They first performed together onstage
as students at Tufts University in December 1991. On January 12, 2017, Guster will return to Boston to celebrate its 25th anniversary with four consecutive shows at the Paradise Rock Club from January 12-15.
“Every show in Boston is like a hometown show,” said Brian Rosenworcel, co-founder of the band along with Ryan Miller and Adam Gardner. “Boston is the town that built our career and we have a special relationship with the fans and the city. Every time we play here, we want to make it special. Boston will always be the spiritual home of the band.”
In that first show at Lewis Hall on the Tufts University Campus, a trio named Ryan, Adam and Brian performed on stage, playing six cover song at double speed. The friends had met on a wilderness orientation bus ride right before their freshman year at Tufts University and shortly thereafter, began jamming in their dorm rooms. Following their first gig, they named themselves GUS and began busking on the sidewalk in Harvard Square. Their first off-campus show was at a small club in Harvard Square called The Black Rose.
A demo tape landed the band in a Battle of the Bands at the Paradise Rock Club. After winning, they began opening for national bands at the club, including bands such as The Bogmen, Rusted Root, Acoustic Junction and others.
“I remember the feeling of playing on the stage at the Paradise for the first time, how huge it was and how I was standing on the stage where I had seen so many of my favorite bands,” said Brian Rosenworcel. “In the spring of 1995, they let us headline our own show. It was beyond epic. Sold out. I will never forget feeling that ‘if we can do this in Boston, we can do this in every city.’
“Boston has been so central to our experience as a band,” continued Rosenworcel. “We played with The Pops and felt the rush of 80 musicians backing us. We ran on stage during a Barenaked Ladies’ set at the Fleet Center wearing orange overalls with the ass cheeks cut out. Mayor Menino introduced us as “Gooster” before we played a free show in Government Center to a shocking sea of heads in 2003. I am pretty sure we took the stage at Harborlights in South Boston by rowing a dinghy to the venue from the harbor, docking-and-rocking. We very nearly floated out to sea that night. We played a Halloween show at The Orpheum in 1999 in tuxedos and pretended it was a Y2K New Year’s celebration all night. But I think my fondest Boston memories will always be dumping the change from our guitar case into a bowl after a night busking in Harvard Square, and then buying as much Pinocchio’s Pizza as we could with it.”
Guster’s four-night stand at the Paradise Rock Club will also kick-off the 40thanniversary of the club. Opening acts for the four shows include Steven Page(January 12), And The Kids (January 13), The Bogmen (January 14) and John Wesley Harding (aka Wesley Stace) (January 15).
“All of the bands opening for us have a special place in our celebration,” continued Rosenworcel. “We used to play with The Bogmen and John Wesley Harding at the Paradise. And The Kids remind us of GUS back in the day, if we were female and much better at songwriting. And of course, we toured alongside Steven Page for so many years when he was a Barenaked Lady.”
Hotel Commonwealth and the Colonnade Hotel will be offering discounted rates for fans coming to Boston for the shows. More information is available online athttp://guster.com/.
Guster performs January 12-15, 2017 at the Paradise Rock Club, 967-969 Commonwealth Avenue in Boston. All shows are 18+. Doors will open at7pm, show begins at 8 m. A four-show pass for $125 will go on sale on November 2 at 12PM EST and will include a special laminate, meet & greet with the band and other special surprises. Single show tickets are $36 and will go on sale November 11 at 12PM. All tickets include a $1 donation to Reverb. Tickets will be available at the Paradise Rock Club box office, Ticketmaster.com or by phone at 800-745-3000.
