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FOX Sports puts ‘This Town’ in every town
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By Joe Scalzo
In the summer of 2007, the rock band O.A.R. was in Vancouver when they started jamming to a catchy song in need of some catchy words.
“We tried a million different choruses,” said saxophonist Jerry DePizzo, a 1997 Liberty High graduate. “Over six weeks, I think we had six different versions.”
Finally, lead singer Marc Roberge came up with this:
This town, this night, this crowd.
Come on put them up, let me hear it loud.
This town, this city, this crowd
Stand up on your feet put your worry down
And everyone of you all around
Come on ya’ll let’s take this town
“And he asked, ‘Well, what do you think?’” DePizzo recalled. “And I said, ‘I think you just gave us our show opener for the next 10 years.’”
Turns out, “This Town” became more than that, going from a catchy single on the album “All Sides” to bona fide sports rock anthem.
It was first used by ESPN for its coverage of the 2008 College World Series and is now the centerpiece for FOX Sports for its major league baseball promotions.
The song is the focus of FOX Sports Ohio’s Cincinnati Reds promotions and has also been used for Cleveland Cavaliers and Columbus Blue Jackets games.
“Music conveys passion and elicits excitement or emotion and I think sports does the same thing,” said Alex Slemc, the director of marketing for FOX Sports Ohio. “And ‘This Town’ elicits a lot of hometown pride with your team.
“We’ve had a great reaction so far.”
The four original members of O.A.R. — which stands for “Of a Revolution” — hail from Maryland but attended Ohio State, where they met DePizzo. He joined in 2000, four years after O.A.R. formed.
The band first gained popularity on college campuses and developed more of a national following over the past few years with singles like “Shattered (Turn the Car Around)” and “Love and Memories.”
With record sales dwindling over the past decade — O.A.R. has sold more than 1.7 million albums total, which is a solid number now but would have been a good week for Garth Brooks in the 1990s — bands like O.A.R. have looked to other avenues for exposure.
“The weird thing is, a couple years ago, this type of thing was really frowned upon, especially in rock music,” said DePizzo. “But these days, you see Bob Dylan selling lingerie, U2 selling iPods, Led Zeppelin selling Cadillacs.
“Sales are shrinking and it’s a new outlet. We’ve embraced it.”
The band’s best-known song, “That Was a Crazy Game of Poker” was used in NBC’s poker broadcasts.
“It took awhile [for a network to use it],” said DePizzo, who lives with his wife and 4-year-old daughter in Columbus. “We were sitting there saying, ‘Anybody? Anybody?’
“Finally, NBC bit on it.”
That was nothing compared to FOX Sports’ use of “This Town,” which has been used in promotions for college and pro sports, both on national broadcasts and regional ones like FOX Sports Ohio.
“In the last couple months, this is our first real, true jump into using modern music mixed with sports,” said Slemc, who said the band’s OSU roots works well with the network. “I think it’s the first of many. This a really cool thing.”
DePizzo, who first lived in Girard before moving to Liberty in the fifth grade, has been a sports fan all his life and remembers going to Indians games in the old Municipal Stadium. The former Little Leaguer was originally a Mets fan because of Doc Gooden and Darryl Strawberry (“Two good role models, right?” he said) and then switched to the Red Sox because of Roger Clemens (“Another great role model”).
One of his career highlights was playing the national anthem at Boston’s Fenway Park a few years ago and he’s been around the country, attending games at Wrigley Field, the Rangers’ Ballpark in Arlington, Texas, and PNC Park in Pittsburgh. He was also in the stands at the Indians’ famous “Bug Game” victory over the Yankees in the ALDS in 2007.
DePizzo considers himself lucky to do what he loves for a living and has donated thousands of dollars to Liberty High in support of its music program in recent years.
“I’m not a classically trained guy,” he said. “I didn’t study music in college; I was too busy paying for it and playing music to do that.
“Honestly, I wouldn’t be doing what I am today without the Liberty school district and, especially, the music program.”
O.A.R will release its seventh studio album later this year and will play July shows in Cleveland and Columbus, where fans are sure to hear “This Town.”
“It’s just one of those songs that has a great live feel, with everyone coming together regardless of background or ethnicity and enjoying each other’s company for two hours,” DePizzo said. “Little did we know it translated to something other than concerts.
“Now with FOX Sports embracing it and adopting it and seeing it here in Ohio with the Blue Jackets and the Covelli Centre and Cavs games, it’s so cool. We’re really thrilled with it.”