Correspondent photo / Gary S. Angelo Rocco Sait of Youngstown owns Global Prospect, a local art space, thrift store and music venue on North Prospect Avenue in the city.

YOUNGSTOWN — Rocco Sait got into the world of art and music at a relatively young age. It began with his love of going to garage and yard sales, which were an excellent avenue for him to discover unique trinkets and creative oddities.

“I started buying and selling garage sale items at the age of 12 or 13. I walked to garage sales in my neighborhood before I knew how to drive. I also bought and sold snakes from a back advertisement of the magazine ‘Reptile Monthly.’ I was very young. The snakes were mail order. I sold Colombian red tail boa babies. I took them on my bicycle to my local pet store and sold them,” he said.

Sait, 40, owns Global Prospect in Youngstown, a local art space, thrift store and music venue. His vision for Global Prospect is to build a place for artists to network with other artists. Most importantly, he wants to create a place for artists to create and showcase their work.

“I want to make a place that feels right for artists and creative types. We plan on having regular hours in multi-retail type areas like studios you could purchase from. As far as me being a local art dealer and art agent, I promote local artists such as Dylan Weaver, Paul Burgess, Michael Green, Jason VanHoose and James Shawn Crum. I want to be around and help people who inspire me. With all the businesses I owned over the years, my goal is to create a place where like-minded people could meet and share common interests of arts and music. I want to create a Bohemian atmosphere,” Sait said.

Sait’s family is from the Abruzzi region of Italy. His father’s side is Turkish. Sait said his Turkish side is a lot more artistic. His father, Mustafa, resides in Cyprus, while other members of his father’s side live in London. Sait said he has a very large family and he is one of two musicians in his family.

“I worked with all different kinds of mediums of art over the years. I have made sculptures, various pieces for art events and performances. When I was young, I also bought and sold instruments and speakers. At the age of 11 or 12, I started going to punk and hardcore shows at rented-out halls such as Knights of Columbus, Anchor’s Way and various other local fire halls. Young people wanted to go to shows so bad they would rent a place to make it happen,” Sait said.

Over the years, Sait has owned numerous businesses that specialized in local art and vintage items, mostly from household cleanouts. Sait and his friend, Todd Tolson, owned a business on Market Street in Youngstown, the Retro Room, during the late 2000s. Tolson died in 2020.

“Tolson and I were doing house cleanouts. Part of the payment was the items and the contents. We ended up working so much that we could not open the store, so it sat like a time capsule for years. Then I purchased many paintings from an estate in Cleveland. I was taking them to the Lemon Grove in downtown Youngstown and when I arrived, I was told there was no room for them. I drove down the street and saw a for rent sign at a space on Boardman Street, and that became Greyland. Greyland was a vintage event space where everything was for sale,” Sait said.

Sait’s business, Greyland, included elaborate displays of vintage clothes and items. Sait wanted to create Greyland as an environment that was not only a destination that sold vintage items, but also a spot for local and touring bands to play. Greyland was also a venue that showcased the works of local artists.

In 2022, the documentary, “Greyland,” was made about the venue, directed by Alexandra Sicotte-Levesque from Montreal, Canada.

“A man named Justin Guest, an assistant professor of public policy at George Mason University, was doing research on Youngstown. He met me and introduced me to his friends who were filmmakers from Montreal. That is how the ‘Greyland’ documentary came about,” Sait said.

“I was a pre-teen when I joined my first band, Sorrow The Size of Tears, and was a lead singer screaming into a microphone. In this band, I played with the members of the local hardcore outfit, Vessel. They plucked me as a chubby baby and put me on stage to scream. I took the lyrics very seriously, and that was when I learned to express myself through music,” Sait said.

After Sorrow The Size of Tears, Sait was making instrumental-type tracks and was recording poetry on top of them. Then Sait was hanging out with local musician Sam Buonavolonta (of the local acts Sam Goodwill and Fear of Dancing), who showed him songs he had been writing at the time. This moment was the beginning of the band, Sam Goodwill.

“I said we should start a band because I loved the songs Buonavolonta showed me, and I thought his songwriting was excellent rock ‘n’ roll. Buonavolonta and I both came from church backgrounds. I went to Mill Creek Baptist Church, and when your first exposure to music has that spiritual element, that element always stays with you. I ended up playing bass in Sam Goodwill and my then brother-in-law, Alan Williams, played drums,” Sait said.

After Sam Goodwill, Sait struck out on his own with his project, Modern Life. He then had a solo electronic project, Bruce Jr., and a folk duo, Have You Seen My Boots.

“I was going solo under the name Danny Brutal, but now everything is under my name because of the documentary, ‘Greyland.’ The documentary used music under my name,” Sait said.

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