| O.A.R. (Of a Revolution) | |
|---|---|
O.A.R. during 2009 summer concert tour at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center in Saratoga Springs, New York |
|
| Background information | |
| Origin | Rockville, Maryland, United States |
| Genres | Alternative rock, indie rock, jam band, roots rock |
| Years active | 1996–present |
| Labels | Wind-up Records, |
| Associated acts | Matt Nathanson, Stephen Kellogg and the Sixers, Brett Dennen, Foxtrot Zulu |
| Website | www.ofarevolution.com |
| Members | |
| Marc Roberge Chris Culos Richard On Benj Gershman Jerry DePizzo |
|
O.A.R. (short for Of a Revolution) is an American rock band composed of Marc Roberge (vocals, guitar), Chris Culos (drums, percussion), Richard On (guitar, backing vocals), Benj Gershman (bass guitar), and Jerry DePizzo (saxophone, guitar, percussion, backing vocals). Due to massive online distribution over campus networks, the band has become a hit among college students, with many songs relating to the band members' personal lives at Thomas S. Wootton High School, growing up in Rockville, Maryland and attending The Ohio State University.
Contents |
The band was founded in 1996 by Marc Roberge and Chris Culos, inspired in part by Roberge's older brother, who plays drums for the band Foxtrot Zulu. They then recruited Richard On and Benj Gershman. In 1997 they recorded The Wanderer at Gizmo Recording Company in Silver Spring, Maryland with engineer/producer Gantt Kushner. The four band-members graduated from Wootton High School in Rockville, Maryland, then moved to Columbus, Ohio to attend The Ohio State University. While at Ohio State, they met Jerry DePizzo, from Youngstown, Ohio. In 2000 they returned to Gizmo Recording to record "Souls Aflame".
Without any formal marketing or advertising plans, news of their songs such as "That Was a Crazy Game of Poker," "City on Down," and "Night Shift" spread by word of mouth alone. Over the years, the band played as many shows as they could, expanding from the fraternities and sororities of Ohio State to any audiences that cared to listen. This exposure paid off; their third album Risen debuted at #11 on the Billboard top internet sales chart. The following year, their fourth album Any Time Now debuted at #156 on the Billboard 200 chart. They received offers from various major labels, but signed with Lava Records because they promised not to change the band.
In 2005, O.A.R. released their fifth album, Stories of a Stranger, which debuted at #40 on the Billboard 200. It produced the singles "Love and Memories," "Heard the World," and "Lay Down." "Love and Memories" was the band's first single to chart and receive significant radio airplay, peaking at 98 in the Pop 100, at 30 in Modern Rock Tracks, and at 18 in Adult Top 40. The music videos for "Love and Memories" and "Lay Down" received airplay on VH1 and MTV. The video for "Lay Down" received a "Woodie" award from MTV for streaming video. The new partnership with Lava also seemed to be the beginning of a shift in the bands fundamental style. Many of the tracks on "Stories of a Stranger" and subsequent albums have displayed a willingness by the band to move away from the reggae, ska, and jam band inspired sound which made them popular—featuring shorter run-times, less acoustic instrumentation, and more pop-inspired arrangements.
On January 14, 2006, O.A.R. reached a new peak of popularity by drawing roughly 18,000 fans and selling out New York City's Madison Square Garden, which earned them a review in the New York Times.[1] On October 5, 2006, a press release declared that O.A.R. had officially sold in excess of 1.2 million albums over their career.[2] The band attributes much of its popularity to the recording and subsequent trading and downloading of their live shows.
On July 15, 2008, O.A.R. released their sixth studio album, All Sides. The first radio single for All Sides, "Shattered (Turn the Car Around)," was released for download on June 13. It surpassed "Love And Memories," peaking at 2 in Adult Top 40. In December 2008, VH1 named the music video for "Shattered" as number 18 on their Top 40 Videos of 2008.
During the 2008 All Sides tour, the All Sides album was released on USB Wristband along with instant live recordings of their concerts.
The band released a new live album (Rain or Shine) on January 12, 2010.[3]
O.A.R. completed a seven-month nationwide tour in mid-December 2010. The band introduced several new songs in many of its live performances during the tour, including: "Over and Over," "Fire," "Dangerous Connection," and "Gotta Live." A new album, King was released on Wind-up Records on August 2, 2011. It debuted at number 12 on the Billboard 200, a new peak for the band. The album's first single, "Heaven", was released on June 7, 2011. The next single will be "Gotta Be Wrong Sometimes".
Touring members
The band's Heard The World foundation was founded to support youth, education and sustainable programs both in the U.S. and abroad.[4]
In December 2009, Jerry DePizzo headlined a charity fundraiser for Music Loves Ohio in Columbus at The Basement.[5]
The band teamed up with the large US defense contractor, SAIC, to raise money for the Paralyzed Veterans of America, a service organization focused on assisting veterans with spinal cord injuries and diseases, through digital downloads of the band's song "Light Switch Sky." Proceeds from downloads of the song through July 22, 2010 will support paralyzed veterans. The song was co-written by O.A.R. and its fans through a competition on Twitter.[6]
In August 2010, members Benj Gershman and Marc Roberge appeared in two videos for Diet Coke's Stay Extraordinary campaign.
| Title | Details | Peak chart positions | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US [8] |
US Alt [9] |
US Indie [10] |
US Rock [11] |
||||||
| The Wanderer |
|
— | — | — | — | ||||
| Soul's Aflame |
|
— | — | — | — | ||||
| Risen |
|
— | — | 44 | — | ||||
| In Between Now and Then |
|
54 | — | — | — | ||||
| Stories of a Stranger |
|
40 | — | — | — | ||||
| All Sides |
|
13 | 3 | — | 4 | ||||
| King |
|
12 | — | — | 2 | ||||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart | |||||||||
| Title | Details | Peak chart positions | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US [8] |
US Alt [9] |
US Indie [10] |
US Rock [11] |
||||||
| Any Time Now |
|
156 | — | 11 | — | ||||
| 34th & 8th |
|
80 | — | 6 | — | ||||
| Live from Madison Square Garden |
|
69 | — | — | 23 | ||||
| Rain or Shine |
|
49 | 7 | 5 | 10 | ||||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart | |||||||||
| Title | Details | Peak positions |
|---|---|---|
| US [8] |
||
| Hello, Tomorrow |
|
180 |
| Year | Single | Peak chart positions | Certifications (sales threshold) |
Album | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US [12] |
US AC [13] |
US Adult [14] |
US Alt [15] |
US Pop [16] |
CAN [17] |
||||
| 2003 | "Hey Girl" | — | — | 26 | — | — | — | In Between Now and Then | |
| 2004 | "Right on Time" | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2005 | "Love and Memories" | — | — | 17 | 30 | — | — | Stories of a Stranger | |
| 2006 | "Heard the World" | — | — | 24 | — | — | — | ||
| "Lay Down" | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| 2008 | "This Town" | — | — | 17 | — | — | — | All Sides | |
| "Shattered (Turn the Car Around)" | 36 | 14 | 2 | — | 25 | 43 |
|
||
| 2011 | "Heaven" | — | — | 21 | — | — | — | King | |
| "Gotta Be Wrong Sometimes" | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart | |||||||||
Compilation name (year, song title)
|
|||||||||||||||||