When you hear artists, writers, and creatives talking about finding their own authentic voice, it’s natural to imagine that for most, this involves a SHEROES journey of sorts. whether over years or decades, accumulating knowledge and experience, and connecting to the part of you that can be expressive in a way that is true to who you are. For Tori Amos, we’ll learn how being born with a gift for telling others stories at the piano brought her to a crossroads where in order to forge her path into the future, she had to reconnect with her childhood beginnings. The result would quickly light the spark which ignited a trailblazing career.

Tori was a classically trained child prodigy who started playing piano at age 2, and by age 5 became the youngest person ever admitted into the Peabody Institute in Baltimore, where she went on full scholarship. As the daughter of a minister, popular music was frowned upon but its influence found its way to Tori’s ears, becoming her passion, and by age 11 she was expelled from the conservatory.

In this episode of Mixtape Memoir, we’ll follow Tori from the conservatory to playing gigs at piano bars in DC as a teenager, then across the country to Los Angeles. This was where her career as a songwriter and musician in her early 20’s began with her first record deal with Atlantic Records, and her 1988 synth pop debut called Y Kan’t Tori Read recorded with a band by the same name. And we'll hear how its failure would lead to writing and recording what is now considered to be one of the most important and greatest albums of all time - Tori’s solo debut, Little Earthquakes.

In a career that now spans over three decades, Tori Amos has always been an outspoken feminist and advocate for women’s equality in music, and her activism on behalf of fellow survivors helped to establish RAINN - the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network. Now with eight Grammy nominations, and three BRIT Award nominations to her name, Tori has continued to expand her creative outlets to a musical, and two memoirs - including the 2020 book Resistance. Her incredible sixteenth studio album, Ocean To Ocean was just released in the Fall of 2021, and as we kick off a year that marks the 30th anniversary of that now-legendary, double platinum solo debut Little Earthquakes, we welcomed Tori Amos to share her story and create her Mixtape Memoir.

Credits:

Host/creator/creative director - Carmel Holt @carmelholt @sheroesmixtape @sheroesradio
Engineer/Mixing/Mastering - Phoebe Wang @feebswang 
Theme music - Lucius @ilovelucius
Cover art - Merle Cooper @m.c.cooper
Art direction - @carmelholt 
Guest: Tori Amos / @toriamos
Label: Decca / @deccarecords