Stories
Like Stank on Erykah
By Jay Allen Sanford | Published Wednesday, June 17, 2009
“My parents maintained a very musical household,” says singer-trumpeter Tori Roze. “My mom played with Randy Holden, the lead guitarist in Blue Cheer, and she opened for groups like Canned Heat and Three Dog Night. She used to hold Janis Joplin’s Southern Comfort bottle for her offstage.”
Roze’s parents were also involved with the San Diego Repertory Theatre and with Indian Magique, a theatrical troupe that won the Canadian Emmy for Best Comedy Show in 1977. In high school Roze fronted the band Carne Askata before departing to attend Boston Conservatory for a year. After doing a semester in London with music and theater classes at the Old Globe, she eventually graduated with a degree in theater from UC Santa Cruz.
She currently fronts the six-piece rock ’n’ soul combo Tori Roze and the Hot Mess. “If Erykah Badu, Amy Winehouse, Ella Fitzgerald, Pink, and Adele were all to get together,” she says, “you’d get the essence of our sound. Bottom line: we like to put some stank on it.”
Tori performs Friday at Portugalia and Saturday at Winstons.
WHAT’S IN YOUR CD PLAYER?
1. Michael Jackson, Off the Wall. “Can we just talk about how incredible this record is? Fully orchestrated, the man sings his heart out, and it makes your booty wanna move.”
2. Erykah Badu, Mama’s Gun. “I could listen to this forever and be happy.”
3. Björk, Family Tree. “I love how this woman sings from her soul, and you feel it viscerally. I have to see her perform before I die.”
4. Grand Ole Party, Humanimals. “A local band doing something way different — this is what I listen to before I go out to amp me up.”
MOST-VISITED WEBSITES?
1. Myspace.com “I’m always checking up on my music page and updating things, and I’m constantly looking for female-fronted bands that rock.”
2. Sonicbids.com “Always updating my EPK [electronic press kit] and looking for exciting gigs.”
3. Astrology.com “I gots to know my horoscope, shoot!”
4. Google.com “I get extreme usage of the image finder, for flyer-making and whatnot.”
5. Facebook.com “Man, this is the most un-user-friendly site ever, but all my friends are addicted to its crappy layout, so I use it to check in with friends who are too cool to use Myspace anymore. What the heck are they thinking?”
MAC OR PC?
“PC, because I can right-click.”
DO YOU PLAY VIDEO GAMES?
“Eww.”
BEST ADVICE YOU EVER GOT?
“Perseverance, kid — it’s the only thing that’s going to save you.”
FINISH THIS SENTENCE: “I LIVE IN SAN DIEGO BECAUSE.…”
“…I can. Jealous?”
CARE TO RATE THE NEW PREZ?
“He’s pretty snazzy, but he’s got his work cut out for him. Thank goodness he’s eloquent, though. Sheesh!”
SOMETHING ABOUT YOU FEW WOULD KNOW OR GUESS?
“I have worked at Hot Dog on a Stick for the past ten years and counting. Come see me at the Del Mar fair! Not onstage. Just selling hot dogs.”
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