laughing)

DJ 2- A little friend?

(All laugh)

Tori- Which little friend? I have a few little friends.

DJ 1- You have a little daughter with you.

Tori- She's 2 _. We came on the bus this morning from New Hampshire. We did a show last night so we rode through the night on the bus.

DJ 1- Whoa

Tori- She's sleeping.

DJ 1- She get any sleep?

Tori- She did until we got into the New York, your lovely roads-

DJ 1- Yes, a little bumpy here.

DJ 3- Potholes. This is the pothole season just so you know.

Tori- So we were up at about 6. But that's good.

DJ 2- Yeah

DJ 1- It's never good to be up at 6. What is her name?

Tori- Natashya-

DJ 1- Natashya...

Tori- We call her Tash. She, uh, she runs the tour.

DJ 3- Has she become accustomed to life on the road?

Tori- I think so better than some of the crew. (laughs) She complains a lot less than most of them and as long as she has her blankies and we, um, we all have to do ring a ring a rosies before we go out.

DJ 1- Right

Tori- We do ring a ring a rosies and then she says "Now mommy go rock".

DJ 3- Mommy go rock- that's great.

DJ 1- You know we were talking to somebody the other day and we mentioned you were gonna be here and they said "You know you couldn't go to college, you couldn't be a girl going to college in the early 90's unless you had the Little Earthquakes album."

DJ 3- Yeah that kinda like the standard equipment. You move into the dorm.

DJ 2- Absolutely

DJ 3- You gotta have that with you.

DJ 2- You have rabid fans. It's really, it's terrific. I mean they just are so passionate about you.

Tori- Well some people, well, um, some musicians have come up to me and said "God could we rent your audience?"

DJ 2- Yeah, huh...

Tori- I said you have to ask them because there's a, there is a real respectful kind of relationship. You know it is a give and take. I mean, if I, if I slack off then they let me know about it.

DJ 3- Right

Tori- They send me notes.

DJ 3- (laughing) Hey Tori what are you doing? Good God Tori, what happened? This thing sucks. What are you doing to us?

Tori- Did you practice your scales? Yup.

DJ 1- I don't imagine you hear that very much.

Tori- Well...

DJ 1- The new album has sold 600,000 copies already so somebody likes it.

DJ 3- Wow, good for you.

Tori- It's exciting.

DJ 1- Congratulations to you.

Tori- Thank you.

DJ 1- I read somewhere where you're like a big Julie Andrews fan.

Tori- Well, the crazy thing is until I had Tash I think I got into my, you know how you get into your, I'm into my suspense movies.

DJ 1- Sure

Tori- And whatever. I think I'm smart. And of course she looks at me and says boring and we watch Mary Poppins. And I realize, um, what a complicated story it really is and what's going on. And it's lasted. It was so important to me when I was her age.

DJ3- Right. It's just a classic story.

Tori- And thirty-some years later it still holds up. And it's...

DJ 2- You're absolutely right. My kids would watch it all the time.

DJ 1- What's she thinking about the Chitty Chitty Bang Bang movie?

Tori- Oh, she's obsessed.

DJ 1- There you go. That's another big one. Sure.

Tori- We went to see it in London right before we came over. We came over to the states a couple weeks ago once we finished that leg of the tour. And her treat was to go to the theater for the first time.

DJ 1- Aww...

Tori- And so it was cute because she's 2 _. And she's got her whole, um, privacy thing going. But we had the little, you know, you have these jiffy potties in Europe which is the most genius thing I've ever seen in my life.

DJ 1- Hmmhmm

Tori- Cause when the child catcher comes she said ok 2 things when child catcher comes I'm gonna hide and go to the potty. (All laugh) Because you can't get in line, you know what I mean.

DJ 1- Right

Tori- At the matinee, forget it.

DJ 3- That's a good time to go. I don't wanna see that part.

DJ 2- What's a jiffy potty?

Tori- Well, um, I usually, I can't believe, I would never talk about this stuff before...

DJ 2- No well yeah sure...

Tori- Ok, so this stuff it folds up and it has a, it's a little plastic thing.

DJ 2- A seat?

Tori- Well, yeah, it folds up, fits in your purse, you'd never know, like a wallet-

DJ 3- Ya see that...

Tori- Then-

DJ 1- And presto instant potty!

Tori- And you just tie it up and it holds the um-

DJ 1- Stuff

DJ 2- Unmentionables

Tori- The liquid, yeah, and then you just tie it up and oop! Bye!

DJ 2- So when they're potty training that's what you use.

Tori- Well, imagine, you're like in the middle of Barney's in the shoe section-

DJ 2- It's great!

Tori- And it's like I don't wanna buy those Manolo's, I'm over that one now. And so you don't want her to um kind of bond with that shoe. (laughter) And it's my jiffy potty!

DJ 3- I borrow Todd's all the time. He carries it with him 24...

DJ 1- Yeah it's called my jiffy shoe.

(laughing)

DJ 2- They need to have those in the United States. I know, I mean, that's a big thing with moms for getting the kids to a potty quickly.

Tori- I'm thinking about like doing something-

DJ 3- You should!

DJ 2- I'm telling you...

DJ 3- The Tori Amos Quickie Potty!

(laughing)

Tori- That's horrible! What about the Scott and Todd? You could do it!

DJ 1- We don't have the credibility, we don't have that going, we couldn't pull it off.
All right, well you have your keyboards set up. We've been working on it. Benny's been doing a
fantastic job.

Tori- Yes

DJ 1- Driving us crazy for about 2 _ hours now. I think we got everything set up. We apologize for the stool but Elton John took the original.

DJ 3- We told Benny it was our first day and we didn't know much about the equipment.

Tori- Did he take the stool?

DJ 3- Yeah, yeah. He liked it so he took it.

DJ 1- And we have not yet replaced it so we apologize.

DJ 3- We have a lawsuit pending but we haven't heard anything back from his attorneys.

DJ 1- He said "Get in line pansy." (laughing) What are you gonna start with this morning?

Tori- I think we'll do this song from Little Earthquakes.

DJ 1- Ok

DJ 3- Oh boy

Plays Silent All These Years

DJ 2- That comes from so deep inside you. It's such a pleasure to watch.

DJ 1- Gorgeous.

DJ 2- It reminds me when I've been to your shows. And I think of the classic fan that watches you, they watch you, they sit like this and just watch so intently and I see why because-

DJ 1- Makes me wanna feel like riding on your leg.

(laughing)

Tori- Well you know, I could send over my piano stool. If Elton, I'll make a deal with you. If he doesn't come up you should call him.

DJ 1- Have you met Mr. John?

Tori- Of course I have.

DJ1- He's sleeping. You know what time Elton gets up.

Tori- Well, he might be still awake. Where is he right now?

DJ 1- I gotta check. Hold on. Benny, is everything ok with you?

DJ 3- The sound all right for you Benny?

DJ 1- Are you happy?

DJ 3- Benny's happy all right. I just want to make sure we keep Benny happy. We made Benny a little nervous. We said we didn't know how to mix.

DJ 1- Well there's a track from Little Earthquakes so coming up next we'll do one from the new CD, Scarlet's Walk. That was tremendous, just a wonderful job. Thank you. Standby we're gonna go live with Tori Amos. Scott and Todd on PLJ. By the way she's doing a couple of shows this week, as a matter of fact, tomorrow night, Friday night and Saturday night at Radio City Music Hall. And I gotta tell you something. Thank you so much for including Jeffrey Gaines in your plans.

Tori- Oh he's heaven.

DJ 1- Isn't he great?

Tori- Yeah. He'll be playing with us, I think, Saturday night.

DJ 1- Terrific.

DJ 3- He is so excited about Radio City Music Hall because you know he had, you know like they did on American Idol last night they had a wold Card. It's like his second chance, second time around and he's so thankful. He's such a wonderful man as you know. Tori's making the rounds as well, Regis and Kelly tomorrow, Saturday the CBS Early Show, like three songs for them.

Tori- And we're doing Oxygen tonight.

DJ 3- Oxygen. That's right.

Tori- Recording live so...

DJ 3- Custom concert... more live music next but right now

DJ 1- I'm gonna ride Tori's leg!

Tori- I'm sending you my stool! You think I won't-

DJ 1- Forget the stool, I'm riding your leg.

DJ 3- That sounds a little...

DJ 1- Well, it sounds exactly what I mean it to sound...

DJ 2- I'm trying to envision this.

Tori- My bench! I'm sending you my bench!

DJ 3- She just got it.

Tori- Oh God.

DJ 1- Thank you so much. That's what I'm thinking about.

DJ 3- There's Todd. What do you got over there? Oh I've got Tori Amos' stool.

DJ 1- I got Tori Amos' bench right here.

(goes to traffic report and commercials)

DJ 1- It's Scott and Todd in the morning. Patty and Tori are jibber jabbing about baby stuff.

DJ 2- About kids. Well, when you have little kids you're like obsessed about them.

Tori- We're in the princess phase right...

DJ 2- Right

Tori- So everything is princess, princess, princess...

DJ 3- Do you need any crowns? I have a bunch of leftover crowns. Mine have exited the princess stage.

DJ 1- Todd's oldest daughter was the most princess driven girl I've ever met.

DJ 3- I got tiaras all over the house. I made lamps out of them.

Tori- Come on.

DJ 3- Yeah

DJ 1- In the studio with us this morning is Tori Amos. Her brand new CD is in stores now. She's gonna perform a song from that CD. Is this Fairytale?

Tori- This is Fairytale.

DJ 1- Tell us- you have like deep meanings to all your songs. Is there anything we need to know about this?

Tori- Well, Scarlet's Walk is a narrative, it's like a sonic novel, it's a woman's journey across America in troubled times. And she's asking herself what she believes in and she's questioning those who are they that are steering the course of her spiritual mother, America. And so she starts on the West Coast and, um, she goes to see her friend Amber Waves who calls her, who is America personified as a porn star. And calls Scarlet up and says I need you. I'm in a sticky ? So, I need you. So we don't know where Scarlet was, where she came from but she goes to see her friend. And that's how it starts and she has no idea that one event leads to another and she's gonna be crossing the country and she meets different men. And you know it's, um, a classic road trip for a woman out on her own.

DJ 1- That's very cool.

Tori- And she's not a hussy. She just has 4 lovers. That's all.

DJ 3- Oh well, 4? All the way across the country? That's not bad.

Tori- Exactly

DJ 2- I need a road trip with 4 lovers. Just for a little break.

DJ 1- You'd be happy with 4 lovers right at the house wouldn't you?

DJ 2- No in my house, I need to-

DJ 1- They tried to help down in Cancun but you resisted it all. All right, Tori Amos-

Tori- So this is the first lover that she thinks she's gonna, you know, this is it, she's gonna end up with him forever and ever as we know. This is the soul mate.

DJ 1- Right

Tori- And then, but so the single is that they are soul mates so by the time I'm done you're gonna still think they are but on the album version it's 5:53 and... (laughs)

DJ 1- The album version-

DJ 3- It's always something sort of, it's always some sort of commercial complication.

DJ 1- Of course

DJ 3- The damn label, won't let me tell my story! I'm gonna call Polly!

Plays A Sorta Fairytale

DJ 1- Tori Amos, that's a fantastic job.

Tori- Thanks guys.

DJ 1- Wonderful

Tori- Come visit me at Radio City.

All- Oh yeah!

Tori- We're there 3 nights. Come by and say hi.

DJ 1- Won't you be surprised if we're backstage going like this (knocking) "Tori let us in".

DJ 3- "Just tell her her lover is here."

Tori- Bring your tiara and come sing ring a ring a rosies.

DJ 1- I'll hold Natashya for you while you're up there.

Tori- She'll hold you Scott.

DJ 2- She likes men, huh?

DJ 1- Fantastic job. Don't forget beginning tomorrow night at Radio City Music Hall. Also tomorrow, Regis and Kelly, Saturday in the Saturday CBS Early Show. And then the Oxygen network. You'll be able to see that all through March if you watch Oxygen. Tori, you are beautiful, wonderful. We love you.

Tori- Thanks guys.

Commentary

Here are some reports from people who heard Tori's appearance:

From Jennifer Berman:
I just caught the end of the program, Tori was chatting with the DJs about SW, saying that it was the story of a woman on a road trip of her own and that she took four lovers and the song she was going to play was about the first lover who Scarlet thought was going to be her soulmate forever and even though they don't end up together by the end of the song, they are soulmates. She played a beautiful solo version of A Sorta Fairytale. Afterwards, she reminded people to come visit at the Radio City shows. Then one of the DJs said that he would come to the show and hold Tash (who he called Natashya). Tori joked that Tash could hold him.


From Liz:
I just wanted to let you know about Tori's radio interview this morning on WPLJ. She was in studio, it was a short interview and she played 2 songs live. Here's a few notes:

- Talked about Tash... they took her to the theater for the first time a few weeks ago. She's gotten used to life on the road. Tori joked that Tash handles it better than some of the guys in the crew.

- Talked about her fanbase... other musicians have asked to borrow her audience and she tells them they have to ask the audience. There's a respect between her and her audience... there's a give and take... when she's slacking they let her know.

- Talked about Scarlet's Walk... sonic novel... she's not a hussy, she only has 4 lovers... Amber Waves is America personified as a porn star... the radio edit of A Sorta Fairytale is only part of the story, the album version is longer... on the radio you think they are still soulmates but the album tells it differently...

She played:
Silent All These Years
A Sorta Fairytale (radio edit)