Fifteen years after joining forces on the campus of Tufts University, members of the indie rock band Guster have finally managed to grow up.
"I think up until recently we were able to fool ourselves into thinking we were still in college," said guitarist Adam Gardner in a phone interview last week from his home in Maine. "We have embraced the reality that we are actually adults and we have started running up against things we can no longer ignore. Three out of four of us are married and some of us are thinking about having kids soon."
Of course, growing up has done nothing but help the band's sound.
While preparing to record their fifth studio release, "Ganging Up on the Sun," the longtime trio recruited a fourth, multi-instrumentalist and producer Joe Pisapia — a live collaborator with the band since its 2003 album "Keep it Together."
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Gardner said Pisapia not only added a new dimension to Guster's music, he did a lot of the behind-the-scenes work as well. Many of the album's tracks were completed at Pisapia's home in Nashville, Tenn.
"It's good because we have a new member who hasn't been in the band for 15 years," Gardner said. "You can hear his influence. He is definitely the best player, too. It's like playing tennis with someone who is better than you. It raises your game, too.
"I haven't seen much backlash from the new sound. We always want to push in different directions anyway. With every album there are always people who love it and people who are skeptical but then it grows on them. For the most part we haven't lost many fans."
Then there is the group's willingness to branch out and try new things. According to Gardner, Guster usually travels through the Midwest on its way to California.
"We haven't played Tucson a whole lot," he said. "It is somewhere that I am excited to get to know. There are only a few big towns like Tucson that we haven't played a million times. I'm looking forward to extending my warm-weather summer."
with Nada Surf
When: 7:30 p.m. Wednesday
Where: Rialto Theatre, 318 E. Congress St.
Cost: $25.50, www. rialtotheatre.com or 740-1000
MORE ONLINE
Visit www.myspace.com/guster to hear tracks from Guster's latest album, "Ganging Up on the Sun"
Ecology-friendly
Guster uses renewable energy offsets at each show, and its tour bus uses biodiesel fuel.
"We are trying to keep our footprint as light as possible on the Earth," guitarist Adam Gardner said. "And that's hard when you have a business that involves other companies. I'm sad that our CDs are packaged in plastic, but we don't have control over that. At the same time they use recyclable paper and soy ink for the booklets. We are chipping away at it as much as we can."
