“If Bob Vila had a sex change and took up guitar, well… he still wouldn’t look like Tori Sparks. Leaving the lumber and power tools to the former, Sparks has earned herself a reputation of being a “do-it-yourself” musician. Her combination of raw musical talent and personable charm have earned Sparks the privilege to perform at venues all over the world. The truly remarkable thing about Tori’s success is just how much of it that she does on her own.

Sharing influence from Tom Waits and U2, to Patty Griffin and Jeff Buckley, Tori’s music is equally as unique. Sparks describes her sound as “a smashup of rock, folk, and blues.” Though she has yet to become a household name, her connections and accomplishments are impressive. In addition to being a member of Dream Row Plugs, Sparks belongs to SESAC, NSAI, Concerts in Your Home, Folk Alliance, GoGirls Music, and the Fort Worth Songwriter’s Association. Her music has been featured by Microsoft’s Windows Media Player website which she gained through the Reverb Nation organization, whom she speaks very highly of. Tori even pays her dues in the classroom, serving on the advisory board for Pro Music U, which offers courses and workshops for aspiring music professionals.

Tori manages her own career, which means she books her own shows on top of performing – which is often another area where she flies solo. For the full-band gigs, she uses hired help. When asked why, she jokingly says: “It’s too much like having a group of boyfriends.”

Apart from a radio promoter and publicists, Sparks oversees every aspect of her career – even her tour press. She explains: “I’ve found that I always get more tour press if I do it on my own. I don’t know why. Maybe its because the other people aren’t as motivated because its not their career or maybe its because some of these contacts respond better to word from the artists themselves”

This motivation stems from Sparks‘ drive to succeed. “Part of it is just the drive to succeed… I feel compelled to manage myself. The music aspect of it, the playing and writing, that’s the fun part. The business side of it, the opportunities and follow ups, I’m motivated to do because of the time i’ve invested in the music and I don’t want to just let it go by the wayside,” she says.

In case you’re wondering how Tori feels about the workload, she goes on to say: “as far as booking goes, I hate doing it with a passion (laughs) but, I also tend to panic when there aren’t any gigs on the books because that’s the only thing keeping me from living in a refrigerator box.”

With all the acclaim that comes with show-biz today, many artists don’t label their career a success until they appear on every late-night show and produce a couple of gold records. Tori’s idea of success is not so lavish. She says: “as far as seeing myself on TV, that’s really fun for my mom bit it doesn’t really matter to me.” While many of those artists use their music to earn them fame and fortune, Sparks orders her priorities differently. When asked about her own career, she says: “I just want to have enough money to continue to play music – to make enough to enjoy life, tour, and help other artists, and to get the gigs I want.” It’s unfortunate that so many artists conform their work for the sake of finance. The world could use a few more genuine souls like Tori – artists who create to express rather than profit.

Born just outside of Chicago, Tori moved to Sarasota, Florida where she spent much of her childhood. After graduating from Florida State University, Sparks relocated to Nashville after signing with a small record label. “Labels work like marriages. You don’t just meet some random someone and get married,” explains Sparks. After releasing her first album, Rivers and Roads in 2005, this “marriage” was beyond counseling. With a laugh, she exclaims: “They pissed me off and took my money!”

Naturally, the experience didn’t break Tori. With the cut-throat reality of the music business, every talent agent pushes their formula for success. “I get bad advice all the time,” she says. “People in New York, L.A., and Paris give me bad advice too but, using Nashville as an example, everyone tries to shoo you into that country, singer/songwriter mold and they want you to write about whiskey and stuff…everybody tries to advise your career from their perspective. There’s also the contradicting ‘you have to get a record deal’ and ‘never get a record deal.’ There’s 1000 opinions and really no right way to do it.”

Through the smoke of bad advice, Sparks has clearly found her own formula for success. “My advice is this: There is no magic key or cure or bit of advice. You have to just work really hard and keep in mind that there are crazy people in every business. You can’t let that stuff get to you. You’re going to experience a ton of rejection no matter who you are or how good you are. Learn from those rejections but trust your instincts and surround yourself with good people. You have to somehow ignore everybody but also learn all that you can from the various opinions being dumped on your head.”

One of Tori’s many “magic keys” has been her creative use of technology for self-promotion. Tori is on Twitter and has profiles on Facebook and MySpace. Yeah, well so does Phoebe Buffay – complete with a music video for Smelly Cat. What Phoebes doesn’t have is a mobile phone app. Tori Sparks? – There’s an app for that. Along with the app, Sparks has ToriMobile,” a streamlined version of her website for all of her fans on the go. iPhone, iPod touch, Blackberry, and any other web-based mobile phone can access these resources for news, blog posts, tour dates, and a multitude of other Tori-esque things. As an added bonus for those who visit (you don’t even have to join), Tori is offering a free download of the song Letter to a Wretch #2 which she recorded with Shawn Mullins. Sparks says: “ In doing that, I hope that people see that I’m not just another ad looking to take their money.”

Social networking outlets are no longer an option for those looking to make music a career – they are essential. On their usefulness, Tori says: “What else allows you to communicate with people on the other side of the world, instantaneously, for free? It’s amazing. Years ago that type of connectivity would have required mass mailings. The expense would have been enormous.” Fanship isn’t the only thing that Sparks has obtained through online networking. “There are fans who have become good friends over the years through a response to a newsletter or a comment about a show. I email them back and the communication continues until the relationship is more than fan/artist. Some of them have even helped me get shows,” she adds.

Though she has enjoyed many benefits of social networking, Sparks admits that there are challenges as well. “The down side is the amount of time you have to invest communicating with those people through different websites.” She continues: “The big (label) guys have teams to do that for them… you end up competing with those big teams and that’s a problem.”

The influence of modern advertising has also had a hand in binding the freedom of social networking. Years ago, ads caught our attention and enticed us to try the product. Social networks allow advertising to find you, rather than vice versa. Sparks admits, “It’s been a problem for me because everyone is overloaded with ads and invites – you get lost in the mix of it all.”

On being a career musician, Sparks jokes, “Music as a career is kind of like playing the lottery: it’s irrational but for some reason, I feel compelled to do it.” We at Dream Row are thankful that artists like Tori are around to compel others. May we all accept her policy of “irrationality.”

Have you registered for the Tori Sparks swag contest?

Tori’s upcoming shows in April

Saturday, Apr 10 @ 12:00 PM
Springing The Blues Festival @ Seawalk Plaza
Jacksonville, Florida

Saturday, Apr 10 @ 7:45 PM
European Street Cafe Listening Room
Jacksonville, Florida

Friday, Apr 16 @ 7:30 PM
Om On The Mat Concert Series
Grapevine, Texas

Sunday, Apr 25 @ 1:30 PM
Hard Rock Cafe
Nashville, Tennessee