Guster Takes The Stage in Seattle 1/18/2011

Seattle Theatre Group (STG) presents Guster on Tuesday, January 18, 2011 at 7:30 pm at the Moore Theatre.

Pop quiz, no cheating: name a band that, fifteen years on, is operating at the absolute peak of its creative powers, making the most inspired, timeless music and playing to the largest audiences of its career? The answers don't come easily, but we have one: Guster.

Few would have predicted the evolution that Guster has undergone, but then, Adam Gardner, Ryan Miller, BrIan Rosenworcel and Joe Pisapia have been quietly confounding expectations since Guster began recording 15 years ago. With their new album Easy Wonderful, the quartet has made a piece of art that rewards each listen. With the reflective opener "Architects and Engineers," the pop gem "Do You Love Me," the optimistic anthem "Bad Bad World," the wall of sound production of "What You Call Love" and the haunting ballad "Stay With Me Jesus," Guster have created the best album of their lives.

The four-year gap between their last album, 2006's Ganging Up on the Sun, and Easy Wonderful was a bit longer than the quartet had anticipated. Miller admits, "I wish that it had taken two months instead of this long, but I feel like we did everything we had to do to make a great album." Work commenced in 2008 - which was a big personal year for Miller, Rosenworcel and Gardner, as they all became fathers for the first time. To accommodate their growing families, the band decided upon a different tack in songwriting. Miller says, "Rather than the way it was before where we would live together for four months, this time we would work for like a week or two, break for a couple weeks, work on stuff on our own and then come back. We worked really well that way."

The recording sessions were quick and efficient, but the group didn't feel fully satisfied with the results. Gardner says they made the decision to take a break from the recording process. "We all retreated to our corners. We all had to step away from it to see what we needed to do to improve it." During this break Miller started writing a couple of new songs by himself, but found he couldn't recapture the spark which had made the band's first group of songs so compelling. Miller credits a deep and soul-searching conversation with Rosenworcel in breaking his creative logjaM. Miller says, "Brian and I had a conversation and it was like, 'Right, we can do this.' And I just kind of let go of everything. I just decided I was going to write music and I didn't care what it was. And then the floodgates opened, like it never had before for me. It was really amazing." In an explosion of creativity, Miller penned six songs in a couple of weeks. The band listened to Miller's demos and were thoroughly reinvigorated by the new material.

Gardner says that the process of creating Easy Wonderful has been a turning point for Guster. "I feel like we learned a lot and came out of it as stronger players, writers and record makers. We feel more energized about our music and playing together than ever. I think we've shot past where we've been and we've made a better record than we've ever made before."

So how does an album end up being called Easy Wonderful? Miller says his family was driving through Brooklyn one day when his wife spotted a sign that said "Easy Wonderful Corporation." Miller then told his bandmates about the sign in passing one day. "We had been talking about the album title and I told the guys my wife saw that sign. And Brian immediately said, 'I like Easy Wonderful a lot.' And I was like, 'That wasn't even a suggestion!'" Gardner feels the title is appropriate for the album he's most proud of in Guster's career. "It's a really accurate description of what making the record at Joe's was like. It was our best recording process ever. I think we're in the best spot we've ever been as a band working together, and it shows on this album."
Tickets: $29.50 not including applicable fees. Tickets are on sale Friday, October 15th at 10am at Tickets.com, in person at the Paramount Theatre box offices (M-F 10am-6pm), 24-hour kiosks located outside The Paramount & Moore Theatres, charge by phone at 877-784-4849, or online at STGPresents.org.

About STG
Seattle Theatre Group is the 501 (c)(3) non-profit arts organization that operates the historic Paramount and Moore Theatres in Seattle, Washington. Our mission is to make diverse performing arts and education an integral part of our region's cultural identity while keeping these two landmark venues alive and vibrant. STG presents a range of performances from Broadway, off-Broadway, dance and jazz to comedy, concerts of all genres, speakers and family shows - at both historic theatres in Seattle and venues throughout the Puget Sound and Portland, Oregon.

 

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