You may have been served a drink or two by Jenni Spiro during her time as a bartender at the Famished Frog. But you might not realize she's also a singer and songwriter with a distinguished musical pedigree.

The 20-something Spiro began singing when she was only 3 years old. Besides guitar, she's also a bass player and dancer.

She comes from a musical family, the only child of two active musicians. Her mother is a bassist and vocalist for several New Jersey bands, while her father is known professionally as "Mongo," the keyboardist for New Jersey cover-band The Nerds. Spiro said her parents were very supportive of her musical and singing endeavors all through her school years.

The talents she built through those endeavors will be on display on Sept. 16 when the Lake Hopatcong resident performs during the Jersey Club Sports League's end-of-season celebration at the Famished Frog.

According to her Web site, Spiro was first noticed when she was seen, at age 3, "singing pitch perfect covers atop a milk crate to a reporter for the local news, who had heard of her musical aspirations and covered a story on the young star." She performed in school plays and local talent shows, began dancing at 5 and started writing her own music at seven.

Her musical aspirations were riding high throughout her teen years, up until her graduation from high school in 2001.  She attended one semester at the County College of Morris and dropped out. She had bigger plans.

Simply put, "I want to be a star," Spiro writes on her Web site's bio. She decided to go to California to do just that, in music and acting. But, Spiro said, besides a few roles in television, theater and a brief stint modeling, the trip wasn't panning out. 

Spiro said she was homeless for about six months.

"I was naive at the time I left for California," she told Patch. "I was real young and didn't know what I was getting into. L.A. just wasn't for me."

She returned to New Jersey after a little over two years.

Spiro has come a long way since then. She regularly performs music throughout the Tri-State area, recently appearing not only at the Famished Frog, but also at Lava in Wayne, The Fireside in Denville and Sullivan Hall in New York City. Besides her solo career, Spiro also sings for the New Jersey-based hard rock cover-band Abandoned.

She also once fronted a band called Broke Face Girl.

"I'm very clumsy and I'm always falling down and getting hurt, so the band's name refers to me," she said.

Besides her parents, Spiro counts Etta James and the Eagles rock as major influences.

Through it all, from singing on milk crates to her hardscrabble search for stardom on "the left coast" to her regular performances in the area today, Spiro said, "I will continue to do music because I love it and I want to make a living doing it and I want everyone to enjoy my songs."

For more information on Jenni Spiro's music, visit www.jennispiro.com.