INTERVIEW: O.A.R. Talk New Song 'I Go Through' | Music You Should Know

Throughout their 20-year journey, O.A.R. has recorded 8 LPs, 5 Live albums, one compilation record, and have had multiple hit songs like "Shattered (Turn the Car Around) and "Peace." But even after all of their incredible milestones the band is still taking on new experiences. This year, O.A.R. did something not many bands/artists get to do -- they got to give fans a look inside what it's like to write, record, and release a song. Band members Marc Roberge (vocals/guitar), Richard On (guitar/backup vocals), Chris Culos (drums/percussion), Benj Gershman (bass), and Jerry DePizza (sax/guitar/percussion) were featured on Qello's "Evolution of a Song" docuseries. The show followed the guys through their creative process, and everything the band went through to make their newest single "I Go Through." O.A.R. then stopped by iHeartRadio HQ in New York City to perform their new song live.

We also got to catch up with Marc Roberge and crew, and the band opened up to us about what it was like creating their new song, having it all captured on camera, and the meaning behind the new track in an exclusive interview. Check it out below!

On how O.A.R. got involved with the "Evolution of a Song" series:

"We began this process creating this amazing docuseries called Evolution of a Song. It's exclusively on Qello Concerts, and came up with the idea around a dinner table, lunch table, just talking about, hey, wouldn't it be great to invite people into our world? You know, not just the world of recording a song in a studio. Everyone's seen that. Everybody's seen the live show. Everyone's seen sound check. Everyone's seen all this stuff, but I don't think anyone's properly documented the moment that you write a new song, and then trying to take that song and make it a single, and then promoting that single. I don't think anyone's really caught that on camera, and we were going to try. We didn't know that we actually would either, but we lucked out. We got to basically be part of a docuseries where we documented the creation of our new single. The process was no different than anything we'd ever done before, but this time it was on camera, so the pressure was high. We just kind of made it through, and it was very ... No pun intended, but the new song, 'I Go Through,' and it worked out great."

On what it was like having the songwriting and recording process filmed from the very beginning:

"It was certainly something unique and different. Doesn't happen every day that you're in a very intimate, personal moment writing a tune and there's a camera lens in your face. It could constrict the process, but I think we jumped in head first, and we committed to it. We understood that this was part of the process, and what was important was to be honest -- we certainly were, and we came up with two really great songs. And the single, 'I Go Through,' is a strong personal statement, and one that is honest and reflects where the band is today."

On the meaning/inspiration behind their new single "I Go Through"

"'I Go Through' is a song about moving forward. I found that having done this job for a while, you have one of two options. You can either get really comfortable and stay where you are, and not create anything new, play all your old songs and just stay, and we didn't feel that that was for us. We felt like we were just getting started. We started this band in eighth grade, so at this point we're really fired up. We're really at the top of our game, and it's important we move forward, but we all have families. We want to take our families with us, and when we're home we want to take that same attitude with our family vibe, and that's what this thing is about. It's about your kids. It's about teaching them how to move forward. It's about our parents who taught us how to move forward, and we just want to relay that message to the people, hope for the best. We really do believe that music is a healing agent, and it enables us to continually go through life with a positive attitude, and we just really want to invite people along on that ride. This gave us an incredible opportunity on Qello Concerts with 'Evolution of a Song,' and 'I Go Through' to do that."

On what the band learned from being on "Evolution of a Song"

"I think we learned a lot from being featured on 'Evolution of a Song.' One thing was that we can do it. We can rise. We can write. We can play. There's a certain confidence that you have when you start in a band, when you're 16. It's this amazing confidence that all 16-year-olds have where you just want to express yourself at all times, and we turned it into music. Then in the middle of 10 years later, you're out there touring, and you start to question yourself a little bit, like, 'Hey, do I know what I'm doing?' Then you do it for 20 years, and you realize, 'I know exactly what I'm doing, and I know exactly how to enjoy it, and I know how to capture it.' What I learned from 'Evolution of the Song' was that we can. We can be confident. We can write, and we can record, and we can perform because we respect it, and we appreciate it more than I think any band I've ever known appreciates it. We learned that it's okay to be confident. It's okay to be good at what you do, and it's okay to put that out there for people to see, and with no flashiness, no makeup, no nothing. You put it out there. That confidence shines through, and I think people can connect with that at any age. A 16-year-old will watch the series on Qello Concerts and say, 'Oh, I want to do that,' and someone who's been doing their job for 20 years is going to watch it and go, 'I get it. I feel that same way. I know what I'm doing.'"

On their favorite parts of being a part of "Evolution of a Song"

1. Getting to talk to Robert Redford.

"Hearing Robert Redford talk about his opinion of songwriting and creative process to me. I learned a lot during that interview. My favorite part is that this started off just scratching ideas on a piece of paper at lunch one day, and it turned into a whole 6-part series, and a 24-song record, so I'm pretty proud of that."

2. Being able to show fans their writing process, and how they choose which songs to officially release.

"That we were just sharing this with people, just open and honest about the entire process. I think we've had a couple moments in our history where we've maybe released a song, or we've made a choice, or whatever it may have been, that there's been some sort of polarizing moments where our audience might feel somewhat divided about certain things. I think here is a perfect example of something -- there's a polarizing situation. What song? How do we get that song? There's two song choices, these different important decisions, and in this situation, people get to see how these decisions are made, and in that sense they come along for the ride, and whether or not they agree with it. Maybe they had a song choice, they wanted to be the single and the other one got chosen, or vice versa. I think if you see the process, you come out of that feeling a little different. Maybe you don't agree with it but you can maybe understand it."

3. The teamwork that came out of it that brought the song to life.

"How real the process was for all of us, and the team work. I think that came through throughout the creative process into the business side of things, and now we're in the moment of enjoying all that, and being able to share the product with everyone, the product of all that hard work, and creative energy. It's great to be in this moment and have that as part of our career. We've worked really hard for a long time and this is another step in that. It's just nice to still be a team together, and be doing this."

4. Seeing how the song progressed from start to finish.

"Just being in the room when 'I Go Through' was written, and just seeing the song unfold. There were a couple moments where there were just magical moments where the song was just getting better, and better, and better. It all happened so quickly. It's definitely magic when that happens."

Take a look below to see just some of the action that went into the latest installment of "Evolution of a Song." Head over to Qello for the full version.