Why is daryl crying with salad

I was naive. Fans would follow Tori around the world to listen to her play completely different setlists at each show.

I begged my parents to take me and my twin sister who had also become a devout fan even though it was on a school night. They agreed and we went. After that night of seeing her play live, I was so overwhelmed with joy, I was hooked. And I needed more. But why was I so obsessed? What was happening? Let me paint the picture. At this point in my life, I was A young gay boy, in the closet, growing up in Mississippi.

I was clearly way more feminine than all the other boys at school which was brought to my attention constantly. Growing up as Catholic and being surrounded by a large Christian community, I was also continually reminded that it was a sin to be a homosexual and that I was probably going to hell. All of this in combination with going through puberty was tough. I was trying to figure out how to be, well, me. The crowd was mixed with all different types of people, including more gay men and lesbians than I had ever seen before!

The whole crowd was just as passionate about Tori as I was. I was beside myself. Ultimately, Tori taught me that it was ok to be myself. She helped me to stop worrying about what other people thought about me. Tori debunked the idea that I was a sinner in the eyes of Catholicism and Christianity.

She was the example of self-expression that I needed to see at that time in my life. I was completely and utterly captivated. After that show, I finished my 9th-grade year in my hometown of Mississippi and I started attending a co-ed boarding school in North Georgia, which had dorm students in addition to day students that lived in the area. I was excited to get out of my small town, start a new life, and be more independent from my parents.

I quickly befriended a group of girls and spent most of my time with them. We drove all around, smoked cigarettes, and listened to Tori, blasting her music as loud as we could. During this time, I befriended someone by the name of Alex. We became best friends and connected over our love for Tori. Looking over the tour dates, my heart was broken because she was playing in Atlanta about an hour away on a school night.

There was no way I could get approval to go- I was 15 and had no car. I studied all of the tour dates that were on the weekends and found the closest one to Rome, GA. It was in Kansas City, Missouri. This was a hour drive away. So I asked my friend Alex if she would drive us and she was in. We were going to see Tori. And maybe even meet her. Now the logistics were tricky. We also had school on Friday and I had to be back at the dorms on Sunday night at pm. That meant we had to drive straight there, find a place to crash, get up early, and try to find the line for the meet and greet.

And then, of course, go to the show! The next day, we had to drive straight back to Georgia. Everything had to be done in one clean sweep without anyone finding out, especially my parents and boarding school. It was risky business but we were determined. So we drove all the way there, listening to Tori the whole time. In the middle of the night, we found a cheap motel that let us get a room and got only a few hours of sleep. Early the next morning, we left and went to the venue to try and find the meet and greet, which we did.

After waiting in line all day, I finally met Tori for the first time see the picture above. When it came to be my turn, she opened up her arms and gave me a hug.

For my 16th birthday, my parents wanted to take me and my twin sister to New York City: for the first time ever! This was a big deal to me and I was very excited. To my surprise, Tori was not only playing in NYC when we were going to be there. I had some money saved up from when I was a lifeguard in the summer and I scoured eBay for the best tickets I could find.

I ended up scoring pit tickets, literally right in front of the stage. After arriving in New York, for our birthday my parents had planned a whole bunch of touristy things for us to do. So what did I do? I hailed a taxi cab right in front of my family and jumped in. Was this rude and disrespectful to my parents? I apologized after the fact. But if you thought I was going to miss an opportunity of seeing Tori Amos in person on my 16th birthday in New York City- you would be mistaken.

Later that day I did meet her and got another hug. As I finished high-school and went to college, I continued to always listen to Tori. During this time, my love affair with music continued to grow and expand.

I started exploring other artists and all types of music and even became obsessed with new musicians. But none of these live shows were quite like Tori.

And none of these amazing relationships with new musicians have or ever will be as intense as it is with Tori. This snapshot above was taken in June of before I even started Mississippi Vegan! As you can see, I always keep Tori around as a reminder to be myself and to be fierce about it. Here we have another framed piece I have hanging in my office. This is my favorite image of Tori. It is a single from Boys For Pele which happens to be my favorite album by her.

Every day this image inspires me to express my most authentic self and to tap into my heart. Is this a joke? Did Tori really mention me in an interview? As I read through the words, tears starting streaming down my face. Many of the vegan dishes that I love are from Timothy Pakron whose cookbook Mississippi Vegan is always in the kitchen.

Yes, during these times some of the spices he uses might not be in your kitchen, but substitutions can work with his amazing inspirations. Read the full interview here. As you can imagine, I was in shock. I kept reloading the article to make sure I was reading things correctly.

As the reality set in, I was engulfed by an intense surge of excitement, joy, and pure disbelief. A feeling that overwhelmed me to the max, making my heart melt and my skin tingle. Tori Amos has my cookbook in her kitchen? She makes my recipes and enjoys them?

Tori Amos visits the very blog you are reading now? Earlier this month, Tori was interviewed by Rolling Stone and she mentioned my potato salad again! This time the interview was talking about her favorite things and she expressed that my potato salad was one of the most interesting things she learned to make during quarantine. I had to pinch myself!

I had to tell you my story so that you could understand how very important this is to me. The fact that my creative work has entered into the home of Tori and into her kitchen is a major and important moment of my career. It is profound. I feel as though it is the universe telling me that I am exactly where I need to be. I am doing exactly what I was put on this earth to do. And I must keep going. I want to say thank you. Thank you for sharing your work with the world. Thank you for teaching me how to believe in myself.

And thank you for teaching me how to be an artist. You will forever be a part of my life. You must log in or sign up to post here. Show Ignored Content. Share This Page Tweet. Your name or email address: Do you already have an account? No, create an account now.

Yes, my password is: Forgot your password? This site uses cookies to help personalise content, tailor your experience and to keep you logged in if you register. By continuing to use this site, you are consenting to our use of cookies. Accept Learn More Maybe, too, going solo meant Hall felt a need to stand apart from his hitmaking partnership with John Oates. It seems the passage of time — more than three decades later, Laughing Down Crying arrived on Sept.

The production was updated and very much lives in its era, but everything else transports us back to the Daryl Hall of His magic voice is in great shape, and he can easily hit most if not all those hard notes that he might have struggled with on the last couple of Hall and Oates albums. He also made no effort at all to distinguish this from the music he makes with Oates — and viewed in that way, this is the best Hall and Oates album since Big Bam Boom.

Yes, really. Long time Hall and Oates bassist, guitarist, producer and virtual third member T-Bone Wolk does appear on some tracks, his last hurrah before being felled by a heart attack during recording sessions for Laughing Down Crying. Pay attention this time. September 27, by S.