Rossi rediscovers himself at The Ob

By Susan Schafer

scha0119@algonquincollege.com

Going from playing shows in front of thousands of people with rock-star Tommy Lee to playing for a small crowd at the Ob may sound like a failure to most people.
But for former reality show winner  and current lead singer of Stars Down Lukas Rossi, it is just what was needed to help ground himself and re-discover what is truly important in life.
“I was playing for 7,000 people a night, but I wasn’t happy,” said the musician.  “I figure I had to stop that and give that up because it wasn’t me, it wasn’t real.  Stars Down was basically me coming back down to earth – kind of re-entering my new self, getting back into my skin.”
The Rockstar Supernova winner and Toronto native stopped by the college on Nov. 10 to play for a small but dedicated group of fans.  According to Rossi, playing at schools is one of his top priorities.
“I’m a pretty big advocate for keeping kids in school and if there’s concerts here, that keeps them  away from going out to bars and getting into fights and drugs."
He also noted that because he never got to experience these types of things when he was in school, he is a firm believer in making things fun for students. And for second-year game development student Stephen Nagy, Rossi did just that.
“I just wanted to come see them,” he said. “It’s worth the $5."
But it wasn’t only students who packed the room to see Stars Down and the band’s openers Ours and Corey Norris. A group of middle-aged women from California and Washington DC made Algonquin just another one of their stops to follow Rossi on his tour.
“Watching him live is intoxicating, and when you walk away you can’t stop thinking about him,” said Fransi, who did not want to give her last name.
She noted that Rossi is more than just a musician, but a humanitarian.  And she was right.  Rossi dedicates himself to various charities through his website.
“I think it’s a positive spin on rock and roll.  You know a lot of people do it for the chicks and the drugs and the money.  That was who I was and I was kind of disgusted with that.  So I kind of pulled a 180 on that and decided to give back.”
While the show took a slow start with people sitting on the floor and in their chairs, Ours began to warm them up, and by the time Stars Down went on, everyone was on their feet.  Rossi decided he would record the show, because his wife said the last time he played at The Ob was the best acoustic show he’s played to date.
First-year bachelor of applied arts student Justin Correia remembers Rossi’s set last year and came back for more, as well as to see opener Norris from one of his favourite bands Channel One.
Most those who showed up came to enjoy the music they knew and loved, but first-year photography student Sarah Nagy simply came because her friends told her too.  And lucky for her, she was pleasantly surprised.