What is My Connection to Tori Amos??

(Picture credits go to http://everythingtori.com/go/galleries/)

I promise you there is a connection between Tori Amos and me but you’ll have to be a little patient to find out what it is. :) So please keep reading…

I’ve decided you’ve probably heard enough “emergency room” talk in my last post (I know I have!) and you may be ready for a more uplifting/fun post! Hopefully this will fit the bill. Here goes!

Let me start by saying one reason writing this post is FUN for me is that Tori Amos’ music has gotten me through some very difficult and challenging times in my life… including lifting my spirits when my endometriosis was displaying particularly fierce symptoms.

Believe it or not, a big factor in how I stayed away from the emergency room trip this weekend was by playing Tori Amos CDs (!) while I was doing deep breathing exercises, meditating, lying very still, etc. I was able to lower my blood pressure, in part, because I find Tori’s music so therapeutic!

So I’m writing about my all-time favorite musical artist: Tori Amos. I once read she had been voted by Rolling Stone magazine as the # 5 Live Performer of All Time!! Yet -- you very, very rarely hear her on the radio. In fact, many of you have never heard of her. (She doesn’t worry about chart sales; her passion is the music, the sound, the lyrics… She does not let others dictate to her. She follows her own path). She is a very successful singer-songwriter, producer, recording artist, pianist, live performer… with a rabid “cult following”. She is NOT a “cookie cutter” recording artist. She is unique.

She has sold 12+ million records worldwide as of 2005, as per Wikipedia which was quoting the following press release for the autobiography Tori Amos co-wrote with Ann Powers: http://everythingtori.com/go/book/.

OK, I’ve kept you in suspense long enough. I have to tie Tori together with this blog so that you won’t wonder why I’m writing about Tori Amos on my endo blog, right?

I read Tori’s autobiography several years ago (see below):

“Tori Amos Piece by Piece. A Portrait of the Artist: Her thoughts. Her Conversations”, I was stunned to discover from her book that Tori Amos has endometriosis!

Now you may be wondering why that’s a big deal, right? It’s not like endometriosis is exactly uncommon. Well, it's just that I have seen or heard SO many print, Internet, and TV interviews of Tori (basically anything I heard about that was Tori-related… I tuned in for!) and I had never known that she has endometriosis until I read this book. So I was just amazed at this piece of information. Tori mentioned endometriosis just in passing in the book. (In it, she did discuss her difficult experiences with multiple miscarriages). I believe she had three of them. (She was diagnosed with a protein deficiency that her miscarriages were attributed to).

She also co-founded RAINN ranked in America’s 100 Best Charities by Worth Magazine in 1994, as per this Wikipedia entry: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RAINN. Also here is Tori’s RAINN Public Service Announcement:



Yes, I really met Tori Amos! Look (below) at the pictures that were taken with my camera.

My friend took this shot of me with Tori Amos minutes before the concert:

Yes. I was this close to Tori Amos! :) I took this shot:

I’ve seen Tori live 4 times. The last time I saw her, my friend and I had special tickets. Ironically, my friend who went to that "special ticket" concert with me (the night we actually MET Tori) ALSO has endometriosis.

We had 3rd row seats (!!!) and we got to meet Tori before the concert, get a photo taken with her, get an autograph, listen to part of the sound check before the show, etc. It was one of those nights you never forget. :)

I find Tori completely musically brilliant, fascinating, complex, brilliantly intelligent, courageous, strong, outspoken, not afraid of what people think, controversial, a person who follows her instincts, and finally just a sensitive, caring, sincere person who tries to do her part to make the world a better place. As I said, I have had the honor and pleasure of meeting her in person at a concert because my friend and I had special tickets that were equivalent to “backstage passes”.

For info on Tori, see the Wikipedia entry for her: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tori_Amos.

My passion for Tori Amos’ music all started when I got my hands on “Little Earthquakes” in 1992. That CD was all it took for me to be hooked for life.

Per her Wikipedia entry (see link above), here are some of the awards she has been nominated for:

Grammy Awards

1995 — Best Alternative Music Album (for Under The Pink, nomination).
1997 — Best Alternative Music Album (for Boys For Pele, nomination).
1999 — Best Alternative Music Album (for From the Choirgirl Hotel, nomination).
1999 — Female Rock Vocal Performance (for "Raspberry Swirl", nomination).
2000 — Best Alternative Music Album (for To Venus and Back, nomination).
2000 — Female Rock Vocal Performance (for "Bliss", nomination).
2002 — Best Alternative Music Album (for Strange Little Girls, nomination).
2002 — Female Rock Vocal Performance (for "Strange Little Girl", nomination).
2004 — Best Boxed or Special Limited Edition Packaging (for Scarlet's Walk, nomination).

So one of my connections to Tori Amos (the one that motivated me to write this article) is that we both have endometriosis. However, I also feel connected to Tori because I love her music so much! It has lifted me up, kept me sane, and given me hope. I feel connected to her because she gives me strength and hope! Her music calms me down when little else can. I feel connected to her in many ways. I believe she has a very special gift.

This article was posted by Jeanne via "Jeanne's Endo Blog" at www.endendoat.blogspot.com.