Interview: O.A.R. Returns To Philadelphia
By Michael Cerio
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Before bands were selling music on iTunes, making friends on MySpace, or streaming on Spotify, O.A.R. were spreading the word about their jamtastic stylings with tapes. Recordings from fans, traded across the internet, cultivating a fan base that would grow from college dorms to national success.
In between, the band has made plenty of stops in Philadelphia, from the crowded bars of South Street to the big stage of Festival Pier.
"Over the years we've played a lot of fun shows in the city. Everything from the beginning days when we played right across the corner from Jim's Steaks, and we'd go over there and just kind of enjoy South Street. That was something that I always wanted to do growing up in D.C., Maryland. Never really got to Philly, but the music brought me there and I got to really enjoy the nightlife" says O.A.R. lead singer Marc Roberge. "People are just loyal, loyal, loyal. One thing about Philadelphia that I'll always remember is that the audiences are loyal. There always there for you. When it's raining, and it's always raining when we play there. But you know, I just clump it all into one big fond memory of a town that a lot of family comes from. It just kind of, just feels right."
There is no rain in for forecast for Friday August 28th, when O.A.R. returns to Philadelphia with their "Back To Rockville Tour" at Festival Pier. A tour named for their 8th studio album The Rockville LP, but more importantly their hometown of Rockville, MD. Four out of five members of the band grew up in the D.C. suburb, sharing friends and music at the age of fifteen.
"By the time we arrived in high school we were all so close and just trying to make this music thing happen locally" remembers Roberge. "What was really everything to us was our group of friends. We had a group of friends that we could lean on, and I know everyone can relate to this in their high school years, but we always felt like this crew, this group was something we would always maintain. And we always had this goal that we would maintain our relationships. That's how we spent most nights. Most nights were spent in the driveways of people's houses or in the parking lot of Burger King."
Marc Roberge and the band were successful in keeping the gang all together, even marrying one of them along the way. "My wife, I remember her being sixteen and me being fifteen, being in the Burger King parking lot tapping on the car window telling her 'I'm gonna marry you one day' and her driving off laughing" laughs Roberge. "She was way too smart for that. I was not dateable. Undateable,...we were best friends up until the time we were about twenty. I finally convinced her around that time. Finally I think I wore her down. Called her on her birthday one day, and that just sparked up something that has been going ever since."
With memories and friends like that, it's easy to understand why O.A.R. reached back to Rockville as inspiration for their 8th studio album. "We wanted to bring it back, try to get inspired by, and write songs in honor of the place where we come from. It was a large idea but it came very easily. We created this album with just a thought, and just a very good feeling that Rockville always gave us" explains Roberge. "It's not like an album, like a legacy of this is our last album and this is where we came from. This is kind of like a real time thing where we wanted to go and get reinvigorated by our hometown and that's exactly what we did."
The crowds have gotten bigger, and the sound more polished, but at the heart of O.A.R. is still a live show full of energy and sincerity. This Friday August 28th, you can experience them at Festival Pier in Philadelphia. To hear more from lead singer Marc Roberge, listen to the full interview above.
