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No’Tori’ous debut

’88 Amos vehicle gets long overdue re-release

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Tori Amos, lgbt, gay news, Washington Blade

Long out of print, Tori Amos’ 1988 debut album with the band Y Kant Tori Read has been remastered and digitally re-released. (Photo courtesy Atlantic)

Most casual fans and writers refer to Tori Amos’ classic 1992 release “Little Earthquakes” as her debut album, but that’s not technically correct.

Four years earlier on Atlantic Records, the young piano prodigy was the focus of a band called Y Kant Tori Read, featuring drummer Matt Sorum (the Cult, Guns N’ Roses), guitarist Steve Caton (who would continue working with Amos until their acrimonious romantic breakup following 1994’s “Under the Pink”) and bassist Brad Cobb. The band’s 1988 self-titled debut was a spectacular flop, although in hindsight it’s one of those rare cases when an album’s failure is the best thing that could have happened. Had “Y Kant Tori Read” been successful, then “Little Earthquakes” and the rest of Tori Amos’ three-decade-and-counting career likely would never have happened.

“Y Kant Tori Read” is an oddity in that despite Tori Amos’ status as a major singer-songwriter with a long string of successful and acclaimed albums to her credit, her debut has remained out of print since shortly after its commercial failure. Billboard Magazine famously dubbed the album “bimbo music” in a contemporaneous review and Amos has made it clear she doesn’t quibble with that assessment. Often referred to as “hair metal,” the album is actually more middle of the road, new wave-influenced pop/rock with a bit of an edge. The hair, fashions and production trappings are very much of the ‘80s, and not in a good way. Every imaginable cheesy cliche to emerge from that most garish of musical decades is represented.

Amos has been famously dismissive of the album over the years, yet many die-hard fans have been willing to plunk down serious coin for original CD or vinyl copies. With its 30th anniversary approaching, “Y Kant Tori Read” has finally been made available for fans in remastered form, albeit in digital only. The release was made with no announcement or warning, surprising fans already stoked for “Native Invader,” her new studio album due out today (Friday, Sept. 8).

The sound improvement is significant and although many will view it as merely a novelty, there are plenty of strong hints of the monumental talent that Tori Amos would harness more adeptly on “Little Earthquakes” and other future classics. Although she’s refused to reissue the album until now, Amos has performed several tracks from “Y Kant Tori Read” in concert over the years and she surprisingly added several previously untouched tracks from the era to her set on her last major tour in support of her stellar 2014 album “Unrepentant Geraldines.”

“The Big Picture” was the lead single and it’s a boisterous synth-rocker much in the vein of something you might hear from an ‘80s movie soundtrack. The video is particularly cringeworthy, or amusing, depending on your point of view. Much better is the second single, “Cool On Your Island,” which shows Amos’ burgeoning gifts as a melodist and vocalist of the highest degree, even if the lyrics are a bit shallow compared to her future works.

It’s the song from the album that she’s performed most frequently over the years, in a stunning solo rendition that gets to the core of song’s true beauty and heart. “Fire On The Side” is a searing power ballad, while the lovely “Floating City” foreshadows the more esoteric imagery Amos would employ as she honed her skills as a songwriter. The suite-like “Etienne” closes the album with an elaborate romantic fantasy that works thanks to the conviction in Amos’ voice.

There are indeed several tracks that justifies Amos’ long-held disdain for the project. Particularly vapid are “Fayth” (featuring half-spoken vocals that sound like an ill-advised attempt at rapping the verses), “Pirates” and the manic “Heart Attack at 23.”

Yeah, the production is overblown and dated and Amos had yet to find her direction as an artist, but if nothing else “Y Kant Tori Read” is a fascinating listen that offers more casual fans who might not have heard it a deeper insight into the progression of one of the most important singer-songwriters of our generation.

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Music & Concerts

Here’s everything queer that just happened at the 67th Grammy Awards

LGBTQ megastars among winners, performers

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Screen grabs from Entertainment Weekly/Youtube

The 67th Grammy Awards featured debut performances by LGBTQ megastars Chappell Roan, Sabrina Carpenter, and Doechii — all of whom also won awards at Sunday’s awards ceremony, making the gay sons and thot daughters of the queer and trans world rejoice. 

Though Roan was the only queer artist to take home one of the “Big Four” awards — Best New Artist, Doechii, Carpenter, Charlie XCX, Billie Eilish, and Lady Gaga were also all nominated for one or more of the “Big Four.”

Carpenter, Roan, and Doechii also shocked audiences with their debut performances, showing us what it really means to be out and loud. 


Doechii

The self-proclaimed swamp princess from Florida took home a well-deserved win for Best Rap Album (“Alligator Bites Never Heal”). 

She stunned audiences with her performance and her speech, dedicating her win to Black women everywhere. Only two other women have won the award — Lauryn Hill and Cardi B since the category was introduced in 1989. 

“I know there are so many Black women out there that are watching me right now and I want to tell you: You can do it. Anything is possible,” said Doechii during her acceptance speech.  

Chappell Roan

Roan won the Best New Artist award, prompting her to whip out her notebook and deliver a speech about her struggles with the healthcare industry after getting dropped by her first record label radicalized her. 

On the carpet, she served looks on the red carpet while delivering Jean Paul Gaultier vintage realness and thanking the trans girlies who made her who she is today. 

“Trans people have always existed and they will forever exist. They will never, no matter what happens, take trans joy away and [they] have to be protected more than anything because I would not be here without trans girls,” said Roan on the red carpet. 

She also served during her debut Grammys performance, turning Crypto.com Arena into the Pink Pony Club while dedicating the performance to Los Angeles — the city that embraced her when she wanted to break into the industry. She used her acceptance speech as her opportunity to shine a light on her journey toward becoming the icon she is today — and to no one’s surprise, it didn’t come easy to her. 

Roan opened up about her struggles with healthcare and being dropped as an artist in L.A., leaving her without health coverage and scrambling for solutions. Seems like the healthcare system has radicalized yet another one. 

St. Vincent 

St. Vincent revealed that she has a wife and daughter during her acceptance speeches, thanking them after winning three Grammys for Best Alternative Music Album (“All Born Screaming”), Best Alternative Music Performance (“Flea”), and Best Rock Song (“Broken Man”). 

During her red carpet interview, reporters asked Clark about the shocking news about her mentioning her wife and daughter, she responded “Most people were [unaware]. It’s young, so we’ve kept it under wraps.” The reporter then continued his line of questioning, meanwhile intrusive thoughts quickly got ahold of Clark, prompting her to interrupt the reporter to clarify that she meant the child is young, not the person in the relationship she’s in. 

Girl, you’re good.

Sabrina Carpenter 

Though Carpenter didn’t win any of the “Big Four” categories, she did win Best Pop Vocal Album for (“Short n’ Sweet”) and Best Pop Solo Performance for (“Espresso”).

According to E!, Carpenter’s acceptance speech was apparently censored, cutting her off after she said: “Thank you, holy sh*t, bye!”

The pop star was nominated for Record of the Year (“Espresso”), Song of the Year (“Please, Please, Please”), Best New Artist, Best Pop Vocal Album (“Short n’ Sweet”), Album of the Year (“Short n’ Sweet”), Best Remixed Recording (“Espresso – Mark Ronson x FNZ Working Late Remix”), Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical (“Short n’ Sweet”) — all within her first year as a record-releasing musician. 

Charli XCX

Charlie XCX truly brought the brat energy to the Grammys with her performance of (“Van Dutch”), also taking home the wins for Best Dance/Pop Recording for (“Van Dutch”) and Best Dance/Electronic Album for (“Brat”). 

Lady Gaga 

Best Pop Duo/Group Performance went to Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars. Gaga used her acceptance speech to advocate for trans people stating that we all need love and to be uplifted.

“Trans people are not invisible. Trans people deserve love. The queer community deserves to be lifted up. Music is love. Thank you,” said Gaga.

No, thank you mother. 

Last, but not least

It is also worth noting that our tried and true ally, Alicia Keys used her moment on the Grammys stage to advocate for the restoration of DEI initiatives. 

“This is not the time to shut down the diversity of voices,” said Keys. “We’ve seen on this stage talented, hard-working people from different backgrounds, with different points of view, and it changes the game. DEI is not a threat, it’s a gift — and the more voices, the more powerful the sound.”

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Music & Concerts

Gay Men’s Chorus starting the year with a cabaret

‘Postcards’ to be performed at CAMP Rehoboth

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The Gay Men's Chorus of Washington performs 'Postcards' in Rehoboth Beach, Del. on Jan. 18. (Photos courtesy of the Gay Men's Chorus of Washington)

The Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington will perform “Postcards,” a cabaret, on Saturday, Jan. 18 at 5:00p.m. and 8:00p.m. at CAMP Rehoboth Elkins-Archibald Atrium. 

In this performance, the choir will share hilarious and heart-warming stories and songs about the travel adventures they’ve had and hope to have. Songs include “Midnight Train to Georgia,” “Streets of Dublin,” “Magic To Do,” “Home,” and “I Left My Heart in San Francisco.” Tickets cost $35 and can be purchased on Camp Rehoboth’s website.

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Music & Concerts

WMC’s ‘Comfort and Joy’ fuses drama, well-being, light

Soloist describes production as ‘reverent and beautiful’

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Opal Clyburn-Miller (Photo courtesy Clyburn-Miller)

‘Comfort and Joy’
Washington Master Chorale
Sunday, Dec. 22, 5 p.m.
Church of the Epiphany
1317 G St., N.W.
washingtonmasterchorale.org

With its warmth and unfettered imagination, it’s no surprise that the Washington Master Chorale’s enduringly popular winter program remains a holiday favorite. 

This December the Washington Master Chorale (WMC), helmed by out artistic director Thomas Colohan presents “Comfort and Joy” a selection of British and American works like “Lute-Book Lullaby,” “I Saw Three Ships,” “Puer Natus” by Samuel Scheidt and “Hosanna to the Son of David” by Orlando Gibbons. 

In addition to these Christmas classics, WMC will perform 2022 Florence Price Commission Winner Mason Bynes’s “Ephiphanytide” and Ēriks Ešenvalds’ “Northern Lights,” the firsthand accounts of arctic explorers Charles Francis Hall and Fridtjof Nansen and their experiences surrounding the fabled aurora borealis.

Described as “reverent and beautiful” by “Northern Lights” tenor soloist Opal Clyburn-Miller, “Comfort and Joy” fuses drama and well-being, and the import of light. 

And as an artist who uses they/them pronouns, Clyburn-Miller says where classical music is concerned, “it seems people are put in their boxes and that’s where they stay.” They add, “there’s been some progress. It’s pretty much a traditional art form.” 

With regard to their career, Clyburn-Miller, the Baltimore based Peabody Conservatory student, says the work usually comes through word of mouth: “You show up, you’re a good colleague and people want to work with you again.”

The solo piece, according to Colohan, is perfect for Clyburn-Miller. The soloist says in response: “Maybe I have the imagination to think of what Northern Lights might look like in Eastern Europe. I’ve never been that far north but I can put myself in that sense of wonder and astonishment.”

But the gig hasn’t been entirely without its tests. The lyrics are in Latvian, a new language for the meticulous singer.

“It’s been a bit tricky getting the Latvian down,” they say. “Usually in my singing experience, it’s been German, Italian and French, and I’m familiar with Spanish and some Hungarian and Russian, but this is entirely new.”

A perfect chorale venue requires easy parking; good acoustics; a concert level Steinway, and an excellent organ; a sanctuary wide enough to accommodate a 50-person chorale; and audience friendly loos, says Colohan. 

The Church of Epiphany meets most if not all of these requirements.  

Raised Catholic in Richmond, Colohan came out at Ohio’s progressive Oberlin Conservatory. Around this time, he remembers visiting Washington for a music educator’s conference and partying at JR.’s, Badlands, and other bars. He says, “I saw that D.C. had a huge population of clean-cut gay boys. That journey which started with me being gay, prompted me to ask questions.” 

As WMC artistic director since 2009, Colohan, who lives with his partner in Silver Spring, became increasingly interested in secular poetry and literature, especially the ways in which it intersects with chorale music. For him, that became the heart of the art form. 

“My secular approach is wider than some. I’m like the curator of the museum going down to the basement to bring some stuff up. You cannot hear the music if we don’t sing it.”

He’s remained conservative as an aesthetic but not an ethos. “I can wear a blazer and not be crazy right wing. Spiritually speaking, I’m Zen Buddhist now.”

A lot of the concert is about darkness and light. Colohan says, “In ancient times when the world became darker, the days leading to the solstice were scary and then on the 22nd they saw that days were getting longer and it was lighter.”

“Comfort and Joy” closes with a candle lit chorale memorably singing “Silent Night.”  

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