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List to All Sides

Sometimes the road already traveled can provide vistas never before seen. One would think after more than a decade of crossing this country's highways, the last thing O.A.R. co-founder and lyricist Marc Roberge would want is more time on the blacktop.

But as he prepared to record the band's sixth studio CD, "All Sides," Roberge, his wife, and their dogs drove cross country.

"I decided it would be interesting to make the drive from New York to L.A. to start my journey into this album," Roberge says. "I knew once I got there, time would be spent focused completely on music, so I wanted to gather some experience first. It was a completely different view of America than from a tour bus. You see so much more when you are in the driver's seat."

Of course, some would say Roberge and his O.A.R. band mates have been in the driver's seat since he, guitarist Richard On and drummer Chris Culos formed their first group in 8th grade in Maryland in the early '90s, bonding over their love of Pearl Jam.

Three years later, in 11th grade, bassist Benj Gershman came on board and O.A.R. - of a revolution - was born. Saxophonist Jerry DePizzo, after meeting Roberge and Culos at Ohio State University, joined the band full time in 2000. Eleven years after the group's first release, O.A.R. has come to stand for authentic rock music that reflects the collective triumphs and tragedies we all experience in this world: Real people making real music that resounds deeply with their fans.

Nowhere is that union between artist and audience better reflected than on "All Sides"' energetic ode: "This Town."

"The opening guitar riff of "This Town" is the perfect way to begin this album. It is an announcement," Roberge says. "This is a song about the joy we get out of touring this country and the world. It's about the live show and was written for the crowd."

And what a crowd O.A.R. attracts. Hailed as one of the best live bands on the planet, O.A.R. has built a rabid following and a well deserved reputation as a must-see band when they come to town.

"People often tell me that they relate to us and our music, not just with the words, but with the general manner in which we act and perform. I tell them that may be because there is no 'act'," Roberge says. "We are just five friends playing songs we love to play and enjoying every minute of it. The audience can relate because we are having just as much fun as they are. And we are writing about many of the same life experiences they are living or have lived, not some fantasy world that puts rock bands behind some sort of one-way mirror ten feet above the crowd."

The process of creating "This Town" and the other 12 songs on "All Sides" began in early 2007 when the band gathered to record demos and start the search for a producer. Following a summer tour, they came together again in Los Angeles last October.

Prior to entering the recording studio, O.A.R. spent time in a rehearsal space with producer Mat Wallace (Maroon 5, Faith No More, the Replacements) to run through potential album tracks. Those few weeks galvanized the band as the rest of the world disappeared and time turned backwards. "Playing the songs together in a room for hours on end reminded us of the days spent in the basement, like we were kids jamming after school every day," Roberge says. "I remember thinking how lucky I was to be there at that moment. I think we all fell back in love with just playing in a band."

The unifying experience, plus the realization that the song selections showcased every facet of the band and its musical tastes led to calling the album "All Sides."

"The thing is O.A.R. has never been just one style. From song to song we like to switch it up," Roberge says. "Maybe in the past we had felt the need to explore just one of those musical alleys and see where it took us. This album is all about recording a variety of experiences with a variety of sounds. Essentially, all sides of O.A.R."

The diversity is clear from the first single, the propulsive, jangly "Shattered", to the reggae influenced "What is Mine" and the thoughtful "War Song," written after the band's life-changing USO tour of Kuwait and Iraq last August. The group witnessed the war playing out in front of them as a casual conversation with medics was interrupted when the soldiers ran to save the lives of incoming wounded.

"It was the heaviest thing I have ever seen," Roberge says of the time in the war zone. "I could have written a ton of songs about the experience, but we thought putting just one on the record was perfect. Soldiers say they listen to music to escape, not to be reminded of where they are. 'War Song' is not about our view of the war; it is about the soldiers we met. It follows someone who must leave home, go across the world, and be expected to return the same. We thought the rest of the songs on the album should be escapes, not reminders."

And now, as O.A.R. prepares for the release of "All Sides," Roberge finds himself hitting the road again, this time with his other family: his band mates.

"Right now, on this day, 'All Sides' represents where we are as a band and how far we have come," Roberge says. "It makes me love playing music for a living, writing songs, and driving across the country with my best friends."

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    Benj's Green Dream Blog - Pt. 1 of 3

    June 18, 2009 By O.A.R. Green Dream 0 Comments

    Is the Green Dream really just a dream?

    More and more, I’m beginning to feel that this is not the case!

    In 2008, O.A.R. launched this new program, The Green Dream, to accompany our summer tour. We called it the Green Dream, as it was a hope as much as it was a goal, to help inspire people who were a part of our audience to live with an environmentally-friendly mindset, and of course green our concerts. We felt that providing recycling options on tour would show how important this was to us as a band, and individuals. Even more, we sought to show how effective it could be to do this ourselves, as some venues at this time had no recycling initiatives in place. The thinking was that maybe we could even influence these venues we performed at to become more green. Well, with a little elbow grease, many thanks to Anthony Patterson at Red Light Management, a rack of volunteers, and some expert advice/guidance from SAIC, Reverb, the E.P.A., and GBB (my Dad’s company), we were able to get this program off the ground.

    Last year, we faced a fair share of difficulties but that wouldn’t deter us. We knew anytime you start something new, you hit snags, however we believed that any green activities were better than none. Engaging our audience with the program proved to be worthwhile; a supporter won our art contest helping us brand the Green Dream. Also, many fans came out to volunteer at the concerts, helping us deal with the waste, diverting it from the trash to recycling centers all over the country. Collectively, throughout summer 2008, we were able to account for almost one ton of recyclables. This effort did not go unnoticed (in case you didn’t notice); we actually won an award from the EPA for this; the Environmental Quality Award.

    This year, we are Powered by SAIC. They have brought real sponsorship dollars, manpower, and professional assistance to the table to make this program happen. We’ve recycled our recycling containers from last year (so you can recycle at all of our summer concerts again). We now have a dedicated employee, Erik Grosfeld, coordinating the many individuals who are volunteering and ‘greening’ our tour. Look for Erik and our GD volunteers at our Green Dream Eco-Village, where you can receive awareness information about greening, and also win signed O.A.R. memorabilia!


    Now the fun part…I get to tell you a little bit about this year’s experience and the evolution of our program. We’ve had good, great and disappointing moments so far. The great were very enjoyable, the good were good, and the disappointing proved to be obstacles to overcome and learn from.

    The high point, for me so far, was in Bonner Springs, Kansas. The venue, Sandstone Amphitheatre, was so environmentally friendly it made me realize there are those who always must lead, and those who must follow. Our recycling containers were unnecessary in Bonner Springs, because the venue already provided them. The coolest thing they had were cups made of corn that were bio-degradable, instead of normal plastic, or non-recyclable materials, which still get used in many places we travel. They even went so far as to move their own to-be-sold products into one freezer, in order to save energy. Even more, the staff was accommodating and courteous to our program, so to them we say a BIG thank you!


    One place we really had to overcome some obstacles was Columbus, Ohio at Lifestyles Community Pavilion. This venue did not have any recycling in-house. What’s up with that? What year is it? The weird thing is that all their products were recyclable? Running things this way is sure to change, as Erik and our volunteers set up our initiative and made it work. Recycling over 26 large bags of cups/materials was a sign of how much waste this place could be diverting from landfills at every event. Wake up Columbus!

    Just want to point out that I am pointing fingers only to relay the message that there are people/places doing a lot in this world we live in, and then there are those that are making no effort. Hopefully this blog, and our program, will raise the bar for everyone without getting my band in any trouble for caring about our planet.

    My favorite moment, relating to the Green Dream this tour, was when speaking with a young boy who volunteered with his mother. I asked him, “Why is recycling so important?” His answer, “Because if we don’t put the recyclables where they belong, they’ll go out to sea, with the trash, and the fish will get sick from them.” This speaks to so many issues, and shows that our youth are really becoming aware at an early age of the dangers our world faces. Hearing this made me realize that this mindset we seek to inspire in others is already there in so many! And some so young that there is hope for a better world with generations to come.

    Go Green!

    Benj Gershman

  • Spring Tour Wrap-up

    May 4, 2009 7 Comments

    May 2, 2009 Blog

    Well another tour has ended. The last few days of it were a bit over the top, even for what we’re used to travel-wise. I don’t remember feeling so wiped the last day of tour, perhaps the day after when I have fallen apart, but not the last day.

    A brief summation of the last days. Thursday we played Bristol, Rhode Island. Was a really fun show, had a great crowd of enthusiastics and were really taken care of by the school staff. Not to mention being right on the Narragansett Bay, it was a beautiful day. So afterwards, we had to drive to Philly to catch a flight to Louisville. Keep in mind this is after a bus ride with no shower. So we get there after a delayed flight, all is well, and we head to the venue to get things going. Oh, the venue is a street full of bars and we are performing in the middle. Fun. So between soundcheck and show I take a ride to the AT&T store to fix my iPhone. I think it works, but it doesn’t. I’m phoneless at this point. We do our thing that night, after Parachute, a great band I’ll speak of more in a moment, and then we go out for a drink, or two, or three. Or more. We finally call it a night, and then realize our flight is in an hour or two. Richard and I sleep through our wake-up call and we barely make our flight. We get to Buffalo and then have to drive to Fredonia, NY for our last concert. Well, we got there and our band fell apart. Everyone slept all day, only to rise for our last show, which was a blast. And oh yea, the catering that day was from a company called Fed Up, and they are quite possibly the nicest people and most stellar caterers this side of well, the galaxy.

    So we were wiped, might have been due to the travel, or letting loose, but we were exhausted. Yesterday I slept a lot at home in NYC. Was a yucky day anyways, so it didn’t matter much. And today, I’m catching up on things. Mail, blogs, twitter, facebook, television. RCN is annoying me and didn’t record all of the shows I set it up for. Think I’m gonna cancel their service.

    Anyways, more about O.A.R. and our tour. We were out with the guys from the band Parachute, you may know their music, they used to be called Sparky’s Flaw. Great group of guys with real solid tunes out of Charlottesville, VA. A big thank you to them for their support on this last run.

    Our crew, gotta thank our crew. Some of them have been with us for years. Some are fresh faces, but, they’re the best. Our shows would not happen without them.

    Behind the scenes on the road, we were working a lot. The comradery between the band members has never been stronger. Getting along great makes for good songwriting, and the new tunes that are brewing are feeling great. We’re looking forward to their evolution.

    The next couple weeks are for us to catch back up on our other life stuff. We do have a show coming up in Charlotte that should be a lot of fun. Maybe we’ll be seeing you there? What do you think?

    Besides that, hope you all check out our summer tour dates, www.ofarevolution.com/tour, we’ve got some special shows coming up, and some great performers who will share the stage with us. Its gonna be a great summer.

    See you soon,

    Benj

  • At four months and twenty days, 2009

    April 20, 2009 4 Comments

    Just got back to NYC after our first few days on the road. We’ve been around a bunch already this past month. March was a fun time, mixed with off/on the road, and now April is going swell. We participated in some really great events, the MayerCraft for one was very cool. It was basically a floating festival, of love, of mirth…and well, alcohol. This boat was a trip. I say that because the last boat I was on was the exact same boat except it had twenty of my closest friends on it for the bachelor party of MFR. FYI, the décor on Carnival cruiseships changes, but the structure and frame of the boat are exactly the same. So everything feels the same, but looks different. Was a good time. And oh yea, we beat Guster’s booty in eco-flip cup.

    Now that we’re on tour again, and not on a boat, I thought I’d bring up that being on a bus feels pretty comfortable. I have probably
    spent more nights on a bus in the last seven years or so, than not.
    Kinda crazy.

    New stuff happening on tour. Well our band is all a-twitter. First of all, a big WTF to all internet mediums that catch on in California- like wildfire epidemics. Not sure what happens that things catch on in big ways, maybe I need to read the Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell again, but maybe I just will never quite understand it. What I can input here is that well Jerry Marc and I are kinda obsessed with it. When something happens on the road, we all write our little notes and giggle. How did this happen? Why is writing 140 character messages so fun? And how come following people is such a thrill?

    In other happenings of the O.A.R. Shattered went platinum. Wow.
    Thank you everyone who is supporting our music! A dream come true indeed. Can you believe it? I can’t, not until that plaque gets here...ha!

    We also were recently awarded the Environmental Quality Award by the EPA for our work on the Green Dream. We have been gearing up the continuance of this program this summer and we’re looking forward to
    doing our part to make our planet a bit greener in the near future.
    Look out for our eco-setup Summer 2009.

    Music, oh music. Richie wrote a new song that we’ve been rocking our faces off to at soundchecks a lot. Good groove on this one. I smell album material. Bringin’ back Coal Miner some time too. That’ll be good, if we write a bridge for it.

    Um, other news, watching a Pixies documentary on Sundance channel.
    Quite a good watch actually.

    Other tidbits, Red Rocks June 5. Madison Square Garden for the third time August 15. Can’t wait for more shows, lovin being in my band right now.

    See you all soon…I hope.

    Best, Benj

  • 2009 is going just fine

    January 27, 2009 26 Comments

    Well, I write this blog from the backstage of the Ellen Degeneres show. We have yet to perform, and I have a good feeling about how it’ll go. The backstage is by far the coolest we’ve encountered in our TV appearances. No knocks on the others as they were all great and accommodating, but this California studio is pretty nice. There’s a pool table in our dressing room for starters. The coffee is great too.


    Anyways, life. Life is good. I began 2009 in another country, Costa Rica. Was great to get a vacation. Sometimes touring and working on the road makes you forget that traveling can also be relaxing and enjoyable. I’ve tried to take this purist surfer mantra with me as we’ve begun our 2009 travels. So far, so good.


    We’re out on the road this tour with Eric Hutchinson. He’s a real talent, and his band is great too. They’ve been a pleasure to travel with. Eric has been kind enough to lend himself to our set to perform Watching the Detectives, the classic Elvis Costello tune, during a few of our recent concerts. Really appreciate his energy and vocals on this one. He’s made the song fun to play again. Not like it wasn’t, but we’ve just not done it for so long, and now its great to have back in rotation with him on board.


    Other stuff, well, we finished up our 2008 charity contest. Check out www.heardtheworld.org/contest for the details. Pretty excited about the groups we were able to help. Please check them out!


    Things to keep an eye out for. Well, Shattered is still on the radio. We’re very pleased with how things have gone with this song. Pretty appreciative of the support our listeners have shown for it, and of course for the radio stations that have been playing it! In the near future This Town will be released as our next single. We filmed a video for it in NYC right before this tour started. I cannot explain how cold that day was. One pair of boots that I was wearing got soaking wet and my toes froze. I had to go home (lucky I was in NYC) and grab another pair. They were warmer, and did not soak through. Thank goodness. So anyways, we’re happy about the concept of the video, can’t wait to see a copy of its first round of edits. Can’t wait for it to be finished up and for people to see it. Should be soon.


    That’s about it for now, thanks for keeping up with us in 2009…


    Best, Benj

  • Campus Consciousness Tour Wrap Up

    November 24, 2008 By Benj 3 Comments

    Well, the O.A.R. Campus Consciousness Tour just concluded last night in Columbus, Ohio at the Newport Music Hall, a venue we grew up playing while attending the Ohio State University. As a band, we greatly appreciated this run. We’ve done our fair share of college tours, and to do another one with an environmental sustainability component was very meaningful to us. We were able to visit fifteen college campuses of various sizes all over the United States. For a long time, we’ve done what we can to ‘green’ our tours, but we have always felt that there was more that could be done. Having Reverb out with us seems to be the pinnacle of what is possible for a touring band to actually do and accomplish on the road. This tour was a great learning experience for all involved.

    From the backstage to the front of house, we were a very green operation. You really couldn’t go anywhere in any of the venues we played without seeing a recycling option by a trash can. It was rad! We were able to provide options for our concert-goers, thanks to Reverb, its staff and the volunteers from all the schools we visited. It was pretty impressive to see people join the effort and become vested in it with us. This is what community is all about!

    On top of all this, there were some educational elements incorporated into this tour which added some very cool value to the experience. Reverb set up a badass Eco-Village (pardon my french) for our concert attendees to visit, learn from, and get involved with. They showcased a number of eco-friendly programs including ways for students to off-set CO2 emissions for a semester through Native Energy (this only cost, on average, $3 per student). Also, there were other organizations in this village besides Reverb which students could engage and become involved with.

    What I really enjoyed about this is that we provided info, resources, and personal experiences through the representatives of these organizations. Students could actually walk away from the village with a sense of what is really happening through these organizations. Which, by the way, have multiple levels of impact on our society and environment. We had Oxfam, a global humanitarian non-profit organization which focuses its efforts on relief of poverty and injustice; we also had Climate Counts, an organization that measures big corporations 'greenness' and provides resources and petitions through its website making it very easy to voice your opinion to the corporations they've ranked; we also had local organizations from each campus come out and represent themselves appropriately. What was really amazing about this is that we were engaging students on a local, national and global level. This meant the world (pun intended) to our band. So, what happens when you get all these groups together and hold a discussion/forum with students in order to bring issues to light? The answer: Empowerment. We heard from many students how great it was to hold a daily discussion group in order to inform them of each organization's goals and how they affect the world at large. The efforts of Elliott May, Josh Glasheen, Erin Gorski, Vanessa Lanza, Bob Ferguson and Ria Knapp really went a long way to make this happen! Can't say enough how much it meant to the rest of the O.A.R. guys and me.

    So, from this tour I know my band has learned a great deal, and also has discovered some new easy-to-utilize habits, which will only benefit our lives and touring business in the future.

    Many thanks to Silk (delicious Soy Milk), StonyField Farms, and Clif Bar for sponsoring this tour, it was great of them to do so!

    Keep an eye on O.A.R.'s Green Dream which will be working to continue the mission of this tour throughout O.A.R.’s career in the future! If you’re interested in additional information, check out www.saic.com/oar, or email greendream@everfinerecords.com to sign up to become involved with our program.

    Take care, all the best to you from our band. Thanks Reverb!!

    • Benj

  • Get out there and vote!

    November 3, 2008 3 Comments

    Today is November 4th, 2008, the primary elections are going on in the United States and it is important that all of us who have the right to vote, use this right! This is quite possibly the most important election in the history of the free world and I feel like we all know this, so as redundant as it is to write about it, it is okay to say. Get out there and vote!

    Tour just started a few days ago and we’ve already been traveling like confused migrating birds. Right now I’m writing from Ames Iowa…when this gets posted I’ll be somewhere between Iowa and Alabama, watching the tube to find out just what is going on with the election. I’ve heard rumors that our country is supposed to have a record turnout for the younger side of those who are voting. I really hope this happens. I remember last election that people were saying if all the young peeps who didn’t vote actually voted that we could have had a different president! Can you imagine that? I certainly can.

    At any rate, tour is pretty rad this time around. We have REVERB out with us on the Campus Consciousness Tour. They have a really cool setup that is a must-see for anyone attending these shows. It’s a great environment to learn about the environment! You can also get free stuff, so really check it out! I’ll share some more details about this later, but just know for now, we’re all very excited to continue the efforts we started with our GREEN DREAM via this new format.

    What else is going on? Well, we’ve had a lot of great success (Borat voice) with our single, Shattered. I’m pretty sure we have hit number one in AAA radio (this is crazy), and also we’ve been up there on the charts of VH1 and iTunes. Want to send a thank you to all our listeners who have been supporting, and of course to our labels/management/crew. We have an awesome team, all this couldn’t happen without them!

    Besides that, I would like to wish a everyone a belated Happy Halloween. We had a kickass show in Madison Wisconsin for their ‘Freakfest’. We played right on State Street for a huge crowd of thousands. Pretty sure it was three-four blocks full of people. It was an unbelievable start to our tour. Happy to be back out again...see you soon.

    -Benj

  • Blog 9.13.08

    September 13, 2008 1 Comment

    Starting off this blog I want to point out that it is a good idea to post a blog after you type it. Don’t wait, don’t dilly-dally. Just post. This is kind of like calling a friend back who you haven’t talked to you in awhile. I learned this because I had to re-write this blog after I didn’t post it when I finished writing it, the first time, and now it reads past tense from where we are…I digress and write a new one.

    So, lets talk O.A.R.

    I’m supposed to recap our summer shenanigans. Talk about the things we experienced. Well, going back deep into my memory banks isn’t so easy, but I’ll try.

    Summer began at Bonnaroo and then onto the west coast. Can’t really say how much I appreciate festivals like Bonnaroo. I just won’t do it justice. First of all, it’s a congregation of people who are there to enjoy music. Environments like this are ideal for a professional musician, however these fests do present challenges in their own unique ways. Every crowd is different, and must be regarded as such. As much as we try to flow with the feeling of the audience, we absolutely know that reacting and changing things up can be beneficial, when appropriate. The show at Bonnaroohoo had a great vibe this time around, if I remember correctly. We’re really happy they invited us back, and hope to be back again next year. But if you go by how things have happened we won’t be back til the year after next. That’s okay, plenty going on if it doesn’t happen.

    Ok, so we’ve discussed how festivals are great. Now we move onto some shows of our own. Portland, Vancouver, San Fran for a couple nights, one of which I missed for a best friend’s wedding. Then down through LA and San Diego. A whale’s ?@$#@. Memory. I remember when we were leaving San Diego to drive to Phoenix, it was very hot out. The kind of hot for a band that wears only denim, some members that day chose shorts! So I took this one photo that shows the road we took, its on ofarevolution.com/photos somewhere. Totally worth a look, shows the heat of the desert on the road.

    Anyways, we moved on from there and headed to Summerfest in the great state of Wisconsin in the great city of Milwaukee. I do not know what it is, maybe its something in their beer, but that is a place and time where rock concerts happen. Summerfest takes place over eight or ten days in an area of Milwaukee only used for Summerfest, or so I hear from family Skogg. Go Geebz! The various individuals who attended our concert were wonderful about making the two nights of our performances energetic and unforgettable. Thank you!

    So after Summerfest, it was rest time, and special time for Chris. Secret that I’m not sure if I should mention. X marks the spot. When we started up again in St. Louis and the Midwest, we were welcomed with some fireworks at the end of our show. That is a nice memory. And hey, I have pictures too.

    Following that, things got a little crazy. We had a flight canceled on us and we needed to get to Colorado. It was just too far to drive in the few hours we had available before our performance at the Mile High music festival, so we had to do something we’ve always wanted to do…we got a private jet to take us there. It was only 50 bucks so we thought it was worth it. I attribute this to the ruling powers of Earth keeping gas prices so low.

    Later through the tour things were pretty exciting musically, we were on the road with the band, Ozomatli. These guys are great, both onstage and in life. Yes, they are different things and cause people’s personalities to change. Hmmm. So anyways, we got pretty friendly with them through the tour. After a few shows we worked out having them up with us during a song off our new record Whatever Happened. It was a lot of fun, and we were fortunate enough to have Will-dawg take over the bass parts for me. Man can that guy play!? The whole band though is ridiculous and it goes without saying we were lucky to have ‘em all up on stage with us. Thanks to OZO for this. And also, check out their new LA based radio show, you’ll get a sense for their personalities if you listen…

    Another cool part of our summer tour was the Green Dream. Our band made efforts to ‘green’ our summer tour through a program where we supplied recycling options at the venues for our listeners. We had some great help from a company called SAIC, and also the EPA chipped in. They really added a lot to the initiative/program and helped us accomplish our goals with this program. Check out SAIC.COM/OAR for some more info. And also keep an eye out at our concerts for more Green Dream setups.

    So summer moves on and our tour comes to a halt. We had a few days off before a few shows at the Gorge in Washington state with the Dave Mathews Band. During these days we heard of the passing of LeRoi Moore. We send our love and respect to his family, friends and those that knew him through his amazing contributions to the music community at large. He will be missed. Those shows were fun and all but there was something heart-wrenching and different about them.

    Now we’re kicking things off in Fall. We just played Portland Maine and Burlington Vermont. It is definitely not summer up there anymore. I was cold in Portland and yesterday it was rainy. I’m not complaining, these are just the weather systems around the parking lots that reside in the cities we’ve been playing in.


    And I end this blog. Now.

    Thanks, Benj

  • Writer's Bloc

    August 20, 2008 2 Comments

    So you have to learn through the years in this business to take the
    good with the bad. Not everyone is going to like what you do.
    People will always disagree with what you stand for, and not
    understand where you are coming from. People will hate you. I am cool with all that. Comes with the territory when you put
    yourself out there with your music. There will always be critics.
    They keep it all in check. At least that is what they are supposed
    to do. But there is a not-so-covert group of pencil pushers out
    there ruining the good name music critics have spent days building in
    the short history of rock and roll. I imagine there is an entrance
    gate somewhere with a cartoon cut out requiring the chip on your
    shoulder to be at least this tall to get on the ride. No training
    required. There must be a Secret Society of Shoddy Writers meeting
    every week where the inexperienced can scurry like rats over donuts
    and bagel halves talking about how much they hate fun, happiness, and
    songs. The Strokes play on loop through what one member describes as
    vintage speakers even though they are just old and shitty. The
    Strokes themselves have put a cease and desist on the use of their
    good songs in conjunction with the meetings, but the members don't
    know what that is and continue to nod their head to any band that has
    "The" in their name. I have met a few of these so called critics and
    they are genuinely good at feigning interest. So much so you almost
    want to be nice enough to suggest they find a new line of work as
    actors. But hate is addictive and they must have their prize. I am
    blowing the top off this stone cutter's spinoff. One day, newspapers
    will actually require fact checking and expect their writers to do
    research. We are watching. Don't worry about them catching onto us
    though, they have no intention of ever going to our website, talking
    to one of us, or reading.

    Other than that, everything is cool.

  • Bed, Bath, and Beyond

    August 20, 2008 4 Comments

    When you're walking down the gigantic aisles of Bed, Bath, and Beyond and you hear one of the first songs you ever wrote playing over the loud speaker are you supposed to pretend it's not yours and hide the smile making its way across your face? Should I even be in this store?

    Why is this shopping cart so big? I find it slightly odd that I had to convince myself it was ok to take pride in my domination of the airwaves in this pillow palace. Is this the "Beyond" they speak of? I saw a toddler in her kick ass stroller dancing to Hey Girl and I smiled to myself and continued searching for whatever the hell I came there for in the first place. Oh yeah, Febreeze infused dryer sheets, a welcome mat (that reads LEAVE, hilarious), and a shower curtain.

    Sometimes, it is the little things in this business that make you feel accomplished. Seeing a 2 year-old rocking out to my song is pretty darned cool. How cool? Cool enough for me to forget how uncool I was at that moment pushing a cart around B, B, and B at 7 PM on a Friday.

    As the next song on the mega mix came on I wondered if the Los Lonely Boys were cruising through a Home Depot somewhere. How far is Heaven?

    This felt pretty close.

    So, after I put the finishing touches on my crazy night out by hitting Barnes and Noble for a good read I headed home to write this thing.

    Our new album is coming out on Tuesday July 15 and I wonder if I should be at some club right now celebrating with a bottle of Patron and a cigar. Why am I so calm about it? I honestly think this is our best work yet. I feel relaxed about this record coming out. That is a first. It took a long time to write and record, but we took every step confidently and with ease. I guess that's what is going on here. The entire album has a good energy around it and I just want to chill and enjoy it. Not to mention the love it is getting from the board. I can't describe what a relief that is. You never want to believe everything you read, but it is much easier to digest when people are on your side.

    I'm gonna ride this vibe out. It is too good to start getting all riled up and worried about. If I feel this good tomorrow I might even hit up Whole Foods. Maybe get real crazy and celebrate All Sides with a trip to Best Buy. I know, I know. Don't be crazy. The record isn't even out yet and I'm going Bulk hopping. All this from one Hey Girl play in stroller city. It's a good thing I haven't heard Shattered on the radio yet. That might drive me over the edge and right into a shopping spree at IKEA. I thought we consume when we're scared. Not me, happiness drives me to quarter life cart pushing. Being scared makes me vote.

  • All Sides Blog

    July 15, 2008 0 Comments

    Hello

    It’s been about a year since I blogged. I’ve credited a writer’s block to a few trusted individuals to account for my lack of verbage. But now, to myself and you blogging community, I credit distractions. So, people of the internet, I am 100% not distracted from getting to the topic of this ‘first blog in awhile’ as it is the most important news ever.

    Not.

    Though this news rivals when peanut butter was invented, or for me personally, when I first got my hands on a Nintendo, playing Zelda with my big bro. As exciting as an eclipse to a stargazer.

    You see, my band, O.A.R. (….of a revolution.) will be releasing our ninth album, titled or entitled, All Sides, today, July 15th 2008.

    Okay, I’m distracted by two questions that have come to mind that I cannot answer. One, I wonder how many people out there know that the dots around of a revolution stand for something? And two, why the heck are gas prices so high? (Stupid people have something to do with high gas prices. I just know it.)

    Back to the subject, before I stop blogging for another year. This new album means a darn lot to our band. First of all, we’re pleased as punch to hit nine albums together. It’s going on thirteen years (yea, lucky 13), and we feel we are only strengthening who we are as a band over this course of time. To one another, the five of us bandmates keep saying we are in a new era, and we are genuinely enjoying it, while making the most of it.

    You may want to re-read the end of that last paragraph.

    So, I guess I can/should talk about the making of this album.

    Making this record was like a whole sports season I imagine. There were all kinds of prepping, planning, discussing, and arranging happening before we even got to have pre-game batting practice. Soundchecks, rehearsals, days off, email chains (practices) were all dedicated to this before we even hit the studio (the big game) for I guess about a year and a half. No joke. After all this, Marc/Rich and some Jerry did more writing out west in LA. Then we slid into pre-production, at which time the songs weren’t even finished, so what did we do? We worked on these tunes until they were. Then they were.

    We stayed at this creepy cool place called the Oakwood Apartments. This place was a GIANT complex of apartments that were two-bedroom hotel rooms with full kitchens. So you feel like you’re at home, but you’re not. We commuted everyday from there, and so many people yelled at us while we drove. We never heard them though, they were in their vehicles with the windows closed and since so were we. Also, around the hotel probably coming by from a charred Griffiths Park, there were friggin’ coyotes.

    The studio we worked in was exactly what we needed. Sound City is in the Valley (in Van Nuys) outside cool LA (not the Valley). It wasn’t glamorous but the place had a lot of history and vibe. Many great albums were made there. Look the place up if you want, if you dig around you’ll find cool stories about it I bet. As well, it had some killer gear for us to play with while there…including a Cyclone pinball machine. Most of the gear I speak of is music recording related fyi…I know, I know, I do not need any more distractions, right? The place was well-run and we had a stellar producer, Mr. Matt Wallace. Things went smooth, though when I was recording bass my head almost exploded one day.

    Our team of labels/management back east were great during all this, supporting us in so many ways allowing us to do our thing out there, yet of course and thankfully, keeping an eye on us, lending constructive bits and pieces of tasty advice when they were needed/helpful. Respect to them on that. So we did our thing, I can’t really explain it, it’s just on the record, which gets me to my point.

    I hope you listen to it! Whoever you are. Thanks if you do.

    Last two points. One, our new website will be out very soon…maybe so soon, its already up. And two, I am very excited to tour this summer. We’re going to have a great summer of concerts (some of which have already taken place) so if you are looking for some live music, consider us a viable option, please. Also, we have a cool program being instituted for our summer shows called the Green Dream. We will have recycling stations set up at a bunch of venues in order to encourage a more environmentally conscious experience at our shows. We are going to be a little something to help our planet out, so you can catch live tunes and green this globe at the same time. Not to mention, we have two kickass bands playing with us. Ozomatli and The Beautiful Girls.

    Really that’s enough outta me.

    To see our Tour Dates, CLICK HERE.

    Wow, I missed blogging. Maybe I’ll do this again, when our next album comes out.

    Oh yea, to link to iTunes, CLICK HERE.

    Take care,

    Benj

    Sparkart