Robert Pollard

by Michael Sutton
What made Guided by Voices rise from underground curios to indie superstars in the early 90s so noteworthy was that vocalist/guitarist Robert Pollard was also a teacher, an uncommon occupation for rock & roll idols. Pollard was born on October 31, 1957, in Dayton, OH. As a child, Pollard was groomed by his father to become a professional athlete, but in college he realized that music meant more to him than sports. Pollard formed Guided by Voices in Dayton in 1983 while working part-time at an elementary school. Also consisting of Paul Comstock (guitar/piano), Mitch Mitchell (bass), and Eric Payton (drums), Guided by Voices released their first EP, Forever Since Breakfast, in 1986. Pollards love for British Invasion records, as well as an admiration for progressive rock and R.E.M.s murky jangle, sculpted the bands early LPs, all of which Pollard, his brother, and the groups manager financed by requesting a loan from the Dayton Public Schools Credit Union.
Although Pollard remained at the helm, Guided by Voices had a continuously changing lineup in the 80s and 90s. A firm believer in the artistic qualities of lo-fi production, Pollard also has an ear for accessible albeit quirky pop, and when both sides converged on 1994s Bee Thousand, many critics began to chant his name. On Bee Thousand, Pollards songwriting finally reached its potential, and the bands initial post-punk experimentation was toned down for hook-laden college rock such as I Am a Scientist. The group was suddenly thrust into the mainstream, appearing briefly on MTV and acquiring the kind of glowing accolades from corporate magazines often given to established alternative bands like R.E.M. and Nirvana.
Pollard quit his teaching job, and the group performed on the Lollapalooza tour. A year later, Guided by Voices recorded 60 tunes in a 24-track studio; however, Pollard wasnt pleased with the results. At first uncomfortable with the songs hi-fi sound, Pollard returned to the studio to finish the album, recording much of Under the Bushes Under the Stars in two days. In 1996, Pollard released his solo debut, Not in My Airforce. The prolific musician continued to record albums on his own and with Guided by Voices until 2004, when he broke up the band and carried on solo. Two solo EPs, Zoom and Bubble, were released in 2005, with the albums From a Compound Eye and Normal Happiness following the next year. Silverfish Trivia kicked off a prolific amount of subsequent releases in the spring of 2007. Like a man on a mission, Pollard made 2007 a hallmark year, releasing Crickets, the final installment of the carreer-spanning Fading Captain Series, one album each from his side projects (Acid Ranch, Airport 5, Circus Devils, and the Takeovers), as well as starting his own record label, Prom Is Coming, on which Silverfish Trivia was the first release.