Q&A: Former Ohio State student and rock band O.A.R. member Jerry DePizzo talks Stadium Series, early days of performing and Buckeye tradition

Nick DeSantis
Thu, 27 Feb 2025 21:10:56 +0000
Arts & Life, Entertainment, Instagram Page, Music, News, alternative rock O.A.R., Buckeye, Chris Culos, Columbus, Columbus Blue Jackets, Detroit Red Wings, guitarist, Hang On Sloopy, Jerry DePizzo, Marc Roberge, Maryland, newport music hall, NHL stadium series, NHL Stadium Series Pep Rally, Of A Revolution, Ohio, Ohio Stadium, ohio state, Rick Nash, Rockville, saxophonist, St. John Arena

O.A.R. will perform at the NHL Stadium Series Pep Rally Saturday at St. John Arena. Courtesy of Delia Brengel

Jerry DePizzo, a former Ohio State student and the saxophonist/guitarist in alternative rock band O.A.R., has spent the past two decades performing for crowds around the world.?

During his time as a Buckeye, DePizzo befriended the original members of O.A.R. — short for “Of A Revolution” — and joined the band in 2000. Originally formed in 1996 in Rockville, Maryland, O.A.R. relocated to Columbus in 1997 to study at Ohio State, where the group met DePizzo. The band garnered a following around campus, performing at iconic venues across the city, such as Newport Music Hall.

O.A.R. will return to campus once again Saturday to perform a free concert at the St. John Arena — located at 410 Woody Hayes Drive — to play at the NHL Stadium Series Pep Rally at 2:30 p.m. before the outdoor hockey game between the Columbus Blue Jackets and the Detroit Red Wings.?

In an interview with The Lantern Friday, DePizzo reflected on his time at Ohio State and teased what Saturday’s performance may bring.

Q: How did the opportunity come about to perform at this game?

JD: You know, O.A.R. — members of O.A.R. — are avid hockey fans. They’re amongst the hockey community. Their families play the sport. They’re traveling all over the East Coast and the Midwest for those games and things. We have great friends in the professional hockey community, in the Blue Jacket community, you know, Rick Nash being at the top of that list, and our singer Marc [Roberge] lives in New York and also plays a pick-up hockey game with some of the folks who work at the NHL as well. So we’ve been talking about this game and this opportunity for a long time, maybe even years now, knowing that there hopefully would be a potential opportunity to participate in such a great event for the Columbus community.

Q: How is the process of preparing for this show different from some of the other shows you’ve done recently?

JD: Well, you know, we’ve played all kinds of shows, and we really, you know, we say that we were born in Maryland and we were raised in Ohio, because we all went to Ohio State for four years and played all over the place there. The Newport being one of them, you know — a staple for us during our college years and things — and [that] gave us a great opportunity to then go out and chase our dreams after college. This one, going back to St. John and performing there, where I would go see basketball games when I went to college, watching Mike Redd playing things — it’s pretty great. And we have some cool surprises for that show as well [Saturday] at St. John and our band’s gonna get a lot bigger for that show.

Q: You mentioned those Newport days when you guys were in school. What do you see as your biggest difference from then?

JD: Just the tenure and the seasoning of doing it. I think we’re just much better at what we do, because we’ve had thousands of chances to be able to do it. But the fun and the entertainment of it all, and really the core feeling of being up on stage is surprisingly very similar to what we would experience earlier in our days, when we were playing the Newport all the time and things like that. But, you know, I think one of the reasons why we are still here today, and we still enjoy success is because we still chase it. [We perform] with the intensity and the passion that we did when we were in college, playing the Newport, the sold-out shows in front of our friends and everything.

Q: How do you decide the set list for a performance like the one you’re about to give tomorrow?

JD: People do set lists all different kinds of ways. There’s artists out there that make one set list for a tour, and that’s what they play. And they may, like, switch one song out or two songs out, if something’s working or not working, but sometimes it’s very consistent. For us, we’re the wild other end of that spectrum. So our singer, Marc [Roberge], writes a lot of the sets. Our drummer Chris [Culos] writes a lot too. And I think the mentality behind it is to take a look at the environment that you’re in. So, we’re generally going to — unless there’s something specifically we’re working on, which for the St, John’s show, there is — but we just want to feel the room, look at the audience, see what we think they’re into, write the set according to that and even when we do that, rarely has what the set has been at the beginning of the show been what the set was at the end of the show. So, we call a lot of audibles and switch things up quite a bit.

Q: How does the band’s personal connection to Ohio State make this performance special?

JD: It’s special for a lot of reasons. You know, for me, I live 10 minutes up the road, so it’s literally a hometown show, so tons of friends and family are out and about. So, it’s always fun and enjoyable to play in front of your friends and family. It’s also a logistical challenge most of the time, because everyone wants passes and tickets and parking. Being able to participate in something at St. John and then also at the stadium is just a real treat and a real honor for us, not only as Buckeyes — because we went there and we went to games and we went to concerts and all of those things in those places — but this band loves hockey, and this band loves the culture of hockey, and loves a lot of folks in the CBJ organization. And, you know, we’re super excited about [it], I think this Stadium Series is a fantastic event regardless of where it’s at. I love the fact it’s at Ohio Stadium, and I’m thrilled that we’re a part of it.?

Q: I know you don’t want to give too much away in terms of the performance tomorrow, but can you say anything about playing iconic Buckeye songs like “Hang On Sloopy?”

JD: Oh, we always love throwing all the Ohio State classics in there. We’re going to tease all kinds of stuff and again, you know, the band was born in Maryland, but it was raised in Ohio, at Ohio State. So, you know, we love all of the traditions, and we’ll try to get [them] in there as best we can.