And here's my report from the second time I met Tori at the KITS radio studios. -Greg On the Tuesday morning of August 30, Tori Amos was once again a guest on the Alex Bennett radio show. This is a morning talk show on the radio station KITS 105.3FM in San Francisco, California. The show features a variety of guests and they allow a small audience to sit in the broadcast studio. Readers may recall my report of the events that transpired when Tori was the guest on this very radio show back in February. Once again my kitten and I were dozing on my bed when the alarm sounded at 3:15am. I immediately leapt out of bed and shut it off. Sitting on the edge of my bed, I rubbed my eyes and questioned my own sanity as my kitten rolled over and went back to sleep. Off in my car, I made stops on both sides of the bay as I picked up some friends. We arrived at the radio station at 5:30am and settled down to wait until the doors opened at 6am. As soon as we arrived a crowd of tori fans began to line up. At 6am they let the crowd into the building. There were 18 chairs directly in the broadcast area, with an additional 10 or so in the adjoining room. My companions and I immediately took the three seats closest to where Tori would be sitting. It was just after 8am when a portable keyboard was brought through. Then a mic stand, cables, and all the necessary gear. The technicians set up right in front of our chairs! A short while later Tori strolled into the room, her ever-present Evian bottle in hand. "Hi guys", she said with a big smile and took her seat behind the keyboard. Alex introduced Tori and announced her upcoming shows. Commenting on the number of concerts she would be doing in the area (6 shows), Alex asked Tori if she felt like she had "made it". Tori replied with a few gripes about members of the music press. Alex opined that perhaps they were just jealous of success. Tori felt that music writers were all frustrated because they'd rather be doing their own work such as a novel. She did, however, say that she had done several interviews that would be appearing over the next few months. Alex then asked her to do a song and she replied that she'd do something in a lower register since she was barely awake. With that explanation Tori then proceeded to do "Honey". Wow, she was amazing! Despite the portable keyboard and early hour, Tori still made the song sound very "dark" and yet quite personal. She was obviously enjoying herself, smiling and playing to the studio audience. A hearty round of applause and then the show went into a commercial. When the program resumed Tori mentioned that she records at different hours of the day, because of how her voice sounds at that particular time. For example, she recorded "Strange Fruit" (from the "Cornflake Girl" LtdEd) at 5:30 in the morning because she needed her voice to sound a particular deep way. Being that her concerts are at night, Tori knows that some songs just "won't happen". Alex then asked her to do another song and she said she'd play a Stevie Nicks song that she plays when she's sad and it makes her feel better. With that Tori did a beautiful performance of "Landslide". This time Tori was very personal and intimate and obviously playing for herself, with her eyes closed. The song was just stunning and really hit the audience on an emotional level. That was the end of Tori's segment and she then went out in the lobby. My companions and I immediately followed Tori out into the lobby. I had brought Tori a present - a book of "Dilbert" comic strips that I think are hilarious. I gave them to her with an inscription in the book and told Tori that I hoped she enjoyed them. She said thank you, she could use them now. Tori then gave me a hug and we posed for pictures together. She also autographed the covers of my LE and UTP CD booklets. She was very friendly as other fans came forward for autographs and pictures. However, one of her "people" was starting to pressure her to leave and so she departed from the building. It was a exciting and fun morning.