Flavor or flavour is the sensory impression of a food or other substance, and is determined mainly by the chemical senses of taste and smell. The "trigeminal senses", which detect chemical irritants in the mouth and throat as well as temperature and texture, are also very important to the overall Gestalt of flavor perception. The flavor of the food, as such, can be altered with natural or artificial flavorants, which affect these senses.

Flavorant is defined as a substance that gives another substance flavor, altering the characteristics of the solute, causing it to become sweet, sour, tangy, etc.

Of the three chemical senses, smell is the main determinant of a food item's flavor. While the taste of food is limited to sweet, sour, bitter, salty, and umami (savory) – the basic tastes – the smells of a food are potentially limitless. A food's flavor, therefore, can be easily altered by changing its smell while keeping its taste similar. Nowhere is this better exemplified than in artificially flavored jellies, soft drinks and candies, which, while made of bases with a similar taste, have dramatically different flavors due to the use of different scents or fragrances. The flavorings of commercially produced food products are typically created by flavorists.

Although the terms "flavoring" or "flavorant" in common language denote the combined chemical sensations of taste and smell, the same terms are usually used in the fragrance and flavors industry to refer to edible chemicals and extracts that alter the flavor of food and food products through the sense of smell. Due to the high cost or unavailability of natural flavor extracts, most commercial flavorants are nature-identical, which means that they are the chemical equivalent of natural flavors but chemically synthesized rather than being extracted from the source materials. Identification of nature-identical flavorants are done using technology such as headspace techniques.

Flavorants or flavorings[link]

Flavorings are focused on altering or enhancing the flavors of natural food product such as meats and vegetables, or creating flavor for food products that do not have the desired flavors such as candies and other snacks. Most types of flavorings are focused on scent and taste. Few commercial products exist to stimulate the trigeminal senses, since these are sharp, astringent, and typically unpleasant flavors.

There are three principal types of flavorings used in foods, under definitions agreed in the E.U. and Australia:^[1]

Regulations on natural flavoring[link]

UK Food Law defines a natural flavor as:

a flavouring substance (or flavouring substances) which is (or are) obtained, by physical, enzymatic or microbiological processes, from material of vegetable or animal origin which material is either raw or has been subjected to a process normally used in preparing food for human consumption and to no process other than one normally so used.^[2]

The U.S. Code of Federal Regulations describes a "natural flavorant" as:

the essential oil, oleoresin, essence or extractive, protein hydrolysate, distillate, or any product of roasting, heating or enzymolysis, which contains the flavoring constituents derived from a spice, fruit or fruit juice, vegetable or vegetable juice, edible yeast, herb, bark, bud, root, leaf or any other edible portions of a plant, meat, seafood, poultry, eggs, dairy products, or fermentation products thereof, whose primary function in food is flavoring rather than nutritional.^[3]

The European Union's guidelines for natural flavorants are slightly different. Certain artificial flavorants are given an E number, which may be included on food labels.

Smell[link]

Smell flavorants, or simply, flavorants, are engineered and composed in similar ways as with industrial fragrances and fine perfumes. To produce natural flavors, the flavorant must first be extracted from the source substance. The methods of extraction can involve solvent extraction, distillation, or using force to squeeze it out. The extracts are then usually further purified and subsequently added to food products to flavor them. To begin producing artificial flavors, flavor manufacturers must either find out the individual naturally occurring aroma chemicals and mix them appropriately to produce a desired flavor or create a novel non-toxic artificial compound that gives a specific flavor.

Most artificial flavors are specific and often complex mixtures of singular naturally occurring flavor compounds combined together to either imitate or enhance a natural flavor. These mixtures are formulated by flavorists to give a food product a unique flavor and to maintain flavor consistency between different product batches or after recipe changes. The list of known flavoring agents includes thousands of molecular compounds, and the flavor chemist (flavorist) can often mix these together to produce many of the common flavors. Many flavorants consist of esters, which are often described as being "sweet" or "fruity".

The compounds used to produce artificial flavors are almost identical to those that occur naturally. It has been suggested that artificial flavors may be safer to consume than natural flavors due to the standards of purity and mixture consistency that are enforced either by the company or by law.^[4] Natural flavors in contrast may contain impurities from their sources while artificial flavors are typically more pure and are required to undergo more testing before being sold for consumption.^[4]

Flavors from food products are usually the result of a combination of natural flavors, which set up the basic smell profile of a food product while artificial flavors modify the smell to accent it.

Unlike smelling, which occurs upon inhalation, the sensing of flavors in the mouth occurs in the exhalation phase of breathing and is perceived differently by an individual. In other words, the smell of food is different depending on when you are smelling it in front of you or whether it has already entered your mouth.^[5]

Taste[link]

While salt and sugar can technically be considered flavorants that enhance salty and sweet tastes, usually only compounds that enhance umami, as well as other secondary flavors are considered and referred to as taste flavorants. Artificial sweeteners are also technically flavorants.

Umami or "savory" flavorants, more commonly called taste or flavor enhancers are largely based on amino acids and nucleotides. These are typically used as sodium or calcium salts. Umami flavorants recognized and approved by the European Union include:

Certain organic and inorganic acids can be used to enhance sour tastes, but like salt and sugar these are usually not considered and regulated as flavorants under law. Each acid imparts a slightly different sour or tart taste that alters the flavor of a food.

Color[link]

The color of food can affect flavor. For example, adding more red color to a drink increases its sweetness with darker colored solutions being rated 2–10% higher than lighter ones even though it had 1% less sucrose concentration.^[6] The effect of color is believed to be due to cognitive expectations.^[7]

Dietary restrictions[link]

Food manufacturers are sometimes reluctant about informing consumers about the source from where the flavor is obtained and whether it has been produced with the incorporation of substances such as animal by-products glycerin (note that glycerin is also available from vegetable sources), gelatin, and the like, and the use of alcohol in the flavors. Many Jews, Jains, Hindus, and Muslims adhere to religious dietary laws, and vegans to personal convictions, which restrict the use of animal by-products and/or alcohol in foods unless subject to oversight and inspection by their respective religious authority or less-strict or circumstantial moral belief. In many Western countries, some consumers rely on a Jewish Kosher Pareve certification mark to indicate that natural flavorings used in a food product are free of meat and dairy (although they can still contain fish). The Vegan Society's Sunflower symbol (which is currently used by over 260 companies world wide) can also be used to see which products do not use any animal ingredients (including flavorings and colorings)

Similarly, persons with known sensitivities or allergies to food products are advised to avoid foods that contain generic "natural flavors" or to first determine the source of the flavoring before consuming the food. Such flavors may be derived from a variety of source products that are themselves common allergens, such as dairy, soy,^[8] sesame,^[9] eggs, and nuts.^[10]

Flavor creation[link]

Most food and beverage companies do not create their own flavors but instead employ the services of a flavor company. Food and beverage companies may require flavors for new products, product line extensions (e.g., low fat versions of existing products) or due to changes in formula or processing for existing products.

The flavor creation is done by a specially trained scientist called a "flavorist". The flavorist's job combines extensive scientific knowledge of the chemical palette with artistic creativity to develop new and distinctive flavors. The flavor creation begins when the flavorist receives a brief from the client. In the brief the client will attempt to communicate exactly what type of flavor they seek, in what application it will be used, and any special requirements (e.g., must be all natural). The communication barrier can be quite difficult to overcome since most people aren't experienced at describing flavors. The flavorist will use his or her knowledge of the available chemical ingredients to create a formula and compound it on an electronic balance. The flavor will then be submitted to the client for testing. Several iterations, with feedback from the client, may be needed before the right flavor is found.

Additional work may also be done by the flavor company. For example, the flavor company may conduct sensory taste tests to test consumer acceptance of a flavor before it is sent to the client or to further investigate the "sensory space." The flavor company may also employ application specialists who work to ensure the flavor will work in the application for which it is intended. This may require special flavor delivery technologies that are used to protect the flavor during processing or cooking so that the flavor is only released when eaten by the end consumer.

Determination[link]

Few standards are available or being prepared for sensory analysis of flavors.^[11] In chemical analysis of flavors, solid phase extraction (SPE), solid phase microextraction (SPME), and headspace gas chromatography are applied to extract and separate the flavor compounds in the sample. The determination is typically done by various mass spectrometric techniques.^[12]

Scientific resources[link]

• Flavour and Fragrance Journal

See also[link]

Food portal

• Aroma compound
• Cooking
• E number
• Ester (for list of some artificial flavor chemical compounds)
• Flavor companies
• Food additive
• Fragrance oil
• Monosodium glutamate, commonly known as MSG
• Palatability
• Preservative
• Seasoning

References[link]

External links[link]

Look up flavor or flavour in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

• How Stuff Works How do artificial flavors work?
• The Science in artificial flavor creation
• Monell Chemical Senses Center
• Flavourists view
• The Science of taste

Tori Amos
Tori Amos at the 2008 Comic-Con
Background information
Birth name	Myra Ellen Amos
Born	(1963-08-22) August 22, 1963 (age 48) Newton, North Carolina, United States
Genres	Piano rock, art pop, alternative rock, electronica
Occupations	Musician, vocalist, songwriter, record producer
Instruments	Piano, harpsichord, clavichord, Hammond organ, harmonium, Fender Rhodes, Wurlitzer, Kurzweil, clavinet, vocals
Years active	1986–present
Labels	Atlantic Epic Universal Republic Deutsche Grammophon
Associated acts	Y Kant Tori Read
Website	toriamos.com everythingtori.com
Notable instruments
Bösendorfer piano[1]

Tori Amos (born Myra Ellen Amos; August 22, 1963) is an American pianist, singer-songwriter and composer. Amos originally served as the lead singer of 1980s synthpop group Y Kant Tori Read, and as a solo artist was at the forefront of a number of female singer-songwriters in the early 1990s. She was also noteworthy early in her solo career as one of the few alternative rock performers to use a piano as her primary instrument. Some of her charting singles include "Crucify", "Silent All These Years", "God", "Cornflake Girl", "Caught a Lite Sneeze", "Professional Widow", "Spark", "1000 Oceans", and "A Sorta Fairytale", her most commercially successful single in the U.S. to date.^[2]

As of 2005, Amos had sold 12 million albums worldwide.^[3] She has been nominated for 8 Grammy Awards. Amos was also named one of People Magazine's 50 Most Beautiful People in 1996.^[4]

Early life[link]

Amos was born in Newton, North Carolina. When she was two, her family moved to Baltimore, Maryland, where she began to play the piano. By age five, she had begun composing instrumental pieces on piano and, while living in Rockville, Maryland, she won a full scholarship to the Preparatory Division of the Peabody Conservatory of Music.^[5] Her scholarship was discontinued at age 11 and she was asked to leave. Amos has asserted that she lost the scholarship because of her interest in rock and popular music, coupled with her dislike for reading from sheet music.^[5] In 1972, The Amos family moved to Silver Spring, Maryland, where her father, Reverend Edison Amos, became pastor of the Good Shepherd United Methodist church. At the age of 13 she began playing at gay bars and piano bars, chaperoned by her father.^[5][6]

Amos first came to local notice by winning a county teen talent contest in 1977, singing a song called "More Than Just a Friend". As a senior at Richard Montgomery High School, she co-wrote "Baltimore" with her brother Mike Amos for a competition involving the Baltimore Orioles. The song won the contest and became her first single, released as a 7" single pressed locally for family and friends during 1980 with another Amos-penned composition as a B-side, "Walking With You". Prior to this period she performed under her middle name, Ellen, but permanently adopted Tori after a friend's boyfriend told her it suited her.^[7] At age 21, Amos moved to Los Angeles to pursue her music career after several years performing on the piano bar circuit of the D.C. area.^[8]

Atlantic years (1986–2001)[link]

Y Kant Tori Read[link]

In 1986, Amos formed a music group, Y Kant Tori Read, the name of which was a reference to her days at the Peabody Conservatory, where she was able to play songs on her piano by ear, but was never successful at sight reading.^[9] In addition to Amos, the group was composed of Steve Caton (who would later play guitars on all her subsequent albums until 1999), drummer Matt Sorum, bass player Brad Cobb and, for a short time, keyboardist Jim Tauber. Following several phases of writing and recording, during which Amos has since asserted that the band lost their musical edge and direction due to interference from record executives, in July 1988, the Y Kant Tori Read's self-titled debut album was released. Although its producer, Joe Chiccarelli, has stated that Amos was very happy with the album at the time,^[10] it is now out of print and Amos has expressed no interest in reissuing it.^[11] Following the album's commercial failure and the group's subsequent disbanding, Amos began working with other artists (including Stan Ridgway, Sandra Bernhard, and Al Stewart) as a backup vocalist. She also recorded a song called "Distant Storm" for the film China O'Brien; in the credits, the song is attributed to a band called Tess Makes Good.^[12] It was the only song recorded by the band, and its only commercial release was in the film.

Solo career[link]

Despite the disappointing reaction to Y Kant Tori Read, Amos still had to comply with her six-record contract with Atlantic Records, who in 1989 wanted a new record by March 1990. The initial recordings were declined by the label, which Amos felt was because the album had not been properly presented.^[13] The album was reworked and expanded under the guidance of Doug Morris and the musical talents of Steve Caton, Eric Rosse, Will MacGregor, Carlo Nuccio, and Dan Nebenzal, resulting in Little Earthquakes, an album recounting her religious upbringing, sexual awakening, struggle to establish her identity, and sexual assault. This album became her commercial and artistic breakthrough.

Amos traveled to New Mexico with personal and professional partner Eric Rosse in 1993 to write and largely record her second solo record, Under the Pink. The album was received with mostly favorable reviews and sold enough copies to chart at #12 on the Billboard 200, a significantly higher position than the preceding album's position at #54 on the same chart.^[14]

Amos performing on her Dew Drop Inn tour in 1996

Her third solo album, Boys for Pele, was released in January 1996. The album was recorded in an Irish church, in Delgany, County Wicklow, with Amos taking advantage of the church recording setting to create an album ripe with baroque influences, lending it a darker sound and style. She added harpsichord, harmonium, and clavichord to her keyboard repertoire, and also included such anomalies as a gospel choir, bagpipes, church bells, and drum programming. The album garnered mixed reviews upon its release, with some critics praising its intensity and uniqueness while others bemoaned its comparative impenetrability. Despite the album's erratic lyrical content and instrumentation, the latter of which kept it away from mainstream audiences, Boys for Pele is Amos's most successful simultaneous transatlantic release, reaching #2 on both the Billboard 200 and the UK Top 40 upon its release at the height of her fame.^[15][16]

Fueled by the desire to have her own recording studio to distance herself from record company executives,^[17] Amos had the barn of her home in Cornwall converted into a state-of-the-art recording studio, Martian Engineering Studios.

From the Choirgirl Hotel and To Venus and Back, released in May 1998 and September 1999, respectively, differ greatly from previous albums as Amos's trademark acoustic piano-based sound is largely replaced with arrangements that include elements of electronica, dance music, vocal washes and sonic landscapes. The underlying themes of both albums deal with womanhood, and Amos's own miscarriages and marriage. Reviews for From the Choirgirl Hotel were mostly favorable and praised Amos's continued artistic originality. While not her highest chart debut, debut sales for From the Choirgirl Hotel are Amos's best to date, selling 153,000 copies in its first week.^[18] To Venus and Back, a two-disc release of original studio material and live material recorded from the previous world tour, received mostly positive reviews and included the first major-label single available for sale as a digital download.^[19]

Motherhood inspired Amos to produce a cover album, recording songs written by men about women and reversing the gender roles to show a woman's perspective.^[20] That idea grew into Strange Little Girls, released in September 2001, one year after giving birth to her daughter. The album is Amos's first concept album, with artwork featuring Amos photographed in character of the women portrayed in each song. Amos would later reveal that a stimulus for the album was to end her contract with Atlantic without giving them new original songs; Amos felt that since 1998, the label had not been properly promoting her and had trapped her in a contract by refusing to sell her to another label.^[21]

Epic Records years (2002–07)[link]

With her Atlantic contract fulfilled after a 15-year stint, Amos signed to Epic in late 2001. In October 2002, Amos released Scarlet's Walk, another concept album. Described as a "sonic novel", the album explores Amos's alter ego, Scarlet, intertwined with her cross-country concert tour following 9/11. Through the songs, Amos explores such topics as the history of America, American people, Native American history, pornography, masochism, homophobia and misogyny. The album had a strong debut,^[22][23] demonstrating that Amos' fan base remained intact through the label change. However, Scarlet's Walk is Amos' last album to date to reach certified gold status.^[24]

Amos in concert in June, 2005

Not long after Amos was ensconced with her new label, she received unsettling news when Polly Anthony resigned as president of Epic Records in 2003. Anthony had been one of the primary reasons Amos signed with the label and as a result of her resignation, Amos formed the Bridge Entertainment Group. Further trouble for Amos occurred the following year when her label, Epic/Sony Music Entertainment, merged with BMG Entertainment as a result of the industry's decline.^[25] Amos would later hint in interviews that during the creation of her next album, those in charge at the label following the aforementioned merger were interested "only in making money", the effects of which on the album have not been disclosed.^{[citation needed]}

Amos released two more albums with the label, The Beekeeper (2005) and American Doll Posse (2007). Both albums received mixed reviews, some of which stated that the albums suffered from being too long.^[26][27] The Beekeeper was conceptually influenced by the ancient art of beekeeping, which she considered a source of female inspiration and empowerment. Through extensive study, Amos also wove in the stories of the Gnostic gospels and the removal of women from a position of power within the Christian church to create an album based largely on religion and politics. The album debuted at #5 on the Billboard 200,^[28] placing her in an elite group of women who have secured five or more US Top 10 album debuts.^[29] American Doll Posse, another concept album, was fashioned around a group of girls (the "posse") who are used as a theme of alter-egos of Amos's. Musically and stylistically, the album saw Amos return to a more confrontational nature.^[30] Like its predecessor, American Doll Posse debuted at #5 on the Billboard 200.^[14]

During her tenure with Epic Records, Amos also released a retrospective collection titled Tales of a Librarian (2003) through her former label, Atlantic Records; a two-disc DVD set Fade to Red (2006) containing most of Amos's solo music videos, released through the Warner Bros. reissue imprint Rhino; a five disc box set titled A Piano: The Collection (2006), celebrating Amos's 15 year solo career through remastered album tracks, remixes, alternate mixes, demos, and a string of unreleased songs from album recording sessions, also released through Rhino; and numerous official bootlegs from two world tours, The Original Bootlegs (2005) and Legs & Boots (2007) through Epic Records.

Universal Music years (2008–present)[link]

Universal Republic (2008–2011)[link]

In May 2008, Amos announced that, due to creative and financial disagreements with Epic Records, she had negotiated an end to her contract with the record label, and would be operating independently of major record labels on future work.^[31][32] In September of the same year, Amos released a live album and DVD, Live at Montreux 1991/1992, through Eagle Rock Entertainment, of two performances she gave at the Montreux Jazz Festival very early on in her career while promoting her debut solo album, Little Earthquakes. By December, after a chance encounter with chairman and CEO of Universal Music Group, Doug Morris, Amos signed a "joint venture" deal with Universal Republic Records.^{[33][34][35][36]}

Abnormally Attracted to Sin, Amos's tenth solo studio-album and her first album released through Universal Republic, was released in May 2009 to mostly positive reviews. The album debuted in the top 10 of the Billboard 200,^[37] making it the Amos' seventh album to do so.^[38] Abnormally Attracted to Sin, admitted Amos, was a "personal album", not a conceptual one.^[39] Continuing her distribution deal with Universal Republic, Amos released Midwinter Graces, her first seasonal album, in November of the same year. The album features reworked versions of traditional carols, as well as original songs written by Amos.^[40]

During her contract with the label, Amos recorded vocals for two songs for David Byrne's collaboration album with Fatboy Slim, entitled Here Lies Love,^[41] which was released in April 2010. In July of the same year, the DVD Tori Amos- Live from the Artists Den was released exclusively through Barnes & Noble.

After a brief tour from June to September 2010, Amos released the highly exclusive live album From Russia With Love in December the same year, recorded live in Moscow on 3 September 2010. The limited edition set included a signature edition Lomography Diana F+ camera, along with 2 lenses, a roll of film and 1 of 5 photographs taken of Tori during her time in Moscow. The set was released exclusively through toriamos.com and only 2000 were produced. It is currently unknown as to whether the album will receive a mass release.

Deutsche Grammophon (2011–present)[link]

In September 2011, Amos released her first classical music album, Night of Hunters, featuring variations on a theme to pay tribute to such renowned composers as Bach, Chopin, Debussy, Granados, Satie and Schubert, through the Deutsche Grammophon label, a division of Universal Music Group. She is currently writing the music for Samuel Adamson's musical adaptation of the George MacDonald story The Light Princess for the Royal National Theatre, which was originally expected to debut in spring 2012^[42] but has now been deferred.^[43] Amos has, however, confirmed the release of an album in 2012 marking the 20th anniversary of her debut album Little Earthquakes.^[44] The album will consist of songs from her back catalogue rearranged and performed by the Metropole Orchestra.

On May 1st, 2012, Amos announced the formation of her own record label Transmission Galactic, which she intends to use to develop new artists.

In print[link]

Released in conjunction with The Beekeeper, Amos co-authored an autobiography with rock music journalist Ann Powers entitled Piece by Piece (2005). The book's subject is Amos's interest in mythology and religion, exploring her songwriting process, rise to fame, and her relationship with Atlantic Records.

Image Comics released Comic Book Tattoo (2008), a collection of comic stories, each based on or inspired by songs recorded by Amos. Editor Rantz Hoseley worked with Amos to gather 80 different artists for the book, including Pia Guerra, David Mack, and Leah Moore.

Additionally, Amos and her music have been the subject of numerous official and unofficial books, as well as academic critique, including Tori Amos: Lyrics (2001) and an earlier biography, Tori Amos: All These Years (1996).^[45][46][47]

"Tori Amos: In the Studio" (2011) by Jake Brown features an in-depth look at Amos's career, discography and recording process.^[48]

In 2011 Adrienne Trier-Bieniek, a sociology graduate student at Western Michigan University, received her PhD for a dissertation entitled “All I Am: Defining Music as an Emotional Catalyst through a Sociological Study of Emotions, Gender and Culture". Trier-Bieniek focused on Amos' female fans and the emotional support they receive from listening to Amos' music. Along with Patricia Leavy, Trier-Bieniek contributed a chapter to the book "The Art of Social Critique"^[49] which addressed Amos' later albums and songwriting skills.

Personal life[link]

Family[link]

Amos in 1993 Alexandra Palace, London

Amos is the third child of Rev. Dr. Edison and Mary Ellen Amos. She was born at the Old Catawba Hospital in Newton, North Carolina, during a trip from their Georgetown home in Washington, D.C. Her maternal grandparents were of mixed European and Eastern Cherokee ancestry; of particular importance to her as a child was her grandfather, Calvin Clinton Copeland, who was a great source of inspiration and guidance to her as a young child, offering a more pantheistic spiritual alternative to her father and paternal grandmother's traditional Christianity.^[50]

Early in her professional career, Amos befriended author Neil Gaiman, who became a fan after she referenced him in the song "Tear in Your Hand" and also in print interviews.^[51] Although created before the two met, the character Delirium from Gaiman's The Sandman series (or even her sister Death) is inspired by Amos; Gaiman has stated that they "steal shamelessly from each other".^[52] She wrote the foreword to his collection Death: The High Cost of Living; he in turn wrote the introduction to Comic Book Tattoo. Gaiman is godfather to her daughter and a poem written for her birth, Blueberry Girl, was published as a children's book of the same name in 2009.^[53]

Amos married English sound engineer Mark Hawley on February 22, 1998. Their only child, a daughter named Natashya "Tash" Lórien Hawley, was born on September 5, 2000, a few weeks after Tori's 37th birthday. The family divides their time between Sewall's Point in Florida, Kinsale^[54] (County Cork) in Ireland, and Cornwall in England.

Activism[link]

In June 1994, Amos co-founded RAINN, The Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network, a toll-free help line in the US connecting callers with their local rape crisis center. Amos, herself a survivor of sexual assault,^[55] was seen as unlocking the silence of her assault through her music; thus "Unlock the Silence" went on to become a year-long campaign for RAINN when Amos became a national spokesperson for the organization. By the summer of 2006, RAINN had received its one millionth caller^[56] and the organization's success has led to it ranking in "America's 100 Best Charities" by Worth, and one of the "Top 10 Best Charities" by Marie Claire.

Discography[link]

As of 2011, Amos has released 12 solo studio albums during her solo career; all but the first two are self-produced.

• Little Earthquakes (1992)
• Under the Pink (1994)
• Boys for Pele (1996)
• From the Choirgirl Hotel (1998)
• To Venus and Back (1999)
• Strange Little Girls (2001)
• Scarlet's Walk (2002)
• The Beekeeper (2005)
• American Doll Posse (2007)
• Abnormally Attracted to Sin (2009)
• Midwinter Graces (2009)
• Night of Hunters (2011)

Amos has also released more than 30 singles and 60 B-sides, and has contributed original material to nine film soundtracks, including Higher Learning (1995), Twister (1996), Great Expectations (1998) and Mission: Impossible II (2000). Her cover of the 1952 hit "You Belong to Me" appears on the soundtrack to 2003's Mona Lisa Smile.

Tours[link]

Amos, who has been performing in bars and clubs from as early as 1976 and under her professional name as early as 1991 has performed more than 1,000 shows since her first world tour in 1992. In 2003, Amos was voted fifth best touring act by the readers of Rolling Stone magazine. Her concerts are notable for their changing set lists from night to night.

Little Earthquakes Tour 

Amos's first world tour began on January 29, 1992 in London and ended on November 30, 1992 in Auckland. She performed solo with a Yamaha CP-70 unless the venue was able to provide a piano.^[57][58] The tour included 142 concerts around the globe.

Under the Pink Tour 

Amos's second world tour began on February 24, 1994 in Newcastle upon Tyne and ended on December 13, 1994 in Perth, Western Australia. Amos performed solo each night on her iconic Bösendorfer^{[citation needed]} piano, and on a prepared piano during "Bells for Her". The tour included 181 concerts.

Dew Drop Inn Tour 

The third world tour began on February 23, 1996 in Ipswich, England, and ended on November 11, 1996 in Boulder. Amos performed each night on piano, harpsichord, and harmonium, with Steve Caton on guitar on some songs. The tour included 187 concerts.

Plugged '98 Tour 

Amos's first band tour. Amos, on piano and Kurzweil keyboard, was joined by Steve Caton on guitar, Matt Chamberlain on drums, and Jon Evans on bass. The tour began on April 18, 1998 in Fort Lauderdale and ended on December 3, 1998 in East Lansing, Michigan, including 137 concerts.

Five and a Half Weeks Tour / To Dallas and Back 

Amos's fifth tour was North America–only. The first part of the tour was co-headlining with Alanis Morissette and featured the same band and equipment line-up as in 1998. Amos and the band continued for eight shows before Amos embarked on a series of solo shows. The tour began on August 18, 1999 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida and ended on December 9, 1999 in Denver, including 46 concerts.

Strange Little Tour 

This tour was Amos's first since becoming a mother in 2000 and her first tour fully solo since 1994 (Steve Caton was present on some songs in 1996). It saw Amos perform on piano, Rhodes piano, and Wurlitzer electric piano, and though the tour was in support of her covers album, the set lists were not strictly covers-oriented. Having brought her one-year-old daughter on the road with her, this tour was also one of Amos's shortest ventures, lasting just three months. It began on August 30, 2001 in London and ended on December 17, 2001 in Milan, including 55 concerts.

On Scarlet's Walk / Lottapianos Tour 

Amos's seventh tour saw her reunited with Matt Chamberlain and Jon Evans, but not Steve Caton. The first part of the tour, which featured Amos on piano, Rhodes, and Wurlitzer, was six months long and Amos went out again in the summer of 2003 for a tour with Ben Folds opening. The tour began on November 7, 2002 in Tampa and ended on September 4, 2003 in West Palm Beach, featuring 124 concerts. The final show of the tour was filmed and released as part of a DVD/CD set titled Welcome to Sunny Florida (the set also included a studio EP titled Scarlet's Hidden Treasures, an extension of the Scarlet's Walk album).

Original Sinsuality Tour / Summer of Sin 

This tour began on April 1, 2005 in Clearwater, Florida, with Amos on piano, two Hammond B-3 organs, and Rhodes. The tour also encompassed Australia for the first time since 1994. Amos announced at a concert on this tour that she would never stop touring but would scale down the tours. Amos returned to the road in August and September for the Summer of Sin North America leg, ending on September 17, 2005 in Los Angeles. The tour featured "Tori's Piano Bar", where fans could nominate cover songs on Amos's website which she would then choose from to play in a special section of each show. One of the songs chosen was the Kylie Minogue hit "Can't Get You Out of My Head", which Amos dedicated to her the day after Minogue's breast cancer was announced to the public. Other songs performed by Amos include The Doors' "People are Strange", Depeche Mode's "Personal Jesus", Joni Mitchell's "The Circle Game", Madonna's "Live to Tell" and "Like a Prayer", Björk's "Hyperballad", Led Zeppelin's "When the Levee Breaks" (which she debuted in Austin, Texas, just after the events of Hurricane Katrina), Kate Bush's "And Dream of Sheep" and Crowded House's "Don't Dream It's Over", dedicating it to drummer Paul Hester who had died a week before. The entire concert tour featured 82 concerts, and six full-length concerts were released as The Original Bootlegs.

American Doll Posse World Tour 

This was Amos's first tour with a full band since her 1999 Five and a Half Weeks Tour, accompanied by long-time band mates Jon Evans and Matt Chamberlain, with guitarist Dan Phelps rounding out Amos's new band.^[59] Amos's equipment included her piano, a Hammond B-3 organ, and two Yamaha S90 ES keyboards. The tour kicked off with its European leg in Rome, Italy on May 28, 2007, which lasted through July, concluding in Israel; the Australian leg took place during September; the North American leg lasted from October to December 16, 2007, when the tour concluded in Los Angeles. Amos opened each show dressed as one of the four non-Tori personae from the album, then Amos would emerge as herself to perform for the remaining two-thirds of the show. The entire concert tour featured 93 concerts, and 27 full-length concerts of the North American tour were released as official bootlegs in the Legs and Boots series.

Sinful Attraction Tour 

For her tenth tour, Amos returned to the trio format of her 2002 and 2003 tours with bassist Jon Evans and drummer Matt Chamberlain while expanding her lineup of keyboards by adding three M-Audio MIDI controllers to her ensemble of her piano, a Hammond B-3 organ, and a Yamaha S90 ES keyboard. The North American and European band tour began on 10 July 2009 in Seattle, Washington and ended in Warsaw on 10 October 2009. A solo leg through Australia began in Melbourne on 12 November 2009 and ended in Brisbane on 24 November 2009. The entire tour featured 63 concerts.

Night of Hunters tour 

Amos' eleventh tour was her first with a string quartet, Apollon Musagète, (Amos' equipment includes her piano and a Yamaha S90 ES keyboard) and her first time touring in South Africa. It kicked off on 28 September 2011 in Finland, Helsinki Ice Hall and ended on 22 December 2011 in Dallas, Texas.^[60]

Award nominations[link]

Grammy Awards

Note: In 2003 the Tori Amos album Scarlet's Walk (deluxe edition) was nominated in the category "Best Boxed or Special Limited Edition Packaging", this nomination went to the art directors Dave Bett and Sherri Lee. Also in 2003, "Timo on Tori (Don't Make Me Come To Vegas) a remix of the Tori Amos song Don't Make Me Come to Vegas was nominated in the category "Best Remixed Recording, Non Classical" this nomination went to the remixers Mark Buttrich and Timo Maas.

Brit Awards

MTV Video Music Awards

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Tori Amos

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Tori Amos

• Official website
• Tori Amos discography at MusicBrainz
• Tori Amos at the Internet Movie Database
• Synthesis.net April 2007 podcast interview
• Tori Amos on Synthesis.net
• Tori Amos on Virb.com
• Tori Amos on Advocate.com
• Tori Amos on Allmusic.com
• Y Kant Tori Read on Allmusic.com

James Ruse (9 August 1759^[1]/1760^[2] – 5 September 1837) was a Cornish farmer who, at the age of 23, was convicted of breaking and entering and was sentenced to seven years' transportation to Australia. He arrived at Sydney Cove on the First Fleet with 18 months of his sentence remaining. Ruse applied to Governor Arthur Phillip (of the colony) for a land grant, stating that he had been bred to farming. Governor Phillip, desperate to make the colony self-sufficient, allocated Ruse an allotment at Rose Hill (Parramatta), where he proved himself industrious and showed that it was possible for a family to survive through farming. Having done this, Ruse received a grant of 30 acres (120,000 m²), enabling him eventually to sell 600 bushels of maize. He later exchanged the grant for more fertile land on the Hawkesbury River.^[3] In later life, having been almost bankrupted from his farm by flooding, Ruse found work as a seaman and later as a landowner's overseer.

Early life[link]

Ruse was born at Launceston,^[2] Cornwall, England on 9 August 1760.^[3][4] In 1782, he was tried at Bodmin Assizes and sentenced to death for "burglariously breaking and entering the dwelling house of Thomas Olive and stealing thereout 2 silver watches, value 5 pounds." He was reprieved and sentenced to transportation for seven years. He was sent on the Scarborough, one of the First Fleet, and arrived in New South Wales on 19 January 1788.

As a pioneering farmer[link]

In February 1791, Ruse declares to the authorities that he is self-suffient, and two months later in March, he was granted a further 30 Acres.^[1] Ruse expected to reap about eight bushels (290 litres) to the acre. After Ruse's sentence expired in 1792, the title of his land was deeded to him, the first land grant in the colony. In 1793 he sold his land to Dr Harris of the New South Wales Corps. The property is now the Experiment Farm Cottage museum of the National Trust of Australia.

In 1794 Ruse moved further out, to the junction of the Hawkesbury River with South Creek, and became a fairly successful farmer. He and Elizabeth raised seven children, two of whom were thought to have been adopted. Later, however, he was wiped out by flooding (always the risk of farming in the Hawkesbury) and had to find work as a seaman. He was heavily in debt and only the hard work of his wife saved him from bankruptcy. From 1828 he was employed as an overseer by a landowner at Minto, south of Sydney. He died at Campbelltown on 5 September 1837.

Ruse's gravestone, parts of which he carved himself, reads:

"Sacred to the memory of James Ruse who departed this life September 5 in the year of Houre Lord 1837.
Natef of Cornwell and arriv ed in this colony by the First Fleet, aged 77.
My mother reread thy tenderly
With me she took much pain
And when I arrived in this colony I sowed the first grains
And now with my heavenly father I hope for ever to remain."

A replica of this tombstone stands in the front garden of Barrengarry House, the administration block at James Ruse Agricultural High School. The memory of James Ruse is perpetuated in the naming of key locations in Sydney, including James Ruse Agricultural High School in Carlingford; James Ruse Drive, running from Silverwater to Northmead, near Parramatta; and Ruse, a suburb in southwest Sydney.

In 1980, the noted Cornish folk singer Brenda Wootton, wrote and recorded the song "James Ruse" which uses as the chorus the last four lines of the tombstone inscription.

Family life[link]

James Ruse married fellow convict Elizabeth Parry (1769 - 27 May 1836)^[5] on 5 September 1790.^[1][2] They had six children together - Rebecah (1791 - 9 November 1792), James (b. 1793), Elizabeth (b. 1794), Susannah (1796–1872), Mary (b. 1798) and Ann.^[5]

References[link]

1. ^ ^{a b c} "The Thief, The Farmer & The Surgeon (PDF)". National Trust of Australia (NSW). http://www.nationaltrust.com.au/schoolsprogram/educationkits/TFS.pdf. Retrieved 14 October 2011. 
2. ^ ^{a b c} Fletcher, B.H.. "Ruse, James (1760-1837)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/ruse-james-2616. Retrieved 14 October 2011. 
3. ^ ^{a b} "Background Sheet 1 - Brief Profiles of Significant People (PDF)". K-6 Educational Resources - Board of Studies, NSW, Australia. Board of Studies. http://k6.boardofstudies.nsw.edu.au/files/hsie/back01.pdf. Retrieved 14 October 2011. 
4. ^ Serle, Percival. "Dictionary of Australian Biography R". Dictionary of Australian Biography (1949 Edition). Angus and Robertson, 1949. http://gutenberg.net.au/dictbiog/0-dict-biogR.html#ruse1. Retrieved 14 October 2011. 
5. ^ ^{a b} Partridge, Amanda. "James Ruse and Elizabeth Parry (PDF)". Turnbull Clan Genealogy Collection. compiled by Brian P Turnbull. http://www.turnbullclan.com/tca_genealogy/tca_all2-o/exhibits/j_ruse__e_pa_e_rry_family.pdf. Retrieved 14 October 2011. 

This article may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards. No cleanup reason has been specified. Please help improve this article if you can; the talk page may contain suggestions. (June 2011)

Flavor Flav
Flavor Flav performing in 2009 wearing the customary large clock
Background information
Birth name	William Jonathan Drayton, Jr.
Also known as	Flav MC DJ Flavor Flav.
Born	(1959-03-16) March 16, 1959 (age 53)[1]
Origin	Roosevelt, Long Island, New York, United States
Genres	Hip-hop
Occupations	Rapper, reality television star
Instruments	Vocals, piano, guitar, bass, saxophone, clarinet, drums, triangle[2]
Years active	1982–present
Associated acts	David Joyner Chuck D Professor Griff DJ Lord Terminator X Sister Souljah S1W

William Jonathan Drayton, Jr. (born March 16, 1959), better known by his stage name Flavor Flav, is an American rapper and television personality who rose to prominence as a member of the rap group Public Enemy.^[3] He is also known for popularizing the role of the hype man^[4] and for yelling "Yeah boy!" and "Flavor Flav!" during performances.^[3][5]

After falling out of the public eye for a number of years, he reappeared as the star of several VH1 reality series, including The Surreal Life, Strange Love, and Flavor of Love.

Early life[link]

Drayton grew up in Freeport, New York. Flav began playing the piano at age five; and is self-taught.^[6] A musical prodigy, he sang in the youth choir at his church and mastered the piano, drums, and guitar at an early age.^[7] He eventually became proficient in 15 instruments.^[5] He set a house on fire as a small child while playing with a lighter and, by the time he dropped out of school in the 11th grade, he had been in and out of jail for robbery and burglary.^[7]

He attended Adelphi University on Long Island where he met Carlton Ridenhour, who would become known as Chuck D.^[3] Flavor Flav took his stage name after his graffiti tag.^[5] They first collaborated on Chuck D's hip-hop college radio show, then began rapping together. The two worked for Chuck D's father's delivery service.^[7]

Career[link]

Music[link]

Flavor Flav performing in 2006

Flavor Flav came to prominence as a founding member of the rap group Public Enemy. In 1984, the group released a track, "Public Enemy #1", which brought them to the attention of Def Jam Records executive Rick Rubin. Rubin initially did not understand Flav's role in the act and wanted to sign Chuck D as a solo act; however Chuck D insisted that Flav be signed with them and the two were signed to Def Jam in 1986.^[6] The group's first album, Yo! Bum Rush the Show, was released in 1987. Flav served as the comic foil to Chuck D's serious, politically charged style.^[7] The group gained much wider fame with their following release, 1988's It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back, which went double platinum. By the time the political single "Fight the Power" was issued in 1989, the group had become mainstream superstars.

Along with Chuck D, the showman of the group and its promotional voice, Flav stood out among the members of Public Enemy as he often got the fans excited, appearing on stage and in public wearing big hats and glasses and a large clock dangling from his neck.

The first released track on which Flav rapped solo was "Life Of A Nigerian" on Goat Ju JU, though the first hit on which he rapped solo would not come until the 1990s single "911 Is a Joke". During Public Enemy's first years of existence, Flav dealt with tensions with group-mate Professor Griff, who never liked Flav's flamboyant stance in what Griff felt to be a serious, politically-challenging group. In 1990, after allegedly making anti-Semitic comments, Professor Griff left Public Enemy.

In 2006, Flav put out his first solo album. It was released during the second season of Flavor of Love.

Television[link]

After a hiatus from the music scene, Flavor Flav was invited to participate on VH1 reality show The Surreal Life. During this show, he developed a relationship with actress Brigitte Nielsen.

Following the conclusion of The Surreal Life, VH1 gave Flav and Brigitte a show titled Strange Love, which detailed their globetrotting adventure in love. At the end of Strange Love Brigitte decided to return to her fiancé, Mattia Dessi.

Flavor of Love, which aired for three seasons, is a reality show where Flavor Flav looks for love. The show's success led to spin-offs titled I Love New York and I Love Money. It was revealed in the third season reunion show that Flav met a woman, not from the show, after taping had concluded. He proposed to her on air during the special. The two had a son together.^[5]

The Comedy Central roast of Flavor Flav aired on August 12, 2007.^[8] Guests appearing at the roast: Snoop Dogg, Brigitte Nielsen, Jimmy Kimmel, Carrot Top, Lisa Lampanelli, Ice T, Jeff Ross, Katt Williams, Patton Oswalt, Greg Giraldo, and Sommore.

Flav played Calvester Hill on the MyNetworkTV comedy Under One Roof (2008 TV series) starring along side Kelly Perine.

Restauranteur[link]

In 2011, Flav partnered with Nick Cimino to open Flav’s Fried Chicken in Cimino's hometown of Clinton, Iowa. Flav met Cimino through his brother Peter, who runs Mama Cimino's in Las Vegas. After enjoying the rapper's homemade fried chicken,^[9] Peter Cimino began selling chicken wings using Flav's recipe.^[10] The founders hoped to start a national restaurant franchise.^[9] However, a mix of squabbling owners, bounced checks and bad business decisions led to Flavor Flav's Chicken shut down almost 4 months after it opened.^{[citation needed]}

Flavor Flav's new restaurant opened on his birthday, Flavor Flav’s House of Flavor in Las Vegas.^[11]

Other TV and media appearances[link]

In May 2005, Flav took part in the UK reality TV show The Farm on Channel 5.^[12]

On June 14, 2006, Flav's participation, with WEVR-MRC,^[13] in the Lisa Tolliver Show celebration of National Safety Month,^[14] earned kudos from Surgeon General of the United States Richard Carmona.^[15][16][17]

On November 18, 2009, Flav became a downloadable character in the PlayStation Network's video game PAIN.^[18]

Flav stars in Deon Taylor's horror anthology Nite Tales and Dark Christmas.^[19]

On May 10, 2010, Flav guest hosted the wrestling show WWE RAW.^[20]

On August 14, 2011, Flav appeared as a host at the 12th annual Gathering of the Juggalos.^[21]

On January 10, 2012, Flav appeared with his longtime fiancée Liz on ABC's Celebrity Wife Swap. His fiancée traded places with Suzette, the wife of Twisted Sister front-man Dee Snider.^[22]

On February 5, 2012, Flav appeared along with Sir Elton John in a Pepsi Co. ad during Super Bowl XLVI.^[23]

On February 11, 2012, Flav appeared as an honorary member of the UNLV Rebellion during the UNLV Runnin' Rebels victory over San Diego State, 65-63.

Personal life[link]

Flav dated Beverly Johnson, and by 2000, he lived in a small apartment in the Bronx with her and her two children from a previous marriage while making extra cash scalping baseball tickets.^[7]

Following his release from jail, Flav broke up with Johnson and moved in with his mother on Long Island. Chuck D became concerned about his friend's well-being and, towards the end of 2003, suggested Flav move to Los Angeles. He moved into his friend Princess' apartment and within months met Cris Abrego and Mark Cronin, the creators and executive producers of the reality television series The Surreal Life. The pair sought him as soon as they heard he had moved to Los Angeles. Seeing that he had indeed remained free from his previous addictions, they wanted to cast him. Initially Flav refused, feeling the show was for celebrities past their fame. He was eventually convinced to join by previous participant MC Hammer.^[7]

Family[link]

Flav has seven children: Shaniq, Dazyna, Quanah, William, Jasmine, Kayla, and Karma.^[24] Three of his children were with Karen Ross, three were with Angie Parker,^[25] and his current girlfriend Liz is the mother of his youngest, Karma.^[26][27] Currently Flavor Flav is living in Las Vegas, Nevada with his girlfriend, and her son Gibran. Flav is a cousin of Wu-affiliate 'Timbo King' and a distant cousin of the Wu's RZA.

Substance abuse and legal issues[link]

By the time he dropped out of school in the 11th grade, Flav had been in and out of jail for robbery and burglary.^[7]

In 1991, Flav pled guilty to assaulting his then-girlfriend Karen Ross and served 30 days in jail, lost custody of his children, and sank deeper into addiction.^[7]

In 1993 Flav was charged with attempted murder and imprisoned for 90 days for shooting at his neighbor.^[5]

Flav was later charged with domestic violence, cocaine and marijuana charges; his family performed an intervention and he checked into the Betty Ford Center for an addiction to crack cocaine.^[5][7]

After Flav's father died of diabetes in 1997 he decided to re-enter rehabilitation, this time at the Long Island Center for Recovery. At one point, he broke both arms in a motorcycle crash.^[5]