Life Editor Darcy Newell chats with Joe Pisapia, a multi-instrumentalist and singer who has been playing with Quake performer Guster since 2003. Pisapia, who contributes to Guster’s unique melodic sound on the guitar, banjo, keyboards and harmonica, lives in Nashville and has his own band, Joe, Marc’s Brother. He takes time to answer questions about how he got into music, Guster’s evolution as a band and whatever happened to the Big Friend.

VH: Did you go to college planning on a different career or was music always your main focus?
JP: It’s funny when I was in college — I was in it for business — and kind of thinking, “I really want to do music.” I kind of figured it out when I got there, but it was sort of like, it took getting there to realize it. … I really didn’t study that much music in college, I just did it on my own time and it became what I really did.

VH: How did Guster transition from being a college band to a mainstream group, and how has your music evolved from the debut album?
JP: One of the things about Guster that really allowed for evolution was the fact that we are always, always on the road — and the more you play these cities, the bigger the crowds would get, and the fan base would expand naturally. And I think the music did mature, just because the band matures, you get more comfortable with playing, you want to experiment with different motifs and themes, and the fan base is growing with you as well.

VH: I went to a free concert Guster held in Morristown, N.J., in 2003. Do you still play free concerts, and why do you like them so much?
JP: I remember that concert — it was right when the album “Keep it Together” came out, and right when I started playing with the band. I love the free concerts. When we release a record, there is probably about a month of different things that go on … where there is either a free event or a promotional event, like that one in Morristown in the back of a record store. The free shows are great because they attract new fans — people that are curious about Guster but maybe not curious enough to pay $20 for a ticket. And then they might be like ‘Oh!’ and walk away liking it.

VH: What would you say is Guster’s main goal as a group? What are you trying to accomplish as musicians?
JP: I think any group is just trying to get what they hear internally, musically and collectively and try to manifest that in recording form and perform it really well. With Guster specifically, this band is really dominated by melody, where it’s like creating a melody that is really memorable, easy to sing along with and gets stuck in your head. The (stickier) a melody is, the better it will go over.

VH: What is the most creative way that a fan has shown support for you and for Guster?
JP: Just recently … we were in Tucson, and this girl who is a pastry chef brought this crazy pastry, it was like a white chocolate sculpture with all Guster stuff — it had the Big Friend which is the stuffed animal on the cover of “Parachute.” It was crazy, it was 3D and white chocolate. It was decorative and tasty.

VH: Does the Big Friend still make an appearance?
JP: Well no the Big Friend is gone! He was stolen in a trailer in Jersey … I think there was a trailer full of gear and sentimental items and CDs and the Big Friend, and I think he was stolen by proxy (because) he was in the trailer when it got stolen. That was the end of that. No original Big Friend anymore.

VH: When you come to Vanderbilt on Oct. 12 you will be part of our Homecoming concert and sharing the stage with Kanye West. What do you think about Kanye and his success?
JP: First of all I really dig his last record a lot. That song “Diamonds are Forever,” I just can’t get enough of it. I don’t know, I really like it, it’s a cool take. … I just kind of dig where he’s coming from. I live in Nashville, and my friend was like ‘Dude, you’re opening for Kanye West?’ They just think that’s so hilarious because we’re, like, the whitest band on the planet, and yet, on a lot of small college tours we’ll get paired up with a big hip-hop artist, and it’s not as rare as you would think. I’m kind of psyched to see his set, anyway.

To hear a podcast of the Q+A with Joe, click here.