Guided By Voices

Guided By Voices is the primary vehicle for Dayton, Ohio-based rocksmith Robert Pollard, and has proved one of the most tireless, exciting rock bands of its time.

Pollard, a former elementary school teacher, formed the group in 1985 around a group of Dayton musicians and friends, including frequent collaborator Tobin Sprout. Their first four albums didn't cross many radar screens, but 1992's excellent Propeller earned the group a modicum of national recognition, with such musical notaries as Kim Deal and Thurston Moore naming themselves fans.

Two years later, the group's second breakthrough came with Bee Thousand, a home-crafted epic, classic rock and roll album that exploded the group's popularity and almost overnight, instituting GBV as "the" quintessential indie rock band. The group signed a big record deal with Matador, and then proceeded to make their next album at home and keep the money. Smart guys, these Ohians.

But rock aspirations got the better of them. The group began experimenting with "real studios" and fleshing out their songs into full-on rockers and such in the late '90s. Pollard solidified his role as the band's driver in 1997, after Sprout left and Pollard kicked out the rest of the members, hiring indie rockers Cobra Verde as their replacements. CV guitarist Doug Gillard stayed on as Pollard's favorite post-Sprout sideman thereafter, while other members came and went and stayed and left, the most volatile seat being on the drum riser.

And last we heard, Pollard and his merry band of mischief-makers were still swilling Bud Light and rocking long into the night at a club near you. Get up slowly, and tear yourself away from your computer. You might be able to get there in time to catch set closer "My Valuable Hunting Knife>Baba O'Riley".

Album reviews

Half-Smiles Of The Decomposed
Matador (2004)
"We are the kings of indie rock. When we die, indie rock will die." Oh really? GBV puts the final puzzle piece in place to a stellar career.

Human Amusements At Hourly Rates
Matador (2003)
Unless you've got loads of cash to purchase the Bob Pollard backlog, there's no better place to go to witness the visionary impact of this clever band of cultural hecklers than Human Amusements At Hourly Rates.

Universal Truths And Cycles
Matador (2002)
You just can't keep this band down.

Isolation Drills
TVT (2001)
Underground rock's true crusaders are aging gracefully, thank you -- having long since outgrown the limitations of the lo-fi aesthetic they unwittingly helped pioneer in the past decade.

Suitcase
Fading Captain Series #6 (2000)
Containing 100 songs over four CDs, this is a surprisingly respectable slab of music.

Do The Collapse
TVT (1999)
Crystal clear sounds? String arrangements? Ric Ocasek? What has happened to Guided By Voices? The answer is "all of the above," but somehow, it is also "not much".

Mag Earwhig!
Matador (1997)
Mag Earwhig! is the one Guided By Voices album that consistently polarizes the group's fans, and the most likely culprit for such a distinction is the album's place in GBV chronology.

Bulldog Skin 7"
Matador (1997)
Includes "Singing Razorblade" and an alternate version of "Now to War." CD version also has "Mannequin's Complaint (Wax Dummy Meltdown)."

Tonics and Twisted Chasters
Rockathon Records (1997)
Originally limited to a pressing of 1,000 on various colors of vinyl, the first release on Dayton-based Rockathon Records since Propeller.

Sunfish Holy Breakfast
Matador (1996)
10 songs is an album for most bands -- hell, the last Weezer album only had that many, and it wasn't that long either -- but for Guided By Voices, a competent collection of 10 short songs is something they can create over the course of a few basement four-track sessions.

Under The Bushes, Under The Stars (Recommended)
Matador (1996)
The last of the 'classic' GBV albums (read: the Sprout era), Under The Bushes, Under The Stars is also in many ways a pinnacle acheivement for Bob Pollard's merry band.

Alien Lanes (Recommended)
Matador (1996)
GBV mastermind Bob Pollard uses 1995's Alien Lanes as an example of the beauty of his trade.

Bee Thousand (Recommended)
Scat (1994)
With only a four-track recorder and a couple of high school cronies, elementary school teacher/Guided By Voices leader Robert Pollard managed to record one of the most visionary albums in the last 25 years, without entering a recording studio.

Crying Your Knife Away
Lo-Fi Records/Simple Solution (1994)
Thankfully now availbe on CD, this is Arguably GBV's best-sounding live record.

The Grand Hour
Scat (1993)
The EP is nearly becoming a lost art, but The Grand Hour is one of the still-fighting footsoldiers, committed to bringing the rock listener a concise, cheap and exhilirating music experience.

Propeller (Recommended)
Rockathon Records (1992)
This album was built to take over the world whether anyone ever heard it or not. (Winner of NATN's first review writing contest).

Propeller (Recommended)
Rockathon Records (1992)
Np matter how far he reaches into his scientific box, Pollard remains true to the initial rock vision of this album, every note of which stands to refute those who assumed it would not rock.

Interviews

Doug Gillard
October 23, 2003
Sponic head John Wenzel has a chat with GBV all-star Doug Gillard to discuss the recently released Earthquake Glue, his favorite Lifeguards songs, movie soundtracks, among other things.

Rock Of Ages
March 27, 2001
NATN hoists a few beers with the members of Guided By Voices to get the scoop behind the brand-new Isolation Drills.

Features

Guided By Voices History: Part II: 1994-1999
Published October 31, 2005
The second part of a series chronicling the history of Ohio's finest rock sons.

Guided by Voices History: Part III: 1999-2004
Published October 31, 2005
The final chapter in a three-part history of GBV

Guided By Voices History: Part I: 1983-1994
Published October 30, 2005
The first of three parts on the history of Guided by Voices, originally written for Sponic Magazine.

GBV: A Eulogy: Or, Pollards We Have Known
Published December 30, 2004
A look back through ourarchives, celebrating a long and wacky career. Plus: NATN's Totally Subjective Top 100 GBV Songs EVER!

NATN's Wholly Subjective Top 100 GBV Songs Of All Time
Published December 30, 2004
Come tip a cup to the self-proclaimed Kings Of Indie Rock.

The Top 100 Songs Thingy: Um, The Second Half.
Published December 30, 2004
The electrifying conclusion!

Concert reviews

March 18, 2002
The Dublin Pub, Dayton, Ohio
St. Patrick's Day weekend. Dayton. Guided By Voices. Pat Kastner wasn't about to miss this.

December 30, 2001
Apollo Theatre, New York
One of the more fun aspects of being a Guided By Voices fan is that they are always up to something new.