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O.A.R. is an American rock band consisting of Marc Roberge (vocals and guitar), Chris Culos (drums and percussion), Richard On (guitar and vocals), Benj Gershman (bass guitar), and Jerry DePizzo (saxophone, guitar and vocals). Due to massive online distribution over campus networks, the band has become a hit among college students, with many songs relating to the band members' personal lives at Ohio State University and growing up in Rockville, Maryland.
The band was founded in 1996 by Marc Roberge and Chris Culos, who then 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 University. While at Ohio State, they met Jerry DePizzo, from Youngstown, Ohio.

Without any formal marketing or advertising plans, news of their songs 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, expanding from the fraternities and sororities of Ohio State to any audiences that cared to listen. This exposure paid off; their third album b]'Risen'[/b] debuted at #11 on the Billboard top internet sales chart. The following year, their fourth album Any Time Now debuted at #156 on the Billboard Top 200 list.

On October 5, 2006, a press release declared that O.A.R. had officially sold in excess of 1.2 million albums over their career. The band attributes much of its popularity to the taping and subsequent trading and downloading of their live shows.

PS - They both picked Angelina Jolie.

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It all started in Urabana, Illinois, when banjo player Dave Johnston met theatre major Jeff Austin. Johnston invited Austin to come play with his band The Bluegrassholes, and since Austin owned a mandolin (though he'd never played), he joined up.
It wasn't long before Austin was hot on the instrument and he and Johnston moved out to Nederland, CO, just outside of Boulder. There, they came across a killer guitarist and upright bassist, and Yonder Mountain String Band was born in 1998. They released their debut album the following year, and have been pushing the bluegrass envelope ever since.

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When Seattle grunge went mainstream, it was only a matter of time before the ripple effect was felt in regions other than the Pacific Northwest. Georgia quintet Collective Soul, along with fellow inheritors of the now commercially lucrative post-grunge landscape like Live, Bush, and Candlebox, developed the genre into a more succinct brand of angst, turning the sonic cacophony of bands like Mudhoney and the Melvins into radio-friendly hard rock.

Collective Soul -- taken from a line in Ayn Rand's book The Fountainhead, were formed in the small town of Stockbridge in the early '90s by principal songwriter Ed Roland (lead vocals/keyboards/guitars), guitarists Dean Roland and Joel Kosche, and rhythm section Will Turpin (bass/percussion) and Shane Evans (drums/percussion). Originally released in 1993 on the Atlanta indie label Rising Storm, 'Hints Allegations and Things Left Unsaid' proved popular enough on the local level that it was picked up the following year by Atlantic. Within months of its release, "Shine" became a modern rock and MTV staple, and Collective Soul found themselves with a platinum debut, playing everywhere from arenas with Aerosmith to Woodstock 1994.

They released the eponymous sophomore effort (the first album ever owned by the editor of CleveRock Music Portal who conducted this interview) the following year, which featured the hits "World I Know"[i] and [i]"December," once again going multi-platinum, but their fan base began to wane upon the release of 1997's 'Disciplined Breakdown.' Released in 1999, 'Dosage' was a return to form for the group, yielding the hit singles "Run" and "Heavy," but despite their best efforts, the post-grunge genre was suffering under the weight of the emerging nu-metal scene. In 2000 they released 'Blender,' an image-seeking misfire that saw the group attempting a clean-cut (no facial hair) image and mixing in heavily produced AOR with dance-pop, even performing a duet with Elton John. The following year, fans were treated to '7even Year Itch: Collective Soul's Greatest Hits 1994-2001.' In 2004, the group returned to their roots, bringing on new guitar player Joel Kosche and releasing the stripped-down and dynamic Youth on its own El Music Group imprint. An eight song EP (From the Ground Up) arrived the following year.

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Shinedown is a Hard Rock/Post-Grunge band that originated in Jacksonville, Florida. Shinedown was formed in early 2002 by Brent Smith, Jasin Todd, Brad Stewart, and Barry Kerch. They were signed by Atlantic Records in 2002. The Bassist Brad Stewart was later replaced by Zach Myers after Zach toured with them for 3 years.
On July 13, 2003, the band released their debut album, 'Leave A Whisper.' The album sold the popular singles "Fly From The Inside" and "45." 'Leave A Whisper' was re-released on June 15, 2004, to capitalize on the strength of a new single: A cover of Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Simple Man". This song is often dedicated to their friend Dimebag Darrell who died in 2004. The re-release also featured an acoustic version of "45," and a new mix of "Burning Bright," which was to be the fourth single from the album. During 2004, the band notably opened for Van Halen. On September 21, 2005, 'Leave A Whisper' was certified as gold. On August 23, 2005, the band released a live DVD called 'Live From The Inside' that contained a full-length Shinedown concert held at the House Of Blues in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.