Two Points For Honesty

By JESSICA S. ZDEB

Contributing Writer

Guster is one of those bands. A band that floats along the periphery of popular music making their living opening for more popular acts at large arenas, headlining at clubs and theaters and putting out really good albums. The trio of Tufts grads, consisting of Ryan Miller and Adam Gardner on guitar and vocals and Brian Rosenworcel on hand drums, Guster has been steadily gaining popularity, moving from recording on their own label while still in college to a major label deal. With each album, Guster evolves into a better band, but they have stayed true to themselves with spontaneous live shows, quality arrangements and thoughtful lyrics.

While Guster has played at both Madison Square Gardens and the Fleet Center as the opener for Barenaked Ladies, they headlined their first “arena show” (read: Hockey rink) at the Whittemore Center at the University of New Hampshire last Friday to a crowd of about 2500.

Connecticut band The Zambonis warmed the crowd up with a set that consisted of songs pertaining entirely to, you guessed it, hockey. With lyrics like, “She’s the referee’s daughter, and I ougtha, and I oughta, She walks on Holy Water, and I oughta, and I oughta,” how could things go wrong. Well, uninventive drum beats and repetitive guitar riffs could spoil the fun, and did to some extent.

However, when the theme music from “The Price is Right” came on and Guster took the stage, the audience was right back into it. Opening with “What you Wish For,” the lead song on their latest album, the trio served up a thoroughly entertaining 105- minute set.

A definite highlight was “Bury Me” on which Rosenworcel became the centre of attention. Drumming is undoubtedly the visual highlight of Guster shows. Rosenworcel played all of Lost and Gone Forever without using a single drumstick, and at UNH he bounced around behind his impressive set-up of bongos, congas, shakers and other drums, at one point taping his hands to stay the blisters for a while. “Bury Me,” which incorporated bits of the “Beverly Hills Cop” theme and Van Halen’s “Jump” from Miller on the keyboard, featured Rosenworcel’s flashiest playing of the evening.

Audience participation in the form of singing and gesturing came with hits “Barrel of a Gun,” “Fa Fa,” and “Airport Song.” Other treats included some material from the album Guster put on hold for this tour, “Ramona” and what is currently called “New Song #2.” The inevitable cover came in the form of The Zombies’ “Time of the Season” on which Miller played bass and Gardner provided the breathy “ahhh” accompaniment. The cheesiness was palpable.

“Thanks for having us back,” Miller announced as the band returned for a three-song encore that featured the most pensive song of the evening, “Mona Lisa,” executed with as much feeling as one can in a large arena.

The Crimson had the opportunity to speak with guitarist Adam Gardner about Guster’s rise to semi-stardom, the upcoming album, song writing and failing classes:

THC: How did you manage to be full-time students and record an album at the same time?

Gardner: The semester that we recorded, we took a lot of incompletes and took things over the summer. We’d get to class at ten in the morning, head to the studio around six and be there ‘til two or three in the morning, go to bed at four and wake up for class at nine the next morning. It was pretty hectic.

THC: Who have been the band’s biggest influences?

G: Oh, I can’t stand that question. We just don’t have an answer to it, because we listen to so much different music.

THC: Well, then who do you guys listen to on the road?

G: We listen to everything from Mingus, to bands that open for us, to Radiohead’s newest album to Yo La Tengo. But aside from all the Indie-rock stuff, we’re also going back to Bob Dylan, Van Morrison, E-Rex . . . Subconsciously everything influences your writing.

THC: Why did you decide to make that first album?

G: Because we finally had enough money to do it, and it was something we wanted to do for ourselves. We didn’t really have a grand scheme as to what would happen. We had sold about two to 3000 copies of a crappy demo, so we knew we’d make our money back.

THC: How did the “Guster Reps” [an innovative idea where the band would send 10 cds to a fan who would sell them and then send the money back] program start?

G: It wasn’t a grand marketing plan, but people would come into Harvard Square, where we were playing, and pick up a CD and take it home to Michigan, or wherever they were from. Then they’d show their friends, and we’d get a call saying, “I really like this record, but I can’t buy it in stores. How can my friends get a copy?” And we’d say, “Why don’t we send you 10 to sell to your friends and you can just send us the money when you do.” That’s how it started, and now there are more than a 1000 all over the country.

THC: Do you feel playing in large arenas versus clubs that anything is lost? And do you prefer one or the other?

G: I suppose the people in the nosebleed seats must lose some nuances, some facial expressions and sonic things. I love [playing in arenas]. It’s amazing to see that many people in one space. There’s just a certain kind of energy that exists when you have that many people. How much more can you feel like a rockstar than playing in an arena packed with screaming people?

THC: How does Guster deal with the process of song-writing when songs are so personal?

G: It’s been evolving. It used to be that either Ryan or I would come in with a chord progression or melody, and then we would just flesh it out, changing it, adding new melodies. But now, for the next record, we have a regular rehearsal space we go to every day when we’re not on the road. We go there and just spontaneously play, and whatever happens happens. Ryan writes all the lyrics, and it’s something I really admire him for, because it’s tough to write lyrics that don’t end up sounding cheesy or trite yet aren’t so abstract and can still mean something to people.

THC: Your previous albums all have a distinct feel from one another, does this one have that yet?

G: Not really, we’re only about halfway through the writing process, but it will probably be further away from all the other records. Our approach is very different. Typically we’d just sit around with two guitars and bongos and come up with stuff. This time we’re picking up different instruments, using ProTools, a computer program that . . . allows us to put down tracks on the computer and play along with them so we’re not limited by what the three of us can play with two hands. We can think in terms of larger arrangements and deeper textures.

THC: Has the band changed with its growing popularity?

G: No, I don’t think so. Maybe it’s changed our thinking a little because people are paying more than $5; people are traveling. If anything, there’s a little more pressure for us to put on a show, to make it worthwhile for the people. Before, it was just like, “Hey, we’re having fun. People come to check us out.” There wasn’t as much pressure to be really professional. I think we’re becoming aware of that now that we’re playing in these big theaters and we look at the schedule of who’s playing that month, and it’s a list of people we really look up to and respect.