Ravinia 2024 Issue 5

PAVILION 6:00 PM FRIDAY, AUGUST 23, 2024 O.A.R. with special guest FITZ AND THE TANTRUMS DJ Logic –Short Break– Fitz and the Tantrums –Intermission– O.A.R. DJ LOGIC The theorem of turntablist as musician has long been proven in the hands of DJ Logic, who with jazz as his foundation has become a wax inno- vator by crossing genres and mixing his sound across the map. One of the world’s most accom- plished turntablists, DJ Logic is widely credited for introducing jazz into the hip-hop realms. Since his emergence in the early ’90s on the Bronx hip-hop scene, the New York–based dee- jay has been a prolific collaborator, including on the Grammy-winning The Offense of the Drum album by Arturo O’Farrill & The Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra, and with Blues Traveler members (The John Popper Project), Steve Molitz and Freekbass (Headtronics), and Georgian prodigy Beka Go- chiasvili on a jazz project. Further collaborations have included the likes of Bob Weir, John Mayer, Christian McBride, O.A.R., Carly Simon, Jack Johnson, Vernon Reid, Warren Haynes, Charlie Hunter, Jack DeJohnette, Ben Harper, Mos Def, The Roots, Bernie Worrell, Bill Laswell, Melvin Gibbs, Fred Wesley, Sean Kuti, and Medeski, Martin & Wood. DJ Logic stays on top of his scratch game working as an electronic-music ambassador, from instructing tablas to flirt with drum-n-bass (such as on his Nina Simone and Billy Holiday remixes for Sony Legacy) to meshing free-style MCs with Afro-Cuban rhythms (like the “Share Worldwide Funk” remix for Jack DeJohnette’s Golden Beams Collected , Vol. 1) and remixing for rock bands like Moon Taxi. With a growing catalogue of recordings under his belt, DJ Logic’s supreme musicianship and eclectic tastes will allow him to journey wherever an infectious groove may take him. O.A.R. Formed in Rockville, MD, in 1996, O.A.R. (short for Of a Revolution) initially comprised high- school friends Marc Roberge (guitar/ vocals), Richard On (guitar), Benj Gershman (bass), and Chris Culos (drums), expanding to a quintet with the addition of saxophonist Jerry DePizzo while the group attended Ohio State University. The original quartet recorded and independent- ly released its debut album, The Wanderer , in 1997, quickly growing a college fan base with the songs “That Was a Crazy Game of Poker” and “Black Rock.” With DePizzo in the mix, O.A.R. soon returned to the studio to record Souls Aflame (1999), which led to the group en- listing producer John Alagia (a veteran of Dave Matthews, Ben Folds, and John Mayer albums) to oversee the recording of Risen (2001) and In Between Now and Then (2003). After Risen climbed Billboard ’s Top Independent Albums chart, the band signed on with Lava Records, putting them on course to reach the upper ech- elons of the Billboard 200, first hitting number 54 with the release of Between . O.A.R. contin- ued to ascend the charts with 2005’s Stories of a Stranger (as well as a pair of live albums, 2004’s 34th & 8th and 2007’s Live from Madison Square Garden ) and the Top 40 and alternative rock hit “Love and Memories,” setting the group up for its top-20 breakthrough with 2008’s All Sides . The album also became a top-five rock hit on the strength of its platinum-selling single “Shat- tered (Turn the Car Around).” O.A.R.’s 2011 fol- low-up King achieved similar success with the single “Heaven,” as did the band’s 2014 album, The Rockville LP , with lead single “Peace.” The group released XX in celebration of its 20th birthday, pairing live and studio favorites with two new singles, the writing of which were documented on the Qello series Evolution of a Song . The Mighty (2019) continued O.A.R.’s de- cade-long top-20 chart presence, and their 10th studio album— The Arcade , featuring the single “In the Clouds”—was released in 2022. O.A.R. first played Ravinia in 2015 and are making their sixth appearance at the festival. RAVINIA.ORG  • RAVINIAMAGAZINE 67