“It’s always nice for us, going back to college towns because that’s really where we cut our teeth, and where we grew up as a band,” said Jerry DePizzo, saxophonist@@http://userpages.umbc.edu/~bjachi1/403work/Project/jerry_depizzo.htm@@ for platinum-selling rock band Of A Revolution.@@http://www.fender.com/artists/artist.php?id=107@@
On Wednesday night, O.A.R. will bring their well-practiced performance to the McDonald Theatre, supported by opening band Parachute.@@http://www.mcdonaldtheatre.com/event_info/oar.html@@
Forming in 1996 when its members met during their college years at Ohio State University@@http://music.yahoo.com/o-a-r/biography/@@, the five-piece @@quintet?@@released their first album, “The Wanderer,” in 1997@@same link as before@@ and has since released six more full-length albums and four live albums@@http://www.liveoar.com/store/index.php?l=page_view&p=discography@@. They gained widespread popularity among college students during their early years as a band with many live shows, and they have continued to tour frequently over their career.
For this tour, as well as their upcoming “extended stay” shows — in which the group will spend nearly a week each playing shows in New York City, Washington D.C. and Philadelphia@@http://www.ofarevolution.com/@@ — O.A.R. plans to play a number of their new songs in support of their latest album, “Kings,” as well as many older songs from their catalog. Audience members can also expect to hear songs from most of their albums and maybe hear a few songs that never made it on a record.
O.A.R. is comprised of DePizzo on saxophone and guitar, Marc Roberge on vocals and rhythm guitar, Chris Culos on drums, Richard On playing lead guitar, and Benj Gershman on bass.@@http://sputnikmusic.com/bands/O.A.R./72/@@
Throughout their careers the members of O.A.R. have made it onto the Billboard chart a number of times, beginning first in 2005 with the release of “Stories of a Stranger,”@@http://www.billboard.com/album/o-a-r/stories-of-a-stranger/734692#/album/o-a-r/stories-of-a-stranger/734692@@ and then again when their sixth album, “All Sides,” debuted at No. 13 on the Billboard 200 chart.@@http://www.billboard.com/album/o-a-r/all-sides/1153094#/album/o-a-r/all-sides/1153094@@
The band enjoys recording, DePizzo said, but also likes the direction the songs take when they are played live. “I think the studio versions of songs are versions of it in one moment … where I think freely in a live setting we open things up and let things take their course. So the songs tend to evolve as we play them,” he explained.
Their newest album, “Kings,” displays a type of evolution for the band, which experienced a lot of personal ups and downs during its recording, and even had a halted production at one point. “It’s a record I feel talks a lot about where we’ve been as a band in the past … and is a good foreshadowing of where we’ll be in the future,” DePizzo said.
Though their touring schedule has slowed slightly as band members have gotten married and have begun to start families, the group draws from these experiences and includes them in their music. It is these experiences of being at home after touring so frequently for so many years that have allowed them to continue to write songs and perform live shows, DePizzo said.
“You have to be in a good place and feel good about yourself if you really, truly want to entertain people, and that’s what we’re really here to do,” he said.
Through their shows — where audience members are able and even encouraged to record the audio for the entire set — and hit singles such as “Shattered,” “Love and Memories” and the recent “Heaven,” O.A.R. has become known for their dedicated fan base and live following.
“The main goal of each show is really to connect with people, no matter how many people are in the audience, and that’s something that we really strive to do every night,” said DePizzo. “Whether there are 10 people or 10,000 people out there, it’s really just to show them a good time and entertain them.”
O.A.R. will perform at the McDonald Theatre Feb. 1. Tickets are available for $25 at all TicketsWest outlets or can be purchased at the venue for $28. The show begins at 8 p.m.@@http://ev12.evenue.net/cgi-bin/ncommerce3/SEGetEventInfo?ticketCode=GS%3aTWS%3aPMCD12:PMCD0201%3a&linkID=twspok@@