Guster
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Guster | ||
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| Background information | ||
| Origin |  Boston, Massachusetts, USA |
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| Genre(s) | Alternative, Rock | |
| Years active | 1991–present | |
| Label(s) | Ocho Mule, Reprise | |
| Website | www.guster.com | |
| Members | ||
| Ryan Miller Adam Gardner Brian Rosenworcel Joe Pisapia |
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Guster is an alternative rock band (sometimes classified as jangle pop), originally formed in the Boston, Massachusetts area by members Ryan Miller (vocals, guitar, bass, keyboards), Adam Gardner (guitar, vocals, bass, keyboards), and Brian Rosenworcel (drums/percussion). Joe Pisapia (bass, guitar, keyboards, banjo, lap steel guitar, harmonica, vocals) has since joined.
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[edit] History
The band members met during freshman orientation at Tufts University in 1991. A year later, after writing a few songs in their dorm rooms, the band named themselves "Gus" and booked their first gig. The band independently recorded their first album in 1994, entitled Parachute. This album established the band as a favorite of the same 1990s scene that became popular through bands such as the Dave Matthews Band, The Disco Biscuits, moe., Phish, and Widespread Panic. The band was still in college when they recorded the album. Shortly after the release of Parachute another artist calling himself Gus signed a deal with a major record company, forcing the band to rename themselves Guster. In 1996, the band independently recorded their second album, Goldfly, releasing it early the next year. In 1998 the band signed to Sire Records and re-released Goldfly. A year later, the band released the album Lost and Gone Forever, produced by Steve Lillywhite. With the backing of a major label, the band appeared on shows such as The Late Show with David Letterman. The band also released their first music video, for "Fa Fa". The band released their fourth album, Keep It Together in 2003, with the first single, "Amsterdam", getting significant play[verification needed] on the radio. A live album/DVD, Guster on Ice, compiled from two shows in Portland, Maine in December, 2003, was released in 2004. Guster released their fifth full length studio album, Ganging Up on the Sun, on June 20, 2006. The single "Manifest Destiny/Sorority Tears" was released in November 2005 on the Internet. Alongside Ganging Up on the Sun, the band released a documentary comedy series called 'Joe's Place' on their website.
[edit] Style
Guster is often recognized for their choice of instruments during their earlier years: two members playing acoustic guitars and one member playing drums and various percussion. Brian Rosenworcel, the band's percussionist (affectionately dubbed "The Thundergod" by fans), added to Guster's unique sound with a combination of bongos, cymbals, and other drums, playing live shows using only his bare hands. Gardner would sometimes play a downtuned guitar as a bass instrument. Guster's sound is also recognized for their vocal harmonies, with both Miller and Gardner singing lead vocals on different songs; in songs such as "What You Wish For" and "Happier," the two members sing different lyrics simultaneously.
While Guster's studio albums included more instrumental variety (e.g. violin, bass, drum kit), their live shows generally retained this lineup until tours supporting their album Lost and Gone Forever in which the band diversified by playing different instruments on some songs. Rosenworcel also began introducing a more traditional drum kit into the stage and studio performances in an effort to move away from the bare hand percussion. Following the release of Keep It Together, multiinstrumentalist Joe Pisapia, who had been touring with the band, became a fulltime member.
On September 27th, 2006 Guster won Album of the Year (Major) at the Boston Music Awards.
[edit] Fan reception
Guster has a very intimate connection with their fans. The band regularly updates studio and road journals on their website, guster.com, and regularly sign autographs after their shows. Guster also maintains a Rep (representative) program, through which fans receive albums to sell and promotional materials for upcoming concerts. The band managed to sell more than 10,000 copies of Parachute and Goldfly through these word-of-mouth methods alone.[citation needed] Guster is a constantly touring band, often playing up to 250 shows a year.
[edit] Activism
In 2004, Guster guitarist and vocalist Adam Gardner and his wife Lauren Sullivan co-founded Reverb, an organization dedicated to assisting touring artists by making their touring activities more environmentally sound. Since their inception, Reverb have worked with (among others) Jack Johnson, Barenaked Ladies, Bonnie Raitt, the Dave Matthews Band, and of course Guster. In July 2006, both Gardner and Sullivan were interviewed about Reverb by The Green Room magazine, which would later also interview Gardner alone in coverage of a Guster show.
In 2006, Guster named their spring tour the Campus Consciousness Tour. They powered their buses and trucks with biodiesel and aimed to use the tour to teach audiences about the environment. Participation in the early 2007 IZStyle Winter Tour is similarly goaled.
[edit] Trivia
- Guster's song "I Hope Tomorrow Is Like Today" was included in the 2005 comedy Wedding Crashers, starring Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson.
- The three members of Guster opened a number of their own shows as "The Peace Soldiers," three redneck-looking musicians. They never released any material commercially. With the addition of Joe into the band, they have also since opened for themselves in costume as a "jam band" called "Trippin' Balls".
- Joe Pisapia is also a member of the band Joe, Marc's Brother.
- Gardner teamed up with Dave Schnieder of the Zambonis to record a holiday album called Hanukkah Rocks as The LeeVees. The album consisted of nine songs with Hanukkah themes, and it was released by Reprise Records in 2005 before starting a tour with Barenaked Ladies.
- In the movie Life as a House, the dog is named Guster and two of the main characters are named Ryan and Adam in the movie. The songs "What You Wish For" and "Rainy Day" are also featured in the movie. (On a side note: the scene that features the song "Rainy Day" was originally scripted to have another Guster song, "All the Way Up to Heaven", being used in the scene. The song was changed to "Rainy Day" before release.) A license plate on a car in the film is "FAN 321", in reference to Guster's fan2fan mailing list and to the "4,3,2,1" countdown in the song, "Barrel of a Gun".
- Two of Guster's songs, "Demons" and "Happier", were featured on the charity albums Live in the X Lounge in 1998 and 2000, respectively.
- Guster recorded the song "We've Got to Be Clean" for the 2002 compilation album For The Kids the proceeds benefit music education programs in US public schools.
- Guster's song "Keep it Together" can be heard at the end of a season 1 episode of the hit tv show The O.C. Another Guster song, Carol of Meows can be heard in a Christmukkah episode of The O.C.
- During the commercial slogan of "Bringing Weather To Life" in 2005, the Guster song "Window" from the album Parachute was played on the Weather Channel (United States).
- The puppets used in the video for "One Man Wrecking Machine", directed by Drew Lightfoot are made by Toronto-based Monster Factory. The main character, Kevin, went on to be the Monster Factory's best-selling Monsters to date.
- All of the three original members-Miller, Gardner, and Rosenworcel-are Jewish
- The band has always maintained a liberal taping policy throughout their career and have a very dedicated and active taping community. Despite this policy the band has release several live shows via iTunes, all of which have sold very well.
- The band has an unoffical "mascot" in the form of the "Big Friend", the stuffed animal featured on the cover of "Parachute". The stuffed animal was made by Brian's aunt when he was younger and was last seen living in a warehouse in New Jersey.
[edit] Members
Ryan Miller (1991-present) - lead vocals, guitar, bass, piano, banjo, harmonica
Adam Gardner (1991-present) - backing vocals, guitar, bass, piano, banjo, trumpet
Brian Rosenworcel (1991-present) - drums, percussion
Joe Pisapia (2003-present) - backing vocals, guitar, bass, banjo, piano, harmonica, lap steel guitar, cow bell
[edit] Discography
 Parachute |
 Goldfly |
 Lost and Gone Forever |
 Keep It Together |
 Guster on Ice |
 Ganging Up On The Sun |
[edit] Studio albums
- 1994 - Parachute
- 1997 - Goldfly
- 1999 - Lost and Gone Forever
- 2003 - Keep It Together (#38 US)
- 2006 - Ganging Up On The Sun (#25 US) (Sales: 51,427)
[edit] Live albums
- 2003 - Live in Knoxville 9/4/03
- 2003 - Live in Allston, Ma - 11/2/03
- 2003 - Live in Sayreville, NJ - 12/13/03
- 2004 - Live in Lexington, KY 3/2/04
- 2004 - Live 6/17/04 Myrtle Beach
- 2004 - Recorded Live in Birmingham, Alabama - March 3rd, 2004
- 2004 - Guster on Ice
[edit] Singles/ EP's
Guster has not released any commercial singles for its songs, but some digital only singles and EP's have been released on the iTunes music store, and these are listed below.
- 1999 - Fa Fa (radio only) (#26, Adult Top 40)
- 2003 - WBR Sessions - EP
- 2003 - Come Downstairs And Say Hello -- EP
- 2003 - The Meowstro Sings - Guster's Keep It Together
- 2003 - Love Guster, Don't Eat Them - EP
- 2004 - MTV2 Album Covers: Guster/Violent Femmes - EP
- 2004 - Donde Esta Santa Claus? - Single
- 2004 - Carol of the Meows - Single
- 2005 - Manifest Destiny / Sorority Tears - Single
- 2006 - One Man Wrecking Machine - Single
- 2007 - Satellite (The Astronauts Radio Remix)
