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This Alternative-Rock group was formed in Rockville, Maryland USA, in
the mid-'90s as a quartet comprised of lead singer+rhythm guitarist Marc
Roberge, lead guitarist Richard On, bassist Benj Gershman and drummer
Chris Culos. Saxophone player Jerry DePizzo, after meeting Roberge and
Culos at Ohio State University, joined O.A.R. full time in 2000.
Originally recorded live in the studio while the band members were still
in high school, the group's first album, "The Wanderer", was
released independently in the fall of 1997; they followed it up with a
second self-financed full-length disc, 1999's "Souls Aflame".
Two years later the band delivered "Risen" to Everfine Records;
their third effort, which combined tracks from their previous two CDs
with new songs, cracked the Billboard Top Independent Albums chart upon
its spring 2001 release.
That year the label also re-issued the first two O.A.R.'s LPs and a year
later was released the two-CD live album, "Any Time Now" recorded
at the 9:30 Club in Washington D.C. during the promotion of "Risen",
it debuted on The Billboard 200 at #156, on the U.S. Top Independent Albums
list at #11 and on The Billboard Heatseekers at #4.
May 2003 saw the release of the band's first album on a major label, Lava
Records; their fifth studio LP, "In Between Now And Then", rose
to #54 on The Billboard Top 200 list spawning the Adult Top 40 radio-single
"Hey Girl".
In October 2005 O.A.R. released "Stories Of A Stranger", the
12-song set inched into the top 40 The Billboard 200 and the first single,
"Love And Memories", peaked at #18 on the Hot Adult Top 40 chart
and at #30 on The Modern Rock Tracks; the album had another triple-A radio
top 30 hit with "Heard The World".
The process of creating their next album began in early 2007 when the
band gathered to record demos and start the search for a producer. Following
a summer tour, O.A.R. came together in Los Angeles and prior to entering
the recording studio, the band spent time in a rehearsal space with producer
Mat Wallace to run through potential album tracks. "All Sides"
was finally released in July 2008 and quickly bulleted into the top 20
of The Billboard 200 Albums chart; it features the single "Shattered".
O.A.R. - Of A Revolution - biography is an exclusive of 100xr.com
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