Starting a Revolution

The revolution behind the band O.A.R. began small, just a couple of childhood friends jamming in the basement. And by the time singer-guitarist Marc Roberge and drummer Chris Culos formed the latest version of their band while students at Ohio State University, they were happy just to be playing local bars.

The real revolution began when their friends began taping those shows and posting them on the Internet. For O.A.R. (a.k.a. Of a Revolution), the result has been an accelerating grass-roots following, as Web surfers and others are drawn to the band’s mix of upbeat folk, pop and reggae flavors.

O.A.R.’s third and most recent album, 2001’s “Risen,” was released on the band’s own Everfine label and debuted at No. 11 on Billboard’s Internet sales chart alongside the likes of Lenny Kravitz and U2.

Though we’re only speaking about 40,000 in sales so far, it was a major accomplishment for an independent band of college students. Now a busy touring schedule will deliver O.A.R. to the House of Blues on the Sunset Strip on Sunday and Monday. And not surprisingly, O.A.R. maintains an open taping policy at shows.

“It just started out with a few buddies taping the shows, putting them up on the message boards for free,” says Roberge. “It turns out the more they did that, the more other people started picking up on it. It’s been one of the most instrumental things to our career.”

Both Roberge and Culos graduated in May. The rest of the band--bassist Benj Gershman, guitarist Richard On, saxophonist Jerry DePizzo--is taking time off from school, and the five of them have been touring off and on since June.

At 23, Roberge has already learned some important lessons of the road.

“At first it was all fun and games and extremes, seeing how far you can take this. Then I began not to enjoy that at all and kind of wanted some kind of routine, professionalism or something.”

So he’s no longer staying up until 6 a.m. and sleeping until show time, essentially missing out on seeing the cities where the band was playing. The current operation is on time and organized. “It’s made it so much easier and fun,” he says.

It was a big step from the band’s earliest days, playing birthday parties and mixing original songs with their versions of Pearl Jam hits.

“We were in high school, 16 years old, trying to have fun,” says Roberge. “I always wrote songs since we were kids. It was a pipe dream. It’s nothing you think will ever happen. OK, we record these two records, go to college, thinking what a joke it is. Well, it turned out it happened.”

The band’s name was drawn from a short story Roberge wrote in 1996 that dealt with the challenges of his own generation of high school kids.

“I was in high school--the angst-ridden, Nirvana-type high school kids,” he explains. “And I just felt we were [criticized] a lot. When I looked around, everyone was fine. As much as people figured we were angry, we were fine.”

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The sound of the band is smooth, folk-flavored pop, songs that would fit comfortably beside the Dave Matthews Band. The introspective “Delicate Few” is a concert highlight for Roberge, a song from the new album that reflects his own growth from an anxious youth.

“I used to have a pretty short fuse, and I wanted to describe how I learned to calm down a little bit and appreciate the people around us,” he says. “To really appreciate the people who make you smile rather than stress out. It’s about a character, but I’m really just talking about myself. That’s the easy way out.”

Roberge says the direction of O.A.R.’s sound was never much in question, explaining, “We just felt we hit the music we wanted to hear right on the head.”

Fans seemed to agree from the beginning. Even while still full-time students at Ohio State, the band managed to sell 50,000 copies of its three albums. The first two--self-produced releases--were essentially live recordings of rehearsals. For “Risen,” the band entered a proper recording studio for the first time.

“We realized we didn’t know anything about recording,” Roberge says. “You could say we learned the hard way, but it turned out a great experience. It was a little bit of a struggle in that you learned something new every day. It was a humbling experience to realize you didn’t know anything.”

Though he admits that listeners can easily tell the difference between its early work on the new album, the point of the band for Roberge is an overall good-time vibe.

“We’re not polished musicians,” he says. “We’re not out there blowing your mind with technique. We just do what we do, and it may not be the most perfect-sounding thing in the world, but we’re having a good time.”

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O.A.R.’s grass-roots success has inevitably drawn the notice of major record labels, and the band has been happy to discuss the future with them.

But Roberge plans to “take the independent thing as far as we can.” The band is set to release a live album, titled “Any Time Now,” in April.

“We’re really doing well on our own,” he says. “We’re doing things we never imagined were possible. Business-wise is doing great, the chemistry between us is great. We are certainly talking to people, getting to know people, keeping all options open.”

Meanwhile, even as the crowds continue to swell, some of O.A.R.’s earliest friends and champions still manage to come to the shows.

“We could be playing at a 2,000-person venue and our friends still show up, and they make themselves known,” says Roberge. “To us, those are the guys who put us in that venue. We might as well treat them like kings.”

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O.A.R. with Howie Day, Left Undone, Sunday and Monday at the House of Blues, 8430 Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood. $15. (323) 848-5100. Doors open at 7:30 p.m.