{"id":1332385,"date":"2018-08-08T13:47:57","date_gmt":"2018-08-08T17:47:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/fnpsites.net\/playlist\/?p=1332385"},"modified":"2018-08-08T13:47:57","modified_gmt":"2018-08-08T17:47:57","slug":"13-questions-with-richard-on-of-o-a-r","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fnpsites.net\/playlist\/2018\/08\/08\/13-questions-with-richard-on-of-o-a-r\/","title":{"rendered":"13 questions with Richard On of O.A.R."},"content":{"rendered":"<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1170\" height=\"658\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/VVXAdj0SeZg?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"autoplay; encrypted-media\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Anyone from this area already knows the local-dudes-done-good story of O.A.R. Hailing from Rockville, they have made an international name for themselves through their occasionally reggae-influenced textures, jam band aesthetics and catchy pop hooks. The band will be performing at the Event Center at the Hollywood Casino at Charles Town Races in Charles Town, West Virginia, on both Friday and Saturday, and we caught up with the band\u2019s guitar player, Richard On, for 13 questions, including why they went to Ohio State University, their recent work with WWE and a new album they plan to release in 2019.<\/p>\n<p><strong>1. First, let\u2019s start with you, and a little background. From what I understand, you came to the band not too long after Marc and Chris had already founded the project. Can you recall what brought you into O.A.R. and how everything came about?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Our musical roots together actually predates O.A.R. In eighth grade (1993), Marc and Chris approached me to play guitar in their band for the talent show. Under the name \u201cExposed Youth,\u201d with a different bass player, we performed together for the first time playing a series of Pearl Jam and Eric Clapton covers. That\u2019s when we first caught the rock-n-roll bug. As we entered high school, we disbanded and played in a bunch of different bands. Fast forward to 11th grade, Marc and Chris approached me again to come jam with a new bass player they found (Benj Gershman). When we got together, everything just clicked. The sound we made was fresh and exciting to me. I felt like I finally found something musical that I wanted to be a part of.<\/p>\n<p><strong>2. When did you initially pick up the guitar and why?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>I picked up the guitar around 11 years old. Up until then, my aunt was teaching me piano lessons along with my older brother. He discovered Zeppelin, quit and started playing guitar. One day, he put headphones on me with the riff from \u201cBlack Dog\u201d playing. He told me that you can\u2019t sound like that on piano. The rest is history.<\/p>\n<p><strong>3. Who are some of your favorite guitar players? Was there anyone you tried to model yourself after as a player and why?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Of course the legends \u2014 Clapton, Hendrix, Page, Beck. Anything Warren Haynes and Derek Trucks play is always transcendent to me. There are also young guys like Mark Lettieri and Cory Wong who are doing unbelievable stuff in the funk world. Everything they play puts a smile on my face. As far as true influences on my playing, The Edge, John Fruciante and Robert Smith from The Cure really shaped my taste in melody and songwriting.<\/p>\n<p><strong>4. From what I understand, you attended Ohio State University. Why Ohio State and not, say, the University of Maryland?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Being one of the largest schools in the country with tons of bars and places to play, we simply saw more opportunity at OSU.<\/p>\n<p><strong>5. You guys have been together for more than 20 years now, and for the most part, the original lineup is in tact. What\u2019s the secret to staying together for so long?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The original lineup has always been in tact, except that we\u2019ve added Mikel Paris (keys, percussion, vocals) and Jon Lampley (trumpet, vocals) to our live show and studio recordings. The key to our longevity has always been based off of love, friendship and respect for each other.<\/p>\n<p><strong>6. You also have eight studio albums to your credit. Do you have a personal favorite and why?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\u201cAll Sides\u201d is my personal favorite. We recorded it at the legendary Sound City Studios in Van Nuys with producer Matt Wallace. We were staying in Los Angeles, driving to the studio every morning and leaving well past midnight. We had three different recording rigs going at the same time so everyone was always writing, creating and recording. The whole process and environment was so inspiring. And to top it off, Metallica was recording across the parking lot with Rick Rubin!<\/p>\n<p><strong>7. You guys were recently part of a WWE event. How did that come about and can you talk a little about that experience as a whole?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>They invited us down to Monday Night Raw to discuss and promote our partnership to raise funds and awareness for Connor\u2019s Cure, which was created by Stephanie McMahon and Paul \u201cTriple H\u201d Levesque to support pediatric brain and spinal chord cancer research. Through our Heard The World Fund, a portion of every ticket sold on our Just Like Paradise tour will benefit Connor\u2019s Cure, so know if you come to a show, you\u2019re also supporting pediatric cancer research.<\/p>\n<p><strong>8. You guys are famously from Maryland. For you, personally, what\u2019s the most Maryland thing about you?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>I am a professional blue crab eater.<\/p>\n<p><strong>9.Being from the D.C. area, we know the Caps just won the Stanley Cup. Which title would mean the most to you for the next area champion \u2014 a Super Bowl from the Redskins, an NBA title from the Wizards or the World Series from the Nats?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>I don\u2019t really root for teams. I root for friends and the teams they happen to play on. Zim is a great guy and great player. I would love to see him win a World Series with the Nationals.<\/p>\n<p><strong>10. What are the three things you couldn\u2019t tour without?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>FaceTime, pictures that my kids draw me, and green tea.<\/p>\n<p><strong>11. From your travels, what\u2019s the best meal you\u2019ve encountered and from where is it?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>We could probably do an entire interview strictly based on the best meals I\u2019ve had in my travels. One that\u2019s fresh in my head from a recent day off in Little Rock, Arkansas, is a Chinese noodle and dumpling place called Three Fold Noodles + Dumpling Co. I would have never thought \u201cLittle Rock\u201d and \u201cgood Chinese food,\u201d but their flavors were on point. Get the pork half and half bowl, which comes with noodles and dumplings, poison chili sauce and fried sesame balls if you have room for dessert.<\/p>\n<p><strong>12. You guys are playing the Hollywood Casino in Charles Town \u2014 what\u2019s your favorite casino game?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>You\u2019d think me being in a band that has a song about poker, I\u2019d be an avid gambler, but I don\u2019t gamble out all. I lost $100 in a slot machine over 10 years ago and I\u2019m still salty about it.<\/p>\n<p><strong>13. Finally, what\u2019s next for O.A.R.? I know you guys released a new song earlier this year \u2014 is a new LP in the works after this tour is over?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>We are currently writing and recording new music for a full length album to release next year. It is tentatively called \u201cThe Mighty.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Anyone from this area already knows the local-dudes-done-good story of O.A.R. Hailing from Rockville, they have made an international name for themselves through their occasionally reggae-influenced textures, jam band aesthetics&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":1332386,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[8],"class_list":["post-1332385","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-charles-town"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/fnpsites.net\/playlist\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1332385","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/fnpsites.net\/playlist\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/fnpsites.net\/playlist\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fnpsites.net\/playlist\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fnpsites.net\/playlist\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1332385"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/fnpsites.net\/playlist\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1332385\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fnpsites.net\/playlist\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1332386"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/fnpsites.net\/playlist\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1332385"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fnpsites.net\/playlist\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1332385"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fnpsites.net\/playlist\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1332385"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}