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O.A.R.
Band Bio
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O.A.R.
entertaining a sold out House of Blues in Orlando, FL.
Photo by Michael
Montes - Orlando Florida Guide - All rights reserved. |
O.A.R.
Is:
Chris Culos - drums; Jerry DePizzo - saxophone
Benj Gershman - bass; Richard On - guitar
Marc Roberge - guitar, vocals
Every band
wants it. A lot of bands claim they have it. Others have hits for years
and never have it. O.A.R.’s got it: a devoted, organically grown
grassroots following.
Now, after
four releases that made them one of the most successful indie bands ever,
culminating with their 2002 double live CD, Any Time Now, which has sold
over 100,000 copies, O.A.R. makes the transition to a major label with
their Lava/Everfine Records debut In Between Now and Then. It’s a
move they have made cautiously, but not just to make sure they found the
right home for their music. In order not to leave a single fan behind,
O.A.R. announced it to them first on their message board and promised
to personally answer all the questions fans asked. Ninety nine percent
of the messages O.A.R. received were congratulatory.
Any fears
fans may have had about the music changing will quickly be allayed with
one listen to In Between Now and Then. Singer/lyricist Marc Roberge, continues
to explore his favorite themes--freedom, wanderlust, idealism and love.
Present and accounted for in precision-crafted songs like “Mr. Moon”
is O.A.R.’s secret recipe for an infectious, joy-filled breezy cruise
through rock and folk seasoned with what they like to simply call island
vibe roots rock-pinches of ska and reggae. Songs like “Coalminer”
and “Revisited” that may seem loosely structured are actually
so well anchored with tight playing that the listener always knows exactly
where O.A.R. is guiding them. “Right On Time” is a true rock
and roll song, yet retains that feeling of ease that makes O.A.R.’s
music stand out.
O.A.R. also decided to briefly return to their beginnings on In Between
Now and Then. They chose to introduce themselves to radio and video with
“Hey Girl,” one of the first songs they wrote. The sweet surrender
of the upbeat, romantic track has made it a concert favorite.
“We
wanted to re-record it and finally do it right,” explains Roberge.
“We want to show people who we are and to represent ourselves as
truly as possible, to pay tribute to the band we have been up until now
with a song that truly defines the band.”
As an additional
introduction, O.A.R. has also included a bonus live DVD with In Between
Now and Then. Filmed at a show at Irving Plaza in New York this winter,
it captures the infectious joy of an O.A.R. concert with three songs:
their striking blend of Western rock and reggae in “That Was a Crazy
Game of Poker” that has become a concert staple; “Risen,”
plus “Revisited” from In Between Now and Then.
To record
In Between Now and Then O.A.R. reunited with producer John Alagia (John
Mayer, DMB, Ben Folds) and engineer Jeff Juliano with whom they recorded
Risen.“Working with John and Jeff is not only fun, they force you
to challenge yourself,” says bassist Benj Gershman. “That’s
a really good thing for musicians who are always trying to come up with
something better and something that stands the test of time a little bit
more. They make you ask yourself, ‘Is this the way I want the song
to go?’”
O.A.R. collaborated
in their usual way with each member writing his own part and Roberge supplying
the lyrics. They headed to New York to record for the first time after
pre-production at a studio in the mountains of Virginia. One big change
for O.A.R. was allowing themselves the luxury of pre-production. Explains
drummer Chris Culos:
“There
was a lot of pre-production done for the album which was really great
for us because we were able to get in there and actually hear our ideas,
hear how the finished product would sound. We got to work it out, listen
back, get better ideas of what we were really going for. When we actually
went into the studio, we felt like we were on for the first time. We were
able to express our ideas all the way from beginning to end. We had a
chance to get to that point where everybody is happy and that is totally
different from any experience we’ve ever had.”
The formation
of O.A.R. wasn’t all that unusual. Roberge, who lists Bob Marley’s
Babylon by Bus and Crowded House’s self-titled album as his first
two CD purchases, got together with his junior high school classmate and
best friend, Culos, who listened to Genesis, Metallica, and the Beastie
Boys. They found common ground in the Pearl Jam “MTV Unplugged”
video, which they would watch over and over again. To expand the line-up,
Roberge invited guitarist Richard On to join them and Culos recruited
Gershman.
What happened
after that is one for the books. Assembled from two live recording sessions,
the band released their first album, The Wanderer, for their rapidly growing
fan base in the Washington D.C. area. Word of mouth began to spread about
the band and “That Was a Crazy Game of Poker” became a cult
classic. O.A.R. began selling out venues in college towns from the Midwest
to New York and selling CDs at the shows. While attending Ohio State,
they met sax player Jerry DePizzo who completed the line-up and made his
recording debut with O.A.R. on their second album, Souls Aflame. The recording
yielded two more concert staples, “City on Down” and “Night
Shift.”
O.A.R. still
didn’t have a formal marketing plan, advertising or recording budget
or a record company promoting their music to radio and the press. But
they did have their legions of fans and when file sharing burst onto the
Internet in 2000, their popularity exploded. In February 2001 the band’s
manager, with full support of the band, created Everfine Records. This
new independent record label would help to raise the visibility and profile
of the band with their third studio release, Risen. The album debuted
at #11 on the Billboard Top Internet Sales Chart. The following year,
the live set Any Time Now, debuted at #156 on Billboard’s Top 200
and #4 on the Heatseekers chart. In the summer of 2002, O.A.R. was invited
to join the Jeep World Outside Festival Tour with Sheryl Crow, Train and
Ziggy Marley and found themselves playing to 10,000 to 15,000 fans every
night.
“I think
this is our true first record,” says Roberge of In Between Now and
Then. “We took a lot of what we had already as a base. The island
vibe just seems to be what cuts through. But I really do think that our
true abilities right now are writing songs that are different across the
board, different genres. We like to call it organized confusion.”
“A reporter
once brilliantly called our music a train wreck of many styles,”
Roberge continued with a laugh. “That is what it is. I really do
think it’s an accidental thing when you’ve got five guys who
like five different kinds of music getting in and playing together. Yeah,
you’re going to experience a lot of confusion. Within confusion,
there’s fusion. It works for us.”
What could
be next for O.A.R. except gold and platinum?
“Sure,”
notes Gershman, “that’s the evolution of …Of a Revolution.”
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