Guster
Encyclopedia
Guster is an American alternative rock
Alternative rock
Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...

 band from Boston, Massachusetts. Formed in 1991, the group is known for its live performances and humor, founding members Adam Gardner
Adam Gardner
Adam Seth Gardner is a guitarist and vocalist of the band Guster and a member of the Tufts University Beelzebubs...

, Ryan Miller
Ryan Miller (musician)
Ryan Matthew Miller is an American musician. He is the lead singer and guitarist for the alternative rock band, Guster. He also occasionally plays bass and piano.-Biography:...

, and Brian Rosenworcel
Brian Rosenworcel
Brian Andrew Rosenworcel is the drummer for the band Guster. For many years, Rosenworcel, the youngest member of the band, played a combination of bongos, congas, djembe, hand snares and cymbals instead of using a traditional drumset. He now alternates between hand percussion and drum set, and he...

 came about to begin practice sessions while attending Tufts University
Tufts University
Tufts University is a private research university located in Medford/Somerville, near Boston, Massachusetts. It is organized into ten schools, including two undergraduate programs and eight graduate divisions, on four campuses in Massachusetts and on the eastern border of France...

 in Medford, Massachusetts
Medford, Massachusetts
Medford is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, in the United States, on the Mystic River, five miles northwest of downtown Boston. In the 2010 U.S. Census, Medford's population was 56,173...

. The members met during the freshmen Wilderness Orientation program in August 1991, playing publicly together as a trio two months later at the Midnight Cafe coffee house set in the common area of the Lewis Hall dormitory. While attending Tufts, the band lived at 139 College Avenue in Somerville, MA.

The band stayed “underground
Underground music
Underground music comprises a range of different musical genres that operate outside of mainstream culture. Such music can typically share common values, such as the valuing of sincerity and intimacy; an emphasis on freedom of creative expression; an appreciation of artistic creativity...

” for its first two full-length albums, Parachute (1995) and Goldfly
Goldfly (album)
Goldfly is an album by rock band Guster, released in 1997. The album was recorded in December, 1996 at the House of Blues Studios in Encino, California. As of 2011, this album is out of print...

(1997), but broke into the musical mainstream in 1999 with its third studio album Lost and Gone Forever
Lost and Gone Forever
Lost and Gone Forever is the third studio album that was released by the band Guster in September, 1999. It was recorded earlier that year in Sausalito, California and Bearsville, New York...

, with the single song "Fa Fa
Fa Fa
Fa Fa is Guster's second single released off the Lost and Gone Forever album. It is also on the live CD and DVD Guster on Ice. * Karl Denson from The Greyboy Allstars plays the saxophone and flute on the song, which received modest radio airplay, peaking at #26 on the Billboard Adult Top 40 chart....

," which made it onto the Adult Top 40
Hot Adult Top 40 Tracks
Adult Top 40 is a variation on the United States Billboard charts...

. The band has enjoyed moderate success on the charts with Keep It Together
Keep It Together (album)
Keep It Together is an album by the band Guster released in June 2003. The album was recorded from 2001 to 2003 in Bearsville, New York, New York City, Burbank, California, and Shokan, New York. This is the first album by Guster that features Brian Rosenworcel on kit drums instead of hand percussion...

, its fourth album, with two singles in the Adult Top 40
Hot Adult Top 40 Tracks
Adult Top 40 is a variation on the United States Billboard charts...

 ("Careful" and "Amsterdam
Amsterdam (Guster song)
"Amsterdam" is Guster's first single released off the 2003 album Keep It Together. It is also on the live CD and DVD Guster on Ice.-Pop culture references:...

"). Joe Pisapia
Joe Pisapia
Joe Pisapia is a multi-instrumentalist who was formerly a part of the band Guster and is currently part of k.d lang and the Siss Boom Bang. In the past he has also recorded albums solo and with his band Joe, Marc's Brother, and a side project as half of Watercolor.-Albums:Under the name of Joe...

 joined the official lineup for "Keep It Together
Keep It Together (album)
Keep It Together is an album by the band Guster released in June 2003. The album was recorded from 2001 to 2003 in Bearsville, New York, New York City, Burbank, California, and Shokan, New York. This is the first album by Guster that features Brian Rosenworcel on kit drums instead of hand percussion...

," and the second album following his joining, Ganging Up on the Sun
Ganging Up on the Sun
Ganging Up on the Sun is the fifth studio album by rock band Guster. It was released on June 20, 2006. The first single, "Manifest Destiny", was released in late 2005 and its follow-up, "One Man Wrecking Machine", in March 2006. It is Guster's second studio album with Joe Pisapia, his first as a...

, peaked at 25 on the Billboard 200
Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...

. A variety of television shows and movies have featured the band's music, including Martian Child
Martian Child
Martian Child is a 2007 American comedy-drama film about a writer who adopts a strange young boy who believes himself to be from Mars. Martian Child was released on November 2, 2007. The film was directed by Menno Meyjes and produced by New Line Cinema. It stars John Cusack and Bobby Coleman...

, which featured their song "Satellite
Satellite (Guster song)
Satellite is the second single from Guster's 2006 album Ganging Up On The Sun. The song received support from US alternative rock radio, including WFNX , but failed to chart on the Modern Rock Tracks chart. There was also a Satellite EP released April 10, 2007. The song is also featured in the...

"; Disturbia
Disturbia (film)
Disturbia is a 2007 American thriller film directed by D. J. Caruso and executive produced by Ivan Reitman. It is an updated version of Alfred Hitchcock's classic film Rear Window...

; Wedding Crashers
Wedding Crashers
Wedding Crashers is a 2005 American comedy film directed by David Dobkin. It stars Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughn, with Christopher Walken, Rachel McAdams, Isla Fisher, Bradley Cooper, Diora Baird, Jane Seymour, and an uncredited Will Ferrell....

; Life as a House
Life as a House
Life as a House is a 2001 American drama film produced and directed by Irwin Winkler. The screenplay by Mark Andrus focuses on a man who is anxious to repair his relationship with his ex-wife and teenaged son after he is diagnosed with terminal cancer....

, which makes several allusions to the band throughout the film, The OC; and one of the band’s songs was used in an ad for The Weather Channel.

Guster's tours were originally local, but began to spread as the band gained popularity. In 1999, Guster gave its first performance in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

, followed by a 2004 tour in Britain
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 that had four shows in London and one in Manchester. Guster maintains a liberal taping policy
Taper (concert)
A Taper is a person who records musical events often from standing microphones in the audience for the benefit of the musical group's fanbase. Such taping was popularized in the late 1960s and early 1970s by fans of the Grateful Dead. Audio recording was allowed at shows and fans would share their...

 and has a very dedicated and active taping community. Despite this policy, the band has released several live shows via iTunes
ITunes
iTunes is a media player computer program, used for playing, downloading, and organizing digital music and video files on desktop computers. It can also manage contents on iPod, iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad....

.

History

The band members met during freshman orientation at Tufts University
Tufts University
Tufts University is a private research university located in Medford/Somerville, near Boston, Massachusetts. It is organized into ten schools, including two undergraduate programs and eight graduate divisions, on four campuses in Massachusetts and on the eastern border of France...

 in 1991. A year later, after writing a few songs in their dorm rooms, the band named itself Gus and booked its first gig. The band recorded its first album independently in 1994, titled 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
Dave Matthews Band
Dave Matthews Band, sometimes shortened to DMB, is a U.S. rock band formed in Charlottesville, Virginia in 1991. The founding members were singer-songwriter and guitarist Dave Matthews, bassist Stefan Lessard, drummer/backing vocalist Carter Beauford and saxophonist LeRoi Moore. Boyd Tinsley was...

, The Disco Biscuits, moe.
Moe.
moe. is an American jam band, formed at the University at Buffalo in 1989. The band members are: Rob Derhak , Al Schnier , Chuck Garvey , Vinnie Amico , and Jim Loughlin ....

, Phish
Phish
Phish is an American rock band noted for its musical improvisation, extended jams, and exploration of music across genres. Formed at the University of Vermont in 1983 , the band's four members – Trey Anastasio , Mike Gordon , Jon Fishman , and Page McConnell Phish is an American rock band...

, and Widespread Panic
Widespread Panic
Widespread Panic is an American rock band from Athens, Georgia. The current lineup includes guitarist/singer John Bell, bassist Dave Schools, drummer Todd Nance, percussionist Domingo "Sunny" Ortiz, keyboardist John "JoJo" Hermann, and guitarist Jimmy Herring...

. The band was still in college when it 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 itself Guster.

In 1996, the band independently recorded their second album, Goldfly
Goldfly (album)
Goldfly is an album by rock band Guster, released in 1997. The album was recorded in December, 1996 at the House of Blues Studios in Encino, California. As of 2011, this album is out of print...

, releasing it early the next year. In 1998 the band signed with Sire Records
Sire Records
Sire Records is an American record label, owned by Warner Music Group and distributed through Warner Bros. Records.-Beginnings:The label was founded in 1966 as Sire Productions by Seymour Stein and Richard Gottehrer, each investing ten thousand dollars into the new company. Its early releases as a...

 and re-released Goldfly. A year later, the band released the album Lost and Gone Forever
Lost and Gone Forever
Lost and Gone Forever is the third studio album that was released by the band Guster in September, 1999. It was recorded earlier that year in Sausalito, California and Bearsville, New York...

, produced by Steve Lillywhite
Steve Lillywhite
Steve Lillywhite is an English Grammy Award winning record producer. Since he began his career in 1977, Lillywhite has been credited for working on over 500 records and has collaborated with a variety of musicians including XTC, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Dave Matthews Band, U2, Peter Gabriel,...

. With the backing of a major label, the band appeared on shows such as The Late Show with David Letterman, and it released their first music video for their song "Fa Fa." The band released its fourth album, Keep It Together
Keep It Together (album)
Keep It Together is an album by the band Guster released in June 2003. The album was recorded from 2001 to 2003 in Bearsville, New York, New York City, Burbank, California, and Shokan, New York. This is the first album by Guster that features Brian Rosenworcel on kit drums instead of hand percussion...

, in 2003, with the first single, "Amsterdam
Amsterdam (Guster song)
"Amsterdam" is Guster's first single released off the 2003 album Keep It Together. It is also on the live CD and DVD Guster on Ice.-Pop culture references:...

," which got significant airplay on the radio. A live album/DVD, Guster on Ice, compiled from two shows in Portland, Maine
Portland, Maine
Portland is the largest city in Maine and is the county seat of Cumberland County. The 2010 city population was 66,194, growing 3 percent since the census of 2000...

, in December 2003, was released in 2004. Guster released its fifth full length studio album, Ganging Up on the Sun
Ganging Up on the Sun
Ganging Up on the Sun is the fifth studio album by rock band Guster. It was released on June 20, 2006. The first single, "Manifest Destiny", was released in late 2005 and its follow-up, "One Man Wrecking Machine", in March 2006. It is Guster's second studio album with Joe Pisapia, his first as a...

, 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 its Web site. More recently, the group, along with the Barenaked Ladies
Barenaked Ladies
Barenaked Ladies is a Canadian alternative rock band. The band is currently composed of Jim Creeggan, Kevin Hearn, Ed Robertson, and Tyler Stewart. Barenaked Ladies formed in 1988 in Scarborough, Ontario, then a suburban municipality outside the City of Toronto...

, participated in the latter's Ships and Dip cruise. In 2009, Guster took part in a similar event with musician John Mayer
John Mayer
John Clayton Mayer is an American pop rock and blues rock musician, singer-songwriter, recording artist, and music producer. Born in Bridgeport, Connecticut and raised in Fairfield, Connecticut, he attended Berklee College of Music in Boston. He moved to Atlanta in 1997, where he refined his...

 called Mayercraft Carrier 2 aboard the Carnival Splendor
Carnival Splendor
Carnival Splendor is the sole ship of the Splendor class cruise ship, a smaller, modified version of the Concordia class cruise ship, operated by Costa, and is one of the latest of the Carnival Cruise ships to enter the fleet. She entered service on July 2, 2008. At , she was the largest ship in...



On September 27, 2006, Guster won Album of the Year (Major) at the Boston Music Awards.

Guster released their sixth studio album "Easy Wonderful" on October 5, 2010. Mixing for the album commenced on March 15, 2010 according to an update from the band's Twitter account. On April 30, Guster released "Jonah", an outtake from sessions for their then upcoming album, on the "Download to Donate for Haiti
Download to Donate for Haiti
Download to Donate is a program by Music for Relief, a non-profit organization established by Linkin Park in 2005 to help victims of natural disasters to help them recover from such disasters. So far, the program has released three compilations: two to support the 2010 earthquake in Haiti and one...

" compilation album. On July 20, Guster released the song "Bad Bad World" as a free download on their website. Before starting their 2010 fall tour, Guster announced that Joe Pisapia would not be touring with the band. Instead, Joe would be touring with k.d. lang
K.D. Lang
Kathryn Dawn Lang, OC , known by her stage name k.d. lang, is a Canadian pop and country singer-songwriter and occasional actress...

 with whom he had been writing songs. It was also announced that Luke Reynolds
Luke Reynolds
Luke Reynolds is a Grammy nominated American songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, producer and film composer best known for his work in Pictures And Sound and Blue Merle.-Early years:...

 would be filling in for Joe starting September 12, 2010.

Style

Guster is often recognized for its choice of instruments during their earlier years: two members playing acoustic guitars
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...

 and one member playing various percussion instruments. Brian Rosenworcel, the band's percussionist (affectionately dubbed the Thundergod by fans), added to Guster's unique sound with a combination of bongos
Bongo drum
Bongo or bongos are a Cuban percussion instrument consisting of a pair of single-headed, open-ended drums attached to each other. The drums are of different size: the larger drum is called in Spanish the hembra and the smaller the macho...

, cymbal
Cymbal
Cymbals are a common percussion instrument. Cymbals consist of thin, normally round plates of various alloys; see cymbal making for a discussion of their manufacture. The greater majority of cymbals are of indefinite pitch, although small disc-shaped cymbals based on ancient designs sound a...

s, and other drums, playing live shows using only his bare hands. While Miller played rhythm parts, Gardner would often play a bass line on his guitar. Guster's sound is recognized for its 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
Violin
The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....

, bass
Bass guitar
The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....

, drum kit
Drum kit
A drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....

), its live shows generally retained the same line-up until tours supporting its album Lost and Gone Forever, in which the band diversified by playing different instruments on some songs. At this time, Rosenworcel began introducing a more traditional drum kit into the stage and studio performances in an effort to move away from bare-hand percussion. Following the release of Keep it Together, multi-instrumentalist Joe Pisapia, who had been touring with the band, became a full-time member.

Guster's live shows have a style of their own. For encores, the band has sometimes featured drummer Brian Rosenworcel, who is not known for his vocals, moving to the front microphone and singing humorous covers. These have ranged from Temple of the Dog
Temple of the Dog
Temple of the Dog was an American rock band that formed in Seattle, Washington in 1990. It was conceived by vocalist Chris Cornell of Soundgarden as a tribute to his friend, the late Andrew Wood, lead singer of Malfunkshun and Mother Love Bone...

's "Hunger Strike" to 4 Non Blondes
4 Non Blondes
4 Non Blondes was an American rock band from San Francisco, California, formed in 1989. The group was formed by bassist Christa Hillhouse, guitarist Shaunna Hall, drummer Wanda Day, and vocalist and guitarist Linda Perry. Prior to the release of their first album, Roger Rocha replaced Hall on...

' "What's Up?" to the theme song from the TV show "Cheers." Guster has toured with many other artists, such as Ben Folds
Ben Folds
Benjamin Scott "Ben" Folds is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, and television personality. From 1995-2000, Folds was the frontman and pianist of the alternative rock band Ben Folds Five. Since the group disbanded, Folds has performed as a solo artist and has toured all over the world...

, Nickel Creek
Nickel Creek
Nickel Creek was an American progressive acoustic music trio consisting of Chris Thile , Sara Watkins and Sean Watkins . The band was founded in 1989 and released 6 albums between 1993 and 2006...

, Tally Hall
Tally Hall (band)
Tally Hall is an American rock band formed in December 2002 based in Ann Arbor, Michigan with a relatively significant cult following. Once under the Atlantic Records recording label, Tally Hall is, again, signed to indie label Quack! Media who previously helped finance and nationally distribute...

, Ben Kweller
Ben Kweller
Ben Kweller is an American singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist.-Early life:Ben Kweller was born in San Francisco, CA in 1981. In 1982, his family relocated to Emory, Texas, where his father, Howard Kweller, became the town's first doctor. In 1986, the Kwellers moved to a much larger city,...

, Pete Yorn
Pete Yorn
Peter Joseph Yorn is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist who first gained international recognition after his debut record, Musicforthemorningafter, was released to critical acclaim in 2001.-Early history:Yorn's father is a dentist and his mother is a former concert pianist who worked as a...

, Nada Surf
Nada Surf
Nada Surf is an American alternative rock band. Formed in 1992, the New York band consists of Matthew Caws , Ira Elliot and Daniel Lorca .-Early years:...

, John Mayer
John Mayer
John Clayton Mayer is an American pop rock and blues rock musician, singer-songwriter, recording artist, and music producer. Born in Bridgeport, Connecticut and raised in Fairfield, Connecticut, he attended Berklee College of Music in Boston. He moved to Atlanta in 1997, where he refined his...

, Rogue Wave, and Rufus Wainwright
Rufus Wainwright
Rufus McGarrigle Wainwright is an American-Canadian singer-songwriter. He has recorded six albums of original music, EPs, and tracks on compilations and film soundtracks.-Early years:...

.

Other traditions at live shows have been developed over the years. For example, at the end of "Airport Song", people in the crowd throw ping-pong balls at the stage, in reference to the studio recording, where the audio of a table tennis game can be heard in the background.

Fan reception

Guster maintains a close relationship with its fans with regular studio updates and road journals on their web site, guster.com, and signs autographs after shows.

Guster once maintained a rep (representative) program, through which fans received promotional materials for upcoming concerts and albums to sell. Reps were rewarded with a special, rep-only series of EP's called The Pasty Tapes as well as invitations to rep-only concerts. Early in its career, Guster managed to sell more than 10,000 copies of Parachute and Goldfly through little more than word-of-mouth. Following the release of Ganging up on the Sun, the band formed a new program called the Wrecking Machines, through which fans are able to receive posters for advertising nearby concerts. Guster is a constantly touring band, often playing up to 250 shows a year.

The band's humor is noted by many fans. For laughs, the three members of Guster opened a number of their own shows as the Peace Soldiers, three redneck-looking musicians. With the addition of Joe into the band, it has since opened for itself in costume as a jam band called Trippin' Balls. During a 2001 show in Rochester, NY (which was oddly enough opened by Joe Pisapia's band Joe, Marc's Brother), the band started their show with an empty stage. The music to The Price is Right played over the sound system, and a voice called each of the band members down from where they had hid themselves in the audience. Upon hearing their name, each member played the part of an enthusiastic game show contestant all the way to the stage. During a show in 2002 when Guster played with John Mayer
John Mayer
John Clayton Mayer is an American pop rock and blues rock musician, singer-songwriter, recording artist, and music producer. Born in Bridgeport, Connecticut and raised in Fairfield, Connecticut, he attended Berklee College of Music in Boston. He moved to Atlanta in 1997, where he refined his...

 and John Butler Trio
John Butler Trio
The John Butler Trio are an eclectic roots and jam band from Australia led by guitarist and vocalist John Butler. They formed in Fremantle in 1998 with Jason McGann on drums and Gavin Shoesmith on bass guitar...

 in Memphis, TN, the band danced around on stage with KFC buckets covering their heads while J.B.T. was playing their set.

On July 26, 2011, Ryan Miller went onto turntable.fm
Turntable.fm
Turntable.fm is a social media website that allows users to interactively share music. The website is run by Billy Chasen, who started it in January 2011, using revenue generated by his previous start-up to fund Turntable.fm. The service allows users to create "rooms," which other users can join...

 to give live previews of tracks off of Guster's On The Ocean EP and listen to music with fans.

Guster has also been known to play recognizable cover songs during their encores, some of which Brian Rosenworcel
Brian Rosenworcel
Brian Andrew Rosenworcel is the drummer for the band Guster. For many years, Rosenworcel, the youngest member of the band, played a combination of bongos, congas, djembe, hand snares and cymbals instead of using a traditional drumset. He now alternates between hand percussion and drum set, and he...

 has sung lead vocals. A few of these performances have included: "Under the Bridge" by the Red Hot Chili Peppers
Red Hot Chili Peppers
Red Hot Chili Peppers is an American rock band, formed in Los Angeles in 1983. The group's musical style primarily consists of rock with an emphasis on funk, as well as elements from other genres such as punk, hip hop and psychedelic rock...

, "Where Everybody Knows Your Name", the Cheers
Cheers
Cheers is an American situation comedy television series that ran for 11 seasons from 1982 to 1993. It was produced by Charles/Burrows/Charles Productions, in association with Paramount Network Television for NBC, and was created by the team of James Burrows, Glen Charles, and Les Charles...

 theme song, and "Total Eclipse of the Heart" by Bonnie Tyler
Bonnie Tyler
Bonnie Tyler is a Welsh singer, most notable for her hits in the 1970s and 1980s including "It's a Heartache", "Holding Out for a Hero" and "Total Eclipse of the Heart".-Early life:...

.

Activism

In 2004, Guster guitarist and vocalist Adam Gardner and his wife co-founded Reverb
Reverb (non-profit)
Reverb is a non-profit environmental organization that educates and engages musicians and their fans to promote environmental sustainability. It was founded by environmentalist Lauren Sullivan and her musician husband, Guster guitarist/vocalist Adam Gardner....

, an organization dedicated to assisting touring artists by making activities more environmentally sound. It operates from within the music industry as well as the environmental world. Reverb greens artists’ tours and the music business at large while raising awareness and support for the environment through an interactive eco-village. Since its inception, Reverb has worked with (among others) Jack Johnson
Jack Johnson (musician)
Jack Johnson was born May 18, 1975 is an American folk rock singer-songwriter, surfer and musician known for his work in the soft rock and acoustic genres. In 2001, he achieved commercial success after the release of his debut album, Brushfire Fairytales. He has since released four more albums, a...

, Barenaked Ladies
Barenaked Ladies
Barenaked Ladies is a Canadian alternative rock band. The band is currently composed of Jim Creeggan, Kevin Hearn, Ed Robertson, and Tyler Stewart. Barenaked Ladies formed in 1988 in Scarborough, Ontario, then a suburban municipality outside the City of Toronto...

, Bonnie Raitt
Bonnie Raitt
Bonnie Lynn Raitt is an American blues singer-songwriter and a renowned slide guitar player. During the 1970s, Raitt released a series of acclaimed roots-influenced albums which incorporated elements of blues, rock, folk and country, but she is perhaps best known for her more commercially...

, John Mayer
John Mayer
John Clayton Mayer is an American pop rock and blues rock musician, singer-songwriter, recording artist, and music producer. Born in Bridgeport, Connecticut and raised in Fairfield, Connecticut, he attended Berklee College of Music in Boston. He moved to Atlanta in 1997, where he refined his...

, Dave Matthews Band
Dave Matthews Band
Dave Matthews Band, sometimes shortened to DMB, is a U.S. rock band formed in Charlottesville, Virginia in 1991. The founding members were singer-songwriter and guitarist Dave Matthews, bassist Stefan Lessard, drummer/backing vocalist Carter Beauford and saxophonist LeRoi Moore. Boyd Tinsley was...

, and, of course, Guster. In July 2006, both Gardner and Sullivan were interviewed about Reverb by The Green Room magazine, which would later interview Gardner alone in coverage of a Guster show. Newsweek
Newsweek
Newsweek is an American weekly news magazine published in New York City. It is distributed throughout the United States and internationally. It is the second-largest news weekly magazine in the U.S., having trailed Time in circulation and advertising revenue for most of its existence...

 did a similar profile in its April 16, 2007, issue.

In 2006, Guster named its spring tour the Campus Consciousness Tour. The band toured with the Format
The Format
The Format was an American indie rock band formed by Arizona natives Nate Ruess and Sam Means. The band announced a hiatus on February 4, 2008. Their style can be considered a mixture of indie, alternative, punk and folk music, with elements of 1960s and 1970s pop music...

, and it powered its buses and trucks with biodiesel
Biodiesel
Biodiesel refers to a vegetable oil- or animal fat-based diesel fuel consisting of long-chain alkyl esters. Biodiesel is typically made by chemically reacting lipids with an alcohol....

 and aimed to use the tour to teach audiences about the environment. Participation in early 2007 IZStyle Winter Tour is similarly goaled.

In Fall 2007, Guster headlined the Crocs’ Next Step Campus Tour with Brett Dennen as a supporting act. The tour promoted eco-friendly green initiatives while educating attendees on ways to help the environment. The tour stopped at fifteen colleges, including the University of Puget Sound
University of Puget Sound
The University of Puget Sound is a private liberal arts college located in the North End of Tacoma, Washington, in the United States...

, Gonzaga University
Gonzaga University
Gonzaga University is a private Roman Catholic university located in Spokane, Washington, United States. Founded in 1887 by the Society of Jesus, it is one of 28 member institutions of the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities and is named after the young Jesuit saint, Aloysius Gonzaga...

, the College of William and Mary, North Carolina State University
North Carolina State University
North Carolina State University at Raleigh is a public, coeducational, extensive research university located in Raleigh, North Carolina, United States. Commonly known as NC State, the university is part of the University of North Carolina system and is a land, sea, and space grant institution...

, Michigan State University
Michigan State University
Michigan State University is a public research university in East Lansing, Michigan, USA. Founded in 1855, it was the pioneer land-grant institution and served as a model for future land-grant colleges in the United States under the 1862 Morrill Act.MSU pioneered the studies of packaging,...

, Pennsylvania State University
Pennsylvania State University
The Pennsylvania State University, commonly referred to as Penn State or PSU, is a public research university with campuses and facilities throughout the state of Pennsylvania, United States. Founded in 1855, the university has a threefold mission of teaching, research, and public service...

, the University of Vermont
University of Vermont
The University of Vermont comprises seven undergraduate schools, an honors college, a graduate college, and a college of medicine. The Honors College does not offer its own degrees; students in the Honors College concurrently enroll in one of the university's seven undergraduate colleges or...

, the University of Florida
University of Florida
The University of Florida is an American public land-grant, sea-grant, and space-grant research university located on a campus in Gainesville, Florida. The university traces its historical origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its present Gainesville campus since September 1906...

, Furman University
Furman University
Furman University is a selective, private, coeducational, liberal arts college in Greenville, South Carolina, United States. Furman is one of the oldest, and more selective private institutions in South Carolina...

, Georgia Southern University
Georgia Southern University
Georgia Southern University is a national public university located on a campus in Statesboro, Georgia, USA. Founded in 1906, it is part of the University System of Georgia and is the largest center of higher education in the southern half of Georgia offering 117 academic majors in a comprehensive...

, Murray State University
Murray State University
Murray State University, located in the city of Murray, Kentucky, is a four-year public university with approximately 10,400 students. The school is Kentucky’s only public university to be listed in the U.S.News & World Report regional university top tier for the past 20 consecutive years...

, Vanderbilt University
Vanderbilt University
Vanderbilt University is a private research university located in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1873, the university is named for shipping and rail magnate "Commodore" Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provided Vanderbilt its initial $1 million endowment despite having never been to the...

, Indiana University
Indiana University
Indiana University is a multi-campus public university system in the state of Indiana, United States. Indiana University has a combined student body of more than 100,000 students, including approximately 42,000 students enrolled at the Indiana University Bloomington campus and approximately 37,000...

, Williams College
Williams College
Williams College is a private liberal arts college located in Williamstown, Massachusetts, United States. It was established in 1793 with funds from the estate of Ephraim Williams. Originally a men's college, Williams became co-educational in 1970. Fraternities were also phased out during this...

, and the University of Rochester
University of Rochester
The University of Rochester is a private, nonsectarian, research university in Rochester, New York, United States. The university grants undergraduate and graduate degrees, including doctoral and professional degrees. The university has six schools and various interdisciplinary programs.The...

.

In Spring 2009, the band continued the green initiate touring, performing at colleges including University of New Hampshire
University of New Hampshire
The University of New Hampshire is a public university in the University System of New Hampshire , United States. The main campus is in Durham, New Hampshire. An additional campus is located in Manchester. With over 15,000 students, UNH is the largest university in New Hampshire. The university is...

, Northeastern University, University of Arkansas
University of Arkansas
The University of Arkansas is a public, co-educational, land-grant, space-grant, research university. It is classified by the Carnegie Foundation as a research university with very high research activity. It is the flagship campus of the University of Arkansas System and is located in...

, University of Wisconsin, Fordham University
Fordham University
Fordham University is a private, nonprofit, coeducational research university in the United States, with three campuses in and around New York City. It was founded by the Roman Catholic Diocese of New York in 1841 as St...

, Union College
Union College
Union College is a private, non-denominational liberal arts college located in Schenectady, New York, United States. Founded in 1795, it was the first institution of higher learning chartered by the New York State Board of Regents. In the 19th century, it became the "Mother of Fraternities", as...

, Colby College
Colby College
Colby College is a private liberal arts college located on Mayflower Hill in Waterville, Maine. Founded in 1813, it is the 12th-oldest independent liberal arts college in the United States...

, Ohio State University
Ohio State University
The Ohio State University, commonly referred to as Ohio State, is a public research university located in Columbus, Ohio. It was originally founded in 1870 as a land-grant university and is currently the third largest university campus in the United States...

, University of Dayton
University of Dayton
The University of Dayton is a private Roman Catholic university operated by the Society of Mary located in Dayton, Ohio...

, Albright College
Albright College
Albright College is a private, co-ed, liberal arts college affiliated with the United Methodist Church. It was founded in 1856 and is located in Reading, Pennsylvania, United States.-Overview:...

, Marquette University
Marquette University
Marquette University is a private, coeducational, Jesuit, Roman Catholic university located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Founded by the Society of Jesus in 1881, the school is one of 28 member institutions of the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities...

, Clark University
Clark University
Clark University is a private research university and liberal arts college in Worcester, Massachusetts.Founded in 1887, it is the oldest educational institution founded as an all-graduate university. Clark now also educates undergraduates...

, and the University of Pennsylvania
University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania is a private, Ivy League university located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Penn is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States,Penn is the fourth-oldest using the founding dates claimed by each institution...

.

Band members

  • Adam Gardner
    Adam Gardner
    Adam Seth Gardner is a guitarist and vocalist of the band Guster and a member of the Tufts University Beelzebubs...

     – lead vocals
    Singing
    Singing is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...

    , guitar
    Guitar
    The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...

    , bass
    Bass guitar
    The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....

    , keyboard
    Electronic keyboard
    An electronic keyboard is an electronic or digital keyboard instrument.The major components of a typical modern electronic keyboard are:...

    , banjo
    Banjo
    In the 1830s Sweeney became the first white man to play the banjo on stage. His version of the instrument replaced the gourd with a drum-like sound box and included four full-length strings alongside a short fifth-string. There is no proof, however, that Sweeney invented either innovation. This new...

    , trumpet
    Trumpet
    The trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air...

     (1991–present)
  • Ryan Miller
    Ryan Miller (musician)
    Ryan Matthew Miller is an American musician. He is the lead singer and guitarist for the alternative rock band, Guster. He also occasionally plays bass and piano.-Biography:...

     – lead vocals
    Singing
    Singing is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...

    , backing vocals
    Backing vocalist
    A backing vocalist or backing singer is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists...

    , guitar
    Guitar
    The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...

    , bass
    Bass guitar
    The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....

    , piano
    Piano
    The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...

    , banjo
    Banjo
    In the 1830s Sweeney became the first white man to play the banjo on stage. His version of the instrument replaced the gourd with a drum-like sound box and included four full-length strings alongside a short fifth-string. There is no proof, however, that Sweeney invented either innovation. This new...

    , harmonica
    Harmonica
    The harmonica, also called harp, French harp, blues harp, and mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used primarily in blues and American folk music, jazz, country, and rock and roll. It is played by blowing air into it or drawing air out by placing lips over individual holes or multiple holes...

    , ukulele
    Ukulele
    The ukulele, ; from ; it is a subset of the guitar family of instruments, generally with four nylon or gut strings or four courses of strings....

    , keytar
    Keytar
    A keytar is a relatively lightweight keyboard that is supported by a strap around the neck and shoulders, similar to the way a guitar is supported by a strap. Keytars allow players a greater range of movement compared to conventional keyboards, which are placed on stands...

     (1991–present)
  • Brian Rosenworcel
    Brian Rosenworcel
    Brian Andrew Rosenworcel is the drummer for the band Guster. For many years, Rosenworcel, the youngest member of the band, played a combination of bongos, congas, djembe, hand snares and cymbals instead of using a traditional drumset. He now alternates between hand percussion and drum set, and he...

     – drums
    Drum kit
    A drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....

    , percussion
    Percussion instrument
    A percussion instrument is any object which produces a sound when hit with an implement or when it is shaken, rubbed, scraped, or otherwise acted upon in a way that sets the object into vibration...

     (1991–present)
  • Luke Reynolds
    Luke Reynolds
    Luke Reynolds is a Grammy nominated American songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, producer and film composer best known for his work in Pictures And Sound and Blue Merle.-Early years:...

     – backing vocals
    Backing vocalist
    A backing vocalist or backing singer is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists...

    , guitar
    Guitar
    The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...

    , bass
    Bass guitar
    The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....

    , banjo
    Banjo
    In the 1830s Sweeney became the first white man to play the banjo on stage. His version of the instrument replaced the gourd with a drum-like sound box and included four full-length strings alongside a short fifth-string. There is no proof, however, that Sweeney invented either innovation. This new...

    , keyboard
    Electronic keyboard
    An electronic keyboard is an electronic or digital keyboard instrument.The major components of a typical modern electronic keyboard are:...

     (2010–present)


Past members
  • Joe Pisapia
    Joe Pisapia
    Joe Pisapia is a multi-instrumentalist who was formerly a part of the band Guster and is currently part of k.d lang and the Siss Boom Bang. In the past he has also recorded albums solo and with his band Joe, Marc's Brother, and a side project as half of Watercolor.-Albums:Under the name of Joe...

     – backing vocals
    Backing vocalist
    A backing vocalist or backing singer is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists...

    , guitar
    Guitar
    The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...

    , bass
    Bass guitar
    The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....

    , banjo
    Banjo
    In the 1830s Sweeney became the first white man to play the banjo on stage. His version of the instrument replaced the gourd with a drum-like sound box and included four full-length strings alongside a short fifth-string. There is no proof, however, that Sweeney invented either innovation. This new...

    , harmonica
    Harmonica
    The harmonica, also called harp, French harp, blues harp, and mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used primarily in blues and American folk music, jazz, country, and rock and roll. It is played by blowing air into it or drawing air out by placing lips over individual holes or multiple holes...

    , keyboard
    Electronic keyboard
    An electronic keyboard is an electronic or digital keyboard instrument.The major components of a typical modern electronic keyboard are:...

    , lap steel guitar
    Lap steel guitar
    The lap steel guitar is a type of steel guitar, an instrument derived from and similar to the guitar. The player changes pitch by pressing a metal or glass bar against the strings instead of by pressing strings against the fingerboard....

    , cow bell
    Cow bell
    A cowbell or cow bell is a bell worn by freely roaming livestock, so that they do not run away or wander off without being heard. While bells were used on various types of animals, they are typically referred to as "cowbells" due to their extensive use with cattle.A trychel is a large cow bell...

    , appalachian dulcimer
    Appalachian dulcimer
    The Appalachian dulcimer is a fretted string instrument of the zither family, typically with three or four strings. It is native to the Appalachian region of the United States...

     (2003–2010)

Discography

Studio albums
  • Parachute (1995)
  • Goldfly
    Goldfly (album)
    Goldfly is an album by rock band Guster, released in 1997. The album was recorded in December, 1996 at the House of Blues Studios in Encino, California. As of 2011, this album is out of print...

    (1997)
  • Lost and Gone Forever
    Lost and Gone Forever
    Lost and Gone Forever is the third studio album that was released by the band Guster in September, 1999. It was recorded earlier that year in Sausalito, California and Bearsville, New York...

    (1999)
  • Keep It Together
    Keep It Together (album)
    Keep It Together is an album by the band Guster released in June 2003. The album was recorded from 2001 to 2003 in Bearsville, New York, New York City, Burbank, California, and Shokan, New York. This is the first album by Guster that features Brian Rosenworcel on kit drums instead of hand percussion...

    (2003)
  • Ganging Up on the Sun
    Ganging Up on the Sun
    Ganging Up on the Sun is the fifth studio album by rock band Guster. It was released on June 20, 2006. The first single, "Manifest Destiny", was released in late 2005 and its follow-up, "One Man Wrecking Machine", in March 2006. It is Guster's second studio album with Joe Pisapia, his first as a...

    (2006)
  • Easy Wonderful (2010)

External links

  • Official website
  • Guster collection at the Internet Archive
    Internet Archive
    The Internet Archive is a non-profit digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It offers permanent storage and access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, music, moving images, and nearly 3 million public domain books. The Internet Archive...

    's live music archive
The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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