The Scintas are made up of brothers Joe and Frank, sister Chrissi and “Irish Scinta” Peter O’Donnell. Raised in Buffalo, New York, along with brother Tony, a former police detective, their parents Joe (“Bucko), a firefighter and Mary (known universally as “Mama Scinta”) encouraged them to follow their dreams and fulfill their potential.

At 12 he appeared on The Merv Griffin Show. Before that, even, he was featured on Ted Mack’s Original Amateur Hour. Those appearances are not surprising when you consider that from the time he was four years old, Frankie Scinta was recognized as a musical prodigy.

At that age his grandfather Joe Scinta gave him a guitar. From there Frankie progressed to the mandolin and banjo and next added drums and bass to his repertoire. His talent was noted and he began to appear locally.

When he saw the film “The Godfather” Frankie returned home, sat down at the family piano and, without the sheet music, played the movie’s theme song. Today, Frankie’s keyboard artistry stops the show at every performance.

Frankie is married and is the father of two sons and two daughters. If you see him offstage, you’re likely to see him with his sidekick, Buddy Love, a Maltese given to him by Wayne Newton.

Citing a very practical reason for becoming a musician, Joey Scinta says, “I noticed girls gathering around me when I played the guitar and I liked that. When I went to college to study to be a teacher, I noticed that teachers were making about half of what musicians were making,” he recalls, giving up teaching for music.

As a teenager Joey played in a band called The Mojos.. Parkside was another of his bands, an R & B group that met success opening for such acts Sly and The Family Stone, Poco, J Geils, Yes and Chicago.

Next came a show band called Bourbon and Spice that changed their name to Top Banana. Frank joined the group but, after a few months in Hawaii, the two decided to return to Buffalo and  The Scintas’ act as we know it today began to take shape.

Joey is married and is the father of three sons and two daughters.

She may be tiny but Chrissi Scinta’s voice is huge and, from the time she was a little girl, the baby of the Scinta family knew she both loved to sing and possessed the vocal chops to make it her career.

She first sang with her brother, Frankie, when he took her with him to entertain at nursing homes in their native Buffalo. When she graduated from high school, Chrissi was given the opportunity to perform at the Miss New York State pageant and was a finalist for a part in the television show “Fame.” (The part ultimately went to a youngster named Janet Jackson.) She also recorded a song with Rick James on his last album.

In the Scintas’ show today, Chrissi’s beautiful renditions of the big ballads are always highlights.

Chrissi and her husband John Milkie, The Scintas’ manager since 1994, are the proud parents of a daughter.

“Irish Scinta” Peter O’Donnell is a member of the close-knit Scinta clan in every sense of the word.

Before he joined The Scintas in 1988, the Buffalo native studied with Louis Marino, drummer for Billie Holiday. He played gigs with more than 700 bands, noting, “I lost count after 700.”

His role with The Scintas is a critical one, as he keeps the rhythm going (literally) and provides comic counterpoint to the rest of the group.

Pete and his wife are the parents of one daughter.