Double Teamed

Beginning in January, Robert Randolph and the Family Band will be co-headlining a tour with O.A.R. (Of a Revolution), an acclaimed indie-rock band which has gained popularity over the past few years, especially on college campuses. The two bands will be making a stop in Bloomington on Saturday, Feb. 2 to perform for the IU community. \nCo-headlining a tour may cause a power struggle for some bands, but Jerry DePizzo, saxophonist for O.A.R., says the band is excited to be touring with RRFB.\n"It's a great experience to be performing live shows for thousands of kids," DePizzo says. "And RRFB are very talented and are great guys."\nThe two bands first met while touring together on the Sprite Liquid Mix Tour. DePizzo says the bands instantly clicked, and while hanging out and playing music together one night, they thought of co-headlining their own tour. Fortunately for both groups, the idea panned out and for the next month they will perform together 12 times. \nJake Rohn, former concerts director of the Union Board, booked the bands to perform at the IU Auditorium. \n"It was kind of Jam (Productions') and our idea," Rohn says. "I got a call when talking to their agency and we beat Clear Channel to get (the concert) here and not in Indianapolis."\nRohn says he believes the IU community is the perfect audience for these bands. \n"O.A.R. has been classified as 'frat rock' and they even performed at Kappa Sigma," he says. "Their popularity has grown and (RRFB) has gained momentum and more notoriety than when they performed on John Mayer's tour."\nThe popularity of both bands has grown during the last couple years. Although O.A.R. was formed in 1996, they recently signed with major label Lava Records and released their CD, In Between Now and Then, in May 2003. The album debuted at #54 on the Billboard Top 200. \nDePizzo says the transition to a new label has given the band more opportunities to broaden its audience. \n"The arms of a major label are very large, so we are able to have more records in more stores and have opportunities… where we can hear our songs played on the radio," he says. "We have more promotional opportunities as well, such as appearing on David Letterman, Conan O'Brien and MTV."\nMany of O.A.R.'s fans have been supportive during its transition to a major label. DePizzo says the band announced it was being signed to a major label by posting it on its fan message boards. DePizzo adds that 99 percent of the feedback O.A.R. received was congratulatory.\n "It's up to us to keep (fans) involved," he says. \nBesides having its first single, "Hey Girl," hit radio stations, the group also put together a montage of its live performances for a video to accompany the song. The video was "just a way to get our foot in the door," DePizzo says. The band's next single, "Right on Time," is being introduced to radio stations now. DePizzo insists the band's video for "Right on Time" will be a more traditional video, with a video shoot and director.\nDePizzo says signing with a major label hasn't stifled O.A.R.'s creativity. "We always do what we do. There is no pressure for our music to be swayed. Different artists may be swayed, but we are fortunate to steer away from that."\nDePizzo also acknowledges that file-sharing has helped O.A.R. gain popularity. \n"We didn't have radio play back then and file-sharing was a way for us to get our music out there," he says. "We embrace it, but we want people to go buy our CD, come to our shows and if they want, tape the live shows and share them with their friends. As long as people aren't gaining a personal profit from it, then its okay."\nRRFB has also gained a lot of popularity over the past few years. \nSenior Stephanie Gabarik remembers seeing RRFB perform at Bonnaroo, an annual summer music festival in Manchester, Tenn. \n"It was a Saturday afternoon and about 100 degrees, the hottest day of the summer," she says. "Everyone was hot, everyone was dehydrated and everyone was dancing. It was 10,000 people that forgot about everything else in the world except for the music."\nWith their spiritual rock sound and the amazing talents of Randolph on his pedal steel guitar, the band has earned two nominations for this year's Grammy Awards. They earned nominations for Best Rock Instrumental Performance for the song "Squeeze" and Best Rock Gospel Album for their latest album Unclassified. The band will also perform during the 2004 Grammy Award show with OutKast, George Clinton and Parliament Funkadelic, and Earth, Wind and Fire for a tribute to funk. RRFB has also recorded "Purple Haze" for a Jimi Hendrix tribute album due out in May 2004.\nRRFB is signed with major record label Warner Bros., where they created Unclassified with producer Jim Scott, who has also worked with Celine Dion and the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Songs such as "I Need More Love" and "Good Times" illustrate their spiritual rock talents with positive, upbeat dance music. \nGabarik, who is also an assistant director of the Union Board concerts committee, began listening to RRFB when they toured with John Mayer. \n"The music is very unpretentious and the band really personifies that," she says. "They get up there with their eclectic sound and make good, happy music."\nO.A.R. and RRFB will perform Saturday, Feb. 2 at 7 p.m. at the I.U. Auditorium. \nTickets are $23 for students and $25 for the general public. Tickets can be purchased at all available Ticketmaster locations, the IU Auditorium box office and the student activities desk in the Indiana Memorial Union.