Robert Pollard - Early Music and Guided By Voices

Early Music and Guided By Voices

Robert Pollard began his musical career in a heavy metal cover band in his hometown of Dayton, Ohio called Anacrusis. He had also been writing his own music non-stop and recording demo tapes in the basement of his home. Many of these recordings ended up in the boxed set known as Suitcase. He named the band, which involved dozens of revolving members, Guided by Voices. Using a loan taken out from a local credit union, Guided by Voices produced a number of self-financed releases. Getting very little response at home, Guided by Voices released Propeller in 1992, which was to be their last album before Pollard committed to teaching 4th-grade full-time. The album eventually found its way to Scat Records, however, who signed the band to a recording contract. "In the early days of Guided by Voices, when no one was listening, I was impatient," Pollard wrote in 2005.

"I used to tire of people in the band very quickly. I had physical altercations with them. I even resorted to bullshit tactics, like telling the band I was quitting and we were breaking up, then forming again a month later with new members. I have learned to allow people to exist, grow, and find out who they are in the band, to give them all the time they need. As long as they are enthusiastic about the music, they can do whatever they want."

Between 1987 and 2004, Guided by Voices released 16 full-length original albums as well as a large number of EPs and compilations, with the line-up varying constantly throughout those years, and on various different record labels. Although known as a lo-fi band that relied on home recordings, in later years the group relied more on professional recording studios and worked with producers such as Ric Ocasek. In August 2004, GBV released Half Smiles of the Decomposed, which would be the last album by the band. In 2004, on New Year's Eve, Guided by Voices performed their last show at The Metro in Chicago. In 2010 the main 1990s line-up reunited for Matador Records' 21st birthday. A full tour followed and the band has remained as a unit since.

Guided by Voices released its first album in seven years on January 1, 2012, Let's Go Eat the Factory. On January 3, the band appeared on the Late Show with David Letterman to promote the LP. They released their second post-reunion album, Class Clown Spots a UFO on June 11. A third album, Bears for Lunch, is scheduled for a November 2012 release.