>" Tori Amos Questionnaire"

What's the first thing you do when you wake up in the morning ?

Wee. But I've already been doing that all night because
I have a bladder the size of a peanut. It's OK having to
get up in the middle of the night though, because it
gives me a chance to call people on other countries. My
bladder makes sure I keep in touch with my friends.

What was the first gig you went to ?

Elton John in about 1973. At the time Elton was quite 
controversial in the States - his drugs, his clothes, 
being gay. I got there really early with my girlfriend. She
was 15 and I was 11. We were very mature for our age
though; we had a little lump of hash in our back 
pockets. We snuck ourselves down to the front, we
just pushed our way through, and when he threw his 
water, it fell on me, and I felt like I'd been baptised by
the piano king. Obviously, it hasn't hurt me.

Which song do you wish you had written ?

A Day In The Life, which doesn't sound like it's from this 
planet, or Living For The City by Stevie Wonder, which I 
think changed America.

What is the best advice you've ever received ?

"You can't judge another man until you've walked a 
day in his moccasins". That was from my 
grandfather.

What is your most treasured material possession ?

My two Bosendorfer pianos. One is on this continent
and one is in America. They're hand-made and it 
takes them five years to make each one. Both of mine
have different personalities. The one in the States, 
she's been a battered wife, she was at one of the 
Catholic churches in New York City and they knocked 
the shit out of her. She's been through it, that girl.
She's wary, and you can feel her experiences in her
wood. The one in Europe, I found her when she was a
few months old and took her on the road, and she had
no character, she was boring, but I took her every
night and I moulded her. She's now really flirty and
open.

Who was the last person you slept with ?

My boyfriend. He's a northen boy from Lincolnshire.

When did you last cry and why ?

Watching Tin Pan Alley movie, last week on TV.
That moment when the soldiers are ready to march off
to war, and Betty Grable and Alice Faye are racing to
find this American soldier who was a bombed
songwriter ... when Faye runs to him and tells him that
she'll wait for him, I was bawling my eyes out.

What do you think of Bob Dylan ?

I respect what he's done but I was never a fan. He's 
a poet through and through, but as a musician, he 
has me falling asleep.

What characteristics do you think you've inherited from
your parents ?

My father is Scottish and he's so tight, I hope I'm 
never like he is with money. At the supermarket, he'll
stand there and weight the tomatoes until they're
exactly 53 cents, not 54, and there's a whole line of
people waiting behind him. It's embarrassing. He says, 
It's principle, and I say, It's not, you're tight. I've 
inherited a lot from my mother. She's part Cherokee 
and she's spiritual, spiritual person. She looks
for the good in all life. My father is relentless and
I think I've taken that from him: from the beginning of
Little Earthquakes, I've done 400 shows without a cancel.

What is the biggest myth about fame ?

That it's gonna take aways the pain.

What are you like when you're drunk ?

Really funny, I'm a happy drunk. I don't get 
drunk, I get lightly pissed, like a cat licking 
my milk.

Who would you have play you in a film ?

Shirley MacLaine

Pick five words that describe yourself.

I'll give you five pharses. Butter not margarine. One-
and-a-half E-if you were looking at mee, I would be a
one-and-a-half E trip:I'm not a five E trip, I'm not that
interesting. But I'm one-and-a-half-E, if it's cut godd...
by the Hell's Angels. What else ? Happy fella. Loads of
garlic. Loads of toilet paper.

Do you belive in God ?

Within the Christian/Muslim/Islamic/Jewish/Buddhist/
Hindu structure, there are truths that I belive in. But I
come much more from the Native American
matriarchal thing. I don't belive in God in the way it
works all over the world.

Is there one piece of criticism that sticks in your mind ?

Yes. Another woman called me "a shivering waif in a 
forest" after I'd written Me And A Gun. I found that
interesting coming from another woman. It shows you
women's relationship with women. There's a
misconception that women support other women.
Polly Harvey and I have talked a lot about that - she's
very supportive of me and I'm supportive of her and it's
not competitive. It isn't always like that.

What is your most unpleasant characteristic ?

That I can't let something go. I beat it to fuck. At the
same time, that characteristic has got me out of some
really tight spots. I know when there's something that's
unresolved. I can smell it.

What is your greatest fear ?

I don't think I'm gonna tell that to anybody. I reveal a lot
in my songs; some things I don't have to reveal.

What ambitions do you still have to fulfil ?

Being a mother. I want to have a little being in my life
and I want to learn from them. I think I'm getting to a
place in my life where I wouldn't have to mould my child
for me, but just be a caretaker. Just be there for them.

Are you afraid of failure ?

Of course. Are you kidding ? That's been my worst
hang-up. Some of my contemporaries don't have that
and I'm glad that I do. When I was a kid learning piano,
it wasn't OK that I just played a piece, it had to be at a
certain level because I was supposed to be a concert
pianist by the time I was 11. I'm not blaming anybody,
but it has created some traits in me that aren't
anjoyable for those around me.

What do you never leave home without ?

Lipstick and lipgloss, always always. I was in hospital
recently and I had my lipgloss in the operating theatre.

Who is your best male friend and your best female friend ?

My best female friend is Beenie and she's just the 
best. My best male friend is my boyfriend.


Who would you most like to meet ?

I met the person I really wanted to meet - Jacques
Cousteau. I met him in an elevator and I told him what
he meant to me. He blushed and it was so cute.

What music would you have played at your funeral ?

Happy Phantom from Little Earthquakes. When I die, 
the only sad thing is that I will really miss some of my
friends. But I have a lot of friends somewhere else,
where I'm going, and that'll be groovy too. If I cruise off,
don't mourn, 'cos I'm going somewhere bitchin'.

When you look in the mirror, do you like what you see ?

More than I used to.

Do you have anything to declare ?

My shoe collection. I'm Imelda, but much sexier.