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Tiny Tina at large
By Mae Astrid Tobias

If you didn’t know any better, you would mistake Tina Turner for a Filipina. That is in Vancouver because that’s where you would find Luisa Marshall a.k.a. Tiny Tina. For several years now, Marshall has taken advantage of her powerful set of vocal chords and her uncanny resemblance to the Queen of Rock and Roll.

In August, she bagged the much coveted World Rock and Roll Tribute Artist Championship. More than 70 artists from Canada, the United States and Europe flocked to Fort Erie, Ontario, Canada, where the contest was held. Imagine, being in the same room with Elvis Presley, Frank Sinatra, Rod Stewart, Shania Twain, Jimmy Duranti, Cher, David Lee Roth, Buddy Holly, John Lennon, Olivia Newton-John, Diana Ross, and Whitney Houston. Well, look-alikes, at least.

Marshall, through email, described how intense the three-day competition was.

“We competed during the day, from 12 noon to 6 p.m.,” she said. “Then we had to perform from 8 p.m. until one in the morning for the ‘Legends’ show at the Casino Racetrack in front of the fans.” She added that their live performances at the Racetrack were also part of the competition. “The judges watched how we performed in front of a live audience.”

During the competition finals, each finalist was given 20 minutes to perform. Marshall’s repertoire included “The Best,” “What’s Love Got To Do With,” and ended with “Proud Mary.” The crowd gave her a standing ovation afterwards.

Born and raised in the Philippines, Marshall had always been drawn to the limelight. In her website, www.tinytina.com, it was mentioned how “she made several unexpected visits to a local film studio, only to be turned away by security each time.” Probably her earliest break in the industry was when she landed on the Mary Magdalene role for a local production of Jesus Christ Superstar.

Marshall graduated with a degree in mass communication from the University of Santo Thomas. She dabbled in marketing and public relations before she went back to her true calling.

“I used to be a member of the popular show group, The Ambivalent Crowd,” Marshall narrated. “Then I thought of starting my own band called Hall of Fame and it became popular with the elite Manila five-star hotel circuit.” Together with her two sisters and six other members, Hall of Fame did renditions of pop tunes. Later, when the group toured the globe, they changed their repertoire to “match the current edgier top 40.”

During a performance in Dubai, a fan from the audience suggested to Marshall that she don a Tina Turner wig while covering the song, “Proud Mary.” Incidentally, Marshall stands only an inch shorter than the real Tina Turner. “Tiny Tina started way back in 1995 in United Arab Emirates,” she recalled. “Everybody called me Tiny Tina because I was so slim. Real tiny waist.” That was eight years ago, but the moniker stuck. Thus, Tiny Tina was born!

In her Tina Turner tribute show entitled “All Hail The Queen!,” it is not enough for Marshall that she looked like the Queen of Rock and Roll. She must also be as indefatigable as her idol. Together with the equally talented Vegas Hotlegzz Dancers and the Big Night Out band, she always makes sure every performance is first rate.Her song list includes Turner classics such as “Proud Mary,” “The Best,” “River Deep Mountain High,” “Private Dancer,” and “What’s Love Got to Do with It.”

“ Doing Tina Turner is a very specialized venture,” she says. “When I do shows, fans know exactly what they are coming for. They enjoy themselves. Instead of copying the popular tunes of the day, I have to study the songs, dance, movements, mannerisms, and attitude of Tina Turner closely enough [so that] my tribute would be a world-class act.”
To keep herself in tiptop shape, Marshall keeps a rigorous physical training.
“ My Tina Turner performance is a very tiring show,” she continues. “I have to sing and dance all over the stage so I run three times a week. I work out regularly to keep my endurance high because it’s a very exhausting routine. And I’m always gasping for breath every time. Besides, I also have to be specially choreographed with my Vegas Hotleggz Dancers.”

The true Tina Turner has yet to see Marshall perform. But she has received a lot of rave reviews from those who have watched her act. While in New York for a show last May 2003, Marshall met Paul Schaffer, musical director of the Late Show with David Letterman. He is quoted in her site, saying “Look at you! You look exactly like Tina Turner.”

Beneath the wig and the makeup, Marshall describes herself as “a very private person and dedicated to her family.” Her husband, Steve Marshall, is the drummer in her show. She is also a mother raising two lovely young girls, instilling in them strict Filipino values. Her 16-year-old Mary Kim is in Grade 11 and she practices the guitar everyday. Her younger daughter, four-year-old Zenia Marie, is in preschool but, already, she wants to follow in the footsteps of her mother, and sing for a living.

In January 2004, Marshall hopes to come home to the Philippines for a visit. She says that she misses a lot of things in her native country. “I miss spending Christmas and New Year’s Eve in the Philippines. It’s so much fun over there…more of family and friends getting together and really having great time. I miss the nightlife that I was accustomed to during the years I was performing in the hotel circuit in Manila. I miss the wonderful cheap restaurants like Aristocrat and Maxim’s, where my band used to hang out after our shows. Most of all, I miss my brothers and sister who are still living in Manila.”

When asked if she has plans of performing in the Philippines, Marshall says, “We have a promoter who’s looking into the possibility of my performing in the Philippines. My sister Ajie is still doing the rounds in Manila with a popular band, Big Nite Out. Her band can back me up and I will only have to bring my dancers.”

If you’re not in Canada or in the United States, you can still catch a glimpse of Tiny Tina’s breathless performance by visiting her website.

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