can we ever get enough of Tori fansites?

first is kali-shey’s http://www.tori-amos.info/. a personal and creative site with her own unique viewpoint (her story) focusing on collections, but also has Tori photos listed by era, some wonderful signature designs by the talented silver, and even an original song remix.

next is the yet to open but already looking fantastic, coolinggirl’s Tori’s Maze. the logo graphic for her coming soon page is intriguing enough and whets the appetite for what should be a great bi-lingual site for both French and English speaking fans. she explains the concept on her blog http://cecile-desbrun.over-blog.com/article-tori-s-maze-preview-n-1-80371101.html.

definitely both worth a look and to keep a future eye on especially in the lead up to Tori’s new 2011 album Night Of Hunters.

we have loads of new features and hope to see everyone visit soon.

guests please don’t be shy – we’re a very friendly bunch and would love to chat about Tori with you

cheers FTW admin team.

Update 27/02/2011

Due to unforseen events the Forum will remain closed longer. we profusely apologise for the delay and really hope to be up and running soon.

EWF Submission by Lisa Ridlon

Kara Lines combines a passion for photography, design and Tori Amos in a new coffee book project that unites together fellow EWF’s through their photos. Feel The Word co-founder Tracey Beck catches up with Kara about what inspired the project and how fans can get involved.

On the release of a limited edition TORI lomography camera back in December 2010 and inspired by her own previous works, Kara Lines  an accomplished Graphic Designer from London and a Tori Amos fan herself since 1998, saw the potential to use her fine art skills to good use with the help of EWF’s on a global scale.

Kara’s design initiative “An EWF Photography Book Project” is a physical book of photograph submissions by people who have a love of Tori Amos in common, showing original photos of their personal lives and interests. The finished book will be made available online to the public and a copy given to Tori herself, with proceeds given to the charities RAINN and NSPCC.

It is a beautifully simple concept, bringing together an original idea of Kara’s plus an outlet for EWF’s to share either digital photos or ones taken with their TORI lomography camera’s. “The EWF book came about now because of the release of the Lomo camera with several fans saying they’d like to share their Lomo photos”.

“My main goal with this project is to produce a book which is full of really eclectic, beautifully photographed points of view from across the world. I find it interesting how we all come together on tour, united by a common interest, but then go back to leading very different lives. I want the book to celebrate that and be an opportunity to share a ‘frame’ from our lives.”

"Bequeathed" by Kara Lines

The concept of using art to convey greater social meaning was one Kara explored in depth when she was Masters Of Art (M.A) student in Graphic Design at The London College Of Communication, “I took ‘insignificant’ objects which held great personal value to their owners and explored how photography and design  could help us to connect with them. My final piece of work was a large handmade book called ‘Bequeathed’ which told the stories of eight objects handed down from parent to child.”

With the EWF Photography Book Project Kara wanted to continue this idea and create a photography book for Tori Amos fans that celebrates their individuality beyond the concerts and meetups. Kara says she is interested in passing on memories to the next generation that have more personal or accessible meaning.

“The EWF Photography book project is one of a few projects I had been thinking about after my MA. I wanted to continue using the form of a book to bring together unheard stories. People are so concerned with celebrity and documenting celebrity but I think it is real people and real lives that we should be documenting for the future.”

Kara’s previous experience of exploring narrative via photography and merging it into a book, will help in the sequencing of submitted photographs for the as yet untitled EWF project, all part of the design process.

“The size, design and title of the book will be completely driven by the content. Once all the submissions have been received I’ll begin the long process of storyboarding the photos, my role as a designer is to put them together in such a way that the photographs start to form relationships with each other which will allow us to read them in different ways. People have asked whether the book will include text, what the title is, but the photos come first, and I think everything else will fall into place around them.”

EWF Submissions by Farakh Masood & Reggie Doherty

For those not yet involved in the EWF Photography Project, never fear there is still time and the process is very simple. Facebook members can join Kara’s Facebook group, or send three photos via her website Collected Objects.

Kara’s “partner in crime” Rachel King, has been instrumental in helping with promotion and organisation. The pair are also making the project an interactive experience, encouraging group participation via Facebook, which has also included a ‘Treasure Hunt’ of clues and a Photography Event to gather like minded EWF’s together in York, England for a weekend of serious happy snapping.

Submissions for the EWF Photography Book will be taken until the 1st of May 2011. Prospective entrants can also view a current digital gallery of submissions at the Collected Objects website; Gallery 1. Kara says she has no publishing deadline in place as yet, though is expected by the UK Summer.

“I think we’re all enjoying sharing our work at the moment and many are just receiving the Lomo cameras now. The deadline should still give us time to do that and hopefully we’ll get some Summer gigs with the book ready to give to Tori.”

Kara is a self confessed workaholic, not to mention a long term Tori fan who counts iieee and Blood Roses as her favourite songs. Between her normal design business and this undertaking, (where she is brushing up on her own photography skills), Kara is also working with a charitable organisation called Finding your Feet which, “gives opportunities to graduate designers as well as a community arts project which isn’t dissimilar in scope from the EWF project.”

EWF Lomo Submission by Brian Fung

Kara’s passion for charity work extends to her hope that the proceeds from the EWF Photography Book will raise a lot for the chosen charities RAINN (Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network) and NSPCC (National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children), with all of the profits being split equally between them.

Kara doesn’t look like she is slowing down anytime soon and the quality of her previous work and her dedication show enormous promise for the standard of The EWF Photography Book Project.

It seems that this book will one day make its way onto many coffee tables as a small yet touching keepsake of not only the Tori Amos community but beyond, and a worthwhile conversation piece from an up and coming designer.

credits:
Kara Lines
Farakh Masood, Reggie Doherty, Lisa Ridlon, Brian Fung for their images
and thanks to my editor Sam for the title

.

A Press Association release suggests the play will release under a different title to the working one, and the play is ‘suggested’ by the original story. If you would like to read the original story here you go! In brief its about a princess cursed to have no gravity – literally.

A sneak peak of Tori’s work for the play, collaborated with playwright Samuel Adamson and directed by Marianne Elliott, has been previously released on her seasonal album ‘Midwinter Graces’. This featured an edit of the track “Winters Carol” which you can hear via the ever present youtube .

At this stage an exact premiere date or season duration is unknown. Tori is hopeful* the production will proceed onto Broadway after a successful London launch.

*sources

Attitude

“Is it going to be staged in London?
Well, yeah the idea is that it’ll go over to Broadway. The British National Theatre develops things that then go onto Broadway. And I think maybe because I’m an American, they thought maybe Broadway will at least kind of know who she is? And not just say: “Oh God what is she trying to do?”

Independent UK Interview

“The National Theatre [with whom she's in talks] has been more open-minded than anyone I could have worked with on Broadway, but everything has to be approved by committee, and I have to tell you that not everyone is aboard my Bösendorfer rocket-ship. They can pull out and this musical may never be staged, but I don’t want to be writing for a fuddy-duddy audience.”

what tops the set off is a previously unreleased autographed double live CD set “From Russia With Love” and rounded off with a unique 1 of 5 photograph of Tori taken in Moscow using a lomographic camera. each set is numbered and nicely boxed featuring Tori signatures and China lyrics, and only 2000 of these have been made. it retails at the refreshed new look Tori Store only,  for US$185 plus postage.

at this stage the CD set is not available for seperate release, which is causing some costernation among Tori fans as obviously there are not enough camera sets to go around, and most people can’t afford $200 for a cd set. i recently contacted the Tori Store asking them of a seperate release and received this reply.

It has been discussed but not confirmed.   Most likely if the camera sells out quickly they will put it up for sale on its own but again we have no time frame or idea of when that will be.

perhaps if all else fails, some bombardment of emails to the store by fans might work to release the cd set.

as a bonus Tori, via her official facebook page, has released two tracks from the cd for listening and download. you can hear Yes, Anastacia if you share the link on and can download Josephine by submitting your address for email subscription. if you’re already subscribed just use the same email addy again.

Update: Another email is circulating re the Live Moscow download. you can now get both songs from Facebook when submitting your email address, and if you wander over to Tori’s Myspace page you can listen to Silent All These Years.

As you can see if you surf around, there is a lot of work happening around the site -

- The tour section is completely up to date, featuring all set lists and gorgeous pictures!

- Abnormally Attracted To Sin album page is complete

- Midwinter Graces and American Doll Posse album pages are nearing the end stage of completion

- Tour book section is under construction

- Interviews section is under construction

- Images section is under construction

- Downloads section is under construction

Forum news

- Lots of mp3 and video downloads, reviews, set lists, pics and more from Tori’s summer tour (including the silver rain broadcast of Tori’s first and only concert in Russia, and gorgeous HD videos of her show in Paris)

- lots of chatter and speculation about her performance with The Metropole Orchestra in Amsterdam next month

- and even more chatter and speculation about her next project (highly interesting stuff!)

- Lip Sync Contest 2.0 is in effect!! The last one was so much fun, we just had to do it again. Check out all the info HERE

We’ve been very busy bees!

Ann Powers (whom we all know from Piece by Piece), blogging for the LA Times music blog Pop & Hiss, weighed in on her favorite provocative nude moments in pop music. Tori’s Virgin and Piglet image from the Boys For Pele album booklet made her list (no shock there, really!). Ann writes:

Tori Amos, piglet suckling photograph, “Boys for Pele”: My partner in writing the book “Piece by Piece” has always been a daring and honest adventurer at the borders of sex and the psyche, so it was no surprise that she went where few had gone before, posing for a photograph by Cindy Palmano of her breast-feeding a young pig. Talk about raising questions about what it means to be a “natural woman.”

Check out the rest of her blog entry HERE. You can also follow Ann on twitter.

Check out the FORUM for more pics and get in on the discussion!