This is the one-stop-shop for everything you need to know about Michael’s Walk memoir project.
Song Swap | Podcast | Interviews | GoFundMe | Merchandise | Track-by Track | Patreon
Summary:
A 2-month road trip around the U.S.A. reimagining the conceptual journey taken by a character the focus of Tori Amos’ 2002 album, Scarlet’s Walk. A travelogue, a memoir, and an exploration into interpersonal violence experienced within an abusive relationship that lasted 15 years, starting from 2002. Connecting with other Tori Amos fans, interviewing them, and reflecting on how coercive control and manipulative abuse can exist with and without the presence of physical and sexual violence. 3 trans queers, 33 states, 55 days: limitless possibilities for healing.
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I was accompanied by the wonderful and talented, Teague Leigh and Bayley Turner who will not only be contributing to the memoir in their own ways but working on their own creative projects simultaneously. Teague’s photography will illustrate Michael’s travel writing, and he will be using his images for various collections, photo essays and exhibitions. Bayley has made her own recordings, writings and notations to develop a poetry collection and/or spoken word project during the journey.
I have interviewed people, exploring their experiences of abuse, music and healing as well as what Tori Amos means to them. Having many voices inform my writing, I’ll be able to tap into what it is like to have closer access to Tori’s career and tours than I have, living in Australia.
If you’d like to be interviewed (regardless of where you are in the world), please fill out this google form, and email me at littleelfman (at) yahoo (dot) com so I know you’ve contacted me.
Podcast
Because apparently I didn’t have enough on my plate, Bayley and I recorded a podcasting while we travelled! The show page can be found HERE. We talked it all out as we went, in a fun, music-filled way, full of poignant insights, giddy schoolgirl revelations and chats with those we met on the road. It was released on the go, every few days, recapping where we’ve been and the joys we find along the way. There are 18 core episodes, related to each track of the album, released after we have spent time with her geographically. I will be offering exclusive segments to my Patreon Supporters. So if you want more, jump on at the ‘Writing’ AU$10 level and not only will you get all the goodies I’ve been offering for over a year now, but also some extra banter and more in-depth lyric analysis.
Song Swap / Meet Up
Bayley and I regularly ask each other for a ‘Prescription’ and then will provide the asker a Tori track that we feel might be for them in that moment. Sometimes we know it references something specific going on with them, other times it’s plucked from the aether for reasons we couldn’t describe. “She will supply.”
I encourage everyone who comes to this page to participate! I’ll create a playlist to showcase the power music can have in our lives.
GoFundMe
GoFund.Me
Research
I’m very excited to partner with Dr. Dawn F. Nguyen who is a consulting Psychologist with more than twenty years of experience in advocacy, intervention education, and scholarship in various forms of relationship violence. It’s incredible to have this level of academic support, in preparing for both my own explorations and the interview process, and Dawn will be helping me analyse the interviews and my own writings. We hope this could inspire further study in the area of relationship violence within queer relationships, an area that is underrepresented in the academic field.
Track-By-Track
I put videos together for those who prefer a more visual medium. Here’s a 4 Min vid explaining it all as well as the first of a series of minute-long videos where I touch on each track of Scarlet’s Walk and what it means to me. You can view the rest of them on my Instagram, or Twitter.
View this post on Instagram
View this post on Instagram
Map
To give you a sense of the scale of the journey, here is the Map of Scarlet’s Walk, and then the version of it for Michael’s Walk. Each of the eighteen song-girls on Scarlet’s Walk have a path they connected to them. We have ensured we’ve touched on each girl’s path to make sure we’re connecting completely with the album. (oh, to have the time and money to replicate it exactly!)
Photo credit: Teague Leigh
Merchandise!
Are you the type of person that likes a memento? We’ve set up a merch store as another way to raise some funds for the trip. Grab yourself a tee, a jumper, a mug, a tote… So many options! Each purchase puts a few coins in our pocket. Head on over to our store at The Print Bar . Here’s a little clip for some fun.
Merch Store
It’s gotta be big!
???#MichaelsWalk @toriamos #ToriAmoshttps://t.co/rMHw4SHQPc pic.twitter.com/WoYBM4bcdU
— Michael Earp ?️? (@littleelfman) April 6, 2022
Patreon
Did someone mention Patreon? Oh, perhaps it was me. I currently have 3 tiers open for those who want to support me on an ongoing basis:
- Thoughtful Patron: $1 – This is for those who simply want to throw a coin my way each month because you think I’m a bit of alright.
- Review Patron: $5 – Monthly newsletter including an in-depth review of a book I’ve loved, and 5 recommendations from what I’ve seen in my travels as book buyer at The Little Bookroom
- Writing Patron: $10 (and above) – All the above PLUS works in progress, excerpts from this project, exclusive Podcast segments, and a spotify playlist each month, to a theme (usually something writing related)
Everyone who pledges (no matter what level) gets access to a Zine I wrote for Love Your Bookshop Day in 2020. It features characters from my short story ‘Meet and Greet’. It’s super cute, IMO.
In fact, if Patreon is more your jam than the GoFund.Me, then know that I’ll offer the incentives to everyone who pledges on Patreon, too, regardless of level. Even the ‘Thoughtful Patrons’ will have something to show my gratitude!