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Interview: Tori Amos
Tori Amos has long examined sacred tenets that dictate sin and salvation. The native North Carolinian’s new ‘Abnormally Attracted to Sin,’ which she debuted at this year’s South by Southwest, frequently applies those doctrines on a search for political deliverance. ‘We can’t expect that the government will help us,’ Amos says. ‘In order to become a responsible person, you have to begin your quest for consciousness.’ The 45-year-old supports the multifaceted collection tonight at the Long Center.
American-Statesman: Your first South by Southwest appearance was a big event.
Tori Amos: That night felt like a love-in. There were all these bodies jam-packed together, but it wasn’t violent. It was buzzing. It felt like ecstasy, really, like the energy in the room was positive, loving, open and creative, not destructive and violent.
What was your overall impression of the festival?
I liked the diversity. You had a whole town pretty much a part of it. In Europe, the festivals are well done, yet it’s away from the town. I loved that the whole city of Austin becomes a part of it.
You’ve called the new album ‘really handmade.’ Explain how it came together.
Being out on the road a long time, working with those characters, I began to open up to them, I think. I would like to say I evolved. They influenced me by pushing me to not stay in the same image, physically or visually or philosophically. I began to embrace how these characters were thinking. I don’t need to put my rubber tights on to step into Pip anymore.
Talk about where you found the title track.
I was watching ‘Guys and Dolls,’ and I put it on pause when I heard that (phrase). I turned left and didn’t go back (laughs). The record isn’t about that movie, but that phrase has such possibility if you really allow yourself to open up to it.
Of course, you often address spirituality. Do you agree with songwriters who view songwriting itself as spiritual?
I agree with them. I would like them. I’m probably not very interested in the work of songwriters who don’t think of it as a spiritual experience. I think there are ‘jobbing songwriters’ who try to get people to think of a product or whatever. I don’t know if you even call that songwriting. It’s not composing, I don’t think.
Has your own spirituality evolved as an adult?
Well. I think that traveling - I’ve been touring since 1991 - has really changed me. And I’ve studied mythologies of other cultures since I was very young. Because my father was a minister, I was desperately starving for knowledge of other belief systems. I couldn’t accept that what I was being given was all that has existed. The Native American tradition has been core. Now in my mid-40s, I’d say I try to walk the good red road path.
How does that play into your idea that we’re controlled by the threat of despair?
Well, if you have masses of people who are in despair, they’re not very powerful, are they? You don’t have to be threatened by them. This is about how governments control the masses. They alone can’t change the system - we as the masses have to choose to enlighten ourselves. We need to become aware and responsible for ourselves.
Tori Amos performs at 8 p.m. Saturday at the Long Center. Advance tickets are $49.50-$85. 457-5110; thelongcenter.com.
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