Guster’s Brian Rosenworcel on the band’s ‘We Also Have Eras’ tour ahead of Wednesday’s Madrid show
Guster. // photo credit Alysse Gafkjen
This year, long-running indie rockers Guster celebrate their 30th anniversary with both a new album album, Ooh La La, out May 17 on Ocho Mule Records—and a big tour. It also marks the 25th anniversary of the band’s 1999 breakthrough, Lost and Gone Forever, so the band is celebrating all of these hallmarks with their cheekily-titled “We Also Have Eras Tour.”
The tour will tell the story of 30+ years of Guster with a theatrical concert that goes album by album, beginning with 1994’s Parachute and ending with the upcoming Ooh La La. It will also include “acting,” says the band, telling the story of seminal events in the band’s history. To find out all about it, we hopped on the phone with Guster’s drummer Brian Rosenworcel, ahead of the band’s tour stop at the Madrid on Wednesday, March 13.
The Pitch: I was wondering if you could tell me a little bit about yourself, the band, and how it all came to where you are today.
Brian Rosenworcel: Well, my name is Brian Rosenworcel. I’m 50 years old and I’m in the same college band I started when I was 18.
Oh, that’s amazing.
Hey, that’s the story here. We’re coming to Kansas City, which is sort of a rare occurrence. It’s like every four years we seem to make it there.
What made you want to come back this time?
I don’t know. You know what? I actually had a specific memory of the Madrid Theatre and I asked while they were booking the dates if we could play there. So I am responsible.
That is so beautiful! It’s memorable. I’m not surprised that you did remember it.
Right? I’m not crazy here.
Yeah. It’s gorgeous.
I thought I was in a cool neighborhood. And the kind of show we’re doing is a little bit different, a little more theatrical. I thought it would go well in that place.
Yeah! So I knew that you were going to tell a story that’s like a 30 year timeline, basically, of Guster with a concert that goes album by album. Is that right?
Yeah, that’s right. It’s our first, like, chronological show but we’re sort of telling the story with like these skits.
Okay! I love it. I love the concept. I am all in.
It’s really a little Broadway. It’s a little bit of just us having fun and being silly and putting on like a longer show. It’s like a show for the completists or the fans that have seen us like 10-20 times already.
So it’s like an epitome of an actual show, not a concert, like an actual show.
Yeah. I mean, it’s not like we’re big Broadway fans. It’s kind of like we’re making fun of ourselves on Broadway, We’re just being silly. I don’t know what sort of bands have relationships with their fans where they can do something like this and the fans will be like, “yeah, this is cool.” It’s very uncool, but it’s okay.
No, I’m totally with you. I think it’s cool. This will be my first Guster show. So to experience something like this for the first time is going to be, in my opinion, even more exciting because I don’t have that background information. So I’m going to be coming into it completely fresh-faced.
Maybe this is a great crash course.
I agree, I think it’s the perfect opportunity for people who may have not seen your stuff before to be introduced, and also for the people who’ve been your fans from the beginning, and every step of the way, to celebrate with you.
Yeah, you’ll just miss some of the inside jokes. That’s okay. Most people will.
So is this to celebrate a new album that’s coming out?
Yeah, the album comes out May 17 and it’s called Ooh La La. It’s our first album in five years. So at the end of the show, right when you’re supposed to drop your biggest hits and bangers, we’ll be playing new material.
What sparked this? What was the inspiration?
I mean, we’re calling it, “We Also Have Eras,” so it’s like a reaction to Taylor Swift’s tour. Other than the title, there’s nothing really in common with it. We just kind of borrowed the idea of going through the eras. I don’t think her show was chronological. I think she jumped around. But, you know, you stay with each album, you visit for a little while and then you move on. So we’re doing our version of that. I think that it’s like fresh and it’s different and it’s really going to catch the eye of a lot of different people.
And it’s going to be a different type of review because of that. So that’ll draw in a lot of attention for your next show down the road.
Yeah. I’m really enthusiastic about it.
When I read the idea, I didn’t even hesitate. I think it was literally like two minutes later. I was like, “Yeah, I’m in.”
I’m just really excited about it. Thanks, I hope people like it. We’re definitely doing it because at our age we need to push ourselves to be creative, and not just drag out the same show every time. Even a new album isn’t quite enough to make things feel fresh, so this is definitely a fresh spin.
That’s fantastic. Is there anything else that you’d like to share?
Um, I got married in Missouri!
Oh, nice. Where at?
Columbia.
Oh my God, me too. That’s so funny. Where?
Okay. Well, it’s a little outside of Columbia. There’s this guy named Barry that has, like an alpine something… Anyway, it was just like an amphitheater out in the woods in the middle of nowhere. Huge.
Guster plays the Madrid on Wednesday, March 13. Details on that show here.
