Guster is one of those bands that hangs around on the periphery of people's musical awareness - no one-hit wonders, but plenty of talent and enough tenacity to retain relevance and a solid fan base.
The original threesome - guitar/lyricists Adam Gardner and Ryan Miller, and percussionist Brian Rosenworcel - met at Tufts University, gaining popularity through interaction with fans at concerts and continuous touring. Guster developed a strong grassroots reputation that spread westward from the East Coast.
But now, vocalist Adam Gardner is getting the band to act not only as a form of entertainment but as a force for environmental change - a new trend among other big names in the business like Dave Matthews Band.
Their 2006 release, Ganging Up on the Sun, allowed Guster to expand their influences. Two years earlier, Gardner and his wife Lauren Sullivan founded Reverb, a company dedicated to helping bands "green" their performances and raise environmental awareness. On April 10, Guster's Satellite EP will drop as Warner Brother's first carbon-neutral release, and the band will head out on the Campus Consciousness tour.
Warner Bros. purchased renewable energy credits through NativeEnergy to offset the effect of carbon dioxide released in the production, manufacturing and shipping of each CD. The Native American-owned renewable energy company uses the money from purchased credits to fund alternate forms of power, like wind farms. Since teaming up with NativeEnergy, every Guster CD ever printed has been retroactively created carbon-neutral.
"I just became aware of some of the things that are available to us today," Gardner says of the group's greening. This year's Campus Consciousness tour is traveling to colleges, promoting clean lifestyles and demonstrating earth-healthy alternatives.
Many elements of the tour are eco-friendly: the band uses biodiesel-fueled buses, 100% recycled paper products and reusable water bottles, as well as completely biodegradable cleaning fluids.
The Shift Consciousness Pavilion, open at every show, will feature information about renewable energy, let fans buy "Big Green Friend" carbon offset stickers and enter a raffle for a "meet and greet" with the band. The tours are sponsored by Stonyfield Farm and Ben & Jerry's - companies known for their commitment to completely organic food and a healthy planet.
Gigs on campuses will also feature daytime "Eco-Activities" for students, like a town hall forum on environmentalism, and "Pimp My Clean Ride," where fans can take a tour of the band buses. There will also be food drives at most of the concerts - the person who brings the most non-perishable items will get to meet the band afterward. All donations will go to a local food kitchen.
"This isn't us pretending that we're experts," says Gardner. "It's really important for us to not preach about it from stage. We understand that people are here to see a show."
But Gardner is passionate about the effects even small changes can have on the planet's health. According to Gardner, if every household in the U.S. replaced one four-pack of regular toilet paper with 100% recycled paper, it would save 1.5 million trees and 3.7 million cubic feet of landfill.
"I think it can be intimidating to people who are interested in going green but don't know how to," Gardner says. "There are very simple things you can do - that aren't big lifestyle changes - that can have a huge effect."
Medill freshman Katy Witmer is a PLAY writer. She can be reached at k-witmer@northwestern.edu.
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