It hardly seems possible that next year marks the 25th anniversary of the meeting of guitarists Ryan Miller and Adam Gardner and percussionist Brian Rosenworcel, freshmen at Tufts University who turned their dorm room songwriting hobby into a quarter century of Alt Rock/Folk Pop wonder as Guster.
The trio worked the college coffeehouse circuit during its student tenure, recording and self-releasing the debut album Parachute in 1995, followed by the acclaimed Goldfly in 1997. The band’s unique instrumental presentation — two acoustic guitars, brilliant vocal harmonies and stick-less percussion — earned them a cultish following.
Guster’s breakthrough came with its 1998 Sire Records contract and exquisite official label debut, 1999’s Lost and Gone Forever, fueled by the huge single “Fa Fa” and FM radio saturation of “Barrel of a Gun.” Paste Magazine ultimately cited Lost and Gone Forever as one of the Top 90 albums of the ’90s. Studio guests Karl Denson and Phish’s Page McConnell introduced Guster to the Jam community; subsequent opening dates for Bob Dylan and Dave Matthews Band further broadened the group’s rapidly expanding fan base.
Soon after Lost and Gone Forever, Rosenworcel (nicknamed Thundergod by fervent fans) switched from hand drums (bongos, congas, etc.) to a traditional drum kit to save wear and tear on his hands. After 2003’s Keep It Together, guest multi-instrumentalist Joe Pisapia joined the Guster fold. His seven-year run lasted through 2006’s Ganging Up on the Sun and 2010’s Easy Wonderful, after which he departed to tour with k.d. lang. His absence was filled with the equally talented Luke Reynolds, frontman for Blue Merle and Pictures and Sound.
After stints with labels Reprise and Aware/Universal Republic, Guster co-released its excellent seventh studio album, Evermotion, on its own Ocho Mule label with help from respected indie Nettwerk back in January. While Guster has released official live albums, they maintain an open taping policy with fans. Archive.org currently offers more than 500 Guster shows for free download, which is the best place to find the band’s trademark fun covers of everything from Katy Perry’s “Firework” and LMFAO’s “Sexy and I Know It” to Nena’s “99 Luftballons” and the Cheers theme.
GUSTER plays Wednesday at Bogart’s. Tickets/more info here.
This article appears in Apr 8-14, 2015.
