By Ricky Thompson

Even before its members attended Ohio State University, O.A.R., who made a stop on their tour in Boston for two shows last week, made its presence known on college campuses throughout the midwest.

“When we were juniors in high school, everything just connected,” guitarist Richard On said in a telephone interview. “It was revolutionary for us, because we had found people that we wanted to play music with, and at the same time found a style of music that we enjoyed playing.”

As a tribute to circumstance, the band consisting of On, singer Marc Roberge, drummer Chris Culos and bassist Benj Gershman, took the name “of a revolution” and began playing shows throughout their home state of Maryland, On said.

“It was strictly a personal revolution for us,” he said.

Prior to graduation, the quartet had issued its first recording, 1997’s The Wanderer. Featuring the song, “That Was a Crazy Game of Poker,” the album was able to help O.A.R. develop a strong “word-of-mouth” campaign that provided a loyal following from an early stage in their career.

The following year, O.A.R. expanded its lineup to include saxophonist Jerry DePizzo. Since then, the group has released five more compilations, including their first major label release: 2003’s In Between Now and Then.

The transition from an independent label to Lava Records was a move On said he and his fellow band members had cautiously deliberated from every perspective.

“A lot of times you hear that bands signed a record deal and go off on a major record label and then people start saying, Oh, they’re selling out,” and I think that’s just a really ignorant statement,” he said.

Once the deal was formally announced, O.A.R. pledged to use their Web site’s message board to answer any questions fans may have held regarding the