O.A.R. with Parachute opening will perform in the Historic McDonald Theatre on
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
Rock band O.A.R. (Of A Revolution) will perform in the McDonald Theatre on Wednesday, February 1, 2012.
All ages advance tickets are general admission and available now for $25 at all Safeway TicketsWest outlets, online at TicketsWest, and will call online at mcdonaldtheatre.com. Tickets day of show will cost $28. Doors will open at 7 p.m. The concert will begin at 8 p.m.
O.A.R., a name which refers to one of today's most notable rock bands, is an often misinterpreted moniker. By the band's own admission it means "of a revolution," and although O.A.R.'s music does not reflect any political intent, the band's unique and revolutionary approach to its music career has proved it worthy of such a name.
O.A.R., whose music has been compared to that of the Dave Matthews band, has achieved notable success based solely on its credible body of work, word-of-mouth promotion, and unparalleled dedication to bringing music to its fans through non-stop touring.
In a story that seems straight out of a fairytale of big dreams and rising stars, O.A.R. got its unofficial start in the dorm rooms of a university and managed, without a record label, press, advertising or tour support, to become one of the most successful independent bands ever.
O.A.R. was initially started by a group of neighborhood friends. Singer/guitarist Mark Roberge and drummer Chris Culos grew up down the road from one another in Rockville, Maryland.
King
O.A.R.’s Wind-up Records debut album, King, marks a new beginning for the band, while also paying homage to their past. It is the seventh studio effort in a career that began with their high school recording, The Wanderer. Bringing back the title character from their first album, O.A.R. takes the listener on a journey to discover that what the Wanderer, and the band members themselves, had been searching for all along, was there from the beginning. As the closing song on the new disc states, a return “Back to One.”
King is O.A.R.’s follow-up to their 2008 studio album All Sides, which debuted at #13 on the Billboard Top 200 and #3 on the Digital Album chart. The album provided many firsts for the band including their first Certified Platinum single “Shattered,” which in 2009 was the #6 best-selling Rock Song at iTunes and earned them an ASCAP Award as one of the Most Performed Pop Songs of the Year. With All Sides, the band’s cumulative album sales reached close to 2 million and they received the honor of being on Performing Songwriter's list of the 100 Most Influential Independent Artists of the Past 15 Years. The release was the culmination of years of hard work creating music, traveling the country and performing for their legions of fans.
To begin work on King, the band embarked on a journey to each band member’s hometown. The first stop was at The Metro in Chicago, home to drummer Chris Culos. “The music was coming together very naturally, helped by the vibe of being in a real venue versus a stale rehearsal room. It was a perfect way for the recording process to originate from a ‘live’ place,” says Chris. From there the band moved on to Columbus, OH’s (Jerry DePizzo) brand-new 1305 complex; Washington, DC’s (Richard On) legendary punk studio Inner Ear; and New York’s (Benj Gershman and Marc Roberge) historic Avatar Studios. Like The Wanderer completing his odyssey back to where he started, the band members returned home for inspiration and to prepare for their next adventure.
