Arts & Entertainment
Meet the Band: O.R.B.
Three Elkridge teens will take their rock music to the studio at the end of September.
O.R.B. is Elkridge’s own teenage rock band.
Its members met on the school bus heading for elementary school. Now students at Howard High School, they’ve been making music together for five years and will be recording in a studio at the end of September.
The band consists of three members:
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- Cooper Gerus, 16, on guitars and vocals
- Bo Oliver, 15, on bass
- Owen Gerus, 14, on drums and lead vocals
O.R.B. (which stands for One Real Big…what they wouldn’t say) said its members’ musical tastes vary as much as the set list when they play live.
Bo loves jazz—his dad is in a jazz band— and he also rocks out to Iron Maiden, Rush, and Blink 182.
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Cooper likes Led Zeppelin, All Time Low, and Surfer Blood.
Owen likes Fallout Boy and ska music like the Mighty Mighty Bosstones.
“All our interests come into the music,” Bo said.
Pretty regularly, they play at in Elkridge. Earlier this summer, they had a for the second time. Most recently, they played at a for the , on Sept. 18.
They’ve also taken their show on the road to Cooper’s eighth grade dance, an aunt’s wedding and the 9:30 Club.
O.R.B. said they couldn’t do anything without the love and support from their families. The dads—Buddy Oliver and Alex Gerus—both work on the sound. The moms—Lori Gerus and Kathy Oliver—sell merchandise and handle marketing and public relations.
“It’s a gift they have,” said Lori Gerus, “and it’s good they’re doing this because of self-expression.”
When it comes to the songwriting process, Bo writes a lot of the music, Cooper adds in lyrics, and Owen tends to tackle the melodies. They’ve written some songs in a day like ”Arizona.” Others have taken weeks.
Though their ultimate goal is to have fun, they said they’re always learning.
“If one of us is off in some way, we can pick up the slack for each other and make up for the other’s mistakes,” said Cooper.
Added Bo: “Every gig can go better than it does."
To continue the learning process, all three band members plan to go to college—Bo and Owen are interested in the culinary arts while Cooper hopes to study writing and history.
This summer, along with playing approximately eight shows, the band completed a service project in exchange for 10 free hours of recording time.
At the end of September, they’re going to a studio in Baltimore to record their music.
Said Cooper: “I’m stoked.”
