What's in a name? For Gainesville band Oh Fortuna, everything.
It was fortune, the night of Jan. 30 that marked a turning point in the band members' touring career and popularity.
JT Bringardner, 22, a SFCC student and lead singer of Oh Fortuna, befriended Greg Gillis, better known as Girl Talk, after his show at Common Grounds. Gillis, having never heard a note of their music, made the band an offer it could not refuse: an opening spot in the Miami lineup.
"We were all fully excited and fully panicked," said Nick Lamberth, 19, a UF student and member of Oh Fortuna. "We got on stage and I don't even remember the rest."
Miami welcomed Oh Fortuna with open arms. Its infectious brand of "celebratory pop music" seems to have started an epidemic.
Andres Behrens, 18, a Miami concertgoer, declared himself an Oh Fortuna fan and plans to drive to Gainesville Friday for the show.
"They had like the folk element with the acoustic guitar, but they brought it in with the new digital age," Behrens said. "Awesome band. Amazing."
Oh Fortuna has been minting that signature sound for more than a year.
March 29 of last year marked the band's official debut at Backstage Lounge.
"Oh Fortuna is a celebration of pop culture, we just latch onto whatever makes us happy at that moment," Lamberth said.
The Flaming Lips, dance music and pop culture all influence Oh Fortuna's sound and style.
"We all get together and we try to come up with whatever makes us laugh the hardest," he said.
With the momentum from their Miami performance behind them, Oh Fortuna seems to be primed for rock stardom.
"It's opened a surprising amount of doors for us," Lamberth said. "This was definitely our big break."
The band's next project is finishing its demo EP, which will be available and free to everyone on the Internet in March.
From scrambling to find Girl Talk tickets to opening for Greg Gillis and now returning to a home stage, it feels like one gorgeous dream for Oh Fortuna.
Lamberth is looking forward to Friday's show, in which the band joins Oh Sanders, Owl of Minerva, and The Courtneys Friday at the Atlantic, 10 p.m
"People are saying it's going to be a pop orgasm," he said.
