O.A.R. brings jam rock to Barnhill

Listen Up!

By: Brian Washburn

Posted: 11/10/08

Of A Revolution, better known as simply O.A.R., found their musical niche with college students years ago. Their jam band sound mixed with playful lyrics sparked the attention of fraternities, sororities, wannabe-hippies and other college students around the nation.

But with a new album and a tighter sound, the Maryland six-piece band is reaching even higher for the stars and for the radio airwaves.

"The writing process has been different over the last few years because some of the main songwriters in the band [vocalist/guitarist Marc Roberge and guitarist Richard On] reached out to some outside songwriters to hone the craft," said drummer Chris Culos in a phone interview. "We used to be turned off to song writers because we thought it was a bunch of guys handing music to perform, but it wasn't like that. They would just bounce ideas off the songwriters and get great results. This experience helped them in their writing."

The result of the Roberge and On's songwriting process is the band's sixth studio album titled All Sides. While it still features the signature playful jam sound of previous O.A.R. efforts, more radio-friendly songs were added, including the current hit single "Shattered (Turn the Car Around)."

"We spent more time working on the song writing on this album with songs written for the radio, which is a deliberate attempt to get some more exposure," Culos said. "But the rest of the album is stuff that we love doing and are extended O.A.R. songs."

O.A.R., made up of Roberge, Culos, On, bassist Benj Gershman, saxophonist Jerry DePizzo, and guitarist Mikel Paris, began their careers more than 12 years ago in Culos's basement and later relocated to Ohio when Roberge and Culos decided to attend Ohio State University. What shot the band to the ears of students, however, was the downloading revolution of the late '90s, specifically Napster.

"When we first started [the band], Napster was exploding and we were freshmen in the dorms and downloading left and right and that's how you found out about music," Culos said.

Even though the band benefitted from the Internet phenomenon early on, the band's views have changed slightly since signing to a label and moving from college at OSU and pursuing O.A.R. full time.

"In the beginning [downloading music] is a great way to spread the music when you are full-time college students and you have no other way to get your music out there," Culos said. "But it's negative when people just take from a band and don't give back in a way. This is our job and career and [we] spend effort and money putting out a recording. If you find out about a band, support them in some way possible, like going to a show, buying a T-shirt, buying their next record or even passing word on to a friend about the band."

Although O.A.R. has never found the extreme success of other radio bands when it comes to record sales, the band's live show has been an enormous draw to fans. The band has even been mentioned by several music critics as being a band that puts on the best live show, which will be on display tonight at Barnhill Arena.

"Our live show is our bread and butter," Culos said. "We put a lot of energy into rehearsing and you will never get the same show twice. We change our set list every night and improvise a lot."

The band's improvising can range from changing up a version of a fan-favorite song or simply just changing things up during the middle of a set "to keep us on our toes and fresh and also something the audience appreciates and talks about so they come back to shows," he said.

While the lyrical content of O.A.R.'s new album focuses on Roberge's travels across the country, the band is placing one of their political aspects on display throughout their current tour by teaming up with the College Consciousness tour and the organization Reverb, which was started by Guster lead singer Adam Gardner.

Reverb is a non-profit environmental organization that is "deeply rooted within the music and environmental communities [that] educates and engages musicians and their fans to promote environmental sustainability," according to the Reverb Web site. The College Consciousness tour will feature such environmental aspects as an eco-village where people can find information on how to help the environment and decrease carbon foot-printing. The band is also looking into bio-diesel fuels for the tour busses, and even eliminating water bottles and towels to minimize environmental impact, Culos said.

But while the members of O.A.R. might provide a serious message through their tour and are reaching for the big time through their music, Culos said his best accomplishment in the band is never losing sight of their original intent.

"We've been able to stay the course the entire time [we've been a band] and based it on our own beliefs and direction in where we want to take the band," Culos said. "Some people might say that selling out Madison Square Garden is our biggest accomplishment ever, and things like that are amazing and they're little milestones, but the real thing is that we are in control of what we do, write what we want and we are still best friends. Twelve years later, we are friends first and foremost before band stuff. That is our proudest and most satisfied feeling about the band."

Brian Washburn is the news editor for The Arkansas Traveler. His column appears every Monday.