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Guster




Guster is an alternative pop/rock band, originally formed in Boston, Massachusetts by members Ryan Miller (guitar/vocals), Adam Gardner (guitar/vocals), Brian Rosenworcel (drums/percussion). Joe Pisapia has since joined.


HISTORY

The band members met during freshman orientation at is a new documentary comedy series Joe's Place .


STYLE

Guster is often characterized by 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 defined by their vocal harmonies, with both Miller and Gardner singing lead vocals on different songs; in the songs "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 (e.g. Miller playing bass, Rosenworcel on a drum kit). Following the release of "Keep It Together", Joe Pisapia joined the band as a full-time member, playing bass, guitar, keyboard, banjo, harmonica, and backup vocals.


FAN OUTREACH

Guster has a very intimate connection with fans. The band regularly updates studio and road journals (written primarily by Rosenworcel) on their website and can often be found after shows for autographs. For fans wishing to spread awareness of the band's existence, Guster maintains a Rep program that allows members to sell the band's albums and hang posters detailing upcoming concerts. The band managed to sell more than 10,000 copies of Parachute and Goldfly through these word-of-mouth methods alone. In return for their support, reps are sent "rep packages" with a shirt, rep-only LP's ("The Pasty Tapes"), a rep badge, and "tons of other crap" in Brian's own words. The band also goes out of their way to make an impact on the community addressing certain issues that are current in today's world. This year they started the "Campus Consciousness Tour" which aimes to educate the audience about the environment. They will use wind power and bio diesel fuel throughout the trip to power everything necessary.


TRIVIA


  • The three members of Guster opened a number of shows as "The Peace Soldiers," three Redneck -looking musicians. They never released any material commercially.


  • Now Guster entertains its live audiences with "Trippin Balls," a hippie-style band used to open a select number of shows.



  • Gardner recently teamed up with Dave Schnieder of The Zambonis to record a holiday album called ''Hanukkah Rocks'' under the moniker "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. 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".



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