Sunday, Feb. 06, 2005

Q&A Tori Amos

By Rebecca Winters; Tori Amos

Singer-songwriter Tori Amos releases a new album, The Beekeeper, and a memoir, Piece by Piece, this month.

Has motherhood changed your music? It's changed everything. My 4-year-old daughter says things to me that we as adults would think, "Ooh, it's not a good time to tell someone that." Sometimes she'll say, "You look horrible." Before you go out and do a photo shoot, that's not necessarily what you want to hear.

What are you shy about? Giving specifics about my songs. My husband doesn't know what my songs are about--even when they're about him. He's very British in that way. He doesn't ask, and he doesn't want to be told.

You covered a bunch of male artists' songs from a female perspective. Did you ever hear from any of them? Slayer sent T shirts to the crew. They said something completely and totally tasteless, and that's why we love them.

Did Eminem mind your singing as if you were his murdered wife? I don't talk about that. We have the same lawyer.

Does aging in the music industry scare you? In my 30s it did. If you can hang around till you're 41 and not frighten people when you walk in the room, you're O.K.