Jammin' at the Quarry

By Guy D’Astolfo

Jones for Revival has found what has got to be the most perfect location for its annual jam festival.

The band will hold the second annual Jonesfest at Nelson Ledges Quarry Park, near Garrettsville, Saturday. The park — which is a few miles east of the middle of nowhere — has a lake, campsite and a very remote setting. In recent years, it has become a mecca for jam-driven convocations and the hippie lifestyle.

“We’ve met a lot of people who go there all summer,” said Jim DeCapua, guitarist and singer for Jones for Revival. “They work all winter and then hit all the shows in the summer. They literally live there all summer. And as crazy as they are, they are the ones who appreciate [the band] the most.”

The music will start at noon and go until about 11 p.m., with a lineup that includes Jazzam, Greenleif, Rusty Van Band, Groove Prophents, Winslow, Jahman Brahman, Pro Bono, The Young Stonians, 5 Elements, Melva and Acoustic Juggernaut. Jones for Revival will play the final set.

After the music ends, fire dancers and belly dancers will perform. Vendors will also be on the site throughout the day.

The $20 admission fee includes swimming and camping privileges, so concert-goers can linger all night and then pack up and leave in the morning.

The inaugural Jonesfest was held in downtown Youngstown last June, on Federal Street between Wick Avenue and Phelps Street.

DeCapua has said the band’s vision calls for fewer gigs, but in a larger festival format. While the downtown location had its benefits, including a central location, it wasn’t what they were looking for.

Jones for Revival is about to head into the studio to finish up its next album — and its first with an ample budget.

Jerry DePizzo of Liberty, who is a member of national rock act O.A.R., will produce the record at Sonic Lounge Studios near Columbus, utilizing his band’s sound engineers. DePizzo is DeCapua’s cousin.

The new album will be released late this year.

Time means money when you go into the studio, something the band never had enough of in its prior attempts.

“We’re taking out time with it,” said DeCapua. “We had limited funds the last two times we went into the studio (to record albums), but we’ve always thought ‘if we had time we could get this done right. This time we do and this is our opportunity.”

The new songs, according to DeCapua, have “a little more flavor, more energy, more taste.”

They also reflect the band’s new lineup, which was created after bassist Matt Hahn and keyboardist Drew Ridgely left.

Saxophonist Fredo Burazer is now also handling keyboards and bass player Dave Lynn, of the late Mystic WIP Hustler, has joined the band.

Gino West is still the drummer.

After Jonesfest, Jones for Revival will launch a three week tour that will begin June 13 and take the band to Chicago, Kentucky, Nashville, Florida and then back to Ohio via the Carolinas.

The band, in fact, has a busy summer, with 38 dates scheduled in the next three months. And while they will not play Vexfest this August — “we’re going to give someone else a chance,” said DeCapua — they have received the honor of a date on the 7UP Summer Spectacular series at Morley Pavilion in Mill Creek Park, becoming one of the first all-original-music local acts to play that stage. The show will be Aug. 5.