About the SPiTTiN' ViNNiES

The SPiTTiN’ ViNNiES unleash witty, wicked-fun, acoustical, musical mayhem on the world.  With their sing-alongy originals (like the crowd fave Drink to Boston), cool, classic-rock covers, and new pop schmaltz, the ViNNiES will get you dancing, drinking, and singing along.  The ViNNiES take requests (but don’t always play them); they improvise songs about folks in the crowd; they play super groovy versions of a lot of songs you know and love (and hate but love). Picture a wailing washboard in a Bruno Mars cover - or a triumphant trumpet-blasting solo in Bon Jovi.  Acoustic guitars, djembe, tambourines, drums, washboard, valve trombone, and trumpet combine to create a range of semi-inspirational, bar-belting tunes from Bohemian Rhapsody to Brittany Spears.  If you are into pretentious, tight-pants, diva-type musicians … please don’t come to see the ViNNiES.  If you want to have fun, sing, dance, and maybe share a drink with great musicians who are having fun, then the SPiTTiN’ ViNNiES are your band. 

Fun fact:

The ViNNiES maintain the longest musical residency in Boston, playing every Thursday evening at the Green Dragon Tavern in Boston, where they’ve plied their brand of bar, belting, music for over 26 years. 

They also appear regularly north of town in Gloucester MA at Minglewood Harborside and Drift, and south at the Chieftain pub in Plainville and smattering of other lusty locales in the Massachusetts area. Check the calendar for show dates. 

The SPiTTiN’ ViNNiES are:

  • Dr. Scott Benjamin (lead vocals, guitar, washboard, percussion). Dr. Benjamin is known for his corny banter and improvisational lyrical skills – like a geek rapper with a washboard. Scott hails from Oswego, NY (in his original state) and Somerville, Ma. 
  • Dr. John Savage (main guitar dude, rhythm and bass simultaneously with his magical, octavided twelve-string and vocals). Dr. Savage is known for his ballerina-like dance moves (an accomplishment for his 6’4” frame) and deep knowledge of physical chemistry and Star Trek. John fled Wilkes-Barre, PA, to make his home in Boston many years ago. 
  • Dr. Frank Rossitto (lead vocals, weird Djembe/snare drum/cymbal drum set up). Dr. Rossitto, also known as Franky-the-Fish, is known for his lush, manly vocals and his ability to break the strings on Dr. Benjamin’s guitar. Franky, the Fish, is a North Shore native who resides in Gloucester, Mass, and has the accent to prove it.   
  • Russ Robar (Trumpet, valve trombone, huge cowbell, and other cool percussion). Russ is a mild-mannered massage therapist by day but appears as Captain Trumpet Man at night. Whenever a crowd croons to a corny cover song, Captain Trumpet Man saves the day with a knock-you-on-your-butt, blaring trumpet solo. Russ was hatched in Weymouth, Mass, and has since nested in Medford, Ma. 
  • Dave Evans (drum kit and sparkling personality). Dave is a rock-steady human drum machine.   He is known for his very low voice and very high forehead. No one in the band knows where Dave was born. It might have been a distant planet or Foxborough, Massachusetts.