Ryan Miller, singer and rhythm guitarist for alternative rock band Guster, is currently roasting a chicken and "missing society." Miller and two other members of the band have become fathers during the past two years, and the singer has found that cooking is a good way to pass the time since being "relegated to a more sedentary lifestyle."

"Given my druthers, I'd spend 80 percent of my time running around, going to eat weird foods and going to see weird bands and hang out with weird friends," says the New York City-based musician. "But I have a kid ... certain things become more important, but the core of my personality does still have a hearty case of wanderlust."

Fortunately, Miller — along with his bandmates, lead guitarist Adam Gardner, drummer Brian Rosenworcel and multi-instrumentalist Joe Pisapia — has the opportunity to tour as Guster, a group that quickly became associated with acts like Dave Matthews Band, moe. and Widespread Panic during the '90s.

"We were sort of lumped in with these jam bands for a portion of our career, not so much because that was the sort of music that we made, but that was the operating ethos of the band," Miller explains. "We have (a liberal taping policy) because it seemed very much to be a part of our whole DIY, touring-centric, organic ... plan of how to be a viable band."

Guster plans to revisit the '90s and its fan-favorite album, Lost and Gone Forever — which spawned the hits "Fa Fa" and "Barrel of a Gun" 10 years ago — on an upcoming tour; the second set of each show will feature the album in it's entirety, prefaced by a first set of greatest hits.

Eight of the 10 tour stops along the East Coast have sold out, but tickets are still available for the show in Rochester on Friday, Nov. 6, at the Main Street Armory.

Miller has mixed emotions about revisiting the album, saying that he and his bandmates "make a habit of creating new material and then not looking back." But it seems that the decision to embark on this tour, like many of the decisions made within the band, was heavily swayed by what Guster feels that its fans want.

Lost and Gone Forever has long been a fan favorite, but Miller is less enthusiastic about the album, which Guster made 10 years ago. "For whatever reason, this album has a special place in all of our fans' hearts," he says. "So rather than sort of argue about it or dismiss it, this is probably our way of embracing it and saying, 'Cool, this is what you get [laughs].'"

"I've played 'Barrel of a Gun' 6,000 times in my life," he adds. "(Playing these songs live) doesn't really have to do with how I feel about them, but how our fans feel about them. I think we get a lot of our energy from fans' appreciation for what we're doing and not necessarily (from the material). It's like The Stones playing '(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction'; those guys are probably thinking about their laundry, but if I went to see them play, I'd want them to play that."

Local concert-goers also shouldn't be surprised to see some of the band's signature stage antics. During a 2001 show here, Guster's set opened with an empty stage. The theme to The Price is Right played while an announcer called out band members' names, and each one, who had been hiding in the audience, ran to the stage in mock surprise.

"If you play 150 dates a year, you try to keep it interesting for yourself, and hopefully a few of your fans will get your strange sense of humor," says Miller. "Mostly it's for our own demented sense of what's funny or clever. Life's short!"

During its first set here, Guster will most likely play some new material — songs that recently have been recorded for a forthcoming album, which Miller expects to be released in the summer of 2010. The singer says the band's sixth album won't sound radically different from the last.

"It's different in some ways, but organic," he says. "(We never said) we need to make a record that sounds like The Postal Service. We're trying not to chase any trend [laughs]."