Metro Monthly

By John Castronova
Special to the Metro Monthly

Jones For Revival was the last band to go onstage during “JonesFest,” a downtown music festival held on West Federal Street on May 31.
By that time, the street was packed in front of the stage. The crowd passed around two oversized beach balls, which volleyed around the cityscape.
Band leader Jim Decapua looked out into the crowd with appreciation. “You made this happen,” he said. Decapua was being modest, however. Along with Dan Crump, Fred Rafidi and John Jones, he had a major part in planning the festival.

About two years ago, the four men formed Youngstown Local Music, a private organization to promote, produce and sponsor musical events featuring local and regional bands. “JonesFest” was their latest effort.

The organization was already known locally for “Vex Fest IV,” a hard-rock show that was held last August. But “JonesFest” was not designed to be another “Vex Fest.” From the beginning, Youngstown Local Music wanted a relaxed atmosphere that would attract people that wouldn’t normally come out for screaming hard rock.

Their expectations were fulfilled. The energetic crowd was a diverse group. “JonesFest” attracted rock musicians, schoolteachers, suburbanites and people from the city. There were adolescent punk-rock-hopefuls and families of four. All were dancing in street before the night was over.

Locating the event on city streets became a point of controversy, however. Since the event occurred on city property, “JonesFest” could not generate any profit for Youngstown Local Music. Still, participants said the festival had other goals.

“These festivals are not about profit. They are about positive change for the Mahoning Valley and downtown Youngstown,” said Jason Tiblolla, master of ceremonies for the event. He also hosts 93.3 The Wolf’s “Home Grown Show,” which features music from local bands. “It is extremely important that these events remain free to the public. It is a way of giving back to the people and the community with unity, friendship, and music,” he said.

Helping restore a sense of community in the people of Youngstown was another goal. Crump, who owns Barley’s, a bar on West Federal Street, considers the revitalization of Youngstown a personal responsibility. “Building Youngstown is important,” he said. Crump believes it is everyone’s job downtown to take the initiative. “Instead of doing it at something like the Chevy Centre at 15 bucks a ticket, you got to have entertainment that is free, especially in this city. It needs more of it.”

Some vendors and bands just appreciated the exposure. Twelve Bucks Band, the first to perform that day, had just come off a hiatus when Youngstown Local Music was formed. After their initial attempts at success fell short a few years ago, the band tried again. This time, Youngstown Local Music was there to post the band’s show dates on its Web site and invite them to shows like “JonesFest.” “Ever since then we have been on a roll,” said band member John Onufrak. Events like “JonesFest” give the bands an opportunity to play and market their music.

Andrew Devlin, an independent vendor at “JonesFest,” was also looking to market his product. He designs and produces screen-print T-shirts under the name Polar Kingdoms. “Exposure, exposure, exposure,” said Devlin. He sold approximately 30 shirts over the course of the day and made about $280 in profit.

But having events like this downtown go beyond keeping production costs low or exposing local talent. For some, it’s a reintroduction to the city. Diane Murphy, an English teacher in the Youngstown City Schools, held an affinity for the cityscape surrounding “JonesFest.“ “I think any event in downtown Youngstown is automatically fabulous because it is just a beautiful city,“ said Murphy, who once worked at Strouss’ downtown. “I love this city; where are you going to get such gorgeous surroundings to look at?“

However, these surroundings have not been so appreciated over the past years. William D‘Avignon, deputy director of Youngstown’s Community Development Agency, said there is a generation of people who have had no reason to come downtown outside of going to court. “These outdoor festivals are great to get people to come downtown, and see that it is not what it was perceived to be,” he said.

Although Youngstown Local Music has been instrumental in reintroducing people to the city, the 2,500 that came to “JonesFest” fell short of the turnout for “Vex Fest IV,” which attracted 5,900. However, Tibolla pointed out that people are showing up for the music festivals. “These events have consistently brought people to downtown Youngstown, especially just a few short years ago when it was not cool to come downtown,” he said.

This year’s installment of “Vex Fest,“ scheduled for Aug. 17, is already showing signs of growth. According to Crump, there has been a significant increase in the number of bands petitioning for a position in the show. Consequently, Youngstown Local Music has increased the number of acts this year to over 50.

“JonesFest” ended its late May concert with a well-received 17-minute jazz jam from Jones For Revival. As the music echoed around West Federal Street, people danced and kept the beach balls flying. Smiles were abundant.