The Ocean Blue are making stops across North America, playing their first two albums in their entirety, and continuing to show fans why we fell in love with them decades ago. “Ballerina Out of Control,” “Between Something and Nothing,” and “Drifting, Falling,” introduced many of us to The Ocean Blue, and I can confirm, they sound incredible live in 2025.
David Schelzel and Bobby Mittan – who met in junior high in Hershey, PA – formed The Ocean Blue in 1986. Joined by Oed Ronne and Peter Anderson, the guys will hit The Coach House in San Juan Capistrano on May 3rd, but just like the bulk of their shows, it’s sold out.
Performing 1989’s “The Ocean Blue” and 1991’s “Cerulean,” the band took over Chief’s on Broadway, the new Nashville venue owned by country mega star Eric Church.
You may have already heard of Chief’s thanks to another country name – it is the location where Morgan Wallen tossed a chair off the roof onto the busy street below. All that aside, it was our first visit to the venue and its intimate, third-floor live performance room, and no chairs were thrown.
During our recent interview, front-man David Schelzel said returning to the first two albums is, “a surreal experience.” “It’s maybe beautiful and terrifying at the same time. Sometimes it’s like a time machine, particularly for some of the songs that we don’t often play anymore,” he explained. “To revisit them and play them, just all this emotion and memory comes back… to remember and re-experience these songs. Then it’s uncanny how they hit me as a middle-aged guy versus a teenager when, particularly, some of those songs in the first record were written, and what remains the same and what has changed.”
Opening the night was Brian Tighe, a singer-songwriter who also happens to be a sax player, needed for The Ocean Blue’s “Drifting, Falling.” Spoiler alert? Tighe, on acoustic guitar, was joined by Allison LaBonne on electric, and the duo had lovely harmonies together.
Starting off with “Blue’s Not the Same Blue,” they got the mostly Gen X crowd swaying. Calling the next song “a song about love and the work of love,” “Maybe For Love” was another track appreciated by the early crowd.
Tighe invited The Ocean Blue’s drummer, Peter Anderson, out for the next song, “Earthbound.” Tighe explained it was “a song about Minnesota ice, that’s two-feet thick” and the background onscreen visuals of glaciers perfectly fit with the song.
With Anderson staying behind the kit, Tighe and LaBonne took us through a few more songs before inviting Schelzel to join his bandmate for “The Great Unknown” and a cover of the Bee Gees’ “To Love Somebody.” For the last song of his set, Tighe took control of the stage solo, performing “Here I Am” before heading off stage to a roomful of applause.
When it was time for the headliners, they made their way to the stage and the room erupted in cheers and whistles. They kicked right off into the “Cerulean” album opener, “Breezing Up,” and “Cerulean” followed, with big, fluffy clouds and blue sky visuals.
Schelzel greeted the audience with, “It’s great to be in Nashville, playing our first two records. I’ll be chit-chatty and tell a story or two.” He explained the next song was about three of his favorite things – poetry, gardens, and love – and they launched into “Marigold.”
As they took us through the album, Schelzel mentioned playing the record “is a bit like stepping into a time machine.” He discussed how it felt going back to what he was going through when the songs were written and the history of some songs. For “Ballerina Out of Control,” he gave the full story of its title origin:
“Early on in the days of the band, I went out to Los Angeles to visit folks at the record label in Burbank. The general manager of Sire and one of the staff people there took me out for the evening, and we went to see a concert by a band called – I always get this wrong – Nitzer Ebb?” Some in the crowd cheered for the industrial band – myself included as I still remember them opening for Depeche Mode at Dodger Stadium in 1990.
Schelzel continued: “Remember, I’m just a boring guy from Hershey, Pennsylvania. I’ve never been to that sort of affair. But these two guys with no shirts on, banging away drums, and total LA kid crowd bouncing into each other.
There was a girl in the audience that was dressed up like a ballerina, but her outfit was all torn and she was stumbling into people. Sandy, the gal from Sire, turned to me and said, ‘David, she’s a ballerina out of control.’ I was like, ‘Oh, that is such an interesting phrase, Sandy. Do you mind if I use that?’ And I did. We wrote the song, and that’s the story.”
The devoted fans – which seemed to be most of the room – were swaying to the tune and it got a huge response of whistles and cheers at its end.
“Hurricane Amore” – written “one windy day in West Massachusetts” – included a sweet jam fest at the end, which Schelzel declared was “fun to play.” “I’ve Sung One Too Many Songs for a Crowd That Didn’t Want to Hear” wrapped up “Cerulean” with visuals that included dates and venues of the band’s earliest live performances. As a former Pennsylvania resident, I enjoyed seeing the names of venues from my past and how they connected with the band.
They took a short break before returning to perform their first album, the self-titled which starts off strong with “Between Something and Nothing.” The crowd was more animated now – maybe the drinks kicked in or the energy of the band and album inspired them – and there was more swaying and dancing for the second set. The intimate venue also allowed for audience members to talk to the band, making the show a bit interactive.
After “Vanity Fair,” opener Brian Tighe hopped on stage with his sax to handle the recognizable opening of “Drifting, Falling,” which drew applause and cheers.
They ran through the album with some of the highlights being “The Circus Animals,” “Just Let Me Know,” “Love Song,” “The Office of a Busy Man,” and the album closer, “A Familiar Face.”
Schelzel peppered the set with more tidbits, but as someone who has seen so many bands blow up thanks to egos or money or whatever, I was touched by Schelzel’s comment on friendship: “When I was in high school, I was concerned about losing friends as we grew up. The cool thing is I kept a lot of my great friends, like Bobby, and I got a lot of new friends along the way, like Brian, Oed, and Peter. If you start a band, make sure it’s based on friendship. That’s the only way to go. Well, it’s not the only way; I think it’s the only way.”
The Ocean Blue is full of skilled musicians who actually get along and enjoy each other’s company, which is reflected onstage. They make it look like effortless fun, which in turn makes me want to join their gang of merry, talented friends – ignoring the fact that I have no musical ability.
In just a few short weeks, The Ocean Blue will return to Orange County. Hopefully you can get into the sold-out show happening May 3rd at The Coach House!
