The O-town Scene - Oneonta, NY
Issue link: http://www.epageflip.net/i/30393
Costumed jazz band to play Oneonta Theatre, area schools Franklin native Samantha Boshnack, trumpet player for Seattle-band Reptet, talked to the Scene about her band, growing up in Franklin and Zimbabwe. Trumpet player Samantha Boshnack has been in Zimbabwe since April 24, playing with a band at a festival and doing charity work at an orphanage. She’s coming back to America next week, when her Seattle- based band, Reptet, will start its U.S. tour to promote its new album, “At The Cabin.” The tour will begin in the Oneonta area before moving on to Philadelphia, New York City, St. Louis and Denver, among other cross-country stops. Reptet will play at the Oneonta Theatre at 9 p.m. Thursday, May 5, with opening act Checkered Penguins, an Oneonta- based band. Reptet bills itself as a genre-blending sextet of drums, bass and four horns that incorporates jazz, reggae, rock, ska, punk, modern classical, avant-garde and eastern European folk music. In addition to playing a variety of music types, Reptet incor- porates costumes and a theatrical element to its live perfor- mances. The group’s newest costumes are railroad-themed, meaning the musicians will dress like railroad conductors. Other costumes have included space suits and various animals. “The train one is nice because it’s new,” Boshnack said. “We rotate them out, otherwise they would get stinky.” The band has also been working with arts and education programs through BOCES for the last few years. “The first gig is Jefferson Central School on May 4,” Boshnack said, adding the band will also perform at Cherry Valley-Springfield and Franklin central schools. This will be the third time Reptet has performed in Franklin, where Boshnack grew up. (Her father, Mark Boshnack, is a music columnist for the Scene and a reporter for The Daily Star.) “I started in the band at Franklin when I was 10. My band teacher, Carol Smith, is great; she’s the one who’s having us at Franklin,” Boshnack said. Reptet’s flexibility and uniqueness opens up different opportunities for the band. “The schools are a big part of the tour, and we couldn’t really do it without them,” Boshnack said. “We really play in a variety of venues. We play in jazz clubs, rock clubs, breweries, cafes. Our music can kind of lend itself to different venues.” Boshnack has lived in Seattle since graduating from Bard College in 2003, and has managed to make a living making music. She has played in several bands, playing several different musical styles. “There’s a really awesome music scene and great musicians in Seattle,” she said. “I’ve managed to play in different scenes _ salsa, jazz, I get classical gigs sometimes. I find the community to be really supportive and friendly.” Although Boshnack is based in one of the great U.S. music cities and has toured ex- tensively throughout the country and world, she said she enjoys coming back to upstate New York for shows. “We played last year at the Franklin Theater _ that was a really fun show,” she said. “It was kind of heartwarming for me, because all of these people I knew from growing up showed up. It was nice to feel so supported.” _ Cassandra Miller April 28, 2011 O-Town Scene 33 Contributed Samantha Boshnack performs as a jailbird. Find the Scene online at www.otownscene.com