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NRK Portland, Oregon Radio Interview
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NRK Portland, Oregon Radio Interview
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On Saturday, September 12, Tori appeared at radio station 94.7 KNRK in Portland, Oregon. Toriphile Heidi Moore reports that she played Cooling & Northern Lad while on the air, and was interviewed. I have some reports on this radio appearance below and a transcript sent to me by Heidi Moore. Thanks Heidi for all your hard work!
OK, what I'm doing is sitting here with my Walkman on and typing along as Tori talks. The interviewer, like the other person said, was terrible, so I'm going to paraphrase her questions and then type Tori's
responses word for word. I might throw in some of what Jayn said for
comic effect, but mostly I'll just skip her oooing and ahhing and get to
the point.
Jayn: When you were a little kid, did it ever dawn on you that "yes I
am going to make it - this is going to be huge"?
Tori: When I was a little kid I remember, um, going "Oh my God, I just
wish I had been stolen by Gypies" because I just thought it was so
boring, the whole thing. I didn't really kind of put 2 and 2 together
that - I don't think most people do - that their own life, uh, you don't
appreciate that your own life has its uniqueness. You just go, cause
it's your life, you're in your body and you're sitting there yawning
going "This is soooo boring" You know what I mean?
Jayn: Yeah, completely.....You said in a recent interview that you
still think about those people at that awful school that kicked you out.
Do you feel like that was part of your motivation, that you wanted to
prove to them that you could do this?
Tori: I think with, um, young kids that have a gift - and for those
people that are listening that have a younger sister or were that
themselves, um, or have a kid that's got an ability that's a bit unusual
for that age, you have to remember that there is a trust. Kids aren't
jaded yet and they don't understand about careers. I really didn't
understand about "making it" - I didn't really get that. I just knew
that I wanted to play music with other musicians and I didn't really see
why I couldn't play music with Jimmy Page. I didn't, you know, it took
me awhile to realize well I don't have a "Zeppelin all access area pass"
and I didn't really get the boundary, you know? But I did know, that
um, I wanted to kinda just hold hands with other musicians and create.
And it took me awhile to really learn that um there's a lot of peeing in
the corners. And you know I can get that way now sometimes. I think
that you start getting territorial um because in a strange way it does
become competitive. And people make you feel like um that there's not
enough room. And the truth is, the real truth is, there is enough room
um if you're being you, because nobody can be you. But the trick is,
that you take on other people's opinions of yourself your whole life
that alot of times you become their opinions and it's hard to separate
their opinions from what's kind of um peeling away that mask and getting
to "Oh my God, I don't believe these things!" Even if it's bits, you
know, Jayn, even if it's like 10%, that's still too much.
Jayn: Even sometimes, while you're just chatting, you subconsciously
just finger the piano keys, like you're accompanying your words with
music.
Tori: Did I do that?
Jayn: Yes, just now.
Tori: Hmmm.
Jayn: Isn't that funny? Do you sometimes feel more comfortable hearing
music behind your words even when you're just talking?
Tori: Yeah, I mean, I'm not a poet. I'm a songwriter. I've always
been close to the piano. A lot of times I'll have conversations with a
friend at the piano. Like I'll say "Beenie, will you sit at the piano
and can we talk?" just because I think that that's where I feel um
strong and maybe um protected in a weird way. And I don't, I'm not as
um, I'm not as much of a devious sleezebag when I'm at the piano. When
I get away from it sometimes, uh, my Cleopatra starts slipping in - or
God knows who I come up with? But when I'm by a piano, I don't feel
like I need to play too many games."
Then she plays Northern Lad.
Jayn: I'm speechless, blah blah blah (edited because this was so
incredibly lame)
Tori: Sorry Jayn, I have breakfast voice.
Jayn: I cannot imagine a world where there would be any apology needed
for that....
Jayn: What has been more fun for you - being the person discovering who
you were with your voice and breaking in to the music business or is it
more fun now that you've made it....
Tori: I think it's more fun now because there are less illusions about
what it is on this side of the music business. And a lot of musicians
out there, um, you know I've had different goals - they've changed over
the years. At first, I was, you know I was a starving musician. I was
working 2 jobs to pay my rent for over eleven years. And um the good
about that for all those musicians listening, is I don't think you
become as much of um a gross, horrible slimebag. I think that when you
have a sense of entitlement, you know, when people make it really early
on I don't know if they really appreciate. Sometimes, you know there's
an arrogance and people don't even know they're doing it sometimes, it
blows my mind. When you meet some of them and they don't mean to be
ummm I guess, uhhh, egomaniacs, but all the time I'm trying ta, I tear
my work up and myself up. That's not necessarily good, but I do think
that always wanting to improve is a good thing and knowing that um when
you have it and you did a good performance. And also knowing when you
can do better. And I think uh it's really important to always know
that - like there's certain times in my life that I can't recreate
Little Earthquakes. There's a song on every record, at least one, that
I believe "that's the take" and I really can't improve. Then there are
a lot of things that you think you can improve. And I guess now I'm
trying to find that balance - the scary thing is when you don't think
you can improve on anything or when you think everything you do sucks.
It's this extreme. So sitting where I do now, I think you don't torch
(torture?) yourself as much, but you're not, you know you don't have
this delusional thing about um thinking you're better than you are.
Jayn: It's gotta be weird from your position now to see these people
who made it really young. Does a certain side of you want to just pull
them aside and say "let me tell you something?"
Tori: Absolutely I do, like, things like "Honey, why did you put out
that poetry book?" You know, of course it crosses my mind cause some of
these girls are really sweet and yet you kinda go "you know what?"
There's nobody that pulls you aside and says OK look, there's a
tradition of poets, Anne Sexton, Sylvia Plathe, people that just "a bit
o' paper and a bit 'o rhyme" doesn't make it poetry - you know what I'm
saying? And this is not just directed to one person. This can be
actors too that do this. And you know I think you have to be aware of
the craft and that there's a skill, and hey I might be in a movie but I
have no illusions now thinking I'm an actor. Now, you know what? There
were times years ago when I was in some ridiculous soap opera and just
because of my age and who I was at the time, I might have thought that I
could be Emma Thompson. But sometimes you have to pull back and go -
the arts, it's one thing being famous and being good in one thing - it's
another one thinking that um you know, I'm gonna like scribble and be
Basciat (sp?). And we go back to that thing of respecting the tradition
and respecting that there's a skill. And I always encourage this
because a lot of poets will never become known and never sell a poetry
book. But all they have is to wake up in the morning and say "I'm a
poet. Because I have the skill of a poet." It's not just because I
want to be one. I mean, I wanna be a lot of things. Like I wanna be
like um good in the gym. I'm not good in the gym. But I can go to the
gym. Nobody should take that away from me. But you and I go back to,
with musicians, there's so many I know that their whole life is
committed to the craft of music and a lot of pop stars aren't
musicians. But pop stars have something and you have to give that to
them. Whether it's a presence or um you know an effervesence - there's
something that is drawing people to them and you've got to give it up to
them for that. What gets to be dishonoring is when they claim the title
of musician, because in a sense, you're taking something away from those
people that that's all they have and if you want to be a musician, you
know what? Go learn the skill. Go do that.
Jayn: suck up suck up suck up
Tori: Especially when the music business right now, does not really
support its artists. There's no FM radio anymore. Whatever we're
listening to right now - this isn't FM radio as I knew it when I was in
the early 70's or whatever. Where you heard an hour, commercial free of
just cuts on albums that weren't even singles, could never be singles -
it wasn't about singles. It was about albums. And now the music
industry is very much about the next thing - and so we, as a people,
devour the next thing and we get tired it's like (makes loud yawning
noise) there's this artist we know again coming at you -
booorrrriiing. And so that's why I say to you I really try to
encourage even musicians to just be respectful of what they can do and
what they haven't learned yet. And just because you're famous doesn't
mean that um you can do everything. It doesn't mean that you can go in
and operate on people's brains yet (editor's note - then Tori says under
her breath sorta "Sweetie" - it's so cute how she does it I just don't
know how to duplicate it with a keyboard...)
Jayn: And I'm hoping that people aren't really going out and actually
trying that.
Tori: Yeah, but there's no difference. That's what I'm saying.
There's no difference going and picking up a paintbrush to - when you
want to do it to express yourself that's one thing, but it's a real
tricky thing cause you're famous you're able to do it not because you
earned it. It's a tricky thing to come to terms with and there's nobody
there that's telling us. I've had to learn these things - I've been
around a long time now and I've put my foot in my mouth and embarrassed
myself and said things many times that were really umm ooofff - you
know, projectile vomit.
The good thing is I have great friends and I think if you surround
yourself with "yes people" that's a choice yer makin'. Instead of
having to hear the painful truth sometimes you know we all do things
that um is not graceful. And you just need somebody to go um yoo-hoo.
Tori plays Cooling. "this is a b-side that should have made boys for
pele and didn't and then probably should have made choirgirl and
didn't...that usually happens with b-sides."
Jayn: Thank you so much.
Tori: Thanks Jayn. Are you coming tonight?
Jayn: Oh, absolutely. It'll be my fourth time going to see you.
Tori: Good.
Jayn: It's so unspeakably amazing to me to be sitting here having a
conversation with you and have you just take a breath and do a
performance like that. To be able to just have that inside you at your
whim...
Tori: I wish I could poop as easily. Anyway, the thing is, tonight
I've got the boys with me. The band is with me on this tour. For those
that are coming, and for those that kinda just hate a girl at the piano,
give us a go tonight because I think um um it's really fun playing with
such great players and these guys really challenge me and uh I just love
them to pieces. They've really made me stretch as a player. It's a
real different show than what we just did just now. It's much more
about the piano being integrated and the guys, you know that kit drum,
it's in your genitals.
Jayn: I was lucky enough to see the Seattle peek preview show. It's
such a huge change...
Tori: They're incredibly giving, and you know, I didn't have the
confidence even though I've been playing a long time, I didn't have the
confidence to play with other players in the way I'm doing now. And I
just, you know you're not ready until you're ready. That's just the way
it is, but anyway they're, I just want to tell you who they are. Matt
Chamberlain's on drums, Jon Evans is on bass, and Caton's on guitar and
uh, they're really good.
Jayn: I have to ask you one quick closing question. It was the most
surreal moment of my life to see you on the video music awards saying
the sentence "getting jiggy with it" - was it weird for you to say?
Tori: I chose that category because um I felt like uh I don't know much
about that world and that I could really have fun doing it. So I had a
good time. I didn't know who was going to win, you know they don't tell
you that, but to be honest with you I really just, when I heard Beck was
doin' it, we were doing it together, and we wanted to do it together, it
was just , it just made it fun. We just decided to um have a good time
with it.
Jayn: It did seem like you did have fun with it...
Tori: With Beck.
Jayn: Yeah, with Beck.
Tori: Yeah, I had fun with Beck. The rest of the, the MTV awards
amateur night. I know we have to go and I just want to encourage all
the musicians out there that um get frustrated because I really
understand. I mean the industry right now - it's never been so
non-musician oriented. And for those people who aren't musicians, you
should be totally thrilled because you can not play an instrument, not
be able to write and barely be able to sing and be the biggest thing in
the industry, so really take advantage of it right now.
Jayn: Thanks so much for coming by.
Tori: OK Jayn thanks. Bye.
From Heidi Moore:
Ummm, the radio interview was on 94.7 KNRK and was conducted by Jayn. Jayn was marginally kissing ass - not that I blame her - but there was definitely a massive overuse of superlatives out of her mouth. The interview was about 20-25 minutes long and Tori talked about the "craft" of music and how some young artists who make it early on go on to disrespect other forms of art by delving into them when they've really not got the talent. It was really an interesting soapbox she was on - and I don't mean soapbox in a bad way here AT ALL.
From Lou:
The Interviewer was a complete idiot!! Tori as always was very cute tho. Jane (the interviewer) Said to Tori, its amazing how you can be talking, then in the next breath start singing so beautifully, Tori replied "I wish I could poop as easily" Tori also talked about the MTV awards very similar to what she had said to the Portland crowd later that nite. Bout how it was amature nite, and that most people in the industry are not talented. She seemed tired, I went to see her a few minutes later at the Meet N Greet, and she looked exhausted there to. Unfortuntatly I think Jane asked really bad questions. I was dispointed in waiting all day to hear how sloppy the interview was done on NRKs part!!
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