The Not So Silent Younger Years Part 2: The Peabody Years Ages 6-11
Age 7
Peabody did many things for Tori! It taught her to start reading music rather than just playing by ear! It introduced her to musicians outside of classical music like
Led Zeppelin,
The Beatles, Jim Morrison and
Jimi Hendrix. This introduction came from her classmates and put her at odds with the teachers who wanted her focus to be on classical.
Here's a Tori quote:
It was very early: the [Beatles] Sgt. Pepper record. I was five years old and studying piano at the Peabody Conservatory, and when I heard that, I knew. I knew I would never be a classical pianist; I knew from that moment it was all over. Because I brought it in for my teacher to hear, I said, “This! This is it!” And they listened and they said, “No it isn't! Get it out of here! Sit back on the stool and do Mozart again.” And I said, “No, no, no. This is Mozart if he were here now. They're the same!” And they said, “No they're not, get it out of here, and get back on the stool.” From that day, they and I were at war. So now my enemies were my grandmother and the people at the Conservatory. I was a little Boadicea.
The biggest influence on Tori from the conservatory was observing an African American male playing Jimi Hendrix on piano and observing the mixture of rock and jazz on piano.
Age Seven
At age seven Tori started writing her own her own music and discovering her sexuality. It makes sense because Tori has always made the connection between rock and sexual so why not start her first glimpses after discovering Jimmy Page and the other Gods of sex, drugs and rock n' roll! Tori's love affair with rock would distract her so much though that her progress in
Peabody would slip. It wasn't that she was failing or even doing bad. in fact, she was amongstthe best by far. She just reached a plateau due to losing interest through boredom with the material and the comparatively lifeless teachings. None of it had the freedom and spirit that Tori was now seeking.
Age 9
Tori, at 9 years old, reached her fourth consecutive year with a Peabody scholarship and was winning many accolades and becoming the go to piano girl for the school. Still Tori's actions still kept her as a rebellious outsider in the school. When Tori came up with this song sung in an appropriately froggy voice!
Jackass and a Toad
'cause i'm walkin' down the road
with a jackass and a toad
sometimes i'm a frog
i told him that day
i told him that day
and he quickly ran away
now i'm walking down the road
with a jackass and a toad
In general the school discouraged her from singing period and this really didn't impress!
Age 9 was also a sad note for Tori as the man she loved and was inspired by the most, her grandfather Calvin had died.
Here's a quote from Tori's mom Mary:
She never got over his death. He was the only person she ever completely respected. She would go to his grave three times a week and sing to him until she was thirteen.
That same year Tori's Jesus freak grandmother,
Addie Amos, also died! Not quite as big of a loss!
In fact, by the time she turned 10, Tori would start questioning religion big time at this age and become very vocal. She would also start noticing the lack of balance towards feminine figures in religious figures and question this as well. All these traits and defiance in music would eventually bring Tori to her last year with Peabody. After 5 consecutive scholarships Tori would not receive a sixth and that would end the Tori/Peabody relationship!