Today we’d like to introduce you to Greg Capozzi

Hi greg, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.

I started on clarinet in 4th grade. Not my decision, the principal basically told me they needed clarinet players in the concert band. I didn’t really like it but the band teacher was really cool. Mr. Oliveri was an incredible musician and totally hilarious. I’d go to his house for private lessons and he taught me how to read music. I started getting pretty good and made it to first chair in the band. In middle school I took up the sax and taught myself how to play tenor. My parents bought me a nice intermediate level horn, that would later get stolen from the band van when I was in college. I never had the heart to tell them that.

In middle school and high school I was a total band geek. Playing clarinet in concert band & wind ensemble and tenor sax in jazz band. In high school I took private lessons on clarinet with Anthony Ferrante, a brilliant clarinetist who played in the military. He really took my chops to the next level and helped me with sight reading and technique.

I went on to perform in the jazz orchestra at Boston College, playing baritone sax which would later come in handy. We played some great shows at Disney, Epcot Center and Club Med to name a few. It was a demanding schedule but a lot of fun and I still keep in touch with some of those band mates to this day.

In 1995 I worked in the pit orchestra on Carnival Cruise lines for a few years, playing clarinet, baritone, tenor and flute. I’d practice 4-6 hours per day then gig at night. It was like going to music school since I was surrounded by nothing but virtuosos. I met my wife on Carnival and it was one of the best experiences of my life. After my tenure on the boat, I was in an original band called Rippopotamus and we were the kings of funk in Boston for many years in the late 90s and early 2000’s. We won some Boston Music Awards and played to packed venues for years, even made it on a dating show called Singled Out on MTV. Lots of fun times with this project including many tours in the states and even the Montreal Jazz Festival.

After Rippo, I taught myself to DJ and incorporated playing live sax with my sets, playing only vinyl and my horn. It was a pretty cutting edge format at that time but I was working 4-5 nights per week and also brought in an incredible trumpet player from Berklee — shout out to my gal Christine Fawson, aka Fossini. I’d also hire a percussionist as well, shout out to Marcus Santos, so it was a fusion of DJ and live music. I still perform with these same cats to this day.

From there I started getting offers to perform at corporate events and weddings and that was the genesis of C-Zone Entertainment. The website went live on Jan 1, 2003 and here we are today with over 2k 5 star reviews, a team of over 10 DJs and a roster of jazz musicians, string ensembles, photo booths and lighting design. It’s become an empire and nothing that I ever envisioned to be honest. I’m still in shock that we’ve grown to this point and pinch myself every day to have such a thriving company and incredibly talented and passionate roster of entertainers

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?

I don’t think any road for entrepreneurs is smooth. When growing, you have to relinquish some of the control and trust your team, after you put in the time to train them. I’ve had to let some people go in order to protect our reputation of excellence. The biggest struggle is finding balance in life. Running a big organization like this takes all your time and energy. Being a manager is hard work and takes constant attention. Being a sax player at a high level takes constant practice and time. DJing at a high level in a competitive market takes time to maintain your skills and to stay current with music, industry trends and technology. My wife says I’ve been Tom Brady, Bill Belichick and Bob Craft for over 2 decades. It’s impossible to perform at a high level in all those roles and still have a life outside of work.

I work every day running the business, conduct client consultations in the evenings, then I have to practice and work on tunes for upcoming performances. Dinner at 10pm is nothing out of the ordinary. Then I’m gone all weekend every weekend, and have to start over on Monday. As the business grew, I shrank as a creative and as an artist. Spending time with family was rare and all I had time to do was react to all the inquiries coming in. There were times that I didn’t think it was even worth it any more.

Eventually we were able to hire an office manager — shout out to GiGi, and that was life changing. Now I at least have some balance since she handles the day to day operations and I’m more overseeing and focusing on PR, social media, etc. It’s still a lot but at least I have some time now for other things besides work. I’m super grateful to have a busy enterprise and in the end, the trials and tribulations have been worth it.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?

I’m a musician, primarily a jazz sax player, but if you want to make it in the music biz, you can’t be limited to one style. So I can pretty much play any style for any gig. Lots of our clients want pop covers of classics and current tunes, so we are always learning new music to bring our client’s vision to life. I also DJ and still use real turntables which is rare to see these days. Seamless transitions, clean mixes and the ability to navigate through different genres and decades is our trade. This is what unites people on the dance floor and creates those timeless memories

One of the things I’m known for is bringing that fusion to events, where we DJ and play live music at the same time. People love the DJ/Sax hydrid set, or DJ/Percussion Fusion or even both sax & percussion which elevates the party and gives it an entirely different dimension than what most guests are accustomed to experiencing.

I don’t really think about being proud of accomplishments as I’m never satisfied, to the point where it can be a detriment to my progress if I’m not careful. I’m incredibly self critical and often find it hard to see the accolades and I tend to focus on what I could have done better. I suppose that’s a good quality as you’ll never be complacent. But it’s also good to celebrate the victories along the way.

I guess what I like best about this whole thing is that we move quietly. I’ve never been a big advertiser and although we’re on social media, we don’t have a huge presence unlike some of our competitors. The whole thing really grew from being the most talented, passionate and hard working cats around. So the company is built on merit which is so important to me. Thankfully over the years our customers have done all the marketing for us. Word of mouth is our bread and butter. Perhaps the biggest achievement is putting together such an all star team of dedicated, loyal, hard working and relentless event and entertainment professionals.

What quality or characteristic do you feel is most important to your success?

Work ethic number one. Nothing comes easy and you have to put in countless hours and sacrifice in order to accomplish great things and make big moves.

Passion — be true to yourself. If you are really passionate about something, that will come across as genuine to your clients. If you are fake or just doing it for the money, your clients will sniff that out right away

You need to have thick skin. In the entertainment industry, you get more rejection than acceptance so you have to know that going into it and realize it’s going to be a long and tough road.

Dedication. Not just for a few months, but for a lifetime. This is what builds careers and as a musician, the road is never ending. Just stay dedicated in the quest to always be evolving and growing as an artist. Your audience will feel it in every note you play.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.czonemusic.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/czonemusic
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/czonemusic
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/djczone1
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/c-zone-entertainment-beverly

Image Credits
Benoit McCarthy Photography
Levitate Weddings
Contagious Events
Jonny Havens