The man in charge, who referred to himself as “Joe” on the phone, sat me down in front of an electronic drum set with a Gatorade bottle and The Exorcist DVD for decoration. Chris came out shortly after, sat down on his stool, and was ready for the interview. My opening question, very predictable, was “What are your musical influences?” He gave me a puzzled look at first, as I had not specified his or the band’s influences. I smiled for a second and replied, “Yours, sorry.” I was surprised by his response. He was influenced by hip-hop throughout high school and listened to a lot of Bob Marley, as his songs captured the art of wrapping an entire song around the percussion’s central theme.

After a brief pause, I went on to my next question, “When did you become interested in music?” Like many musicians, Chris has been into music all his life. Throughout school, he enjoyed playing sports and the like, but was more obsessed with music, even before the times of internet and cable. He liked to refer to the new issue of Rolling Stone magazine and other music magazines for his musical information.

He warmed up to my following question, “When did you get your first drum set,” as it related to his family and his childhood. He claimed his parents had him playing drums since he could first hold onto the sticks, as his father is a drummer as well. His first drum set was a Muppets set, and he had a big sticker of Animal on it. These responses made me laugh a bit as I realized my next question had an obvious answer. I said with a smirk, “So I guess that means your family supports you?” All of the band members’ families have been supportive throughout the entire process, he explained, and some of their parents were in charge of key elements. Apparently, Chris’ dad gave the band their best guru-type advice as he was the resident musician. Singer Marc Roberge’s father worked on their legal business, too.

I changed gears a bit with the fifth question, “How important is music in school programs?” The story that followed his “incredibly important” quick response was truly very touching. He explained that the former high school of Jerry DePizzo, O.A.R.’s saxophone player, was actually forced to redo their budget and cut the music programs. Jerry and the entire band have been trying to do all they can to donate time and money to these programs.

Switching the direction yet again, I asked for some advice to give up-and-coming bands. His advice was simple: “Giving away your music for free is important at first.” It is key to just get the band’s name out there, even though it will cost some money to hook people in the beginning. The next step is to just build a musical community, which is why file sharing programs such as Napster are so important to have. All bands should also play whenever and wherever they can—even small gigs like a relative’s birthday party.

The most relevant question of the night dealt with their reason for touring, their newest CD: Stories of a Stranger. I wanted to know what influences the band had for this particular collection of songs, and the answer tied into a previous question of “How do you relax while on the road?” Although they do get their nightly fix of poker and funny movies like Anchorman, everyone always looks forward to going home during their one- or two-day breaks. The songs on the CD deal with this sensation and being able to balance personal versus professional life. Some of the lyrics take on what it means to sometimes not feel like yourself but having to overcome this sentiment. Roberge talks about always being yourself.

On a lighter note, I asked, “What song do you think most fans associate with the name O.A.R.?” The song I was thinking of was exactly his answer—“Crazy Game of Poker,” he quickly replied. Naturally, this is the most well-known song, and the band likes to close their shows with a big encore by playing it. He stopped for a second, and said, “That doesn’t necessarily mean we’ll close with it tonight.” As it turned out later, they did in fact close with it, but nice try, Chris.

That had completed the questions I came prepared to answer, but with a few minutes to spare, a couple more came to mind. The next one was difficult to answer—“Who is your favorite musical artist to play with?” He explained that before they were headlining their own tour, O.A.R. was the band being chosen to play with the more well-known band. As opposed to headlining, when they decide which band to tour with or have open for them, they did not get to choose. This does not mean they did not like those bands, though, as they had opportunities to play with Dave Matthews Band and other big names.

My final question brought out some modesty in Chris, as I dropped an F-bomb on him: “What do you miss about the days before you were famous?” He slyly responded, “We’re famous?” and let out a bit of a laugh. He made sure to make it clear that he loves playing music with the band; however, it has become a 24-hour deal. Chris loves having the opportunity to pursue his dreams, but being on call reminds him of a doctor’s schedule. Even though they may have chances to go home, they are still on call with the band and may have to leave for something that comes up.

I had finished the more formal interview session and moved onto a bit of small talk as we waited for Joe to come retrieve me. I was led back outdoors to grab my ticket from the will-call and head inside to find my photographers. The doors opened at 7 pm, when my interview began, but the show did not actually start until 8 pm. I must confess that I was very impressed with the concert from the beginning, as O.A.R. singer Marc introduced their opening act, mrnorth.

Mrnorth, from Ireland, played about the first 45 minutes of the show. Their singer’s voice reminded me of his fellow countryman Bono from U2. Their music was also very captivating, but I felt their lyrics did not always match the music. It was easy to tell how into their songs they were, which is always very comforting; however, I still wished they had more meaningful lyrics for me to connect with on a higher level. It was also sometimes difficult to tell when one song ended and the other began, as there were a lot of longer instrumental sessions. Overall, though, I would say that mrnorth was a good opening act for O.A.R.

After the seemingly long set change, it was time for the main event—Of A Revolution, playing here at our own RPI. I was surrounded by true O.A.R. fans, who knew the words to every song whether it was from five years ago or their newest CD. I did not leave the concert feeling like there was a song I wanted them to play that they skipped over. They had even played a cover of U2’s “Sunday Bloody Sunday” with the help of mrnorth’s singer, who managed to fit right in. I was glad to hear “City on Down” and “About an Hour Ago,” and I got goosebumps when Marc performed “I Feel Home” with his acoustic guitar. They integrated songs from “Stories of a Stranger,” as this was the tour to promote the album. I really liked “One Shot” and “Love and Memories,” since I knew the words to those already.

As a whole, the concert ran very smoothly and kept me entertained throughout the whole three hours. The lights were amazing and drew emotions out of the crowds with the perfect synchronization to the songs. I was very impressed by how good the music sounded inside the Field House, but of course no concert is complete without the stereotypical tall guy standing right in front of me blocking my view.