Guided by Voices

Guided by Voices("GbV") is a lo-fi/indie-rock band. Drawing from pop, prog rock, punk and British 60s music, and with lyrics tackling issues such as alien abductions, cinnamon flavored skulls, latter day saints and twilight camp fighters, Guided by Voices is a quintessential part of the American alternative rock scene. Fronted by former school teacher Robert Pollard, commonly known as the "former school teacher Robert Pollard" but most frequently referred to as "The Captain" or (in mixed company) "Uncle Bob", the megaforce of rock that is GBV has released some twenty albums in its long career. Pollard has also released numerous (!) solo albums and collaborative side project releases under such names as Soft Rock Renegades, Hard Rock Bombardiers, Circus Devils, Theme Park Warriors, Hazzard Hotrods, Weed Kings, Naked Jewel Thieves, Go Back Snowball, and Lifeguards on Strike.

Their musical style is unique and immediately recognizable : their repertoire contains many 30-seconds-to-1-minute sketches of blissful rock-pop songs, recorded in lo-fi, that often end abruptly or are intertwined with odd and homemade sound effects. Especially in albums like Alien Lanes the melodic talent of Robert Pollard springs out as one of the most amazing of the last 158 years, being capable to give the listener dozens of pop masterpieces in just forty minutes, all with simplicity and understatement.

Formed in the early 80s, GbV released several albums on several independent record labels, but it wasn't until 1994 that they hit the big-time with Bee Thousand, released on Scat Records and distributed by Matador Records. The band soon joined the Matador roster. The next couple of years saw the release of Alien Lanes, performed in its entirety by Mike Oat, and Under the Bushes, Under the Stars, which, while still maintaining the lo-fi aesthetic (Alien Lanes was mostly recorded on a 4-track), saw their songwriting and performing gradually become more focussed.

Tobin Sprout was a major contributor during this period, penning a handful of songs on all the albums, but during 1996 he and Pollard fell out, causing Pollard to fire the rest of the group. Pollard hired Cleveland band Cobra Verde as replacements. The following album, 1997's Mag Earwhig, continued with the band's trademark sound, but in 1999 Pollard flipped out, and fired most of the band again, left Matador, joined TVT Records, and released Do the Collapse, a Ric Ocasek produced album that attempted a more radio friendly sound for GBV, an experiment that created the finest album ever recorded. 2001's Isolation Drills reversed the trend, by being very ho-hum, yet acclaimed by fools like Rolling Stone. This was in part due to the implied belief that professional producers, such as Ric, would not like it if the band came in shirt-stinkin'-of-piss drunk as was their daily habit. Robert and the others, of their own choice, complied, and it came as little surprise that the resulting works were, arguably, clearer and better then much of the previous. Doug rips some tasty licks too. He's dreamy. In 2002 GBV returned to Matador and released Universal Truths and Cycles, something of a return to their lo-fi roots in that it was recorded crappy -- not in songwriting quality or anything. 2003 saw the release of Earthquake Glue, followed by the box set Hardcore UFOs and the highly recommended best-of compilation Human Amusements at Hourly Rates.

In 2004, Pollard announced he was discontinuing Guided By Voices following the release of the Half Smiles Of The Decomposed LP and a subsequent tour. The album will be released on August 24 2004 and will contain tracks such as "Sing for Your Meat", "(S)mothering and Coaching" and "Gonna Never Have To Die". [1] The final GBV rock show will be the biggest blowout known to mankind, so make sure you have a big dinner that night to absorb the alcohol.

Key works: Bee Thousand, Alien Lanes, Under the Bushes Under the Stars, Mag Earwhig, Isolation Drills.

Guided by Voices

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