Guster

Guster formerly Gus

Guster is an American alternative rock band that is known for its live performances, humor, and cult following. It was formed by Adam Gardner, Ryan Miller, and Brian Rosenworcel in 1991 while attending Tufts University in Medford, Massachusetts.

The band stayed “underground” for its first two full-length albums, Parachute (1994) and Goldfly (1997), but broke into the musical mainstream in 1999 with its third studio album Lost and Gone Forever, with the single song “Fa Fa,” which made it onto the Adult Top 40.

The band has enjoyed moderate success on the charts with Keep It Together, its fourth album, with two singles in the Adult Top 40 (“Careful” and “Amsterdam“). Joe Pisapia joined the official lineup for “Keep It Together,” and the second album following his joining, Ganging Up on the Sun, peaked at 25 on the Billboard 200.

The band’s music has been featured on many television shows and movies, such as Martian Child, which featured their song “Satellite“; Disturbia; Wedding Crashers; Life as a House, which makes several allusions to the band throughout the film, The OC; and one of the band’s songs became the slogan 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, becoming an international act. Guster followed up on its international success with a 2004 tour in Britain that had four shows in London and one in Manchester.^[1] Guster maintains a liberal taping policy and has a very dedicated and active taping community. Despite this policy, the band has released several live shows via iTunes.

August 1991

Ryan Miller, Brian Rosenworcel, and Adam Gardner meet during freshman orientation at Tufts University and become friends, talking mostly about their high school bands — The Silents, Toejamb, and Royal Flush.

October 8 1992

After writing a few songs in dorm rooms, the trio names themself “Gus” and lands their first gig at the campus center nightspot, “Hotung Cafe.”

April 1993

Gus records their 4-song demo tape at Toxic Audio in Boston MA. Running a small P.A. system off of a boat battery, the band begins busking in Harvard Square selling tapes for 5 bucks out of a guitar case. This would continue until noise violation tickets were enforced in 1996.

February-April 1994

As juniors at Tufts, Gus links up with producer Mike Denneen to record “Parachute,” their first album. The three band members earned a total of five incompletes in classes that semester.

May 1995

Ryan, Brian, and Adam graduate from college, buy a used van, and hit the road. Adam grows his hair out.

July 1995

Another artist calling himself “Gus” inks a deal with a subsidiary of Geffen Records. Resistance is futile. After a three-day brainstorming binge the band changes their name to “Guster” and vows to punish Gus if they ever meet him.

December 1996

Guster records the album “Goldfly” in Los Angeles and releases it independently early the next year.

October 4 1997

During a performance at a Princeton University party, Ryan Miller tinkles in a Nantucket Nectar bottle. The crowd of ivy-leaguers who averaged 1530 on their S.A.T.’s goes wild.

February 1998

Guster signs a recording contract with Sire Records, who re-release Goldfly and do things like booking the band on the Conan O Brien show later in the year.

Winter/Spring 1999

The album “Lost & Gone Forever” is written in the band apartment in Somerville MA and recorded in San Francisco with producer Steve Lillywhite. Woodstock 99 in Rome NY features Kid Rock on the East Stage and Guster on the West Stage. The band hosts a charity yard sale at their apartment before they move out. The “WOW” t-shirt Ryan wore on the back cover of Parachute goes for $110.

February 2000

“Fa Fa” video is shot in a rollerskating rink in Los Angeles.

March 2000

The band happens upon the artist named “Gus” that originally forced them to change their name in Los Angeles. And they all shared a hearty laugh…

November 2001

Guster enters a cave and doesn’t come out.

Questions often asked of us:
Q: Do you guys have any pre-show rituals?
A: Yes.
Q: How do you guys write your songs?
A: We write about what we know. We’re stenographers…we transcribe life and put a little melody under it.*
Q: Are you guys a Christian band?
A:Rather than answer this one with a simple yes/no, we suggest you check the following sources for clues: 1) Brian’s last name — “Rosenworcel.” 2) Any photo of Ryan where you can see his profile. 3) The Guster Backstage Contract Rider, where we stipify that “the dressing room must be furnished with plenty of borscht, noodle kugels, potato latkes, gefilte fish and homemade rugulah for dessert.”
Q: do you guys name your instruments?
A: yes
Q: You guys seem to be on the road all the time. What do the insides of your refrigerators look like?
A: Thankfully, we maintain digital fridge-cams so we can check the progress of our perishables from the bus and know what we’re coming home to. Click here to take a peek inside Guster’s personal refrigerators
Q: Okay, say you guys are on the road and you finish playing a show and your shirt is drenched with sweat. Where do you put that shirt? Please give individual answers.
A: Adam will hang the shirt in the dressing room or the hotel room until it dries. Sometimes he clips it in the window of the van and leaves it flapping as we drive. Ryan will wear the shirt to bed and when he wakes up in the morning it is usually dry, and good to wear again that night. If it has been a particularly sweaty show, Ryan might shove the wet shirt into his laundry bag and worry about it later. Unable to come up with a suitable solution for this problem, Brian will begin playing gigs topless this fall.
Q: What kind of music do you guys listen to while on the road?
A:There are very few records that all three of us agree on. But here are some selections currently in the collective Guster CD player:
Stevie Wonder: Songs In The Key Of Life
Lambchop: What Another Man Spills
Tortoise: TNT
The Smiths: Meat Is Murder
Grandaddy: The Sophtware Slump
Q: How can I get my hands on some classic “GUS” merchandise?
A: For those of you confused here, our band used to be called GUS, while we were in college at Tufts University, but we changed it in 1995. There are some GUS stickers and shirts locked away in the Guster archives basement in Somerville, Massachusetts, but you can’t have any of them. Now and then a GUS – ‘Parachute’ disc makes an appearance at Disc Diggers (used records) in Somerville for a respectable $3.99.
* Coincidentally, this is also how Tenacious D writes their songs.

Ryan is the oldest Guster. He plays guitar and sings. Ryan is from Texas.

Joe, Hey everyone, meet our friend Joe Pisapia. Don’t be alarmed if you see Joe on stage during a Guster rock and roll concert, it’s okay! He’s with us! We’ve invited him on the road to play guitar, banjo, bass, keyboards, and harmonica. Joe sings and provides “vibe“ too.
Here is some information about Joe:
* Joe lives in Nashville Tennessee
* We met Joe through his band Joe, Marc’s Brother, who’ve taken a hiatus for the time-being.
* Joe wrote and recorded the song “Jesus On The Radio” with us.