Star bucks system
Williams headlines ‘Her Song’ at The Summit

by Joshua Maloni
Niagara Frontier Publications, March 1, 2007

Tina Marie Williams

It’s a cold Monday evening in Amherst, and Tina Marie Williams is running late for an interview. The 18-year-old singer sends message via her manager, Buffalo music producer Richard Sargent, that she’s running 20 minutes behind, but very much on her way. Forty-four minutes later, she arrives at Starbucks and sinks into a brown chair by the window, apologizing for her tardiness.

Sitting in the counter-culture coffeehouse, decked out in a blue Sabres sweatshirt and matching gold headband, Williams, on the surface, very much resembles your typical Buffalo teen-ager. She loves Starbucks, “probably because my parents don’t,” she says with a laugh. “I have a lot of friends at Starbucks; I get a lot of free coffee!”

As she reaches down to tie her shoelaces, she says it’s disappointing that everyone both knows and calls her by her middle name. That trend began when a friend of Williams persuaded her to use three names on the cover of a previous album. “I caved under pressure is basically why (people say Tina Marie).”

As the conversation continues, however, Williams reveals a much deeper side. The subject of coffee motivates her to speak of Fair Trade. “It’s our responsibility, as Christians, to take care of people who are less well off,” she says.

In late December of last year, Williams opened for Relevant Worship at a concert down the street from Starbucks. On that Friday night, before hundreds of teen-agers eager to rock, she told the audience that, at age 14, she attempted suicide. She admitted it was the grace of God that set her straight, and told those listening there’s more to praise and worship than guitar and drum riffs.

“It’s really easy for me to get up here and entertain,” she explained. “That’s not what I was created for.”

Stating her set list for the night had changed, despite her inner protest against the spiritual nudge that motivated her decision, she challenged those in the crowd to “ask yourself what’s more important – your pride or your soul? I hope you’d say your soul!”

That Williams is wise beyond her years is obvious to others – though she can’t quite wrap her brain around the idea.

“I like to think I’m wise beyond my years, (but) I still have so much to learn – like how to come to meetings on time!” she says.

The singer’s wit is a perfect complement to her faith. The combination has made Williams a highly coveted performer. She is one of a scarce number of local musicians on the bill at this year’s Kingdom Bound festival at Six Flags Darien Lake, and is slated to perform with backing band/co-collaborator One Foot In Heaven as part of a two-day July concert event in Westfield featuring Avalon.

“I’m just a chick that goes up there (on stage) and shares what I’ve been through, and try to have a good time doing it,” she says.

With her latest release, “Acceptable,” Williams has created both a respectable worship album and a teen-pleasing collection of tracks. With One Foot In Heaven behind her, the songs have a more rock-pop appeal and could easily be spun on radio stations like “Kiss” 98.5 or “Wild” 101.1.

Her two standout tracks are “Turn Around,” an up-tempo rock song, and “Home Schooled,” a comical take on her own schooling experience that came to her on a sleepless night.

“I said, ‘You know what? I’m going to write a song about home schooling,” she explains. “Sometimes, things just come easier at 3 in the morning.”

Beyond that, she credits the album’s final three songs to divine inspiration. She says God told her to “Let it go” and she did. “It’s really intense and extremely personal,” she adds.

Williams will debut her new material with a show at Ground Zero (Eastern Hills Wesleyan Church) on Saturday, March 24, and at a gig at The Tralf in Buffalo on April 20. She will also headline “Her Song,” a musically themed coffeehouse night at The Summit, 6929 Williams Road, Wheatfield, on Saturday, March 10, at 6:30 p.m.

“Tina is a true ‘voice’ – someone whose music speaks from a heart; that seems so much older than her age,” says Peter Green, director of marketing at The Summit. “She’s able to take the things she feels in life – pain, betrayal, love, loss – and communicate them as both feelings and lessons learned. Her music reaches – not just youth – but all ages, because I think we never truly ‘lose’ youth and we can still connect to Tina no matter how old we are.”

Opening for Williams at the mall is Carrie Ann Ford, a talented singer/actress from East Aurora who performed at the Lighthouse Café in Lockport on Feb. 17. Ford has a pleasant stage demeanor, and a voice that’s similar to Carrie Underwood.