| "Pretty much the only thing that I like about the music industry is the fact that they get your name out there."
It appears that Bob Pollard, frontman for Guided by Voices, isn’t that complimentary when it comes to the business of music.
"They get your record out there and they get it distributed. They do at least do that. Other than that I would prefer to do it myself, which at some point I think is going to happen… Right now, I don’t think I’m ready for that, because I still enjoy touring and I still enjoy the exposure that a bigger label will give you."
The 45-year-old schoolteacher turned college-rock icon has been through enough to know what he’s talking about. When Guided by Voices released their first record in 1986, there were few outside Pollard’s hometown of Dayton, Ohio, who even noticed. In fact it wasn’t until 1994, when Guided by Voices got distribution by the indie-rock moguls at Matador records, that people started to pay attention.
"(Back then), we were completely two different entities. We were this lo-fi band on record, and live we were this big power-rock band. I just wanted the two things to come together a little bit more."
As a result, Guided by Voices got some help from the majors, but a brief stint with TVT records left Pollard slightly frustrated and he returned to Matador late last year. After almost 15 years in an industry that barely seems to serve his purpose, it seems odd that Pollard would continue.
"I still am passionate about it," he says. "I had the fortune of doing six albums before anyone had ever heard of us, so we pretty much set the ground rules for ourselves. We never really had a label tell us what to do."
This means that the decision to release the latest Guided by Voices box set (entitled Hardcore UFOs) is not the label’s, but Pollard’s. Originally approached by Remnant Records (who are known for releasing box sets of old blues artists), the plan fell through and Matador offered to pick up the slack. Pollard, with the help of his webmaster Rich Turiel and the folks at Matador, started digging through the vaults to find material.
There are few artists with enough quality material to warrant putting out a box set. Hardcore UFOs is Pollard’s third. The first six home-spun GBV records were re-released as Box, while the second compendium Suitcase contained unreleased Pollard classics and side-project noodlings.
Three mid-career box sets may sound like an ego-driven power play worthy of a band like The Eagles, but Pollard is a non-stop songwriter. Turning out at least an album a year under the Guided by Voices moniker on top of the records he releases as Robert Pollard, his prolific songwriting is matched only by his prodigious on stage alcohol consumption. Each of his records is packed with his British invasion-styled pop-rock gems. The fact that Guided by Voices have a new record ready to go even while they’re still touring the last proves that Pollard is never short of material.
"(We) just keep pumpin’ ’em out," he says. "When you write a batch of new songs, you get pretty anxious to play them for people."
"It’s kind of like therapy for me. When I write a good batch of songs, that’s when I’m happy. It’s going to be very difficult for me to stop doing that. I can’t think of any other medium that I would have success at. I don’t want to go back to teaching, so I gotta keep writing."
Given Pollard’s love of performing it’s no surprise that he cites the live material as his favourite contribution to the box set.
"We play for two-and-a-half hours, man. We go at it. We drink and have a good time and we jump around. It’s not like we play for 45 minutes and just stand there. It’s kinda tough on an old man. It’s fun though."
This kind of rock ’n’ roll work ethic is typical of someone who grew up in an era when albums were measured in sides and bands cranked out decent albums one on top of the other. Pollard’s love of prog-rock and post-punk puts him squarely in the rock camp, but with a few minor exceptions he is as kind to the state of rock as he is to the music industry.
"It’s increasingly difficult to come up with new ideas for rock," says Pollard, "It’s been around for 40 or 50 years. Sometimes I feel jaded because I know what goes on in the industry and it is not as appealing any more."
According to Pollard the state of rock isn’t good, but it is better than it was. "For a while it was completely stagnant – I didn’t hear any rock, whatsoever. There’s a lot of garage rock going on these days, which I’m not into, because to me it’s just retro. But at least it is spirited in the right direction. Their hearts are there. You see kids wanting to grow their hair out and play rock. It’s not so much tattoos and goatees and shit anymore."
CELEB TOP FIVE
The favourite beers of Guided by Voices frontman Bob Pollard
1. Tequila
2. Miller Lite
3. Bud Lite
4. Guinness
5. Michelob |
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