Ravinia 2019, Issue 7, Week 15

DePizzo licks a solo during O.A.R.’s 2018 date at Ravinia. “ e tour in itself is quite therapeutic, even for us,” chuckles DePizzo. “We like to say it’s like a summer camp on wheels.” at is, a summer camp that has quite the philanthropic angle to it, as the band dedicates themselves to a day of service in as many cities as they possibly can. Back in June, the ve bandmates spent time before their show at the Capitol eatre in Flint, MI, working with United Way to get clean water to the residents of that struggling town. “ at water crisis is not over,” explains DePizzo, who has also joined his fellow O.A.R. musicians in volunteering their time for such causes as Habitat for Humanity and their own charitable organization, Heard the World. “We had cars come through in a four-hour time period. [ He pauses .] e charity thing is about a bigger moral obligation that we just feel like we have at this point of our career. ere is always downtime during a day, so we thought we might as well put it to good use. We also work with Gold Star Families. It’s about helping at the micro level so we can give back to a larger audience.” SINCE THEIR EMERGENCE IN 1996, the musicians of O.A.R. (which is short for Of a Revolution) have tirelessly de- livered their own signature mixture of rock and pop that grew from a quite peaceful Midwestern upbringing. “Pretty much the band has been a band since eighth grade,” DePizzo recalls. “We walked up on the stage at that talent show way back when, and we are still here. At our core, that’s still who we are. It’s the same relationship.” By far, one of O.A.R.’s biggest standout years was , when their album All Sides yielded the platinum single “Shattered (Turn the Car Around)” and bowed in the top of Billboard ’s Top chart. “ e coolest part of all of this is that we truly run our own race,” DePizzo says. “We never had that ‘peak’ moment where we had all of this continued radio success or anything. We have been remarkably consistent throughout the years because of the people in our audience. ey were the ones who created a life for us.” Indeed, that audience has grown up on the lyrics of thought-provoking songs such as “Peace,” “Miss You All the Time,” and their current single, “Knocking at Your Door.” And despite the changes in their own individual lives, it’s still those lyrics that they cling to. “Our audience has de nitely grown up some,” says DePizzo of the band’s evergreen fan base. “In the last couple of years, if you take a look at analytics, you can see all the growth we have had in terms of our audience, and we really try to absorb all of that. A few years back, there was a slight dip in our live audience size, and I really think it was because it was the time our fans were having kids and stu . For the new parents to go out, they would have to get a babysitter and everything, but now a few years have gone by, and they can breathe again.” He then stops to take a deep breath himself. “It’s always been about connection, but it’s also been about evolving,” he concludes. “ e act of evolving is just a necessity of this business and this life. We never, ever want to rest on our laurels.” Tricia Despres is a Chicago-area freelance entertainment writer whose work has appeared in the Chicago Sun-Times , Taste of Country , and a number of local, regional, and national publications. Follow her on Twitter at @CHIWriter. JULIA REYES/RAVINIA (2018) 14 RAVINIA MAGAZINE | AUGUST 26, 2019 – MAY 9, 2020