Island Vibe Roots Rock

With a moniker that stands for "Of A Revolution," most people would assume that OAR’s music would fall into a genre called something like “Super Angry Death Grunge Sludge Metal.” Most people would be wrong. Considering the absurdly over-saturated nü-metal scene, that wouldn’t be much of a revolution anyway. The real revolution coming from this band can only be described as one of island vibe roots rock, something definitely not tearing up the mainstream charts...yet. After an impressive indie career (OAR sold over 290,000 records before signing to a major), the band finally settled into a deal with Lava Records, dropping their major-label debut, In Between Now And Then, in May of 2003. Benj Gershman, the band’s talented bassist, reflects on what it was like back then and what it took to get them to where they are now.

You guys have created a very distinct sound. How would you describe your music to people who’ve never heard it?
I would say island vibe roots rock. We were asked that same question in one of our interviews early on and Marc [Roberge, guitar and vocals] answered it with "island vibe roots rock." I still feel that that is accurate for us. It’s hard to just call it pop or rock. It’s not reggae either. There are a lot of things that go into it.

You released a double live CD, Any Time Now, that sold nearly 100,000 copies before you got signed to a major. Tell me about that.
We did the live CD because we felt like our band was something that had been mostly supported by our live shows. When we put it out, it was for those people who had been supporting our shows. We never really marketed ourselves or done anything like that. The music has gotten out there because of word of mouth and the use of Internet mediums like Napster and Kazaa.

You obviously weren’t doing too bad on your own, so why sign with Lava?
It seemed like Lava really understood what we were trying to do. We always wanted things to go at a growth rate that we were comfortable [with]. We didn’t want to get ahead of ourselves at any point in time or anything like that. All of our work with Everfine Records, our independent label, was going great — we were really happy with that. When we chose to sign with Lava, it was about two years after we had started talking with labels and companies and looking into different options for getting our music out there. We felt like it was a pretty educated decision — we all had the same vision. We felt confident that they were just going to enhance what we were doing and be another strong member of the team.

What was it like recording under Lava?
We had a lot more time finally. The first two records were on just about as minimal of a budget as you can get. We went into a studio, set up our stuff, pressed record and at the end of the day, we had however many songs. Over a couple of years, we put out two records with very minimal budgets. Obviously, when you partner up with a major, they give you a little bit more to work with. We’re really happy with the way they’ve chosen to support us. We were able to experiment with things because we had the luxury of time and the support of the people around us. It was definitely a challenge getting back in there, but we all put our hearts into it, and I think we learned a lot from working with John [Alagia, producer]. We just kind of stepped it up and tried to rise to the occasion. Over time, you start to understand what it takes to accomplish certain things in the studio.

Tell me about working with John Alagia.
It was great. He’s a fantastic guy and an incredible musician. He guided us really well in the studio. We had an idea of where we were going with things and he helped us achieve that sound. We tried some things we’d never tried; we recorded the drums analog then transferred that to digital so we had that classic rock analog drum sound. Then we tracked the guitars and bass over the top of that. It was really a different process.

Why introduce yourselves to radio with "Hey Girl?"
It’s a song that we’ve had for a while now, and we’re really proud of it. It’s just an easy-going song. It’s just like let’s go have a good time. That’s what it’s about — nothing too deep or complicated, just about a good night, you know? We felt that the song represents us well; it’s a good introduction to our band.

What, to you, makes a good song?
Personally, I don’t like music that’s too complicated. I like simple melodies, things that just feel good and are easy on the ear; they don’t give you a headache. That’s pretty much what I go for.

Tell me about the songwriting process of OAR.
Well, it’s changed over the years. At first, we all just kind of put our heads together and someone would start playing a chord progression and we’d all just chime in — a bit later, we’d have a song. Now, Richard [On, guitar] or Mark usually will come with a few chord progressions that kind of flow together and we all put our parts on top. We just try different feels, grooves, whatever it may be. We all come from different backgrounds in music, so we all have our different influences.

Tell me about being on the road.
Nothing too crazy seems to happen to us on the road. Well, I’ve been locked in a few bathrooms [laughs]. Other than that, we just play a lot of Xbox — we really like Tiger Woods. We’re really low key and we feel pretty lucky to be out on the road. More and more these days, it seems like the drives are getting longer between shows. Sometimes, a friend, girlfriend or loved one will show up on the other side of the country after making a four- or five-day road trip. That’s pretty cool. Also, I’m sure we’ve set the world record for eating the most McDonalds by now.

We should call Guinness and check on that.
Yes, we should [laughs]. I’m sure we’re at least pretty close by now.

So, Xbox and McDonalds — that’s what makes the band?
Exactly. That’s pretty much a good way to describe us. Jay even used to work at a McDonalds.

And he still eats the food?
Yeah, he loves the food.

That’s insane. So, what do you see as the future of the band?
Well, we were given some really good advice when we were just starting out by Chris’s father. He said, "Never expect anything, but be ready for anything." We’ve taken that very true to heart — we don’t want to expect anything out of this. We just try to play music that makes us happy and makes the people that are listening happy.

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