R&B Singer Tank Says Thanks To Mom at Microsoft Store in Atlanta [Interview]

(Photo by Tami)

Always charming and consistently smooth, R&B gentleman Tank has a gift for making every woman feel very, very special with his beautifully soulful tone and heartfelt lyrics that are taken straight from the heart. Last Friday, the eight-time GRAMMY nominated crooner swooned the ladies at a special Mother's Day workshop at the Microsoft Store in Atlanta that I hosted. Tank not only performed songs from his brand-new album, entitled "This Is How I Feel," he also spoke candidly with me about his own mother and his memories of Mother's Day.

"I definitely remember Mother's Day as one of the days that I wasn't in trouble," Tank smiles. "I knew that when Mother's Day came around, everyone would be happy with me. I would buy a little gift [for my mom]. She's always been a big [Dallas Cowboys] fan, so I would get her something Cowboys related, like an Emmitt Smith jersey, a Cowboy plaque, or Cowboy covers, that was my go-to-gift."

Tank remembers, "My most memorable Mother's Day was actually when I wrote a song for her. "They let me sing it for her in church on Mother's Day Sunday. It was super cool, everybody was crying and stuff. It was really good, really cool."

The critically-acclaimed singer/songwriter explains that he thinks of his mom as his "best friend" who worked hard to provide for her family. "She did whatever she had to do to make sure that we had," he confides. "I remember Christmas holidays that on Christmas eve there were no gifts in sight. She would literally get a new credit card the day before and max it out buying Christmas gifts and then figure out a way to pay that back. It was that kind of life, but we never felt less fortunate."

If it's up to Tank, Mother's Day would not be just one day but an entire weekend. "It would just be rest and relaxation, that's what mammas need the most," he smiles. "They need some time to themselves. No babies crying, they don't have to cook food for anybody, they can just sit on that chair by the pool and read a book if they feel like it (. . .) just give them their day."

After chatting about Mother's Day and his brief in-store performance, Tank and I created a really cool and very personal Mother's Day card with the help of Windows Photo Gallery and Paint, two really great tools that you can use to help you make the perfect, personalized gifts for the many sides of your busy mom this Mother's Day. Download Tank's very special Mother's Day card on SkyDrive.

(A special thanks to Tank for making time in his busy schedule to join the workshop. Also, a big shout to to bloggers Tami, Renee, RunWifey, Kontrol, and the staff at the Microsoft Store for hosting such a special event.)