On July 6 of this year, a fire broke out in Hillcrest that left one restaurant, one bookstore and one apartment complex burning. Literally burning. The smoke in the distance was definitely visible. People on the sidewalk were trying to pinpoint the exact location of the rising inferno on an otherwise clear weeknight. According to the fire department, there was some sort of roofing issue and a nearby apartment building ended up engulfed rather quickly.

New York transplant and singer and guitarist Tori lived there. She lost a lot of her things. For an artist, there’s probably a lot to write about after that.

Having lived in San Diego for the last seven years, Tori has been working hard on her craft. After relentlessly performing with her guitar on many San Diego street corners and coffee houses, she eventually linked up with Beth Ladwig of the band Bitter Sober along with the producers at Elliot The Dog Music to record the LP To The Moon. The 10 tracks on this record perfectly highlight Tori’s unique brand of songwriting, the brutal truth behind her lyrics and her amazing, one of a kind singing voice. To The Moon is our introduction to an extremely talented artist on the rise.

Tori says that one album she could never part with is Radiohead’s Kid A, so it’s clear that she comes from the new-school generation of songwriters, but her recordings and live performances not only channel Thom Yorke of Radiohead, but also Neil Young and Linda Perry. With a handful of dedicated musicians as her backing band ¬– all of whom are working on several other musical projects around town – Tori and her group can be found performing often at places like the Tin Can Alehouse, Lestat’s and her new favorite intimate venue, Wine Steals in Hillcrest.

After the apartment fire, Tori began playing shows to raise money along with picking up some extra hours at her day job at a Hillcrest coffee house. The Red Cross put her up in a hotel for a few days and she was able to stay with friends. But that is all in the past. The art that Tori will leave behind, her eventual body of work, will far supersede any material possession that can burn up in an apartment fire.

Tori and her group are already recording the follow-up record to To The Moon in the basement of Elliot The Dog with new songs available to the general public early 2012. Tori says the name of her next album might be Nowhere, Particular but that’s not indicative of the future for this talented Uptown musician who is truly dedicated to her craft. She’s going somewhere.

For more information, visit elliotthedog.com/tori