Interview: Doug Gillard of Guided By Voices. GBV Play Jersey City's White Eagle Hall on 4/18.

Photo by Sarah Zade-Pollard

Now We Are the Others

In March, Guided By Voices released Space Gun. The album is the latest effort from the current line-up of Bob Pollard, Kevin March, Mark Shue, Bobby Bare, Jr., and Doug Gillard. It's the only album the band will release in 2018, and it finds them at the top of their game.

Space Gun consists of 15 concise gems showing that Pollard, over 2,000 songs in now, hasn't lost a step as a songwriter. The rest of the band bring Pollard's visions to life in a collaboration that is producing songs -- like "Space Gun," "Hudson Rake," and "That's Good" to name a few -- that really can stand with Guided By Voices classics.

Guided By Voices are currently on tour for Space Gun, and they'll be coming to Jersey City's White Eagle Hall on April 18th. I got the chance to run a few questions by guitarist Doug Gillard in advance of that appearance.

Gillard was a member of Guided By Voices from 1996-2005 and rejoined the band as part of the current line-up in 2016. He is also a member of Nada Surf, a solo artist, a producer, and a contributor on many projects with other artists.

He was kind enough to take the time to cover just about all of that and some other very interesting things -- a live album recorded in Asbury Park, what material the band may be breaking out on tour -- in our brief interview.

Space Gun came out in March, and it will be the only Guided By Voices album in 2018. Did you all know that going in? Does focusing on just one record change the creative process at all for the band?

Yes we had that planned. However, that didn't change our recording or creative process.

You and Bob have collaborated pretty consistently, even between your stints with Guided By Voices. Is there the possibility of another, say, ESP Ohio record while we wait for the next thing from Guided By Voices?

We haven't discussed it, but I'm sure it's possible there may be another one down the line somewhere.

Currently, we all act as consultants to an artist and band Bob discovered named Cash Rivers and The Sinners. We've become drinking buddies with those guys and are all really proud of 'em. I think their new record might come out between GBV albums. Last I heard, our engineer (and ESP Ohio drummer) Travis Harrison was working really hard on mixing some more of their material.

They just had a full-length album come out that our home base Rockathon Records just sold out of.

And speaking of stop-gaps, GBV just released an amazing live recording of this current lineup called Ogre's Trumpet, recorded late last year in Asbury Park, NJ.

You rejoined Guided By Voices in 2016. What made it the right time to get back together with the band?

I was asked to, and it came with an incentive: an all expense paid vacation for 2 to sunny Puerto Vallarta.

No, just kidding! I was asked and the time was just right.

How does the experience with the current line-up compare with your last stint as part of Guided By Voices?

Being on our own label now affords us the luxury of releasing material as often as we see fit. We all seem a little more focused on the material now. Bob is writing more for this band only, as opposed to writing for GBV plus solo and side projects involving otters. Ok, that was a typo; but it looks good so I'll leave it. I meant "others." Now we are the others. Bob is giving this band material he used to reserve for solo or side projects in the past. There's more material intended for the band and more singles released now, so it's always moving.

Guided By Voices songs are great for being both catchy and hook-filled while also bringing some interesting sounds to that formula. I hear a lot of that on the new record, like the sounds that open the album, the guitar sounds throughout ("See My Field," "Hudson Rake"), and the string arrangements on "That's Good." At what point in the process do those things come in? Does Bob usually have a fully-formed vision for songs?

We usually experiment with sounds during the recording process. I used a lot of pedals and even flew in some white noise synth sounds on this LP. Bob gives us notes on the songs, indicating a general feel or direction usually, or if he wants strings or horns on a particular song. He'll note he wants drums to drop out here and there, or sometimes, whether guitars should be cleaner or heavier, etc...

A lot of it is us adding things in the studio thinking it will work. In "Hudson Rake," Mark added the low piano notes evoking The Trogg's "Cousin Jane." Travis did a classic GBV amp-drop, and the other traily sounds are guitar pedals I used.

There's so much material to draw from for a Guided By Voices live show, including nearly 50 songs on the last two albums alone, how do you balance new material and fan favorites in a setlist?

Bob comes up with a master set list well before the start of each tour, and we'll lose some  recently released songs in lieu of brand new album songs. He's great at sequencing newer vs. older material, and never loses sight of the older fan favorites, reprising some unexpected things in the process. For example, this tour sees us strumming a couple toe-tappers from Earthquake Glue that we know fans love.

Bob Pollard is famous for being prolific, but you stay pretty busy yourself between GBV, Nada Surf, and your solo material. Also, I have to mention that you produced The Drop Beneath by Eternal Summers a few years ago, which is one I really loved. First, is it important to you to have a variety of creative outlets like that? Second, do you have anything non-GBV-related coming up in the near future? 

Thanks. You just mentioned Eternal Summers, so I'll mention that I played guitar on a few songs on (Eternal Summers') Nicole Yun's upcoming solo album, not due out for several months yet.

My nephew Chris Steris's band, Bummers (Columbus OH), has a new record in the works, and I played slide on a track.

My Death of Samantha mates John Petkovic (Cobra Verde) and Dave James have a super catchy electronic-based project called Metrolite I contributed some guitar to. That will be out later this year.

I'm part of a brand new album called Hinge by Cleveland-based avant-garage project Scarcity Of Tanks, and played guitar on several tracks on the upcoming Neko Case album called Hell On.

Yes, I'm always writing and working on getting another solo album together. Hopefully, that will happen next year. Most of my solo catalog can be found on my Bandcamp page.

Thanks so much for taking the time to answer my questions.

You're welcome, and thank you!

Guided By Voices play White Eagle Hall in Jersey City on Wednesday, April 18th.

Space Gun and Ogre's Trumpet are out now on the band's own Rockathon Records.

Buzzcocks, Doug Gillard, The Obvious, Lee Bains III and The Glory Fires, Asbury Park, 4/17/15 (PHOTOS)

Buzzcocks on Pete Shelley's 60th birthday at The Stone Pony.

Making up for Lost Time

Friday night was going to be my first night at a show in a while. I hadn't heard live music or taken any pictures where I had to struggle with the lighting (except, maybe, inside a few Italian churches) for over two weeks. It was an evening packed with shows by bands I love to see including Smalltalk, Lost In Society, dollys, and The Ribeye Brothers. I chose to stick around Asbury Park and take in Buzzcocks at The Stone Pony followed by Lee Bains III and The Glory Fires at Asbury Lanes.

I figured that the Pony would be pretty packed out, so I did my usual thing of arriving at just around doors and staking out a spot right along the rail. My ankles, calves, knees -- which still haven't recovered from over a week's worth of walking and sightseeing -- were not happy about the prospect of standing for around five hours. Too bad, dudes. This is how it is.

Asbury's The Obvious were the openers for the night, and they absolutely blew away the early crowd. They played most of last year's Duress, throwing in a new song ("Luck?") and a blistering cover of Nirvana's "Aneurysm." Frontwoman Angie Sugrim has the energy, presence, and personality of a full-on rockstar. GayGuy / StraightGuy drummer, Bob Paulos, filled in for the band and provided a healthy dose of thunder to the set.

I wasn't aware until Friday morning that Doug Gillard (formerly of Guided By Voices and Nada Surf) was also on the bill, and it was a nice surprise. I had no idea what a great guitar player Gillard is; and, backed by a drummer and bassist, he did the virtuoso thing all through his 10-song set. He played songs from past and future solo work and closed with a cover of GBV's "I Am a Tree," noting that singing and playing it at the same time was no easy task. He made it look very easy.

Buzzcocks took the stage a few minutes behind schedule, which wasn't really a problem except for the fact that I had plans to head over to Asbury Lanes for a 12:15 set from Lee Bains III. I settled in after the first song or two, though, and forgot all about the clock.

The band did a career-spanning set covering their 70s and 80s classics along with several songs off of 2014's The Way. As I said, I was right on the barricade. I felt a small surge at my back for most of the night, but things got much more personal during "Why Can't I Touch It." The people behind me began using my back to brace themselves against the push behind them, and one guy put his arm around me and kissed my shoulder when the song was over. There was never anything violent or bro-ish about it; and I, honestly, found it all very communal and fun.

During the encore, Steve Diggle reminded those of us who didn't already know that Friday was Pete Shelley's 60th birthday. We all joined in a rendition of "Happy Birthday," and the band followed with new song "In the Back." They then proceeded to rattle off a quartet of songs that Shelley had been performing since about the age of 22: "Harmony in my Head," "What Do I Get?" "Have You Ever Fallen in Love (with Someone You Shouldn'tve)?" and "Orgasm Addict." The place went nuts. My new friends were climbing up my back. When it was all over, we shook hands and high-fived. I headed to the Lanes.

Since seeing them perform at the "Home for the Summer" after-party in July, I'd been looking for another opportunity to catch Alabama's Lee Bains III & The Glory Fires. Their show is an all-out, sweat-soaked affair with Bains jumping down from the stage into the crowd throughout. Friday was no different.

The crowd at Asbury Lanes wasn't anywhere near as large as it was Post-Bouncing Souls on a summer weekend, but Bains and his band kept the needle in the red just the same. The live renditions of the southern-fried garage punk on the band's Dereconstructed LP are pure energy and emotion. And almost all of the band's songs have a political edge to them making clear that Bains holds a strikingly different set of opinions on many issues than what we Northeasterners perceive about many in his home state. I love it when rock music has something to say. That, paired with the commitment The Glory Fires show on stage, gets my blood -- and my fists -- pumping every time.

Photo stuff (for those of you who read this far and care): I used two cameras on Friday night. The shots at The Stone Pony were with my Panasonic Lumix LX7, an "advanced point and shoot" with a small 1/1.7" sensor but a very fast Leica 24-90mm, f1.4-2.3 lens. At Asbury Lanes, I used my Sony NEX-6 with its APS-C sensor and the Zeiss 24mm f1.8 lens. Totally different venues and lighting conditions -- and you can see the differences in quality -- but I'm impressed that the little Panny held its own against about $1500 worth of camera / lens. Love that thing. It's around $300 on Amazon if you're looking for a great little compact.

Anyway...

Pics. The rest are at Flickr.