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Ria as Tanya Tucker
Maria Francesca started out in her singing career like
many young natural vocalists singing to all her favorite rock and
rollers at the age of 18. Although she didn’t realize it at the time,
her mother "Frances" had passed down her wonderful musical talents to
her daughter.
The name chosen for the tribute is "RIA". Her mother
called her "Ria" as a child because she had heard a little kid that
couldn’t say her whole name. Her mother thought it was cute.
Life changed when Maria tried out for a choir in 1982
at Oakland Community College in Royal Oak, Michigan from the coaxing of
a girlfriend. When she went to the tryout the choir director commented
that she was very good and wanted to know how long she'd been singing.
She responded " I haven't." Unless you count at home singing in the
mirror with a hairbrush !! Much to Maria's surprise he said to her " I
think you should be in our Talent competition this year. Anyone can be
in it.
Ria as Tanya
Needless to say Maria thought he was crazy, but
couldn’t forget he thought that much of her voice. She didn’t know what
to do about it especially because she was very shy. He suggested she get
an accompanist. Then, as luck would have it David, her husband, now of 17
years, a highly trained and budding musician himself, happened to be
working at a part time job at a bridal salon Maria was working at. He
was doing odd jobs there, cleaning the building at night and running
errands while he was in college pursuing a music degree. Maria says
"much of his work was at night but I met him during the day only because
he happened to be helping set up a fashion show they were having".
David had sat down for a break and was playing the
piano that was there for the show. To this day she does not know what
came over her. She approached him with curiosity and said something
like, "are you just having fun or do you really know how to play
that?" He explained he was going to college for music to obtain a
performance degree studying jazz piano, writing arranging and jazz
saxophone . She then asked if he would want to be an accompanist
for her in a talent show at a local community college. He responded ,
"Sure!".
Ria as Tanya
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Cont'd
David did
more than accompany her. They had two weeks and in that time frame he got
some musician friends together to create an actual "band" for the contest.
When the day came for the contest, they won 2nd place!! Maria says
laughingly "We got beat out by a unicyclist, but man he was great!!" That
was the turning point for Maria's singing career, and for her personal
life.
Maria eventually joined working
professional bands within a year at the age of 19. By 1988, Maria married
her fellow musician and boyfriend of six years, David ,who was also
working in other bands as well. They decided they were not seeing enough of
each other and planned to join a band together. They worked steadily
for a few years in a six piece band until as Maria puts it "Karaoke came
through and killed the business"
Afraid of the loss of work,
David and Maria decided to become a sequenced or electronically oriented
band ,performing to back ground tracks David created. They quickly realized
a duo with just the two of them would be best. "I hated to break up our
band" she says. But we needed to do it for business reasons." Once down to
the two of them working under the name "Sax Appeal" life became easier as a
new market had emerged out of the karaoke situation creating a common scene
of one and two- piece electronic bands.
Ria as Stevie Nicks
Photo by Tom Atkins
sentinelphotography@juno.com
Maria and David became
full-time musicians and created "Sax Appeal Entertainment", and music became
their living. "We've performed in just about every hall in the basic tri
county Detroit area I think" Maria says. Weddings and private parties have
become 80% of our work now. She continues, "We also love doing festivals and
city concerts in the park".
Ria as Stevie Nicks
Maria has been singing Tanya Tucker and
Stevie Nicks for years.
She had already started her Stevie tribute but
because of Anita Welsh, mother of famous Tribute Artist Rossana Holmes(
who does the Legendry Patsy Cline). She started her
Tribute to Tanya with Anita's encouraging.
Email Ria :
For Tanya's Tribute
&
For Stevie Nicks Tribute
Michigantributes@inbox.com
FTDP
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Ria as Stevie "Night of a Thousand Stevies "
The Knitting factory, Manhattan, NY May 2005
As the years of singing began to take its toll on Maria's voice, a
particular
songstress she sings ,"Stevie Nicks" of Fleetwood Mac, is always a
favorite of hers. "People are always telling me I sound just like
her" She says. Maria decided to try adding a tribute to "Stevie" for
their show and sent promo out to New York to the infamous "Night of
a thousand Stevies in Manhattan" held every year.
To her delight she was "invited' to perform and before they knew it,
Maria and David were in front of 800 screaming Stevie Nicks fans.
"We had such a great response from the crowd and the event
producers" she states. From the experience, Maria decided to pursue
the idea and is slowly letting go of her long time duo with her
husband "Sax Appeal". Lovingly, David is completely supporting her
decision, but just as importantly her father is
"My Dad, Joseph is 83 years old and I hate to miss out on time with
him" She says. "We are best buddies, but he unselfishly wants me to
pursue my dreams. He and everyone else in my life, especially my
Mother, Frances, who has passed on, always have." Maria continues "
I know my Mom is up there pulling strings for me."
Hi-lights so far as the duo "Sax Appeal" have been two appearances on the Mitch Albom show
"Albom in the Afternoon" , on WJR radio. It is a major Detroit radio
station broadcasting to the Midwest that brings in musicians to
perform for exposure. Other highlights include performing down at
Put-in-Bay, Ohio for the last 2 summers. "Put-in-Bay is an
entertainment mecca." Maria says. The longest bar in the world is
there, called the Beer Barrel which holds 3,000 people. We performed
a graveyard shift (the afternoon because the 6 piece bands get the
evenings) but we were THRILLED just be there! "They bring in
entertainers from everywhere around the country" she explains.
"One things for sure" Maria says,
"God keeps helping me out in my personal and
business life. We are very blessed to do music for a living. I
know I will love being
a tribute artist and hope to show that love, in my
performances."
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08/27/08
