O.A.R. has made a long journey from playing Ohio State frat houses to selling out Madison Square Garden.
The band still enjoys a strong college following, but the release of 2005’s “Stories of a Stranger” gave its five members a taste of the mainstream. Besides playing the theme song for ABC’s “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition,” their song “Love and Memories” has received national radio play, and it’s video is in rotation on VH1 and MTV.
All the recent attention has been in complete contrast to how an earlier song, “That Was a Crazy Game of Poker,” became the band’s first hit. O.A.R. (Of A Revolution) relied on word-of-mouth for “Crazy Game of Poker’s” success.
Before O.A.R. returns to Madison Square Garden later this month, they’re playing at Friday at UIC Pavilion. Lead singer Marc Roberge discusses the band’s college appeal, the popularity of O.A.R. bumper stickers and his inspiration for “Crazy Game of Poker.”
Let’s just settle this once and for all. Is it pronounced O.A.R. or Oar?
O.A.R. I used to have an ego about it and would get mad when people said “Oar.” Not anymore. Now I’m just happy people know who we are.
College students seem to know you best. Why do you think you have such a strong connection with that demographic?
They enjoy the place they are in life. They’re care-free. We can relate to that. And a lot has to do with how we come across. We’re just a few guys who happen to be in a band. We’re not the kind of band that disappears at the end of the show either.
What’s the best part about being famous–besides getting to wear sunglasses inside?
I saw a guy wearing sunglasses inside in Las Vegas and thought, “I’ll never do that,” but the best part about all this is getting to play music. I get to be a kid. I get to do what I like.
What do you think sells better–your CDs or bumper stickers?
Lately? Bumper stickers. It freaks me out how many I see. I was driving and got cut off by some kid in another car. I was going to honk but couldn’t because he had an O.A.R. bumper sticker. It was kind of cool.
“Crazy Game of Poker” is probably one of three songs people hear at nearly every bar–what would you say are the other two?
As of late, whenever I’m at a bar, I hear “Melissa” by the Allman Brothers Band and a lot of Jay-Z’s stuff. It’s funny. I never understood why “Crazy Game of Poker” caught on. I remember I was in Israel when I wrote it. I had a bad night. I wasn’t stable and was young and confused.
Are you guys looking to jump back in the studio any time soon?
We just took a break and are now going on tour. There will be a live record for 2007. The difference between our shows now and our shows when we first started is that we’re well rehearsed now. We’ve honed in on what we want to sound like. In terms of new material, we’re going back to the basics. It will be the least amount of tinkering we’ve done with our sound in a while.
O.A.R.
When: 7 p.m. Friday
Where: UIC Pavilion, 1150 W. Harrison St.
