Artist bio

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".

Albums by this artist

Half-Smiles Of The Decomposed (2004)

Human Amusements At Hourly Rates (2003)

Universal Truths And Cycles (2002)

Isolation Drills (2001)

Suitcase (2000)

Do The Collapse (1999)

Mag Earwhig! (1997)

Bulldog Skin 7" (1997)

Tonics and Twisted Chasters (1997)

Sunfish Holy Breakfast (1996)

Under The Bushes, Under The Stars (Recommended) (1996)

Alien Lanes (Recommended) (1996)

Bee Thousand (Recommended) (1994)

Crying Your Knife Away (1994)

The Grand Hour (1993)

Propeller (Recommended) (1992)

Concerts

March 18, 2002
The Dublin Pub, Dayton, Ohio

December 30, 2001
Apollo Theatre, New York

Features

Guided By Voices History: Part II: 1994-1999
Published October 31, 2005

Guided by Voices History: Part III: 1999-2004
Published October 31, 2005

Guided By Voices History: Part I: 1983-1994
Published October 30, 2005

GBV: A Eulogy: Or, Pollards We Have Known
Published December 30, 2004

NATN's Wholly Subjective Top 100 GBV Songs Of All Time:
Published December 30, 2004

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

Interviews

Doug Gillard
October 23, 2003

Rock Of Ages
March 27, 2001

Guided By Voices

The Grand Hour

» TROY CARPENTER | CO-DIRECTOR

Guided By Voices

The Grand Hour

Scat, 1993

RiYL: Sebadoh, The Breeders, Beck's Stereopathetic Soulmanure

Like Westy says, this is one of the best GBV releases for your money. For (hopefully) five bucks or less, you get six songs, including the title-tracks-that-weren't "Alien Lanes" and "Bee Thousand."

While neither of those are actually worth much, there are enough decent tunes on this EP, including the driving live favorite "Shocker In Gloomtown," which neighborhood pals the Breeders later recorded as a single, the explosive, erratic "Break Even" and a pleasant Tobin Sprout song, "Off The Floor."

Likely, if you know Guided By Voices, you'll have an idea whether or not this record is deserving of your attention. It's a credit to the band, though, that something this seemingly insignificant can be a worthwhile release -- it's packaged well, and is pretty much created in the mold of a classic EP. It's all material you can't find elsewhere, there's one song that can be considered "essential" GBV ("Shocker"), and a few others that are fun for repeated listening.

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.

TROY CARPENTER | Troy Carpenter founded NATN from a Chicago apartment during the ambitious winter of 1998 with co-conspirators Ben French and Jonathan Cohen. After a five-year stint in New York, he and wife Lourdes have recently relocated to Indianapolis, where he spends days listening to music and nights in the kitchen at Elements restaurant. Musical heroes: Jimi Hendrix, Bob Marley, Super Furry Animals. What else makes life worth living: Sushi, Phucty, runs in the park, and the Atlanta Braves.