Being labeled a "college band" isn't necessarily a bad thing, according to roots rockers O.A.R. [ tickets ], whose members say that their trips through college towns are like journeys into self-awareness.

"Where better to express yourself?" said lead singer Marc Roberge, calling from a Kentucky campus. "Where better to speak your mind and say what the hell you want to say on stage than on a college campus? I think that's what the whole point of a university is--to be able to find yourself and speak your mind, be who you are and find out who you are. We're still finding out who we are--but we just get to do it around people in the university system, which is nice."

O.A.R. [ tickets ] is stumping through college towns and major markets pushing its latest album, "Live From Madison Square Garden." Once the spring tour segues into a summer jaunt June 15 at the Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival, O.A.R. will begin playing material from its forthcoming album, "All Sides," due in stores July 15.

"We're not playing any of the new songs until this summer tour starts," Roberge told LiveDaily. "We're trying to keep it under wraps until we can get them all rehearsed and ready to go.

"[Plus] you know what happens: you start playing these songs and road testing them out there and people get their own idea of what they enjoy about the song. Then they get the record and they don't necessarily connect with it. They're connecting with the version you played a few months ago. What we're trying to do is get the kinks out privately during soundchecks so that when we do start playing them, they're really consistent with the record and really consistent with where we're at currently."

And where the band is at currently is best described by the name of the album, which carried over from the band's demo tapes for the recording sessions.

"I called the demos the 'All Sides' demos because they were really coming from all directions," Roberge said. "These songs were relationship songs, songs about just playing in a band and songs from all different aspects of our lives. When we went over to Iraq and Kuwait in September, we had almost finished writing for the record. Upon our return, we decided to write a song about our experience there called 'War Song.' It's not a song about war, our belief in war or our nonbelief in war. It's about the warriors, the soldiers of all backgrounds. That really led to the title of the album, as well. Then, you got a song about straight-up experience of traveling the world. I think the title fits because the songs are coming from all directions. They're all consistent in some way."

The trip to desert-dry Iraq and humid Kuwait, especially, allowed the band members to soul search. Roberge doesn't necessarily call the trip scary because the military surrounded them at all times. However, the reality of war weighed on them.

"The first day we were in Iraq, there was a rocket attack on the base where we were at," Roberge said. "We were right in the middle of it. Unfortunately, two [non-band personnel] got killed. The whole time, you're seeing what really goes on over there and seeing these soldiers come together and help each other.

"It was a scary moment, but most Americans don't get to see the reaction. They don't get to see these doctors. We were in a hospital when it happened. The doctors were taking care of not only our guys but they're taking care of the enemy, as well. What they're there to do is take care of people. So it was very humane. I was very pleasantly surprised to see our people taking care of Iraqis, Kuwaitis and third-country nationals and our soldiers. Yeah, it was hot. It was hard. It was no sleep. But I wouldn't have traded it in. I wish we didn't have to go, but I think people appreciated it and we appreciated them."