Guided by Voices

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Guided by Voices (often shorted to GBV) is a lo-fi/indie-rock band. Drawing from pop, prog rock, punk and British '60s music, and with lyrics tackling such issues as alien abductions, cinnamon-flavored skulls, latter day saints and twilight camp fighters, Guided by Voices is a part of the American alternative rock scene.

Over the years the band has seen many personnel changes, but always maintained the presence of principal singer/songwriter Robert Pollard, a former school teacher.

GBV has garnered much attention for its prolificacy, with a seemingly endless stream of releases. Many songs are 30 seconds long; often they end abruptly or are intertwined with odd and homemade sound effects. Go here for a detailed discography: Guided By Voices discography.

Table of contents

History

Formed in Dayton, Ohio in the early 1980s, Guided by Voices released several albums on several independent record labels, and in 1994 they had a major release of Bee Thousand with Scat Records; distributed by Matador Records. The band soon signed with Matador. The next few years saw the release of Alien Lanes 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 accessible.

Tobin Sprout was a major contributor during this period, penning a handful of songs on all the albums through 1996. Shortly after the '96 release of UTBUTS, Pollard started working with Cleveland glam rockers Cobra Verde as the new Guided by Voices backing band. The following album, 1997's Mag Earwhig, continued with the band's trademark sound, but in 1999 Pollard 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 Guided by Voices, yet one which did not garner significant radio airplay. Critics were kinder to 2001's Isolation Drills, due in part to producer Rob Schnapf who was able to help the band capture their live intensity. In 2002 Guided by Voices returned to Matador and released Universal Truths and Cycles, something of a return to their lo-fi roots. 2003 saw the release of Earthquake Glue, followed by the box set Hardcore UFOs and the greatest hits compilation Human Amusements at Hourly Rates.

In 2004, Pollard announced he was discontinuing Guided By Voices [1] (http://gbv.com/2004gbvannouncement.htm) following the release of the Half-Smiles of the Decomposed LP and a subsequent tour.

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

External links

GbV Official Web Site (http://www.gbv.com)
Guided By Voices Database: extensive discography and setlists (http://www.gbvdb.com)
Postal Blowfish: Guided by Voices Fan eMailing List (http://gbv.com/postal.html)
Disarm The Settlers: Guided By Voices Message Board (http://www.oftherecord.org/talk/index.php)
TobinSprout.com (http://www.tobinsprout.com)
Guided by Robert Pollard: extensive fan site (http://www.guidedbyrobertpollard.com)

Listening

Official Multimedia Page at Guided by Voices web site (http://gbv.com/multimp3.html) (MP3s and other goodies)
Largeheartedboy.com GBV Radio (http://radio.largeheartedboy.com)
GbV music page at Matador Records (http://www.matadorrecords.com/guided_by_voices/music.html)
Epitonic.com: Guided By Voices (http://www.epitonic.com/artists/guidedbyvoices.html)

Seeing

Official Video Page at Guided by Voices web site (http://gbv.com/multisights.html)
Tour Dates through the end of 2004 (http://gbv.com/tour.htm)

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