…picking up from yesterday…

Don Thrasher: What’s next for the Classic Lineup?

Robert Pollard: We’re playing some Iowa festival like the thing they have in Dayton every year and South By Southwest where bands headline their own show at bars. This is a three-day thing and you’ve got a pass. This is in Iowa City but I’m not sure what it’s called. That’s the first week of April, I think. Then in May we’ve got this thing called Sasquatch in Seattle. It’s like a big, huge Lollapalooza. We’re playing that andwe’ve got a pretty good spot on that. We’re about fifth out of nine bands on the main stage so that’ll be fun. We’ve been playing these two-and-a-half hour shows so I think it’ll be cool to do an hour set or so for these festivals. We’ll pick out the very best of the best. We have no hits but we have the very best of the best, or so claimed.

DT: Maybe not hits but when everyone in the room knows every word to every song you’re playing, you must be doing something right.

RP: They’re hits to them, I guess.

DT: How hard was it re-learning those old songs?

RP: It was weird because I knew it already. We did this stuff for so long, I already know it. There were a few things I needed to practice and I think it was pretty much the same for everybody else, especially Kevin. He already told me, ‘I know this stuff. I’m still playing this stuff.’ Greg and Mitch got together for a while, and then they got together with Kevin a few times. Then Toby came down and we practiced two or three times and then we were ready to go. At first we just played the same set every night for about three shows and then I started getting bored with that so we started mixing it up. Then we did that for the whole 20-show tour and then the next time we played was New Year’s Eve and we played Hoboken and then we played Irving Plaza so we added like 10 songs. We added things like ‘Over the Neptune (Mesh Gear Fox),’ ‘Expecting Brainchild,’ ‘Sad if I Lost It,’ ‘Jane of the Waking Universe’ and stuff like that and that increased our set from like two hours to two-and-a-half hours. But then I decided I liked keeping it down to about two hours so I decided to delete some stuff. When we got out again we’ll probably put a few more songs in. There’s a lot of material from back around that time. We like to do a lot of songs from those EPs we put out like ‘Clown Prince’ and all that kind of stuff. It’s weird because
on our shows I like to announce the songs and what albums they’re from. I call those EPs albums, man. They’re 7-inch albums, but people know them. People that come out know all the obscure stuff and everything like ‘Melted Pat’ and ‘Matter Eater Lad’ and shit — all the silly stuff.”

DT: With most of the songs, you stick pretty close to the old live versions. But “Lethargy” has become something totally different. Where did that version come from?

RP: It’s really interesting how ‘Lethargy’ has transpired. We kind of screwed it up in practice and went through it all again. When it was supposed to end, Greg or Mitch just kept playing so we decided to go through another verse. So now it’s gotten to the point where in that middle part where people kept playing we’re going through this little spiel like, ‘I don’t give a fuck. Mitch don’t give a fuck. I don’t give a shit.’ The last time we did it, in Louisville, I had everybody do a solo. It started with Mitch doing a solo. I’m like, ‘Solo out, man! Kick it out!’ He started playing a lead. Then I go, ‘Alright, Toby, rhythm solo.’ Greg didn’t want to do it and I go, ‘Greg, bass solo, come on!’ He started doing it and it was good too. Last but not least was Kevin on the drum solo and he did kind of like an ‘In a Gada Da Vida’ thing. It was crazy, man, it was like 16 minutes long or something, for a song that was originally like a minute. (laughs) So we’ve gotten comfortable with each other.”

DT: How long did it take to really get back in the swing?

RP: “The first couple of shows were a little rocky but the crowd still dug it. We stopped a couple of times like, ‘You don’t wanna hear it like that.’ I’ll do that too. If we screw a song up, I’ll just stop it in the middle and say, ‘Start it again.’ We were never that professional or that extremely tight to begin with so it’s not expected of us now. Professionalism — still not there. (laughs) Ah, the shit that got us dropped from labels. No, we never did get dropped and I couldn’t understand it because my manager informed me that we never recouped a single album. I go, ‘Then why don’t we ever get dropped then? We’ve got to be making some kind of money for somebody.’ The deal with that is our royalty rate was so low you can’t recoup. You can’t recoup at 12 percent royalty rate when they give you a bunch of money in advance to record a record and they spend it all on a producer. That’s why we do our own stuff now.”

…tune in tomorrow as Thrasher and Pollard discuss the recent release of Waving at the Astronauts, Pollard’s ongoing collaboration with ex-GBV guitarist, Doug Gillard…

MP3: Guided By Voices “Deathtrot and Warlock Ride a Rooster” [Live at Brookwood Hall in Dayton - 1993]

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|artists=Guided By Voices]

…it’s no secret the reunion of the classic lineup of Guided By Voices was one of the big tickets of 2010. And according to leader Robert Pollard (vocals), he plans to stretch out his reunion with Tobin Sprout (guitar, vocals), Mitch Mitchell (guitar, vocals), Greg Demos (bass,) and Kevin Fennel (drums) into the fall. In fact, it was announced last week that the reunited lineup will make a special hometown appearance on March 16 at Dublin Pub.

Pollard took time recently to sit down for an extended discussion with Don Thrasher to discuss reviving the classic line-up, songwriting, recording and new releases…

Don Thrasher: You resisted doing a GBV reunion for a while, why did you finally decide to do it last year?

Robert Pollard: “I don’t know, man, I’ve put a lot of records out and I’m still pretty busy so I didn’t see the need to revive Guided By Voices. But I’m into it when things get old, you know, antiquity. Not necessarily reunion shit, but I buy a lot of old records and everything. People just really crave nostalgia. We had a Boston Spaceship’s show a couple of years ago and we played before 150 to 200 people, which is OK for the intimacy and to get back to that, but I was kind of perplexed by how the original lineup of Guided By Voices, the Classic Lineup, or whatever it’s called, could draw 10 times that much.”

DT: Why do you think that is?

RP: “It has to do with the fact that people miss the old 4-track era. And plus there are also a lot of kids coming to the shows that never had a chance to see us. They were too young at the time so now they want to see what all the buzz was about. I’m kind of the same way trying to rediscover stuff from the ’60s and ’70s, and if you dig deep enough you can find. I guess that’s what the whole reunion thing has been about and the response has been good. It’s been exciting for everybody — for Kevin and Greg
and Toby and Mitch. They’re all pumped up. I’m gonna let it go for about a year.”

DT: Do you have another tour scheduled for the spring?

RP: “We did the initial tour and that was the tour and now we’re doing sporadic weekend shows whenever they come in, festivals and things like that. I think I’ll have a deadline in the fall sometime, I’m thinking maybe my 54th birthday or whatever. I don’t want it to drag out forever because. You know, how long can you milk it? I want people to dig it. I don’t want to go over the same territory too often. We’ve played New York a couple of times now and that’s good. The bigger cities, you can maybe do a couple of time, but I only want to do the smaller cities once. I’m trying to hit all the different areas in the country but I’m pretty much sticking to the U.S. We had an offer for Europe but it’s kind of a headache to do Europe. I’ve done it a couple of times and it’s expensive and rough traveling. I think we might be at a Toronto thing, at the North by Northwest thing they have every year. We were thinking about doing South By Southwest but whatever the offer was fell through so we’re not going to do that.”

DT: I notice you’ve been knocking back the tequila onstage. That’s pretty hardcore.

RP: “Yeah, I take a bottle of tequila on stage, and I know it looks ridiculous. But the thing is, I don’t hit it hard, it’s just little sips. If you go to a bar and do tequila, especially in Dayton, they’re not shots — you get like these fucking small McDonald’s orange juices. I call them Dayton shots and you only get them in Dayton. On stage I just take little nips of it to keep myself lubricated.”

DT: You seem to be enjoying playing some of those old songs.

RP: “Yeah, man, I didn’t want to do it, but it’s fun. I’m glad we’re doing it now. Everybody’s having a good time. That era of Guided By Voices was more like punk. We did short songs and fast songs. Another thing when we got on these shows I go, ‘I don’t want to feel obligated to have to jump around like a fucking maniac. I don’t want to overexert myself because I’m too old for that.’ But then it’s the natural inclination once we got on stage and we’re playing this stuff like ‘Shocker in Gloomtown,’ ‘My
Impression Now’ and ‘Buzzards and Dreadful Crows,’ you just naturally can’t help yourself. It’s the same thing with Greg. I’m like, ‘Greg, you don’t have to fucking kill yourself.’ But he can’t help it. He couldn’t help it when we did it the first time around and then he can’t help it now. It’s fun to do the old stuff again. I think what was most impressive to people that saw us for the first time, and to labels and other industry people, was that they didn’t expect us to kick ass on stage. It didn’t sound like we
were going to do that. They thought we were going to be like experimental and weird on stage and exchange instruments and stuff. They didn’t know we were just going to crank it out Ramones-style. That’s another reason there’s interest now. It’s like, ‘Hey, man, you should’ve seen these guys — they rocked! … They still do — wow!’”

DT: Because the live show was way different than those records.

RP: “Yeah, it was way different but I knew that’s what we were going to do. I was in a heavy metal band before that. I know how to get on stage and make a fool of myself. I’ve got heavy metal training.”

DT: But it was definitely the two sides of the band that really solidified the legend of Guided By Voices.

RP: “Yeah, the duality of it. I always said the live thing was the physical manifestation of the records and the physical manifestation is a monster. It’s cyclopean. (laughs) It’s just what we do. The first show we played I was a nervous fucking wreck. Nervous wreck’s don’t get on stage and try to be creative. They just bust it out and want to get the hell out of there. But it’s comfortable now. I know what’s going to happen. For the first year or so that we played live I was just a nervous wreck at all times but then it got to the point where like. ‘I know what’s going to happen. And the very worst thing that’s going to happen is I’m going to fall on my ass a few times and people know that might happen so that’s no big deal. What am I worried about?’ I used to be worried about losing my voice on a tour and then we did a few shows with Cheap Trick. I used to read how they would play 320 shows a year and Robin Zander has an amazing voice. He can scream. I go, ‘How do you do that every night like that and not lose your voice?’ He’s got kind of pissed off a little bit and he goes, ‘I don’t even think about that.’ I was like, ‘That’s it, you don’t think about it.’ And, dude, I have not thought about it since and I don’t even worry about losing my voice and I don’t. I used to think about it and when you start thinking about it you start fucking losingyour voice. But if I do lose it, whatever. The thing is I’ve had where right before a show and I’m like, ‘I can’t even talk, how am I going to fucking sing?’ But, you know, you get out there and you drink a few beers and you drink a little tequila and you let the PA system work for you, and it’s usually no problem. You just don’t think about. If you happen to get out there and your voice is gone, then say, ‘Fuck it, I can’t do it, man. Sorry.’ Give them their money back. Then you worry about hurting yourself too because I don’t want to play if I can’t dance a little bit. That’s the thing because you never know, like you could hurt your lower back or your calf or something but luckily we’ve been alright for oldsters.”

…be sure to tune in tomorrow for the next installment of this interview…

photo courtesy of Clean Cut

…in the legend of Guided By Voices, there are few events that are shrouded in such mystery as the aborted Power of Suck concept album. As the star of GBV was ascending on the strength of the one-two punch of Bee Thousand and Alien Lanes and their live show earning them a reputation beyond reproach, Robert Pollard penned an album that was ultimately scrapped in favor of a newer bunch of songs. As a witness to the process of how the Power of Suck came to be and, subsequently, evaporated, writer Jim Greer recently discovered thought-to-be-lost-forever evidence of this album and discusses the events surrounding it on his blog, North of Onhava. Head over there to read the whole story. It also sounds as if Power of Suck may finally see the light of day. Stay tuned…

…on a related note, Jim Greer will be in Dayton at Books & Co. on Thursday, May 7 in support of his new book, The Failure. Might wanna make plans to check that out…

MP3: Guided By Voices “Why Did You Land?”

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MP3: Guided By Voices “The Key Losers”

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MP3: Guided By Voices “He’s The Uncle”

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…although better known to much of the world for their musical endeavors, long before launching Guided By Voices brothers Robert and Jim Pollard were launching epic jump shots for Northridge High School here in Dayton. This past weekend, the newly established Northridge High School Athletic Hall of Fame inducted the brothers this past weekend for their legendary performances at the school. While many fans of the band are aware of their athletic legacy, have a listen to the clip below [courtesy of Steve MacDougall] to hear the numbers they both racked up….

…thanks to GladGirl for the notice on this one. According to a report from Spinner, Glen Campbell aka The Rhinestone Cowboy, will issue his final studio album, Ghost on the Canvas, later this year. The disc features none other than Robert Pollard and Paul Westerberg, who penned the title track for the album. While initially a head-scratching proposition, both Pollard and Westerberg have proven themselves to be amongst the best, if not most esoteric, songwriters of the modern era, so we can see why Campbell might have chosen to work with them. Regardless, we can’t wait to hear how this one plays out…

…while Friday night has long been the province of the Around the Fringe program on WYSO as hosted by Dayton’s own Rev. Cool Jim Carter, tonight’s edition will feature a very special guest host that we’re very excited to hear. During the late 90s and early 2000s, Andy Valeri operated one of Dayton’s most notable indie labels of the past 20 years, Big Beef Records. During it’s heyday, the label issued releases from such Dayton notables as Real Lulu, The Mulchmen, Let’s Crash, and Lab Partners, as well as hosting a number of benefits for Gregg Spence just before his untimely passing in 1999. Valeri will be be joined this evening on air by one of the key participants in the Big Beef universe was recording engineer, John Shough. From the 1980s until its closing in 2003, Shough operated out of the legendary Cro-Magnon Studios in Dayton and served as engineer on a number of notable albums with The Breeders, Guided By Voices, as well as Robert Pollard and Tobin Sprout solo albums. Shough also released a critically acclaimed pop gem in 2000 entitled Ultra Vega [pictured above; audio samples below]. During Around the Fringe this evening, Valeri and Shough will introduce Shough’s newest release, Done In Taurus. Listen back below and tune in tonight…

MP3: John Shough “So Very”

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MP3: John Shough “Truly In Pieces”

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MP3: John Shough “Purged”

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…as if Robert Pollard hasn’t unleashed enough product this year [two stunningly good Boston Spaceships albums and one under his own name], his own Rockathon imprint will issue “The Devil Went Home and Puked” DVD in November. A sprawling collage of live snippets from the GBV era up through modern times, the disc will also feature radom Dayton fare and some 9 new videos never before released on DVD. Roll the clip…

…Less than 6 months since Brown Submarine dropped, we’ve already got a follow up from Boston Spaceships, The Planets Are Blasted. If you aren’t already a Pollard disciple, odds are there is little here to make you a believer. If yr already on the team, there’s plenty to get fists in the air, singing at the top of yr lungs about the requisite UFOs, demons, and girls named Dorothy. Although he perpetually floods his listeners, Pollard will seemingly always offer a choice nugget or two every go-round….

MP3: Boston Spaceships “Canned Food Demons”
MP3: Boston Spaceships “Tattoo Mission”

“You know what the deal is dude…” -from “Big Chief Chinese Restaurant” Alien Lanes (1995)

Since Robert Pollard issued his first solo disc in 1996, it quickly became apparent that this was a songwriting talent of immeasurable proportions. By the early years of this millennium, Pollard established the Fading Captain series to cater to his unending number of releases. As the catalog bulged, however, the ratio of chaff-to-wheat also skyrocketed. It quickly became apparent that with each new release would contain a certain number of gems, it would also be filled out with tracks that were destined to become skippers…

…enter the latest shot fired from the Pollard cannon: the Boston Spaceships debut, Brown Submarine. With a half-dozen releases already out this year, it would seem as if there couldn’t possibly be much more left in the pot at this point. Well, you’re only half-right. From the kickoff of “Winston’s Atomic Bird” it’s apparent that Pollard still has a few tricks left. His unending ability to mutate his pop/punk/prog/psyche sensibilities is in full display on this track as the fuzzed out opening riff gives way to a fist-raising chorus. No sooner do expectations raise than they are quickly sobered as the title track offers yet another in the myriad melancholy acoustic ditties that are part of Pollard’s oeuvre. Another pair of this style drag the disc down, “North 11 AM” and “Still In Rome”, although the latter raves up just enough to almost salvage some character.

The finest moments on the disc, however, are when the Spaceships (Pollard, along with ex-GBV bassist Chris Slusarenko and The Decembrists’ drummer John Moen) delve headfirst into the anthemic post-punk that hold the album up. Easily the most engaging track on the album, “Zero Fix” proves that Pollard can still rock harder than virtually any act going. Album closer “Go For The Exit” rehashes one of the lost gems from the Suitcase collection, delivering on the potential of that delicate acoustic demo. Sadly, the track ends with a rather unelectrifying conclusion. Pollard & co. serve up a solid pop serving with “Ready to Pop” that perpetuates his well-documented fixation with The Who.

Perhaps the biggest disappointment with Brown Submarine lies not in the songs themselves, but in the production value. For years now, Pollard has championed this “mid-fi” production value. After attempting to escape the lo-fi tag that followed the band as they ascended to indie rock god status and subsequent failed attempts at making the big rock record, Pollard settled into a niche that seemed perfect for his aesthetic. The result is a musical limbo in which the faithful call for a return to lo-fi and the unconverted are simply left scratching their heads wondering what all the fuss is about. Throughout Brown Submarine, the arena-sized anthems seem to fall flat, never fully arriving at their destination. Certainly, this is a dilemma that should be rectified in the live setting, but seems to hinder the finest points on the album.

As is almost always the case with each successive Pollard release, his idiosyncrasies will leave listeners with a handful of tracks that will inevitably lodge themselves into psyches everywhere and leave a stack of non-essentials behind…

…it was announced yesterday that the 2008 edition of the annual Dayton Music Fest will be headlined by no less than one Robert Pollard. Many details remain murky, in particular where he will perform and with whom he will be performing, but rest assured that The Buddha Den will keep you abreast of the story as it develops. Stay tuned…

…in related news, we came across this as we were doing our homework. Dig in…