Rockstar Insights with Marc Roberge - How Authenticity Drove His Success

Summary

In this engaging conversation, Marc Roberge of O.A.R. discusses the importance of authenticity in music, the joy of living a work-life blend, and the deep connections formed with fans over decades. He shares insights on the music industry, the significance of having a clear vision for growth, and offers valuable advice for aspiring artists. The discussion highlights the transformative power of music and the pride that comes from making a positive impact on people's lives.

Takeaways

• Marc emphasizes the importance of authenticity in building a lasting music career.
• He believes that staying true to oneself is crucial for success in the music industry.
• Marc reflects on the joy of living a work-life blend and how it fuels creativity.
• He acknowledges the deep connections formed with fans over the years.
• Marc shares that the success of OAR is rooted in genuine relationships with their audience.
• He advises aspiring artists to focus on tangible experiences rather than just numbers.
• Marc highlights the significance of being willing to perform anywhere, anytime.
• He discusses the impact of music on people's lives and the inspiration it provides.
• Marc believes that the music industry is about creating moments and stories, not just numbers.
• He expresses gratitude for the opportunity to do what he loves every day.

Transcript

Jeanniey Walden (00:00)
Hey everybody, welcome to Liftoff with Jeanniey Walden, the podcast that's going to take you on a journey to unlock your full potential in business, life and beyond. Pretty crazy, right? Well, I'm your host, Jeanniey Walden. I'm a business woman, entrepreneur, author, and a mentor. And I am bringing you actionable insights and inspiring stories from some of the world's top leaders, innovators, and celebrities. That's right.

I am tapping into my vast network of friends, colleagues, coworkers, and some people that I meet in some pretty crazy places to show you balance, breakthroughs, and bold moves. So whether you're looking to scale your business, find harmony in your daily life, or just get a behind the scenes look at the mindset of high achievers, you've come to the right place. Through my proprietary AIR method, which is authentic, inspirational, and relatable. We're uncovering secrets to living a more fulfilled life and achieving success on your terms. Every week, I'm diving into topics that matter most of all to you, from navigating challenges to celebrating your wins. And don't worry, it's so relatable, it's refreshingly fun, because growth does not have to be boring. So buckle up and get ready to soar.

Join me as we ignite ideas, fuel ambition, and take you toward your greatest potential. This is Liftoff with Jeanniey Walden. Let's get started.

Jeanniey Walden (01:37)
We are absolutely thrilled to welcome a special guest to Liftoff today, Marc Roberge. He's the lead singer and rhythm guitarist of the iconic band O.A.R. Marc's not only a celebrated musician, but also a true champion of authenticity, both on and off the stage. You're not gonna believe this interview that we had with him today, but let me tell you a little bit more about him before we bring him on. For over two decades, Marc has captivated audiences with his heartfelt lyrics, powerful performances and an unwavering commitment to staying true to himself and his band's vision. In a music industry that often pushes trends and gimmicks, Marc and the band have always taken the road less traveled by choosing an authentic path, allowing O.A.R. to build an unbreakable bond with their fans. It's this authenticity that has turned hits like "Shattered" and "Hey Gir"l into anthems that resonate deeply with listeners around the world.

But Marc's journey is not just about music. It's about staying grounded. It's about embracing the highs and lows of life and connecting with people in such a genuine way. Whether he's performing to a sold out crowd or sitting down to write a new song, Marc believes the most powerful stories come from being real and honest. I love that. Today, Marc is joining us to show how authenticity has been key to O.A.R.'s enduring success. how staying true to himself has guided his career and why he believes that the most meaningful conversations are built when you let people see the real you. So get ready for an inspiring conversation that's going to go behind the scenes of one of the most authentic voices in music. Welcome, Marc, to Liftoff and let's dive in to what it truly means to live and create with authenticity.

Jeanniey Walden (03:26)
Hey, Marc, welcome to Liftoff It's so exciting to have you on. 

Oh, it's it's an honor to be here and Liftoff. And I'm excited to talk about what we what we what we're going to what we're going to talk about here, because after we just did a nice little intro together, I feel like we have a lot in common already.

Absolutely. Absolutely. And you know, I mean, what I love about my conversation with you today is that you are living a work life blend, like we talk about in the show all the time. You have a job that I'm going to guess, and you can tell me if I'm wrong, is your passion. And it also fuels what you do and brings your personality forward. Are you just so happy to do what you do. Do you wake up every day and not think you even work? 

I wake up every day and we talk about this with the band every time we go about to go on stage. We say, guys, we're in overtime. We're in a business that's designed in a way to give you, if you're lucky, a year, two, three, four, five years actively working in music. And we are now approaching our 30th year. So. am I happy? I'm in complete awe every day that I even get to do this stuff. So we always remind each other of that because it actually brings out so much more joy in the work process. And the blend is the reason why I'm sitting where I'm sitting right now is because as I was driving home from a show to get home quickly, the car took a dump. It just went crazy. And now I'm sitting outside the dealership in the morning. making sure that that works because next week is family trip time. So this type of blend that we're talking about is very real at every level, but I always feel so lucky to do it. And we talk about it a lot at home and at work, and at work is that we are sitting in the middle of something that is rare and we should enjoy it. 

It is so true, but I gotta say, don't you wonder, and you and I were both alive. back when there were no cell phones and there were no zoom calls. Don't you wonder how we did it? Like how did, how did we survive back then? If you were on your way to a meeting and your car died, you have to go to a pay phone or something, right? 

I remember as clear as day the, when I was in college and I had my girlfriend who was my wife now and we'd known each other since high school and we had very clear, you we speak, you don't just go along your day and we know it's o I remember very clearly the exact payphone in Columbus, Ohio, every single morning that I would pull up to. Yes, I made it to school today, you know, because I was already in rock and roll. She's calling me saying, are you up? All right, I want to hear the shower. I'm like, I had a show last night. She's like, I don't care. Go to school. And it was I remember that payphone and I'll be in Columbus here in a couple of weeks and I'll probably drive right by it if it's still there.

Maybe, I don't know how we did it, but we probably left a lot earlier for things. I think so. I remember being in college and I was supposed to meet a woman for an interview at a restaurant. And same thing, my car died and I had to go to the phone book, look up the restaurant's phone number, call the restaurant and ask them to look for this woman to send the message that I was going to be late to the interview. And then I had to take the bus schedules, the paper and look at the bus schedules to figure out how to get the buses multiple down to the interview, which I never made it to. 

And I'll tell you something. I had dinner with my parents two nights ago in Virginia and in the middle of the country at a show. said, Ma, you live in Maryland. Can you guys meet me for dinner?

They made it there. We were there. said, Hey, so did you use waze to come here? He goes, well, I admit we did. We went on map quest. I said that and they were there 20 minutes before I was there. So, Hey, listen, maybe there's something to it. I don't know. I, I do the nostalgia is something that again, I enjoy quite a bit of, I like to kind of put pause on time and enjoy those things because it's, um, something more real about it, think. Yeah, yeah. Well, that I think that being relatable and being authentic is a lot of what I think has made you so successful over the past 30 years with the band. Tell me, what percentage of your fans do you think have followed you the full way? It's a really good question. Thank you. They are the reason that we get to do it. So when I see people out there that I know, I know them well.

and we share different decades. So there's some folks who've been there since the very, very beginning. I'm talking in high school. To this day, I had my friend Matt Kusher, who owns a bunch of restaurants in Miami, come on the bus because we're in Florida. I said, you're coming with us. And he spent the weekend with us touring, reminiscing about the field parties and the backyards and front yards that we were playing. And these are there's many of those people. It's the same crew.

But then there's the decades in the middle where, you know, have the people there the first 10 years of OAR taping and actively trading those shows. So they were a meaningful part of our business. I know them very well. I've been to their weddings. We've enjoyed life's memories together. And then there's the decades that followed. There's two other ones where we picked up some amazing folks that heard us maybe in a TV show or a movie or the radio when we became a mainstream band. And then they went on tour and discovered that that's really what we do.

and they wanted to join the party and we're celebrating 100, 140, 150 shows together. We're making sure we recognize them at venues like Red Rocks and The Gorge and places that they feel a connection to and we can make sure that they understand that we understand they're the reason we're there in the first place. And I think that that's just what we do. Now, will there be a limit to what we do in the success of business because of that, because we're not chasing

the masses, masses, masses all the time. I'd rather be authentic and have a core that we can experience this thing till the end. And it's been amazing. mean, it really has. So to answer your question, we've had folks with us for 30 years, 20 years, 10 years, 20 shows, 50 shows, 100 shows, but we know who they are because they try and it's awesome. Well, I know, know, Gordon, who's a guest on this episode is an

recent more recent fan of yours and he's been he was telling me all about it before the interview of how Jonathan took him to a concert and he heard the music and he fell in love and now it is on his playlist and he listens to it all the time so I we were hanging out we were hanging out at Red Rocks at the after party I mean come on we had the food truck was there that the whole band a bunch of people like Gordon was in the middle

Well, you made him part of the band. He said he didn't get a chance to sing though, so maybe next time. Well, that was because he didn't come to the pre-party. No, he got to to the pre-party for that. That's where we assigned the guest appearances. There you go. So tell me, with the band, what's your vision for the future? Do you continue to grow opportunities organically? Do you all have a set mission? mean, it's been decades now.

Do you know where you're going to go next or are you letting the world take you there? I'll tell you in March of 2020, I'm standing in Arizona and I am playing a festival called the innings festival. The creator and owner of that festival comes up to me and asked me this exact question. I tell him that we've recently started plans to do a town takeover and a festival and this and that and the other. And he says, you know what? I think I have a better idea for you. Why don't we join forces?

and create a music festival in Maryland where you guys are from. And with his guidance and his genius, this is a person who's created the most successful festivals in America. We've now had two successful showings of the Ocean's Calling Festival in Ocean City, Maryland that is one of the premier music festivals in the United States. And because of someone asking me that question and having the means to create that and seeing that we were very serious about

not only preserving our legacy in Maryland, but also giving back in a gigantic way to the area. He provided the everything so that we were able to build that. So that is and was our dream. Our dream has happened. We have accomplished, you know, played Red Rocks 15 times, working on our 14th album. We've got this music festival and we're celebrating our 30th year next year with the giant tour. I feel like again, over time, we,

I feel fulfilled and musically. just want to make the family part anything I ever missed out on full. Yeah. And at that point, I'm good. You know, so I think we've we we continue to make new record. We're just happy we're making songs. We're artists. We get to be artists because other our fan base has provided us that comfort. And now we have business partners that

I mean, we're building things that will keep us here for a really long time, hopefully, obviously, but we take precious care of it. We're just happy to be there. And we have to tip the cap to Tim Sweetwood, C3, Red Light Management, amazing smart people who are helping us live our dreams. You said something that I think is really important. And I would love to dive into this and ask you more about it because you talked about

You had this vision. You got asked in March of 2020 what your vision was, and you had a very clear idea in your head of what you want to do. There's a lot of people that watch the show, whether they're just starting out in their business career or whether they're looking to be, you know, a personality, whether that is a creator of some sort online or whether it's a musician or an actor. What advice do you have for somebody that's just starting out? Should they?

Set a clear vision on where they ultimately want to get to. Does that change down the road? What would you say? So I've had the pleasure of working with this guy, Greg Wattenberg, who owns and operates this place in New York City called the Artist House, which is the it's a current Brill building Motown, like creating music with the artists, young artists, established artists, everybody in one place supporting the New York City music scene.

And what I've seen through that is these young artists are coming through and they're highly, highly skilled in musicianship. They're highly, highly skilled in social media, tech, all of these areas that I am not skilled in and learning the guitar's utility to make sure I can express myself and sing my songs and these other things that I came up on looking at my heroes. And what I've noticed is,

there is a space where you can remind them that tangible, tangible dollars, tickets and t-shirts is what will enable you to continue a long effort as an artist, a true artist. And then when I say true, what I mean is someone who has freedom to create something that isn't aimed at a marketplace. And then after you create it, then

they can aim at these marketplaces very successfully. And I know more about that than I do. But I think there is a void there where I believe young folks coming up in these industries may not know that it's possible to tour and to create live experiences at very small numbers to see that multiplication. So when they have 250 people at a show, they don't realize what a success that is.

Because 250 followers is not a lot. 250 streams is not a lot. 2 million is not a lot. But 250 people who are paying money to come into a venue to watch you sing your original songs is more valuable in the long run than anything else. So my advice to young artists is the same advice that I would give them 20 years ago if anyone were to ask, which they were not.

It's be willing to play anywhere, anytime at the drop of a hat. Put that pride wherever you got to put it, that ego wherever you got to put it. And I'm sitting right now in a pizza restaurant in Douglaston and I would if I had my guitar, I would play it right now if someone asked, right? Because that's what it takes. So, tickets and t-shirts is what we preach at Artist House because they're already handling the music end of it. The producers, the amazing artists and engineers.

But what I'm there for and what I'm, I think, able to provide for younger artists that I meet on the road, like we were just on the road with R.I.P.E., amazing young band from Boston coming up very quickly. The advice to them was tickets and t-shirts, communication, networking, be there, be present. Don't, everything can't be done on a telephone. And then they taught me a bunch of things that

can be done on a telephone and blew my mind. I think there's a happy medium where we can kind of work together these different generations. I was the first generation with cell phones. First generation with Napster. Napster created our fan base beyond Columbus and Maryland. A lot of things we can share, but I think it takes someone of our era to be able to

also swallow that ego and pride and learn things that we clearly do not know because we weren't born onto a computer. to answer that question a huge long-winded way, tickets and t-shirts play anywhere anytime, no ego, and then market yourself when the music's done. Yeah, well it makes so much sense and even in the business world you know get

invited to speak at a conference or something and you walk into a room and it might be smaller and there might be 15 people there, but it's, it is 15 people who value what you have to say. And I even know what this show, you know, I will, as, as everybody does when they're trying to create something, you'll wondered, is anybody even watching this? Does anybody even care? They are. And someone will walk up to you and say, my gosh. And in fact, we had this happen. We were on vacation.

in St. Martin of all places and a woman walked up to me and said, I am following my dream to become a chef because I watched this guest on your show, how she found the show. I have no idea what guest it was. It was a really interesting choice for her. But to think that you can have a positive impact on people and especially you must feel so much.

So much excitement to see the positive impact your music has on people because music can change your mood. It can change everything about your day. It can keep you focused. You're just providing people so much hope for the future. You've got to feel so proud every day. So grateful. We're in this thing together. I played two nights ago in Virginia with Richard, just two acoustic guitars for 40 or 30 people of a credit union.

But what they don't know is that the CEO of that crediting, John, is an old pal that we met through doing charity work for another friend. And it's not that like, you you want to put a corporate tag on anything in a negative connotation because that is another mistake that young artists are going to make. They're going to not realize that there's 40 people are not there. They're there for the music to be inspired to take that home.

do their job and walk in and create moments and stories and things like that. And when you really think about what is it creating, you know, the collective, it's like it's folks getting together with like minded privately funding this this place that someone say call it a military or veterans can go and have questions answered. And you want those people behind those desks to feel that this is a people business, not a number. Right. And I think so when someone like that comes up to you and say, Martin, it's because

they were looking for that inspiration and you provided that. Had you not, who knows what they would have found and it would have been a different path for them. That butterfly effect is so prevalent in this world of putting shows out where we can all express ourselves and I love it so much and I do it on a daily basis but numbers is not what I'm concerned with. It's the people because that's how you create a fan for life.

tell them about your life and they'll believe you and listen to what they say and believe them. It's not that hard. Yeah. Well, you might just have the best job in the entire world after having this conversation with you. This has been so, so great. And thank you for doing it from a pizza shop. Thank you to the pizza shop owner. definitely need to me the name so we can... They're not even open. I knocked, they're not even open. I knocked on the window. said, my God, I got to get in there. Everything's closed. And he let me in.

And you talk about authenticity. Yeah, this is like, you know, I got to get this car fixed so I can go play some. Yeah, yeah. Well, well, seriously, tell me the name of the pizza shop because I want to I want to give a shout out on the show for it. And last question. I'll find it. I'll find it. Well, we'll put the sign. We'll edit the sign in. All right. Last question. I'm sure you get asked this all the time out of all your songs. Which one's your favorite? man. So I would say my.

favorite song is that was a crazy game of poker because it was written, you know, in a moments notice in high school after a really stressful dramatic night and we played it. I remember at Sterling, Virginia at a bar, a cowboy bar, we played it three times and they loved it. And we have played it every single show ever since except two shows when we were trying to be cute and thought, hey, we're not going to do our most famous song.

didn't work out well. So no, that's my favorite song. It's my favorite song. It's given me a life that I could only dream of. so yeah, that's my favorite. That's awesome. I was at we saw Billy Joel once and he started out the concert. I'm he does this every time. And he said, I wrote all this new stuff that I love and I would love to play it for you. That's over here. I've got all my old hits that everybody knows. And I can play those for you too. Although I play them all the time. And I'm really tired of playing them.

audience vote which ones do you want to hear and like you know Dead Silence on the news songs everyone was over here and you know amazing concert but people love to hear what they grew up with people love to hear the songs that that made you famous and and made them fall in love with you so I mean what's not to love what's not to love about you know walking into a room and your favorite movie's on tv and Goonies

You like what's not to love about that? That's exactly what it's about. So like I did. There is an artist that I won't name who I heard in an interview saying he's talking about bad about his old stuff and other us at all, man. Like I'll never say a bad word about any of these songs, even the ones that are probably not good. don't know. But yeah, yeah. cares? People love them. them. People love them. People love them.

Well, Marc, thank you so much for taking time today to be on the show. This has been such a fun conversation and I cannot thank you enough and the pizza shop for for doing moving mountains to make it happen. They took a chance. They took a chance on a guy banging on the window at nine fifty two. Hey, well, it was was worth it.

Thank you so much. soon. Thank you so Look at the car. OK. Bye bye.

Jeanniey Walden (23:03)
Well, that's it for today. Thanks for joining us on lift off with Jeannie Walden's podcast. If you enjoyed today's episode, don't forget to hit subscribe so you never miss an inspiring conversation like this one and share this podcast with your friends. Come on, let's keep lifting each other up. Shall we? Don't forget to tune in next week for more insights, expert advice, celebrities, and the motivation you need to sort of new heights until then stable.

Stay inspired and keep reaching for the stars.