Amanda Palmer: The guilty pianist

Amanda Palmer plays piano and sings, but the Amanda Palmer Experience involves a lot more than just singing and playing. Either solo or with Dresden Dolls, she exudes a theatricality that takes every song way beyond wherever it begins as a piece of music.

"Everything starts out as just a song," she says. "I don't even like to say 'piano song,' because most of the time I'm not thinking about the piano -- I'm thinking about the chords, the lyrics. I don't have that deep spiritual connection to piano the way other composers do, like Tori Amos. A lot of the songs I write could sound great on guitar, but I just don't play guitar. I often feel guilty because I have just a functional relationship with the piano. I treat it more like a tool."

For more on Palmer and her terrific Ben Folds-produced new album, see the interview in Friday's paper. She performs Saturday at Raleigh's Lincoln Theatre.

ADDENDUM (1/10/09): Nice interview with Palmer on the influence of visual/performance art on her work.