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On the record with O.A.R. sax player, Liberty native Jerry DePizzo ‘Rockville’ roots
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By John Benson
On U2’s 1988 album “Rattle and Hum,” Bono famously says, “This is a song Charles Manson stole from The Beatles. We’re stealing it back” before launching into the Fab Four’s “Helter Skelter.”
Now, in a similar fashion, O.A.R. is hoping to reshape the concept of Rockville, Md. While R.E.M.’s “(Don’t go Back to) Rockville” spoke about a dead-end existence, the island vibe roots rock act O.A.R. has titled its recently released album “The Rockville LP.”
The Vindicator talked to O.A.R. sax player and Liberty Township native Jerry DePizzo about the studio effort, his favorite new songs and how Eddie Van Halen set him on a rock ’n’ roll journey.
Q. What was the idea behind calling the new album “The Rockville LP?”
A. We’re here to vindicate Rockville. What we carry from that is that spirit that we had growing up. Although I wasn’t in Rockville with the boys, I certainly connected to it, related to it. That was the spirit of hanging out with your buddies in the basement, making music for music’s sake and just connecting with that pure enjoyment and love of music and friendship of being in a band. So that’s what we did. We went back to Rockville and experienced the same places. We recharged our creative batteries and out came “The Rockville LP.”
Q. So you basically had to tour the important locations that defined your bandmates’ teenage angst experiences?
A. [laughs] It’s that spirit that still connects, whether you grew up in Rockville or Youngstown, Ohio. It was the same spirit just in a different drummer’s basement. I was in high school with my buddy Tony DeProfio, who still lives in Youngstown. We were in his basement and his poor parents got to hear us practice every day after school. Also, during the summers when school ended at Ohio State, I’d work my job at McDonald’s in Niles. I think they knocked it down. I’d drive over to Rockville, crash on couches, make music, play shows and do records. Rockville is a special place for me. I always thought it was my shot at the big time.
Q. What songs epitomize the sound and spirit of “The Rockville LP?”
A. The first single, “Peace,” causes you to stop, listen, think, reflect and move on about your day. It’s a song about finding those elements in your life, whether it’s memories or places or people that provide you with that inner peace. But it’s “We’ll Pick Up Where We Left Off” that really wraps the album up in a bow for me. It’s basically that feeling of regardless of how long you’ve been away from the friends you grew up with, you can always come back around the holidays and pick right back up. There’s no loss. You don’t need to catch up.
Q. Speaking of growing up, what concerts had the biggest impact on you?
A. I saw the Allman Brothers Band a bunch at Star Lake and Blossom Music Center. That was an annual summer-time thing. I also saw them at Nautica, and we play Nautica these days so that’s a highlight for me.
Q. As far as wanting to become a musician, was it seeing the Allman Brothers Band live?
A. No, that moment for me came earlier. I remember my mom’s family lived in Canfield when I was growing up. My uncle played guitar, and he was a big influence on me. I remember — this is clear as day — I was 4 or 5 years old and he put on Van Halen’s “Eruption.” It blew my mind. I didn’t know what that was or how that happened or what kind of sound that was. It totally knocked me out. So really any kind of conscious thought I had wanting to be in a band and play music, that’s it. That’s what I wanted to do. And fortunately, I realized it.