By Shawn Hoult
Guster, a Boston based trio, is currently touring in support of their latest album Lost and Gone Forever. In the relatively short time since their formation they have had the chance to tour with such heavy hitters as Blue Rodeo, Great Big Sea, Semisonic and perform at the horde festival with Blues Traveler and The Barenaked Ladies.
They have garnered a good deal of success in the states by staying in the college circuit.
"We played for 250 people in Toronto last night and soon we go back to Boston to play a show in front of 27,000 that’s been sold out for weeks," shares Ryan Miller.
"This is not a band that was built on MTV, Muchmusic or Radio."
Instead, Guster relied on word of mouth to build a fan base. Building momentum slowly is a tactic Guster employs regularly.
"[We’re] trying to do this in a slow and methodical way," explains Miller who doesn’t want to be a radio one-hit wonder band.
"[We] didn’t sign with a major record label just to wallow in the depths of obscurity," he states. "[We] would like to have a video on MuchMusic or MTV that portrays our sense of humour."
They have not yet decided on the first single, but Miller promises it will not be "another shit single like a lot of alternative bands are putting out right now"
It should be easy enough to avoid "shit singles" when Guster has such a wealth of music to choose from on Lost and Gone Forever. Anyone that would like to hear the versatility of this band first hand can check them out on Nov. 17 at Max’s Café.