First Posted: 2/19/2015
KINGSTON — Brittany Boote is the manager of the River Street Jazz Café in Plains. Boote, 27, is a native of South Wilkes-Barre and attended Meyers High School for two years before moving to Bloomsburg. She graduated from Bloomsburg High School in 2006. She also studied real estate, attended Luzerne County Community College, and works as a professional photographer. She lives in Kingston.
What led to you becoming the manager of the Jazz Café? I didn’t apply for the job and wasn’t really looking. But I got a phone call from Tom Moran, who previously worked here and recommended me to Rob Friedman, the owner. They were going through some changes and transitions, and I came down and met with him, and he asked me if I was interested, and I told him I was, and we went from there.
You’ve been at it for about five months now. What do you like about it? I’m getting the hang of it. It was a little overwhelming at first. But it was really fun, and I was really excited. Being around the music is awesome. And I’m really social. I like being around people and talking to people. Now, I can kind of satisfy that aspect of my personality while I’m working. It’s definitely a good positive balance. It’s awesome. And a lot of my friends are musicians and artists, and they’re always here, so it’s a really consistent good atmosphere.
Have you made any changes to the club? Is it still mostly a jam-band room? Not necessarily. That vibe is still here. Obviously I want to maintain that, because I enjoy that kind of music myself, but I don’t want it to define the place. Recently, there’s been a little bit of a broader range and styles of music, which brought in more people and opened up people’s idea of what the Jazz Café is. People were under the impression that it’s just kind of a jam-band, hippie spot. But over the past couple months, that kind of broadened a little bit. We do some tribute bands, but we still want to mostly focus on original music and independent music. I’m looking forward to doing some Americana and young modern rock.
What do you do in your free time? I take a lot of photos. It’s funny, because when I’m not working, I’m still working. I also work as a photographer. But that’s what I like to do – wake up, get on my laptop, have lunch and just work on my computer. I also snowboard and skateboard. I like to stay active. And I just enjoy my friends and family.
Favorite music? Modest Mouse, consistently, has been one of my favorites. Tom Petty. I’m a huge Tom Petty fan. And I’m really into MGMT and that style of music.
Favorite TV show? My favorite TV series of all time was “Six Feet Under.” And I like watching comedies like “Family Guy,” “Parks and Recreation.” Stuff like that.
Favorite movie? Definitely “Silence of The Lambs.” I’m actually envious of the person that gets to watch that for the first time. It’s so riveting. And I love “The Departed” and crime and mafia movies like “Casino” and “Goodfellas.”
Favorite color? Purple.
Favorite food? Indian. I really want to learn how to cook it. And crab legs.
Favorite city? New York.
Favorite vacation spot? Miami.
Favorite thing about NEPA? I like that it kind of has its own vibe, and that it’s close to Philly and close to New York. And I like the people. I think it’s full of really talented, interesting and inspiring people. I wouldn’t have been able to do half of the things I’ve done in the past year without being around the type of people that I’ve surrounded myself with.
Favorite book or author? I really like Hemingway and I really like Kurt Vonnegut. My favorite book is “Slaughterhouse-Five.”
Favorite quote? “Don’t dwell on what has passed away or what is yet to be.” Leonard Cohen.
Favorite holiday? Fourth of July.
Guilty pleasure? Drinking.
Any nicknames? “Everybody calls me Boote, but that’s my last name, so I don’t know if it’s necessarily a nickname. My family calls me ‘Twitter.’ They’ve called me that since I was a kid, and now, coincidentally, it’s a huge thing. It’s funny.
Defining personal moments? Just being with my entire family and going through the realities of life. And growing up, and kind of coming into my own as a woman. Looking back on a lot of struggles and positive things that I’ve been through, and my family has been through – I think it’s just been a collective experience. It’s everything. There’s so many moments that I can reflect on, and I try to do that every day. I reflect on my decisions and kind of double-check whether I’m doing the right thing, or if I’m in the right place, or if I’m around the right people. It’s definitely an ongoing dynamic.”
