O.A.R. brings the "Tailgate Tour" to Iron City on Friday

Blake Ells By Blake Ells
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on November 05, 2013 at 2:02 PM, updated November 06, 2013 at 8:53 AM
O.A.R. comes to Iron City Live on Friday, November 8, part of the "Tailgate Tour." The band comes on the heels of their most recent release, Live on Red Rocks, while working on the followup to the 2011 studio release, King. Friday's show is set to begin at 8 p.m. with Cris Cab opening. Tickets are $30.50 and can be purchased online or at the venue.

I spoke to lead vocalist Marc Roberge about some of the band's more memorable collaborations, the Braves, his Ohio State Buckeyes and the "craziest game of poker that he ever saw."

Blake Ells for Birmingham Box Set: "King" was extremely poppy. How does that material mix with your older stuff when you play it live?

Marc Roberge: Naturally, we can't help ourselves from using a sonic pop song, but the second we take that song on stage, it immediately sounds differently. That's what makes it fun to do this live - we can do a Miley Cyrus song and make it sound like a band wrote it. When you get deeper into a career, sometimes you just want to do a pop song, and other times, you want to do a nine-minute epic. I'm just interested in the craft of songwriting and making great songs.

BE: It's been a couple of years - are we close to a new studio record?

MR: As of today, we are finishing the singles. We have two or three that we have our eye on. The remainder of the album is recorded, and our hope with this one is that it can be packaged more as an album; ten songs that make sense together, rather than just ten random songs. Billy Joel would do that - ten songs that would capture a time period. And it's almost as if we have a team with ten roster spots that need to be filled and each one needs to complement the other the right way.

BE: This is the "Tailgate Tour." Who is your team? Ohio State?

MR: We came up with this idea while we were down South. This time of year, the weather is still warm. People are preparing for everything from a game to a concert or maybe it's just a Tuesday. We feel like our music can make its way into any of that. 

We watch the Washington Redskins or Ohio State. 

BE: Are you worried that the Buckeyes may get left out of this championship?

MR: I try not to worry too much about that, because it doesn't matter what I think. I could call up [Urban Meyer], but I doubt he would care what I had to say. I just want to be a fan. If I spend too much time worrying, I don't get to enjoy it as much.

BE: You've worked with hip-hop artists like B.o.B. - how do those collaborations happen?

MR: I remember Duracell was looking for a song for their Facebook page for the Olympics. It was very easy to write and easy to put together. He was the first choice to bring on. He had some great lyrics and we knew it could be great. It wasn't something that was for sale - we did it on Leno once.

We also worked with Wyclef [Jean]. My whole thing is that when I perform, it's all about improv. Back in Maryland and D.C., that's what we did. 

BE: You have spent a lot of time on college campuses. Can you recall your favorite moments at Auburn or Alabama?

MR: After a while, a lot of stops begin to blend together and it becomes difficult to distinguish. But every week on every tour has a special energy, a special mascot, a special tradition. With those two schools, you have storied traditions, and we've certainly spent a lot of time at both. 

BE: You've had at least one song used in Braves commercials. How did that happen? Would you consider yourselves fans at all?

MR: From the first time we went down to do a postgame show - we don't really get to interact with our fans at a concert; we arrive, set up, play the show and go home - but that day, that day was a great day. The fans were just so great to be around. Something big was happening that weekend; I want to say it was Chipper's [Jones] last weekend there, and everyone was super hyped. Atlanta has always been a big market for us. Braves baseball has always been exciting and the fans are great.

BE: What was the craziest game of poker that you ever saw? [via: @lukelucas]

MR: Too bad it was a blackjack game [laughs]. When I first got out of college, I had a little money. After shows, the bus would be parked outside - this time it was under loading docks. And I'm losing thousands of dollars...

BE: Wait, so the song is actually based on a blackjack game?

MR: No, no. I was 17; I went to high school in Israel because my family moved around a lot. One night, I was out with a bunch of friends and it had been a really bad night so I went home and sat down in a dorm room and wrote a story about playing a game of cards with the devil. That's what I felt like at the time. That's the first half of the song. The second half is more reggae; we improvised. It was about winning that battle of good and evil.


MR: Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. Dave Matthews Band. Bruce Springsteen and the E-Street Band. Pearl Jam - that was pretty much it for me then. is a great question, I've never thought about this. Ozomatli.