‘Everybody likes this show’

Decades Rewind plays lots of nostalgic hits, from various rock genres

Jimmy DeLisi will be the first to admit he’s a badass guitarist.

In fact, despite the financial hardships of growing up in projects of Cleveland, the musician’s roots were planted during his youth in the Rock Hall City, where he received a priceless education that’s still paying dividends.

“It was an incredible way to grow up,” said DeLisi, calling from Florida, where he moved with his family at age 16. “The Cleveland neighborhood played a huge role in my musical background. My mother would put the speakers outside and lay out in the sun. We listened to anything from Motown, Al Green and Marvin Gaye to Grand Funk and Three Dog Night.

“As a little kid, I was influenced by all of this great music, but as far as the radio stations, I remember specifically listening to WIXY-1260 and WGCL. And then as I got older, I started listening to WMMS.”

During this time, DeLisi started out as a drummer. He laughed at a memory of finding a drum kit in the garbage. Early on, that’s all he had.

“I always wanted to play guitar,” DeLisi said. “So I traded my crappy set of drums for a crappy guitar, which I still have today. At the time, I’d watch the older kids in the neighborhood play.

“They’d find a common area and put a band together doing Free’s ‘All Right Now’ and The Rolling Stones’ ‘Angie.’ Eventually, I started playing them.”

Early on, the guitarist was attracted to the music of a wide range of artists, including The Beatles, Eric Clapton, Van Halen and The Raspberries.

“I thought I was pretty good until I ran into the older kids and they started teaching me stuff,” DeLisi said. “The first tricky thing that I actually nailed was ‘Sweet Home Alabama.’

“Then what happened to me — I was watching Don Kirshner’s ‘Rock Concert’ and saw Grand Funk with Mark Farner, who was ripped with long hair.

“He was singing, as well as playing guitar and keyboards. I was like, ‘That’s me. That’s the guy I want to be.’ After I saw that, I pretty much geared my career towards being that guy.”

Beginning in the late ’80s, DeLisi’s resume includes founding rock act Julliet, as well as playing and recording

with Quiet Riot’s Kevin DuBrow and Frankie Banali, surf guitar legend Gary Hoey, the Gregg Allman Band and members of the Red Hot Chili Peppers.

Today, DeLisi gets to relive his musical influences as a part of national touring act Decades Rewind, which comes to Cleveland for a show April 20 at Playhouse Square’s Ohio Theatre.

The theatrical concert features an eight-piece rock band and six vocalists, with

a light and video show. The outfit plays everything from Aretha Franklin to Led Zeppelin.

“Everybody likes this show,” DeLisi said. “It’s very nostalgic. We have people crying. We do British Invasion and some Motown, disco, funk, rock.”

So what would a 15-yearold DeLisi have to say about Decades Rewind?

DeLisi laughed, “He’d look up on stage and say, ‘Oh my God, this is just badass.’”

SUBMITTED Jimmy DeLisi performs with Decades Rewind.