O.A.R. has been called the most successful indie band of all time. The fact that this proclamation came from their press release pimping an early February concert at our very own Convocation Center is really besides the point. O.A.R is breaking out of that indie mold and returning to DeKalb for the first time since a May 2002 show at Otto’s Niteclub. Recently, I got to probe O.A.R. lead guitarist Richard On for his thoughts on file sharing, selling out, evil dictators and confusing acronyms.

Weekender: Have you ever heard the expression there are no stupid questions?

Richard On: Yes, I have.

W: Well, this is going to be great then. Do you ever miss the days when you guys were a frat band at Ohio State? Or do people tend to romanticize that past?

RO: We were never really a frat band. We definitely played at frat parties before and maybe one of the guys in our band was in a frat, but we played anywhere. We played house parties and bars and whatever. It wasn’t just a frat band. We still play places that aren’t huge for friends and stuff like that at home. We have the best of both worlds. It’s a different thing. It’s a different vibe. It’s cool to get a lot of people in one room and get everybody going, but it’s also cool to play a more intimate show and have more of a connection with the audience than you can with a big show.

W: You just made the transition to a major label with “In Between Now and Then.” Did you make the switch with any trepidation?

RO: This is a job just like anything else that anyone does. We want to do our best and progress in what we do. We thought it wouldn’t hurt to try just to see what happens. Touring is our bread and butter and signing to a major label has no effect on our touring and that was something we wanted to make sure of. If it doesn’t go well, so be it. We will always be doing what we love.

W: What do you say to those who call you sellouts for the move?

RO: If someone thinks we sold out just cause we signed to a major and if that’s their definition of selling out, then I guess we sold out. My definition of selling out, and what I think most people’s definition of selling out, is changing what you do and what you sound like to be better known and something you are not. Nothing has really changed except for press stuff and CD sales and things like that. I don’t think we’ve sold out, but everyone is entitled to their own opinion.

W: File sharing services like Napster really helped to launch you guys and create a fan base. Have your views on online music trading changed now that you are better established and actually making serious money?

RO: No, they haven’t. Napster and file sharing definitely got us to where we are right now. It is hurting the industry and selling records is probably not the right business to be in right now, but now they have iTunes and other programs where you can purchase songs over the internet for 99 cents or a dollar or whatever. I see the industry is kind of coming around and everybody is playing nicely now and its not so anti-this or anti-that. Everyone is embracing technology and figuring out how to make everybody happy. For us, our opinion has never changed.

W: What’s the best compliment someone can give a guitarist? What adjective to describe your performance lets you know that you have done your job?

RO: It’s funny. A lot of times I will screw up and everyone still think I was great. I could have played the [expletive deleted] show that I have ever played and people will tell me it was the best show I ever played. I think the funniest term anyone has ever said to me was when FeFe Dobson’s drummer came into our dressing room after a radio show and told me I “slay.” I didn’t know what the hell he was talking about at first and everyone was looking at me and looking at him. I thought it was pretty cool. That’s what you say when you kill people, but, still, pretty cool.

W: I’ve always wanted to start a feud between musicians. Could you bash someone for me?

RO: I will definitely bash somebody. [He laughs.] I am going to bash Matt Nathanson because he does lie because of that thing that he did and we hate him. Tell him to stop calling me. He’s like one of our best friends, but whatever. We decided to start this east coast, west coast feud. He’s in San Fran. We are in DC. [Expletive deleted] you Matt.

W: What advice do you have for any unknown college bands that are trying to break out, and would you suggest that they pick a band name that can’t be mistaken for a long, thin, usually wooden pole with a blade at one end, used to row or steer a boat?

RO: I would say build a fan base and, if you have an acronym, make sure you put big periods between the letters, so it’s not like one word. If they don’t know what an acronym is, they shouldn’t do that.

W: You probably get the same questions over and over again. What’s something that you wish you would be asked, but never have been?

RO: I don’t know. I like questions that take me by surprise.

W: Is Hitler alive?

RO: What?

W: Is Hitler alive?

RO: I hope not. If he is, I will kill him myself. That question is pretty far outside the box.

W: Thanks. Could you say something in techno-babble guitar talk that would impress me, but I would have no idea what you are saying?

RO: Just recently, I began using GHS 10.5 KH strings and I also had a custom Stratocaster made with a V round back neck for rosewood fretboard with pickups made by Voodoo for more of a ‘60s feel instead of a ‘50s feel. How was that?

W: That was wicked.

RO: I don’t even know what the [expletive deleted] means.

W: What is the biggest misconception about your band? Is it the stupid oar thing?

RO: That’s the biggest one and the whole thing about us being a frat band like you said.

W: MSN says you are a frat band, so you are a frat band.

RO: I guess so. We are also “oar” then. If we are a frat band, then we are our “oar,” damn it.

W: So, you are a frat band and “oar.” Alright, that’s all the questions I had …

I hung up the phone and smiled, content in the knowledge that I had just completed the definitive Richard On interview. Meanwhile, the frat band oar will perform at 7:00 p.m. Feb. 6 at the Convocation Center. Tickets are on sale at the Convocation Center box office or at Ticketmaster.com.