5 things to know about rock band O.A.R. before they perform at the Oncenter
Courtesy of Concord Music Group
O.A.R. is set to perform at the Oncenter as part of the band's "stOARies" tour. Their latest album, "XX," was released in 2016.
The rock band O.A.R. will bring its “stOARies” tour to Syracuse at the Oncenter on Wednesday.
The band released its 13th album, “XX,” in August of 2016 and started the album’s tour Oct. 15.
Here are five things you need to know about the group before it takes the stage on the second stop of its tour.
The band started in high school
Marc Roberge, Chris Culos, Richard On and Benj Gershman, four of the band’s five current members, went to middle school and high school together in Rockville, Maryland. They also went to The Ohio State University together, where they met the band’s fifth member, Jerry DePizzo.
The band has its own holiday in Howard County, Maryland on July 19, which was declared in 2014 after it returned to the Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia, Maryland, for the 10th summer in a row.
The band has been active for more than 20 years
The band formed in 1996 and recorded its debut album, “The Wanderer,” with the Gizmo Recording Company. The group’s most recent album is its eighth studio album.
Napster was a significant contributor to the band’s early success
But since the music-sharing website is no longer active, the band relies on word-of-mouth to spread their music.
In its early days, O.A.R. got most of its gigs from Greek life parties. The band’s third studio album, “Risen,” debuted at No. 11 on the Billboard charts in 2001.
The band has released five live albums, and all its live shows are available for download at liveoar.com. Its last recorded show was a Seattle show at the Gorge Amphitheatre in August.
The band’s most-played song on Spotify has more than 20 million streams
The song “Peace,” part of 2014’s “The Rockville LP,” takes the second spot on the music streaming service’s “Most Popular” rankings on the band’s page. The only song above it is the group’s 2008 single “Shattered (Turn the Car Around),” which was released on the album “All Sides.”
The name “O.A.R.” is an acronym inspired by a Bob Marley song
The letters stand for “Of a Revolution,” and fit with the message of reggae music, which is what the members were listening to when they decided to form the band.
Published on October 22, 2017 at 10:48 pm
Contact Charlie: cesawyer@syr.edu
