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Angelo Babbaro’s musical breakout
By GUY D’ASTOLFO
Angelo Babbaro aims to build his career the same way he sings — the old-school way.
The Canfield crooner with a voice and style that evokes Frank Sinatra plans to invite fans to studio sessions where they can watch and listen as he sings.
He’ll have open recording sessions once a month at Peppermint Studios on Indianola Avenue on Youngstown’s South Side.
The studios are undergoing some remodeling, which will be complete in about a week, said Gary Rhamy of Peppermint.
Once the dates are set, they will be posted on angelobabbaro.com.
Babbaro, who has some live shows scheduled this summer in Cleveland and Columbus, will also be taking to the airwaves.
He’ll begin co-hosting a new Saturday or Sunday morning radio show on WSOM-AM, with Rhamy, who was a DJ on the station for years.
The show, which will debut some time in April, will target the audience that was once served by WSOM and WNIO. Both stations used to play adult standards. However, they both flipped their formats in recent months (WSOM going to news/talk and WNIO switching to sports), leaving the Youngstown market with no home for adult standards music.
The two-hour radio show will include tunes by hometown artists and will also provide information about local events, said Rhamy.
Both the studio sessions and the radio show are part of Babbaro’s plan to hone his performance skills and build a fanbase.
A financial planner for 20 years, Babbaro is preparing to embark on a second career. He has assembled a management team linked to Sony Entertainment in New York. Plans call for putting him in small but chic venues in New York, Philadelphia and Atlantic City, N.J.
“The higher-ups in New York feel we have the talent, but they want to see me get out there more,” said Babbaro.
He’s decided to stay in the Youngstown region until he’s ready to expand to the East Coast. It’s a testament to the old-school work ethic for which the city is known, he said.
To get a taste of Babbaro’s voice — and the coolness that he exudes — check out the clip on his website, which was filmed at Peppermint.
Babbaro is working with songwriters to expand his repertoire, which is heavy on Sinatra standards.
“I’m searching for that signature song,” he said.
In the meantime, he has one full-length album under his belt, and recently pressed a single titled “That Face.”
It’s a song that was written for — but never recorded by — Sinatra.