O.A.R. is often compared to the Dave Matthews Band, owing to vocalist and guitarist Marc Roberge’s (b. 4 October 1978, Silver Spring, Maryland, USA) close vocal approximation to Matthews, as well as their mutual love for jamming. The roots of O.A.R. (‘Of A Revolution’) stretch back to the early 90s, when Roberge and drummer Chris Culos were classmates in junior high school (in Rockville, Maryland, USA), and would listen to music and jam together. By the late 90s, Roberge and Culos had welcomed two others into their fold, Richard On (guitar) and Benj Gershman (b. 24 March 1980, USA; bass), resulting in the formation of O.A.R. in 1998. Building up a solid fanbase owing to live shows from the east coast through the mid-west, O.A.R. issued two releases on their own in 2000, The Wanderer and Soul’s Aflame, the latter of which featured the arrival of a fifth member, Jerry DePizzo (saxophone).
The quintet’s next two releases were recorded live, 2001’s Risen and 2002’s Any Time Now, the latter of which sold a staggering 100, 000 copies by word of mouth alone. The band’s relentless gigging was crucial in their success, as was their encouragement of the taping and trading of live shows. Deciding that being with a major label would take their career to the next level, O.A.R. signed with Atlantic Records, and issued In Between Now And Then, in 2003. Subsequent albums 34th & 8th (2004) and Stories Of A Stranger (2005) were commercial successes and generated the radio hits ‘Love And Memories’ and ‘Heard The World’. On 14 January 2006, O.A.R. performed in front of nearly 20, 000 fans at New York City’s Madison Square Garden. A repeat performance was held the following January, with this show making it onto a CD/DVD package later in the year.
