Still music to his ears after all these years

By HOLLY SCHOENSTEIN

AUSTINTOWN — Twelve brightly colored electric guitars hang silently on a wall, drawing the eye to an illuminated showcase where Rocky Chirchiglia’s first guitar — a Regal he bought for $12 in 1942 — rests on a shelf. The guitar’s strings are missing, the paint has been rubbed off and the wood is cracked.

The showcase is mounted above stacks of old record albums, scores of amplifiers and groups of music stands in a room that emanates nostalgia at Chirchiglia’s House of Music, 5450 Mahoning Ave.

Between renditions of his favorite Italian songs he plays on a six-string acoustic guitar, Chirchiglia recounts how he became a musician. At 11 years old, he began guitar lessons. After eight years of lessons, he had learned to play a variety of guitars — flamenco, lap steel, four and five-string banjo, ukulele and mandolin.

Today, the 77-year-old Youngstown resident passes on his extensive knowledge of music to people of all ages by teaching music lessons at his business, which he founded in 1979. He says he started the business to make a living from his passion and to teach people how to play instruments correctly.

He teaches music lessons for the guitar, and another music instructor teaches lessons for clarinet, saxophone, flute and drums.

People taking lessons may bring their own instruments or buy them from the House of Music.

After decades of owning and operating the business, Chirchiglia hopes to continue doing what makes him the happiest — indulging his passion for music.

“I’m going to keep on going here as much as I can,” he said. “But if someone comes along and says ‘I want to take over your music store,’ for the right price, we may be able to work out a deal.”

His wife of 53 years, Virginia, helps run the business by doing the bookkeeping.

“She keeps me in line with everything, and that keeps me successful,” he said.

He feeds his passion for music by playing in The Rocky Chirchiglia Band, which formed in 1946.

The band mainly plays Italian music at festivals and functions throughout Ohio, western Pennsylvania and West Virginia. It is scheduled to play at outdoor summer concerts at local parks this summer, and the last Wednesday of every month it plays at The Wheeling Island Casino in Wheeling, W.Va.

The Rocky Chirchiglia Band has recorded three albums; the most widely recognized is titled “Italian Favorites,” which was nominated for a Grammy award in 1994. Since 1992, about 25,000 copies of the album have been sold, Chirchiglia said.

The other albums are “Return to Me” and “Italian Romance.”

The band recently set another milestone when the Italian movie “Fine-Tune” featured some of its music. The movie is scheduled for a viewing by invitation only July 26 at Powers Auditorium in Youngstown.

More information on the movie can be found at www.finetunethemovie.com.

“My wife says, ‘Everywhere we go, you’re always talking about music.’ And I say, ‘Well, that’s all I know.’ I’m not a carpenter or a plumber, I’m a musician,” he said.

Music, Chirchiglia’s only hobby, is part of the two goals he has for himself — being happy for the rest of his life and maintaining good health.

“When I’m troubled in any way, I get my guitar and close my eyes. I play and all the stress leaves my system,” he said.

And his passion for music may continue to live on with the Chirchiglia House of Music Band, a group of youngsters, ages 9 to 12, who have been taking music lessons at the store and have been playing together for six weeks.

The group is learning classics, including “Tequila” by The Champs and “Later” by The Ventures and “Love Me Tender” by Elvis Presley. If the House band masters these songs and others, Chirchiglia said it may play at some concerts at which The Rocky Chirchiglia Band plays.

hschoenstein@vindy.com