Frankie Scinta opens a new chapter in the history of The Scintas. The family quartet whose strong ties were held together with love, humor and a load of musical talent dominated Las Vegas entertainment for a decade in the early 2000’s.
Their hometown paper, The Buffalo News, proudly declared, “Their pictures are everywhere—on the sides of buses, on taxis, and on billboards twice the size of a drive-in movie screen.”
The Scintas weathered the loss of sister Chrissie when her vocal chords betrayed her in 2013. They lost the funny man and bass player, brother Joey, to a stroke in 2017 and “like-a-brother” Pete O’Donnell relocated to Florida.
“I never wanted to be alone up there on stage,” Frankie whispered. On June 20, the forced solo becomes a duet when Frankie welcomes daughter Danielle Scinta-Mackin, mother of Frankie’s four grandchildren, to the stage at the iconic Italian American Club.
The steps up to the IAC’s stage began when the pandemic dimmed the footlights. For the first time in 40 years, Frankie didn’t have a stage.
“He wasn’t performing and that’s all he knew,” Danielle remembered. With brother Frankie Jr. handling production and Danielle on-line social media, the three began a weekly podcast, Live with the Scintas that continues today.
The family’s togetherness warms Friday nights when Frankie and wife Jackie’s kitchen is filled with kids, grandkids, in-laws and more, gathered to celebrate tradition and togetherness over time-honored Italian home cooking. “We always love being around family,” Frankie adds.
Frankie doesn’t hide his enthusiasm anticipating sharing the stage with his daughter. “When she’s on the stage, you can feel it. It’s a feeling you can only get when it’s family..
A nervous Danielle consulted her aunt Chrissie, who encouraged her with “you’re doing the right thing baby girl.”
For Frankie, “It’s like bringing my sister on stage, but it’s my daughter. I didn’t have family to work with anymore, but now I do.”
Scinta is scheduled to appear at the South Point Casino June 8th and Danielle joins him June 20th at the Italian American Club, (2333 E. Sahara at Eastern, 702/457-3866).
