Friday, May 30, 2008
By RICHARD L. BOCCIA
YOUNGSTOWN — For the bands playing JonesFest, the festival means stretching the limits of the Youngstown music scene — and stretching the length of a guitar solo.
Jamming is what these bands do and what brings them together for Saturday’s free concert downtown. The first JonesFest on West Federal Street may also feed business to nearby restaurants.
Guitarist Dave Lynn of Mystic WIP Hustler, a band playing at the festival’s outside stage, said those improvised solos mean the music is never the same twice. WIP stands for work in progress, and Lynn said his band can play a spontaneous, gloomier version of any song to match rainy weather.
“We can mold it to the day,” he said.
Jones For Revival frontman Jim DeCapua shares the love of improvising — or “mantra of jamming,” as Lynn calls it.
DeCapua stretches out songs, “following in the footsteps of a band like The Grateful Dead,” although he’s reluctant to draw a direct comparison.
DeCapua said the vibe of enjoying music, good times and positive energy makes the band experimental, and, for lack of a better word, hippie.
“We’re really like a vibe band, we like to have a good time,” he said.
Phil Kidd, Youngstown’s director of events and creator of Defend Youngstown, called JonesFest a signature event to kick off the city’s summer entertainment season.
For people unaware of the city’s music talent, JonesFest could be an eye-opener, Kidd said.
“They will appreciate a whole other level of the city, of the authentic urban experience that’s being reinvigorated,” he said.
Part of that genuine culture is the music.
“These are some of our best bands, and they’re very talented, they’re very pro-Youngstown,” Kidd said of the bands, some of whom are regulars at local bars. “It’s a very nice mix.”
Mix is the word to describe JonesFest’s sound.
“Instead of focusing on one style, we left everything in,” said DeCapua of his band’s no-rules agenda. Sonic diversity carries across the two stages, from hip-hop scratches and reggae echoes in 5 Element’s funk to Captain Braskey’s garage band grunge. Jones For Revival even brings touches of jazz, blues and polka to their songs.
Combine that with the bands’ penchant for improv, and the festival gives fans a lot to listen to, but not a lot of sure expectations.
“We’ll play your favorite song,” said Lynn, “but we’ll do it our way.”
JonesFest is one of few opportunities to have a good time at a big outdoor music festival in Ohio, where Lynn said such events are few and far between.
“Youngstown is what it is — there’s only a few venues compared to other cities,” said DeCapua.
Rosetta Stone Cafe co-owner Greg Sop said that while events near Central Square might be too far down the street to help his business, they still bring attention downtown.
“Anything that goes on downtown that brings people down — especially people who haven’t come down in a while — lets them see how things have been moving positively, and it’s a good thing for the city,” he said.
Since he attended Youngstown State University in the ’90s, Sop has witnessed development down the street from the restaurant he opened with his father in January.
“I’m excited to be a part of this,” he said of the downtown business scene. “How many times can you say you were part of the redevelopment of a city?
Jason Emler of Boardman is assistant manager at Buffalo Wild Wings on Federal Plaza. Over the years, he’s seen the number of people downtown grow.
“The more people there are downtown, the more it’s going to drive our business,” Emler said, referring to events like JonesFest and Party on the Plaza.
He also said Saturdays are usually quiet since downtown offices are closed, but JonesFest expects several thousand people to attend.
Barley’s co-owner Dan Crump agrees that 2,500 music fans streaming past his door should help business.
“We expected four for VexFest and got 6,900,” he said, speaking for Youngstown Local Music, a promotionsproject Crump started with DeCapua, law student and Youngstown native Fred Rafidi, and John Jones of AT&T.