Platinum Prodigal Sons
Armed with new material and old gems, O.A.R. is set to play the city that helped define their sound
By Joshua Fitzwater |
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Photo by Danny Clinch On paper and the Arbitron stat sheet, O.A.R. (that's Of A Revolution for the layman) has cultivated a melodious golden touch. Actually, to be more accurate, they have cultivated a melodious platinum touch. Mastering the craft of feeling good in the key of C, O.A.R. has joined the million-sold club, packed Madison Square Garden, and been anointed in the same holy tour water as the Dave Matthews Band.
But it's easy to misconstrue and write off success as good fortune.
Talent, in the music biz, will only take you so far, and O.A.R. has had to work relentlessly for every ounce of success they have garnered. Reaching the platinum status took 10 years of constant touring. For each member of the band, their journey to Billboard's Chart Zion has been a vast, never-ending musical melee, full of life on the road, obstacles and perseverance.
Case in point: as I spoke with O.A.R. saxophonist and Youngstown native Jerry DePizzo on his day off about their highly-anticipated Columbus homecoming gig at the LC, he was standing in his basement, ominously wading in water up past his ankles due to a torrential downpour for three straight days in early June.
As DePizzo considers safety precautions, like whether or not to wear arm floaties while talking to me, we discuss the topic at hand, a new album and a Columbus return for the ages.
"We are all really looking forward to this show," said DePizzo, half excited, half waterlogged. "Every year, the Columbus show has such a great crowd and we love playing at the LC in front of an audience that grew with us."
The entire band, including lead singer Marc Roberge, went to The Ohio State University and used the local bar scene as a rehearsal studio for perfecting their Bob-Marley-meets-The-Boss sound. Exploiting every folly along the way, they used their college experience as fodder to write songs about love gone wrong and drinking gone awry.
"Columbus is the place where we cut our teeth. The place where we figured out our sound and who we were. And more importantly, where we got our start," DePizzo said. "We spent our childhood years and our adolescent years in Ohio discovering who we are. And it's great to come back all the time and experience that again."
Expect this tour stop to feel like the olden days - when you stumbled through the Oval and consumed any kind of alcoholic beverage under two dollars.
"For Columbus, we'll play our older stuff - change it up, switch it up, keep it real fun," DePizzo said. "But also play some of our newer songs. I feel like our new material is for the fans that have stuck with us all these years. We have really gotten back to our roots and this is the record our fans have been waiting for."
It is incredible to examine world-renowned songs like "Crazy Game of Poker," "Night Shift," or "About Mr. Brown" and speculate what kind of crazy Columbus tomfoolery galvanized each song. DePizzo is quick to concede that Columbus was more than a place to play.
"I think Columbus played an important part with us as a band. I know it played an important part with me - defining me as a musician and as a man," he said. "O.A.R. is known for being a bunch of hard working, smart guys who didn't have anything handed to them - we took it and got it for ourselves. And I think a lot of that blue-collar, midwest work ethic exists in us from maturing musically in Columbus. I don't think we would be who we are as a band if it weren't for Ohio State and the city of Columbus."
O.A.R. has spent the past 14 years climbing up from dingy, besmirched local watering hole venues like Bernie's to exponentially more glamorous outdoor amphitheaters like the LC Pavilion. But whether the gig is Coors or Cristal, O.A.R. has never lost sight of where they came from.
"I can remember seeing the big marquee of the Newport as a freshman at OSU and thinking how awesome it would be to play there someday," DePizzo reflected, laughing. "Look at that thing! It's huge! I don't even care if we sell any tickets. Pearl Jam freaking played there!"
"When we ended up finally getting a gig there, we sold the place out. The Newport! It was such a big deal to us and it is something that I will always remember."
What DePizzo, Roberge, and the rest of the O.A.R. boys have yet to ascertain is that even though they hold a special affinity for Columbus, it's O.A.R. that really means something to the city. An entire nomenclature of musical admirers and imitators are now making their own dingy, besmirched climb up the bar show hierarchy - aspiring to all the same greatness, all the same notoriety, and all the same waterlogged basements.
O.A.R. Performs @ the LC Pavilion
405 Neil Ave.
July 21st, 6:30 p.m.
www.ofarevolution.com
Originally Published: July 1, 2010
