O.A.R. was founded in 1996 by Marc Roberge and Chris Culos, who then, while attending the summer session of Alexander Muss High School in Israel, each recruited Richard On and Benj Gershman. The four of them graduated from Thomas Sprigg Wootton High School in Rockville, Maryland then moved to Columbus, Ohio to attend Ohio State, where they met Jerry DePizzo after their first CD The Wanderer had already been released. Without any formal marketing or advertising plans news about songs of theirs such as That Was a Crazy Game of Poker, City on Down and Night Shift spread by word of mouth alone. The band played as many shows as they could despite the price, extending from the fraternities and sororities of Ohio State through any audiences that cared to take them on. This exposure paid off. Their third album Risen debuted at #11 on the Billboard top internet sales chart. The following year in 2002, their fourth album Any Time Now debuted at #156 on the Billboard Top 200 list. The band attributes much of its popularity to the taping and subsequent trading and downloading of their live shows.
The band performs the theme song for the ABC show Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. During a two-hour special that aired on December 11, 2005, they provided a streetside concert, including a live performance of the Home Edition theme, in front of the newly redesigned Los Angeles Free Clinic.
On January 14, 2006 OAR reached a new peak of popularity by drawing roughly 17,000 fans and selling out New York City's famed Madison Square Garden, which earned them a review in the NY Times. O.A.R continues to grow in popularity this year. Their music videos "Love and Memories" and "Lay Down" have been featured on VH1 and MTV respectively, and they have just announced tour dates with the Dave Matthews Band.
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