Vicci Martinez was already playing violin in the sixth grade when a choir teacher asked her to stand in front of the class and sing.
Martinez balked. She was shy and preferred to play in the background as an instrumentalist.
"My teacher was like, 'You're going to sing this part,' " Martinez recalled. "And I said, 'No, I'm not!' I was too embarrassed.
"But after I did it, I figured, 'Whoa, this isn't so hard. I can do this.' The teacher told me I had a
great natural instrument and that I should keep with it."
Now 20, the Tacoma-bred singer-songwriter and guitarist is a musical fireball on the order of an
Ani DiFranco, without the political bent.
Her current album, "Sleep to Dream," is packed with original songs of surprising sophistication and
wisdom beyond her years. Many deal with relationships, and some are almost prescient in their
grasp of adult emotions and feelings. There's also a beautiful, original song sung in Spanish,
"Ganar Tu Amor" ("Win Your Love").
"That whole CD is about relationships and figuring out that life isn't as great as it is when you're young
and hanging out and having fun and have no worries," she said. "Then the business side of things
began happening to me and it started stressing me out."
Released in 2003, it was produced by Northwest musician and producer Paul Speer at Bellevue's Rainstorm Studio
and features guest performances by drummer Scott Rockenfield (of Queensryche) and guitarist and
keyboardist Speer, among others.
But "Sleep to Dream" is actually Martinez's fifth recording, if you count the two acoustic and two band CDs she
has recorded on her own since she was 15.
This weekend, Martinez will perform two shows, both with singer Melissa Ivey opening. They're tomorrow night at
the Triple Door and Sunday night at Jazzbones in Tacoma.
Both are all-ages shows, and both feature Martinez's impressive band of veteran local players, including guitarists
Rod Cook (of Laura Love's band) and Chad Quist (of Big Brother and the Holding Company), drummer
Darin Watkins and bassist Keith Lowe (a member of Fiona Apple's touring band).
Cook has been Martinez's mentor since they were introduced about two years ago.
"Rod kind of took it on with the idea of, 'Hey, this girl has a lot of talent and is a great songwriter.'
When he first met me, I was playing with a bunch of kids in a garage," she said.
Her parents, Mexican immigrants who grew up in New Mexico, also have been a source of encouragement.
"At first, my mom was just afraid of me wanting to sing and making that my life. She didn't know that
I could even do it until I wrote my first song," Martinez said. "When they heard me sing they were amazed."
Her parents' record collection was also a source of inspiration.
"I played lots of old funky disco, Spanish music, jazz, everything. I loved everything I listened to.
I would just borrow all their records and listen to them all the time," she said.
For a 20-year-old, Martinez has a surprisingly long resume. In addition to the five recordings, she appeared
on the nationally syndicated CBS-TV show "Star Search" in 2003, winning the "adult singers" category.
Her songs have been played on FM stations KMTT and KBKS, and "Fade Away" was picked by National Public Radio
listeners as the best song in the network's national online "open mike" program.
In November, Martinez played in front of one of her biggest audiences to date, at the Sting and Annie Lennox
concert at White River Amphitheatre. She also has performed at San Diego's Folk Alliance and the
Michigan Womyn's Music Festival.
Martinez recently returned from a performance in Hong Kong with the Seattle-based Martin Ross Orchestra at
the Grand Hyatt Hotel Ballroom.
On stage, she is a bundle of energy who whirls around the stage barefoot.
"I normally wear shoes that are higher because I'm so short, and it feels like something's pulling me down,"
she said. "Going barefoot is so much more comfortable."
Momentum is building toward recording a new album this winter, and Martinez already is feeling the stress.
"If we make a CD and everyone's having fits and getting upset, you're going to feel that in the music when you
listen to it," she said. "We have to be in harmony with each other."
