Randolph Native Sings & Records,

Amy Osha LaPaglia and her musical partner Bob Varno will perform at the Peavine Restaurant in Stockbridge this Saturday, Jan. 13 from 6-9 p.m. Amy's a Randolph native, and this marks her return as a successful performer.

Will Perform at The Peavine

By Martha Slater

Known professionally as "The Duo," former Randolph resident Amy Osha LaPaglia and her musical partner Bob Varno will perform at the Peavine Restaurant in Stockbridge this Saturday, Jan. 13 from 6-9 p.m.

The daughter of John and Gail Osha of Randolph Center, LaPaglia graduated from RUHS in 1989. She got her LPN from the Oneida County BOCES technical program, but now works part-time in sales at a real estate office in South Utica, N.Y. and is working to qualify for a real estate license. She and her husband have a six-year-old son, Joseph Mattingly LaPaglia, whose middle name is a tribute to the great Yankee pitcher Don Mattingly.

LaPaglia, who also works part-time at Littman Jewelers, started doing karaoke and was recruited to begin singing with bands after moving to Utica, N.Y. in 1997.

"I’ve done a lot of original music," LaPaglia explains. "I worked with a jazz musician and did some original work with him and was also in an alternative melodic metal band called Pull Trigger. I did a full album of songs with them, which I wrote the lyrics for. I like to write. Bob and I and our current band, Time Trooper, have a lot of original music that we’ll be recording over this winter and plan to release through the local radio station which does a program called Local Exposure."

LaPaglia noted that Time Trooper, "plays a lot in Syracuse and opened for the Allman Brothers at the State Fairgrounds there. This is the best band I’ve ever been in and we all have mutual respect for each other, which is great."

When they perform as a duo, Varno does all the guitar playing and LaPaglia sings. They do a lot of originals that she describes as "kind of a cross between folk and jazz" and also play a lot of classic rock songs by Fleetwood Mac, the Rolling Stones, Blind Faith, and Janis Joplin, as well as things by Melissa Ethridge, Radiohead and Sheryl Crow.

LaPaglia and Varno will play three times at the Peavine over the next couple of months. In addition to this Saturday’s show, they’ll also perform there Feb. 16 and May 5.

"I don’t have any false hopes about making this a full time career," LaPaglia concludes. "It’s a hobby and a great outlet, though and I love how I feel when I’m performing!"

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