Currently Obsessed:: Connections

Since 1992 Rockathon Records has been the outlet for countless Guided By Voices and Robert Pollard related releases, with the exception of Columbus, OH's 84 Nash who released two LP's of excellent lo-fi pop with Rockathon, The King Of Yeah and 1999's Band For Hire. 84 Nash suffered the same fate that many unappreciated and overlooked acts suffer and disbanded after those releases. However last year founding members Kevin Elliott and Andy Hampel returned as Connections and released their debut full length, Private Airplane. The band  also features Kevin's brother, Adam Elliott of Times New Viking, bassist Phillip Kim and Dave Capaldi  of OH's art punk outfit El Jesus de Magico. Connections recently issued the Tough City EP witch essential picks up where there debut left off with 4 tracks of concise and catchy as all hell fuzzed covered pop songs that would have bowled us over in 1993 and have us completely hooked in 2013. Were currently obsessed with Alternative Nation from the aforementioned Tough City EP, it's ode of sorts to the 90's, not to mention a nod to our beloved Lemonheads and their big hit single.  Connections have just finishing mixing and mastering their 2nd LP, Body Language which according to their tumblr page will be out shortly.

This Weeks Short Burts :: Robert Pollard's Teenage Guitar, Ovlov, + Future Carnivores

Hot on the heels of the recently issued and might I add exceptional, English Little League from Guided By Voices and just a week after the announcement of the impending Robert Pollard solo release, Honey Locust Honkey Town comes Teenage Guitar a Pollard solo project that features appearances from GBV's Greg Demos and Joe Patterson. Teenage Guitar's Force Fields At Home features 18 tracks recorded at Pollards home studio using a historic mid-90s Tascam 488 cassette recorder. He wrote the lyrics while the music was composed spontaneously while the tape ran. According to the press release we can expect, "Experiments in spontaneity and lo-fi witchiness and wizardry, exploring multiple moods and styles". Teenage Guitar and Honey Locust Honkey Town will both be released on July 9th. Atlantic Cod finds Pollard in his natural habitat, recording a fuzzed up pop gem in the confines of his home. Teenage Guitar welcome to  my wheel house.
Teenage Guitar - Atlantic Cod via Stereogum

I seem to have developed a small problem in that I can't seem to stop playing the new Ovlov track, Blue Baby that the band recently posted to their bandcamp. It's not so much a problem than it is an obsession and one I probably won't be able to shake anytime soon. That track finds the brothers Hartlett delivering on the promise on their grunge infused 2011 EP, WASGATC? Blue Baby starts with a slow building chord progression before the Connecticut trio blast headlong into discordant guitar fuzz, head pounding rhythms, and subtle yet engaging hooks throughout the bands sprawling and flat out stunning new single. Ovlov will release their debut long player, am on July 2nd via Exploding In Sound Records, in the meantime they're currently in the middle of a tour of the northeast with Boston's Grass Is Green, not to be missed.


On Tuesday June 4th 6th Boston pop deconstructing sextet, Future Carnivores will release Come Inside the bands second full length and if the tracks they've been sharing over on their Soundcloud page are the slightest indication Future Carnivores have have just kicked the sophomore slump squarely in the teeth. With tracks like Blame Time and The Drugs She Fed You Last Night the song writing duo of Ruben Bettstak (Guillermo Sexo) and Bo Barringer (MEandJoanCollins) continue to expertly marry post-rock/post punk and shoegaze while pushing the bands sounds to new and captivating directions. Future Carnivores will celebrate the release of Come Inside on Thursday June 6th with a Record Release show at T.T.'s.

Reviewed :: Guided By Voices - Let's Go Eat The Factory

Shortly after what was reported to be the final show of the classic line ups reunion at North Carolina's Hopscotch Music Festival in September, news came that the band had been writing and recording new songs back in Dayton, 21 one of those appear on the soon to be released Let's Go Eat The Factory, the line ups first new recording in fifteen years. The album will be released on January 1st to mail order and to record shops on January 17th. However if you're feeling a bit impatient and really who could blame you, the digital release is set for this Tuesday December 20th.

Over the past couple of weeks I've spent a lot of time listening to Let's Go Eat The Factory and to no one's surprise I'm completely bowled over by it. From the first listen, I wanted to experience these songs on their own merit, so not to compare them to what many (myself included) would call the bands holy trinity of Bee Thousand, Alien Lanes, and Under The Bushes, Under The Stars, not an easy task. The album has plenty of lo-fi charm and like the bands best work it sticks with you long after the final tracks ended. Laundry and Lasers opens the set with a mid-fi, distortion drenched anthem that does an effective job of both setting the tone for the LP, and providing a true eureka moment, similar to the first time you heard Buzzards and Dreadful Crows. Doughnut For A Snowman, shows off Robert Pollard gift for writing the perfect melancholic pop song, while Spiderfighter finds Tobin Sprout providing charging rhythms and angular guitar lines, before giving way to a gorgeous piano coda. Varied and inventive instrumentation add some depth to tracks like the string laden beatlesque, Hang Mr. Kite. It's not all anthemic pop songs, some the albums strongest moments are also it's darkest like on the wonderfully sleazy, The Big Hat And Toy Show, with squealing guitars, throbbing bass, and Pollards almost creepy vocal. The album closes with the sinister and ultimately triumphant, We Won't Apologize For The Human Race. You will wake up in the morning with these song playing in your head and the only thing to do is reach for Let's Go Eat The Factory, for more.

I had very high expectations for Let's Go Eat The Factory and remarkably the album surpasses all of them. But what makes the album so special, other than that it exists at all, is the fact that this line up has brilliantly picked up where they left off and delivered an album as great as Let's Go Eat The Factory.

[MP3] The Unsinkable Fats Domino
[MP3] Doughnut For A Snowman

New Sounds Now: Guided By Voices - The Unsinkable Fats Domino

Earlier this week, to the surprise of pretty much everyone, except perhaps the folks at WORT's Wake Up Futuristic Radio Program, the world was given it's first listen to the new recordings of Guided By Voices classic line up's forthcoming, Let's Go Eat The Factory. Can we stop with the classic line up business and refer to them simply as GBV now? O.K. moving on, as we told you last month, the 21 track LP will be released on January 1st and will be the first of two new GBV albums in 2012. The Unsinkable Fats Domino is kind of what you would expect from Bob, Mitch, Tobin, Kevin, and Greg after they assembled in various basements and garages around Dayton. If you were expected pure GBV gold circa 1996, you will not be disappointed.

Programming note: WORT's Wake Up Futuristic is scheduled to play another new track from Let's Go Eat The Factory as well as a never before heard b-side this week. We thought you might want to check that out.

Guided By Voices Record Two New Albums

This has been one weird day. On the same day that R.E.M. announced they were packing it in after 31 years, Guided By Voices provided some solace and frankly sheer excitement with the announcement via MOJO Music that they have recorded not one, but two new albums to be released in 2012. After hearing rumors of these recording over the summer we tried to forget we heard what we heard and hoped like hell that things would come to fruition. Well, after today's announcement we're thrilled to be able to post all the information we have on the first recordings from GBV's classic line up since 1996 brilliant, Under The Bushes Under The Stars.

On January 1st Guided By Voices will issue Lets Go Eat The Factory to mail order/internet order fans. On October 31st Rockathon/The Factory of Raw Essentials will begin taking pre-orders for the LP, that's also Bob Pollard's 54th birthday. The album will arrive in brick and mortar record shops on January 24th.

The album consists of 21 tracks recorded by the band at Tobin Sprout's home studio as well as in the homes of Mitch Mitchell and Greg Demos. The shortest track is :34 and the longest is 4:10 with writing credits going to Bob, Toby, Greg, Mitch, and Jim Pollard and Sprout takes on lead vocal duties on 6 of the albums tracks.

If that wasn't enough for us to break our collective pants it has also been reported that Guided By Voices will release a second album of new material next year titled Class Clown Spots A UFO on May 22nd, not to mention a Pollard solo LP Mouseman Cloud on March 20th.

Lets Go Eat The Factory track listing:
Laundry And Lasers
The Head
Doughnut For A Snowman
Spiderfighter
Hang Mr. Kite
God Loves Us
The Unsinkable Fats Domino
Who Invented The Sun
The Big Hat And Toy Show
Imperial Racehorsing
How I Met My Mother
Waves
My Europa
Chocolate Boy
The Things That Never Need
Either Nelson
Cyclone Utilities (Remember Your Birthday)
Old Bones
Go Rolling Home
The Room Taking Shape
We Won't Apologize For The Human Race



Photo Credit: Final GBV Show, Hopscotch Music Festival, Raleigh NC 9/9/11, Daniel Coston

Reviewed :: Boston Spaceships - Let It Beard

Robert Pollard's been threatening a double LP since the mid 90's, but for whatever reason, those projects never came to fruition. Most notably Guided by Voices' aborted The Power of Suck, with several tracks from that session finding a home on GBV's classic recording, Under The Bushes, Under The Stars. Well, it took 16 years but the double album Pollard's been trying make has finally arrived and to put it bluntly it's been well worth the wait. According to Pollard Let It Beard "is a subconscious concept album about the sorry state of rock and roll". For the sessions Pollard recorded 40 acoustic demos, that he delivered to multi instrumentalist, Chris Slusarneko (GBV) that were then trimmed down to 26. Slusarenko and drummer John Moen (The Decemberists) quickly worked up some basic tracks and over the period of 6 months added new sounds and arrangements to the tracks including, horns, strings, and some notable guest contributions.

Let It Beard is the 5th and final full length from Boston Spaceships, and as with the bands previous output they've managed to take another step forward, albeit this time it's a quantum one. It's almost as if this is the album Pollard has been hinting at since releasing the Spaceships' debut Brown Submarine. For a record that clocks in at 75 minutes, you might think there is some skipable material on Let It Beard, quite the contrary actually. This is one the most varied, engaging, and addictive LP I've heard in years and one that should be listened to in one sitting. The album starts off with Blind 20-20, the song features 4 time changes, not to mention plenty of guitar crunch and a bit of cello. J.Mascis (Dinosaur Jr.) shows up to provide a guitar solo on Tourist U.F.O. which only enhances the already staggering and melancholic anthem. Elsewhere Colin Newman (Wire) guests on the punked up, You Just Can't Tell, Steve Wynn (The Dream Syndicate) appears on the psych pop of I Took On The London Guys and Mitch Mitchell provides guitar (and cigarettes, we assume) on the fist pumping You in My Prayer. But it's the more noise riddled tracks like German Field of Shadows and A Hair in Every Square Inch of The House that add some weight and complexity to the album. Let It Beard and it's spectacular 26 songs is a masterwork and one of Pollard's finest records. Yeah, you need this.

[MP3] Boston Spaceships - Christmas Girl

Let It Beard was released today August 2, 2011 on Guided By Voices, Inc.

Buy Let It Beard from Rockathon/The Factory of Raw Essentials

Follow The Links :: Winter 2011

Welcome one and all to Follow The Links, a new feature where we will gather up the finest in free, legal, and highly recommended new music streams and downloads. With the advent of Bandcamp and Soundcloud, as well as the generosity of the artists themselves, the discovery of your new favorite band, album, or rare live recording has never been easier. Although we will continue to post audio content in our regular features, Follow The Links will allow us to point you to music deserving of your attention in a consolidated and concise format. We hope you find this exercise to be a fruitful one and by all means feel free to share your thoughts and suggestions on this and future installments.

We Are Losers - The Newbridge, Kildare, IRL fuzz poppers issued their 3 song debut last summer and hooked us in immediately. The band has just posted a brand new track, Cheerleader, two and half minutes of sublime indie pop that you will find below. You can also download the bands debut EP from their bandcamp site.

We Are Losers - Cheerleader
Blogspot/Twitter/Bandcamp

Maritime - it's been a full four years since Maritime released any new music and eight since Davey von Bohlen and Dan Didier formed the band out of the ashes of the highly influential and in our eyes criminally over looked, The Promise Ring. On April 5th Maritime will release LP #4, Human Hearts on Dangerbird Records. The band is currently giving away the track Paraphernalia at the cost of your e-mail address at their site. We have also posted the track below , mainly because it's an irresistible pop song and we think you should hear it.

Maritime - Paraphernalia
Facebook/Twitter/Official

Chris North & the Love Parade - In late December Chris North fronter for Boston's American/Irish folk outfit The Points North, somewhat quietly released this self titled EP. As a genre we usually don't go for a lot of the "folk" stuff but there is something about these songs as well as North's Music with The Points North that strikes a chord with us. Beautiful and haunting all at once. Chris has made these songs available at his Bandcamp site for free however we request that you support his efforts with a donation of $5.00 or more.

Shows: Chris North will play Gay Gardens performance space in Allston on 2/18 and The Points North will play T.T. The Bears on 2/24 with The Craters.


Bandcamp/The Points North/Twitter

The Bigger Lovers - We were flat out ecstatic when we heard that Philadelphia's purveyors of intelligent power pop were reuniting and reissuing their fantastic debut album How I Learned To Stop Worrying. As if that wasn't enough the band has just released their first new music since 2004's This Affair Never Happened… and Here are Eleven Songs About It, in the form of the new digital EP dubbed, The Little Giant Maxi-Single. Technically this one isn't free,but it's pretty close, four songs for a measly $4.00. The EP can be streamed and purchased over at The Bigger Lovers Bandcamp page or at finer digital retailers. You might as well pre-order the bands debut on limited edition 180 gram vinyl while you're at it. The Bigger Lovers have announced one hometown show in March, but we're totally hopping that the band adds some additional dates,like uh um Boston!


Tumblr/Bandcamp/Facebook

Yuck - Ever since releasing their debut single, last March these Londoners have been planted firmly on our radar as well as the rest of the interwebs. On February 15th Yuck will release their highly anticipated self titled debut and will answer the question that all blog buzzed bands must eventually address, was the hype justified? Based on the amount of time we've spent listening to the tracks that occupy their first long player, the answer is a resounding yes. You can hear a handful of these songs at the bands Soundcloud and Bandcamp pages.

Yuck - Holing Out
Soundcloud/Blogspot/Facebook/Twitter

Low -Deluth,MN's slow core/minimalist legends are set to return on April 12th with C'mom via Sub-Pop. The 10 track album was recorded at Sacred Heart Studios, a former catholic church and where they tracked 2002's Trust. The albums cover art has some local ties, it was snapped by Boston music blogger and all around nice guy, Brad Searles from Bradley's Almanac. Low have just announced a tour in support of C'mon that will have them in town for a show at the soon to be reopened Paramount Center on April 29th. Try to Sleep is the first track revealed from C'mon and it's yours in exchange for your electronic address.

Official/Facebook

Gruff Rhys - Originally intended as an album of piano ballads to lament his 40th birthday, thankfully that plan went a little off course in favor of impeccably constructed albeit off kilter pop songs (with horns) from the Super Furry Animals fronter. Rhys' third solo outing will be released in the U.K. on February 14th on Turnstile, however U.S. fans will have to wait until May 3rd before we can get our mitts on Hotel Shampoo via Wichita Recordings. As of yesterday you can now listen to the album in it's entirety at The Gruffington Post or on the widget that you'll find below.

Gruff Rhys - Sensations in The Dark [Video]

Listen To Hotel Shampoo

The Gruffington Post/Facebook

Fat History Month - These Boston lo-fi noise makers and frequent basement dwellers are responsible for one of our current favorite releases, First Tape which includes a ramshackle cover of Daniel Johnston's Casper The Friendly Ghost, among other noise drenched nuggets. Due to limited information available on line it's unclear when this album was actually released, we think and hope recently. The band makes regular appearances throughout the New England underground. They play Gay Gardens, Allston on March 26th with State Champion. Up until about 24hrs ago First Tape was available at Bandcamp, however it has since been taken down. Until we can locate that fine release, we hope you will find consultation in the track we found as the Bedroom Suck Records Soundcloud page.

Fat History Month - Money=Time=Death

Official/Bedroom Sucks

The Skull Defekts - Often referred to as Sweden's answer to Sonic Youth, The Skull Defekts have been at the center of the Swedish experimental scene since their inception in 2005 and for good reason,. On February 15th the band returns with Peer Amid on Thrill Jockey with a fifth member in tow, Daniel Higgs of Lungfish, who supplies vocals, chants, and various instrumentation. The bands label is offering the album track Fragrant Nimbus as a free download, go get it.

The Skull Defekts - Fragrant Nimbus
Thrill Jockey/Official/Facebook

Robert Pollard / GBV - What would this exercise be without the inclusion of Uncle Bob and his various vehicles for his seemingly endless deluge of material. With the near perfect, Space City Kicks already under his belt this year and collaborative releases from Lifeguards with former GBV guitarist Doug Gillard which will be released next week, as well as Mars Classroom with Big Dipper's Gary Waliek due in late March. There's plenty for us Pollard fans to look forward to in the very near future. You can hear the lead track off The Lifeguards' Waving at The Astronauts, Paradise Is Not So Bad at Serious Business Records. Not to mention that the reunion of Guided By Voices classic line up is alive and well and they have just added a couple more live dates, including one at this years Sasquatch Festival in Seattle. We're hoping for another trip east from Dayton but until then we're happy to find this bootleg from the Isolation Drills tour. GBVDB, the encyclopedic on-line resource for everything and anything you wanted to know about Guided By Voices and Robert Pollard, have recently unearthed The Last of The No Hit Wonders, Live at The Mercury, Austin, TX 06/17/01 and offered it as a free download. We remember this tour fondly which included some highlights from Suitcase as well as the bands TVT years.

Download The Last of The No Hit Wonders from GBVDB

[MP3/Stream] Guided By Voices - Settlement Down [Live in Autin]

Robert Pollard/GBV/Facebook

We Were There :: Guided By Voices

The Paradise Rock Club| Boston, MA|11/05/10
It's taken us a couple of days to get our shit together enough to put together some assemblance of a review for the glorious night of rock we witnessed courtesy of GBV's "classic line up" on this past Friday night. Walking into the newly renovated Paradise, I could already hear the GBV chants, the energy in the room was at fever pitch with a good 30 minutes to go before the bands scheduled start time. After the farewell Electrifying Conclusion tour in 2004, I never thought I'd see Guided By Voices play live again, let alone the line-up responsible for the bands ascension from the basements of Dayton, OH in the early 90's the same line-up responsible for the recording of Bee Thousand, Alien Lanes, Under the Bushes Under The Stars as well a slew of superb EP's. So when it was announced over the summer that Guided By Voices circa 96' would be headlining Matador 21st anniversary party in sin city. I was hopeful that the one off date would evolve into a full fledged tour, luckily for me and anyone else who couldn't make the Vegas trip that's exactly what happened. And so on the final weekend of The Hallway of Shatterproof Glass Tour GBV were back in Boston.

"The classic line up" featuring Bob Pollard, Mitch Mitchell, Tobin Sprout, Greg Demos, and Kevin Fennell hit the stage armed with a hit list of 39 songs that they would tear through in just over two hours. They were received by a mostly joyous crowd, save for a couple of nitwits throwing punches in front of the stage, seriously dudes if you can't conduct yourself in these situations STAY HOME! Having been checking out set lists over the past few weeks, I was a little surprised when I heard the opening chords of Striped White Jets for the bands opening song. However it works like a charm as an opener. From there Bob Pollard led the band through a lengthy set and as per usual his in between song banter was side splitting and spot on "we killed shoegaze and brought back harmonies", that they did. Tobin Sprout took a few turns at the mic which featured a couple of my favorite moments of the night especially during a fantastic late-set version of Dodging Invisible Rays. Toward the end of the night which consisted of several beers and tequila Pollard and GBV managed to keep the train on the track during the bands three encores that culminated with the set closing performance of Weedking. Long Live Rockathon, no more like Long Live GBV!

As the band walked off stage to the sound of the sold out crowd going ape-shit, myself included, I was overcome with the feeling that I had just seen something truly special and something I'll probably never see again, but then again, if this reunion has taught us anything it's never say never.

Set List Boston 11/5/2010
Striped White Jets
Echos Myron
Exit Flagger
Pimple Zoo
My Impression Now
Goldheart Mountaintop Queen Directory
Hot Freaks
Shocker in Gloomtown
A Good Flying Bird
My Valuable Hunting Knife
Cut-Out Witch Play
Watch Me Jumpstart
Awful Bliss
14 Cheerleader Coldfront
Closer You Are
Lethargy Play
Queen of Cans and Jars
Break Even
Matter Eater Lad
Tractor Rape Chain
Buzzards and Dreadful Crows
Bright Paper Werewolves
My Son Cool Play
Gleemer ( The Deeds of Fertile Jim)
Unleashed! The Large Hearted Boy
Gold Star for Robot Boy
I am a Scientist
Game of Pricks
Smothered in Hugs
A Salty Salute
Encore:
Postal Blowfish
Hey Aardvark
Quality of Armor
Motor Away
Encore 2:
Dodging Invisible Rays
Don't Stop Now
Some Drilling Implied
Encore 3:
Johnny Appleseed
Weed King


Video of GBV Performing Buzzards and Dreadful Crows at The Paradise on 11/5/10 furnished by Narlus. Great quality audio and video from a night we won't soon forget.

The Ash Gray Proclamation Proudly Present :: An Inteview with Tobin Sprout

It still seems a little surreal to be writing about the reunion of Guided By Voices' classic line up in 2010. We just assumed that after Bob Pollard disbanded the final incarnation of the band in 2004, that would be that. So when it was announced that GBV was reuniting, let alone the 1992-1996 line up we were more than a little excited. This weekend marks the final weekend of The Hallway of Shatterproof Glass Tour and tomorrow night the band (finally) return to Boston for a sold -out show at The Paradise, the very same room where we saw our first GBV show back in 95'.

Along with Bob Pollard, Tobin Sprout played a pivotal role in the sound of the band during this period as the bands resident 4-track engineer, multi instrumentalist, and he also contributed a bunch of timeless pop songs to the GBV cannon. It's hard to imagine what albums like Bee Thousand and Alien Lanes would sound like without his contributions.

A few weeks ago we were given the opportunity to interview GBV's Tobin Sprout and we jumped at the opportunity to talk about the current tour, Tobin's career as painter, childrens author and solo artists as well what it's been like to be back on stage with Bob Pollard, Mitch Mitchell, Kevin Fennell, and Greg Demos.

A big thank you goes to Tobin for taking the time to answer our questions and granting our request for this interview, hopefully I didn't come off like a total fan boy.

*Spoiler alert: the following interview contains set list information, so if you're going to either the Boston or New York shows this weekend , you've been warned.

Bryan Hamill: What inspired the reunion of the classic GBV line up, was the Matador @ 21 show in Vegas the catalyst for getting back together?

Tobin Sprout: I don't think the reunion would have happened without Matador asking us to headline their 21st anniversary show in Vegas. After that was in play the tour just made sense in that we would be practicing for one show, so why not do more? We were getting some lucrative offers from around the country, everyone in the band was ready and willing to do the tour. Bob sent out the set list and a month or so later we were together at Mitch's (Mitchell) practicing. There were a few big GBV fans in the room so when we had trouble remembering how to play one of the songs they would show us. I think they knew the songs better than we did. For the most part we had played the songs so many times on tour that it was like riding a bike, my hands just knew where to go. When Bob asked me if I would be interested in playing the shows I didn't even have to think about it, how could I say no to the time of my life? We're all still healthy, we have nothing to prove, the GBV fans are wigging out, it's gravy.

Bryan: How much time went into rehearsing for the Matador show and the subsequent tour?

Tobin: Bob sent out a song list to all of us,my son made a CD of all the songs to use to practice, but later I used the the internet. I could just go to YouTube and watch myself play them. For the most part they came back pretty quick, we had played them so many times during the tours in the 90's. The rest of the band got together a few times without me. I drove down to Dayton a couple of weeks before the tour to practice with the band and we also practiced the day before we left for the tour. Dallas and Austin were a bit rough here and there, but each show got a little tighter.

Bryan: What has it been like playing shows with Bob, Mitch, Keven, and Greg after all these years?

Tobin: It feels like we've picked up where we left off. Except for physical changes, we're all the same people. We all got along then and we get along now. I think it's easier now because we're all established in our own lives. We also have Rich, Darryl, Taz, and Steve (our road crew) to make life a lot better.

Bryan: With all the line up changes over the life of Guided By Voices, what makes this incarnation so special?

Tobin: There were line ups before this one, but this is the line up that was introduced to larger audience when Propeller sort of launched GBV into the rock world. From the first shows in Dayton, Columbus, CBGB's to the Scat tours and on until the last at Edgefest 96. This is, for the most part the line up on Bee Thousand, Alien Lanes, and Under The Bushes Under The Stars. I think people want all the pieces in place, all the original parts. Not to take away from the line ups after 96, it just seems to me the first line up becomes the face of the band.

Bryan: You wrote some of my favorite Guided By Voices songs, which ones have you been preforming on this tour?

Tobin: Gleemer, Dodging Invisible Rays, and A Good Flying Bird. We also do an acoustic set which includes Awful Bliss into 14 Cheerleader Coldfront. Keeping the harmonies going we go into Quality Armor (a Bob song). I've also done Atom Eyes alone in Austin or Dallas.

Bryan: With the release of your first childrens book, Elliott and your recently released album, The Bluebirds of Happiness Tried To Land On My Shoulder you have been keeping busy, how do you decide where to focus your creative energy.

Tobin: Right now the energy is going to music. I hadn't written a lot of music for a few years. Mostly I focused on painting and the writing of Elliott and the chapter book I hope to follow up called April and Elliott. About a year ago I made myself sit down and write songs. I think I was afraid I wouldn't be able to do it anymore. But after a few days it began to come together again. Elliott was my first attempt at writing a book and it was a learning experience for me. I think what I learned has improved the way I write lyrics. You only have so many lines in a song, so every word counts.

Bryan: Do you have any plans to record another solo record or perhaps compete a sequel to Elliott in the near future?

Tobin: I just released a single and I plan to write a lot of music after the GBV tour. Being away from writing music for awhile makes it feel new. I think you have to focus on what's exciting to you, because it shows in the work. Right now music excites me, next month, year, whatever, art or writing will.

Bryan: The newly launched GBV Digital is offering live recording from the current tour, does the band have any other plans to release additional recordings either from this tour or from the archives?

Tobin: All the shows are being recorded and can be downloaded at GBV Digital. There are also tentative plans for the release of GBV live shows that could include what ever I find when I go through hundreds of 4-track tapes I have as well as some remixes, outtakes, and unreleased tracks. At this point we have no plans to record new material.

Bryan: What's been the biggest difference between playing shows on this tour and the GBV tours you played on 14 years ago?

Tobin: Sleep number beds, we've been staying in really nice places.

Matador @ 21:: Days 2&3/Wrap up

Hello there, Dear Reader. Sorry for the delay and filing this report. Stuff happens. Vegas happens. Before we get to days 2 and 3, let’s flash back to the last Pavement show ever. If you’ll recall, I was disappointed with their set. There were some serious bad vibes flying across the stage, and in what felt like a flash back to 1996, Steven Malkmus was clearly not into it. To be fair, there was some significant sound issues. Steve West nearly had a full-fledged hissy fit over what was apparently an issue with his high hat. There were several requests for more or less sound out of the stage monitors, and in what I had originally thought was an SM-Spiral spat, Spiral Stairs nearly lost it after experiencing technical issues durring Kennel District, apologizing several times to the capacity crowd and nearly smashing his guitar in anger. In addition I heard a rumor that SM’s parents were in the audience on Friday night. I guess the man still gets nervous performing in front of Mom and Dad, however this is100% rumor. An old friend of The AGP who was at the show, knows someone, who knows Malkmus’ wife, and she informed this person that Steve hadn’t performed in front of his parents in several years, and that this was the reason for his half- assed performance. Again, this could be complete bullshit, but thought I’d pass along the word on the floor of the Palms last Friday night.

OK. Saturday night. We had a little run at the roulette table @ the Imperial Palace Saturday afternoon that kept us from seeing some of the early acts. However we did see Superchunk, and they killed. They played a  great set, mixing in classics like Slack Mother Fucker and Mower with  Rosemarie, My Gap Feels Weird, and Learned to Surf from their new (and excellent) Majesty Shredding album. One more thought. I couldn’t help thinking during their set that as owners of Merge Records, home to Arcade Fire and Spoon, that Mac and Laura were arguably the most successful people @ the Palms that weekend.  I just really respect Mac and Laura as people who stuck with doing what they love, and hit it big. They still get to make records and rock out like kids, and they have the coolest day jobs that rock musicians could ask for, running their own, very successful label. Also,  I saw Laura at the Palms pool on Sunday, and she was very cool. I had to complement her on her Spaceman 3 t-shirt!

Spoon delivered a polished set and the band was in good form. They did however, leave me a little cold. The set was pretty evenly split between newer and older material, but seemed to draw more from the bands darker, more rhythmic, and less melodic material. I guess I just don’t like The Ghost of you Lingers. That being said, Brit Daniel is a great performer with a distinct and solid voice, and Spoon is a tight as hell live unit. Daniel also gets bonus points for being a nice guy. While waiting for the elevator leaving the disappointing, very Sioxsie and The Banshee-esque, Esben and the Witch show in the Palms Ballroom, we had a simple fanboy-indie star exchange. (I said "good show" and he said "thank you.")  I wasn’t being a hypocrite, it was a good show, I just expected more of their hits than You've got your cherry bomb (which was great, horns and all).

On to Belle and Sebastian, I loved them. Besides Guided by Voices transcendent Sunday night set, this was my favorite of the weekend. Being mildly familiar with their catalog, I knew to expect some pretty folk-pop from the Glaswegians, but was not prepared for their gorgeous and downright inspirational set. This is a band I need to listen to more, and will make sure to see them the next time they come to town, as they too were affected by sound issues on Saturday night. Unlike Pavement (wow, I am really bashing them) these guys did not let the sound issues hold them back from having fun. Stuart Murdoch brought out shopping bag full of autographed Nerf footballs, and proceeded to throw them into the crowd. (He has a stronger arm than you would expect.) Murdoch also bestowed B&S engraved medallions on those lucky fans invited up on stage to provide hand claps (and dancing) on There’s Too Much Love and the classic The Boy With The Arab Strap. Sound issues definitely became a running theme in the Pearl as the weekend went on, with just about every band making comments and requests from the stage. In defense of Matador and their crew, they had their work cut out for them, with a full set change being undertaken every hour, and many bands, like the aforementioned B&S requiring many additional microphone and monitor set ups.

On Sunday we made sure to catch Ted Leo + Pharmacists, The New Pornographers and of course GBV. We were on the floor for Ted Leo, and unfortunately the sound was at it’s weekend low. It was just a treble-drenched and distorted mix. This was the only time all weekend that I was forced to use earplugs. This being said, Mr. Leo was in fine form, sounding especially great on tracks from 2004’s Shake the Sheets, Me and Mia and The Angels Share. While almost every artist thanked and congratulated Matador during their set, Ted took it to the next level. Regaling us with stories of going to high school with Chavez’s Matt Sweeny and sharing a bill with Matador’s infamous first signing H.P. Zinker. He also brought the New Pornographer’s Carl Newman on stage to join him in an ode to Matador, covering Nick Lowe’s I love my label.

Next was The New Pornographers, and though I watched from the balcony , I really enjoyed their show. They had their “A” lineup out there, with Carl Newman joined by chanteuse Neko Case, and someone who I imagine gets a hard time passing through airport security, Destroyer’s Dan Bejar. The New Porns kicked things off with My Slow Decent into Alcoholism, which was especially appropriate for this author on such a weekend. They mixed in the best of the new Together LP with their impressive back catalog, with new gems like Moves as well as Silver Jenny Dollar with Bejar taking one of his too few (in this author’s opinion) turn on lead vocals. They played all the hits, Sing Me Spanish Techno and Letter from an Occupant from their 2000 debut, Mass Romantic were especially great, but the best songs of the night were from the bands "awesome coda collection", with Bejar leading the Pearl through the no, no, no no, no’s on A Testament to Youth and Verse and the awesome, spin-tingling Bleeding Heart Show appropriately closing out the show.

Last but in no way least, was the much anticipated reunion of GBV. By Saturday night, the GBV, Circus Devils, Boston Spaceships, and other miscellaneous Uncle Bob shirts started showing up, and I started to get the feeling that I wasn’t the only one whose number one reason for schlepping all the way to Nevada was to see Guided by Voices. By Sunday night, the anticipation was palpable (and clearly evidenced by the amount of visibly sloppy drunk dudes in the audience) for the long awaited reunion of what’s been dubbed the “classic lineup” , Pollard, Tobin Sprout and Mitch Mitchell on guitars, Greg Demos on bass and Kevin Fennell on drums . The band shambled on stage , kicked things off with A Salty Salute and never looked back. While the audience hoisted their beers to greet Pollard and the band during the opener, any beer left in their cups was thrown into the air when the band slammed into their second song Shocker in Gloomtown. The set drew heavily from Propeller, Bee Thousand and Alien Lanes and the band delved into a couple of rare tracks off Crown Prince of The Menthol Trailer EP, including Johnny Appleseed.

All the classics were played. Miller Lites were downed, and per custom, handed to the crowd. The 96”classic line –up looked pretty happy to be doing this again, Toby was his usual mellow self, but the beaming, fist pumping Mitch Mitchell was the happiest guy in the room. He jumped and spun himself -in between windmill guitar moves, all this after almost being punched-out by Pearl security after running on stage during Yo La Tengo’s set.  Kevin Fennell and Greg Demos, the only practicing attorney/bass player I know of, anchored the classics, while Bob busted out his trademark big kicks and mic twirls. Pollard made sure to honor Matador by saying “we left because we thought we were hot shit and needed someone else to push our shit, but we came crawling back”

The hits kept on coming at a furious pace, Sprout took his turn vocals for spirited versions a Good Flying Bird and Awful Bliss, while Uncle Bob supplied backing vocals. My personal  favorite of the set was a raucous version of My Son Cool. GBV played well past the 1AM curfew and drew the weekend closing's night to a glorious end with what Pollard referred to as “the ballad of Guided By Voices” Don’t Stop Now.  Sure, you've heard Pollard perform most of these tracks with various line ups, but there's something extra special about seeing these songs performed by the nucleus of musicians who recorded them to four-track in a Dayton, OH basement nearly 20 years ago.

Matador @ 21 was a huge success and a celebration of one of, if not the most important labels in American indie rock. Ever since Chris Lombardi started Matador in 1989,  and then was joined a year later by Gerald Cosloy the two men and their label have been responsible for  releasing some seriously great records, not to mention some of our all time favorites. Hey Matador let us know when we can do this again.

~Echos Myron

Matador @ 21 :: Getting There

Day 1 , Post:1,

Tower to the sky! While I had originally intended to check in with you, Dear Reader, from the sleek, post-modern confines of Delta’s Terminal @ Logan Airport, Boston, I am writing from an Atlanta-bound , (and likely ancient) Boeing 747 high above the Eastern Seaboard. It seems that Mother Nature is not a fan of Guitar Wolf.

Arriving at the airport to find my flight 2+ hours delayed due to what, in my experience could be best described as a “balmy wind”, I have called the option, Amazing Race –style, traveling to Atlanta, where I will connect on one of two options to Las Vegas. As of right now (!), worst-case gets me on the ground in LV at 5:30, a full hour-and-a-half before the aforementioned Guitar Wolf kick off the ‘mother I’ll be referring to as from here-on-out as “M@21 “, at 7:00PM Elvis-time.

You’ll also notice that I have decided to adopt the “@” symbol used by the Matador folks to market this extravaganza. As in: “while @the baccarat table, My traveling companions, Jum managed to draw the ire of the pit boss” and “Gamester passed- out @ "9:30 PM". Let me know if that gets annoying.

OK, enough with the travel log. Boring, I know. The original purpose of this pre-show post was to get the “housekeeping” matters out of the way, like who I am, why I’m going to M@21, and what’s my favorite flavor of apple. To which, I say, not a fan of MGMT, why not?, and Royal Gala.

What are my goals, you ask?

1.Keeping my wife from getting mad at me. (This includes the following sub-goals- not hurting myself, not getting arrested, not losing the house, not doing something that would get me fired from my real job, and not doing something that would end up in me being barred from my local youth soccer league.

2) Rocking. A lot.

Having seen the Pavement reunion already this fall, when SM and the lads* performed in the cozy confines of BU's Agganis Arena, I can attest to what some of you may have read in the music press, that the Pavement 2010 crowd is predominately men, and split between early-40-something, professional, cycling enthusiasts -putting up a last fight against the ever-encroaching phenomenon of “dad-rock”, and young Williamsburg-residing hipsters who missed the band in its nineties heyday, and are generally annoying spoiled little brats. As you may have already surmised, please put your loyal M@21 correspondent firmly in the former category. (Though judging by the last Wilco album, I’m not sure I’ll EVER fully embrace dad-rock.)

I think my colleagues (!) in the music press will agree with me when I say that the Pavement reunion exceeded all expectations. Having seen the band several times during their initial run, including back-to-back nights on the Wowee Zowee tour, I can attest that the songs sound great. While the band’s detached-cool style could be called more “fun” to see live, shows often veered from “disinterested” into “sloppy”.

Please don’t get me wrong. I consider Pavement my favorite band. Ever. They are at the top of my “top 5”, along with Beatles, Guided By Voices, The Rolling Stones, and the Clash. (Though I like to extend the list to 6 to allow for the inclusion of Radiohead.) While Pavement has been mostly sticking to the “hits”, (here’s hoping they delve deeper into their catalog playing for their most ardent devotees in Vegas) the hits have never sounded better.

So, as SM reportedly has a 2011 Jicks record (with guests by Beck?) and tour lined up, your correspondent is seriously looking forward to what could be the band’s last show for a long time, maybe (gasp!) ..ever.

So, as I still want to prep for tonight by watching “Slow Century”* and my laptop is reporting 62% battery life remaining, I leave you with some thoughts on the rest of the bands playing the first night of M@21:

Guided by Voices- Having seen Pavement a couple weeks ago, this is the show to which I am most looking forward. Though that 6am departure out of McCarran Airport will be a challenge after GBV’s weekend ending set “scheduled” to end at 1am.

F’ed Up- (I’m a dad don’t forget) ..just got into these guys, knowing they were playing M@21. An update on the hardcore punk I grew up on. I expect them to be, in a word, powerful.

Chavez- Never seen them, but LOVE the “ride the fader” record.. I always try to turn my more mainstream music fan friends into them.. they should have been much bigger than they were/are.

Sonic Youth- Never seen them. Only familiar with their top 5-10 songs, (so, here’s hoping the play them!) but one of those influential “respect” bands that you have to like.. looking forward to their set.

Guitar Wolf- would like to check out, but will probably “prepping” with a couple of pre-show watery domestics in the room at the Palms with Jum and Gamester.

Bands that might be playing tonight, but as I’m too cheap to buy the in-flight wi-fi, and forbidden by federal law to power-up my Blackberry, I’m not sure.

Cold Cave- Don’t know them. Supposedly, sort- of Depeche Mode-y (never my cup of tea), but will try to stay up (there playing late/early) and let you know.

Esben and the Witch - From Brighton , England.. which is a pretty cool place- I had lunch there once..I’ll let you know what their like, but they're supposed to be sorta “moody”, which may not be compelling at 3AM on Saturday morning to a dude that’s been up since 5AM Friday.

I am also intrigued by what’s being billed as "F'd Up vs.Ted Leo and The Pharmacists” at 1:30 in a smaller room at the Palms. Leo is not playing a full set in the main room until Sunday night, so it’s cool that he’ll be hanging at the Palms all weekend with the rest of us. This is supposed to be some alternating “band-off”, based in hardcore, (where Leo got his start and still periodically returns with sometimes mixed results) so I’ll try to keep the boys up for this.

Friday nights report is forthcoming. Thanks….

*-someone please notify me if there is some kind of journalistic limit on the use of quotes.

We'll Be There :: Matador @ 21

As I type this our newest member of The AGP team is aboard an aircraft bound for Las Vegas, NV for this weekends Matador @ 21 at The Palms Hotel. Echoes Myron as he's taken to calling himself will be filing reports from Vegas throughout this weekends performances that commence this evening and run through Sunday, when the reunited Guided By Voices (pictured above) bring it to an end and I can only imagine to it's collective knees. The 96'classic line-up kicked off The Hallway of Shatterproof Glass Tour earlier this week with two shows in Texas. Check the video below for proof .

Guided By Voices - Exit Flagger

Live at East Side Drive Austin, TX 9/30/10


In addition to our coverage you can watch most of the performances live as they happen at MySpaceMusic The audio/video stream starts tonight at 8:30 when Chavez take the stage and will feature nearly every performance of the weekend. These streams will also be available the following morning, just in case you have a life and you don't feel like staying up late watching your computer. You should also check in with Bradley's Almanac, for reports from Vegas as well.

Video courtesy of Jay Satellite
GBV rehearsal photo courtesy of Rich Turiel

This Weeks Short Bursts::
Lifeguards, Telekinesis, & Hallelujah The Hills

With two solo releases and a Circus Devils album already issued this year and an upcoming release from Boston Spaceships due next week, one things clear, the reunion of the Guided by Voices' classic line up has not altered Bob Pollard's hyper prolific release schedule. Come February Pollard will release Waving At The Astronauts with Lifeguards, a collaboration with former (late era) GBV guitarist Doug Gillard. We'll get our first listen to the forthcoming album when Serious Business Records releases the Product Head 7" b/w Naught Windsor on October 5th. Waving At Astronauts is the follow up to Lifeguards debut LP, Mist King Urth.

[MP3/Stream] Circus Devils - Bam Bam Bam from Mother Skinny

Telekinesis a.k.a Micheal Benjamin Lerner has teamed up with Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin for a 15 city tour that kicked off this week at Firebird in St. Louis and makes a stop in the Boston area next Tuesday at TT The Bears. Lerners' Telekinesis' will come armed with songs off the bands excellent 2009 debut as well as the just issued Parallel Seismic Conspiracies EP. The new 5 song EP will be officially released on October 26, however the digital version is on sale now at the bands label, Merge Records. The EP compiles the Dirty Thing 7" as well as a couple of covers, including a damn fine version of GBV's Game of Pricks.

[Video] Telekinesis - Dirty Thing

Boston's indie pop giants, Hallelujah The Hills premiered a new video for Put The Gurus in Charge earlier this week which led to us revisiting their ace sophomore release, Colonial Drones. It's no wonder it placed so high on our year end list. The band have announced a fall tour with two local dates that bookend the upcoming trek, including an appearance at this years Allston Village Street Fair. Also in a message posted last month Hallelujah The Hills lynchpin, Ryan Walsh asked bands to send him instrumental tracks that he can provide lyrics, melodies, and vocals for. The goal being a free download album to be posted at the bands site, sometime in the not too distant future. More information on the experimental recording project can be had at the bands site.

Update- 4:15 PM: Hallelujah The Hills will play a free show tonight at The Distillery Gallery in South Boston.

HTH Live Dates:
September 12, 2010 Allston, MA Allston Village Street Fair
September 16, 2010 New Haven, CT Lilly's Pad
September 17, 2010 New York, NY The Mercury Lounge
September 18, 2010 Charlottesville, VA Tea Bazaar
September 19, 2010 Philadelphia, PA The M Room
October 14, 2010 Danbury, CT Cousin Larry's
October 15, 2010 Rochester, NY The Bug Jar
October 16, 2010 Youngstown, OH Lemon Grove Cafe
October 17, 2010 Pittsburgh, PA Garfield Art Works
October 30, 2010 Allston, MA Great Scott