Getting to listen to a new album of a band you enjoy is a gift. To be bestowed two albums within the same year is an even greater gift. Now imagine getting three albums in one year! Guided by Voices released two albums earlier this year, February’s Surrender Your Poppy Field, and August’s, Mirrored Aztec. To close out this fever dream of a year, Guided by Voices is releasing a third album through Rockathon Records on December 11th, Styles We Paid For. On top of this, they created a subscription service where you’ll find yourself as the recipient of gems like rarities, demos, and live tracks. It’s not easy to come across a band as motivated as this, and when you do, don’t hesitate to pick their brain because they’re probably already busy working on the next album. Guided by Voices’ guitarist Doug Gillard even found time to discuss other projects with us. When he’s not working on his own music, or producing music for other bands, what might he be listening to?
What have you been listening to the most lately?
We’re in a time where there’s a lot to listen to. I’m sorry, I mean we’re in a time where there’s a lot of time to put things on to listen to. I’ve been listening to a lot of podcasts of various sorts. Not all musical. Musically, really a lot of stuff. One thing is there’s a record by this guy BILLY LYALL, he was a keyboard player in PILOT. He did a solo record in the mid-70’s. I’ve been listening to that on and off I don’t know, the last seven years or so, but I’ve been checking it out more the last month. The very first BOB DYLAN album too, to go back and hear that is kind of wild cause it’s a little more Rock and Roll than some of his other….I mean it’s Folky, it’s got a little more Blues in it, a more sort of fiery delivery, a little more aggressive. There’s a late 70’s Canadian band call THE DIODES, they’re sort of Power-Pop/Punk. There’s this record I’ve loved for many years called Clube Da Esquina from MILTON NASCIMENTO LO BORGES from Brazil, it’s an early 70’s Brazilian record. Lots of stuff. A lot of BEATLES reissues as they come out.
What’s your favorite means of discovering new music? Is it live? On records? Through friends’ recommendations?
Sometimes friends’ recommendations, a lot of times, something I stumble onto. Sometimes I’ll read something, or hear about something. A lot of it is word of mouth, sometimes it’s a review in a magazine or a website.
What are some of your favorite song lyrics? It could be a specific line or song, or the general work of a particular lyricist.
There’s really so many! Off the top of my head, I’m in a band with ROBERT POLLARD and he’s a tremendous lyricist, one of the best. I really like PETE TOWNSHEND lyrics. COLIN NEWMAN. DAVID BOWIE, I’m kind of naming some of the obvious ones here. ROBYN HITCHCOCK as well.
Do you remember the first time music had an impact on you?
Yeah, when I was very small. Ever since I was very, very, small, the radio was always on, AM radio. or my sister’s records were playing. THE ARCHIES TV show, THE MONKEES TV show. It was always on in the house. I gravitated to it, beat on pots and pans, play drums to things. I developed an affinity to it pretty early on.
How did your musical tastes evolve throughout the years, from when you were a kid, all the way to now?
At first, I loved whatever was on inside the house and on TV, but it was more sort of Bubblegum Pop. Obviously, THE MONKEES and ARCHIES are more and more geared towards Bubblegum. I had the first two MONKEES albums, they were my sisters. I didn’t really go deep into their catalog being a four-year-old. Later I discovered they were really great things. At first it was that, THE BEATLES, CHUCK BERRY, THE WHO, but then sort of in more formative years I kind of gravitated towards more New Wave stuff that was being played on the radio and I would start buying the records. I just kind of got deeper and deeper into that. I discovered there were lots of great college stations in the Cleveland area. When I was a senior in high school, I applied to be a DJ at WOBC in Oberlin and so I was there for a few months, you didn’t have to be a student to have a show, so that was great. Then I went to Cleveland State and had a radio show on WCSV for many years but by then…I think maybe the last two years of high school and I was already playing in some bands from Cleveland and coming back home to Elyria, and by that time it was Punk that I was into. Hardcore there for a little bit and then just kind of underground in general. And so, it certainly evolved over the years. After that I kind of rediscovered some of the Glam Rock that I missed out on as a kid. Classic Rock and Glam Rock passed me by because I was too young, really got into that. Really got into ROXY MUSIC and T. REX and BRIAN ENO. By that time everything had kind of just opened up. The record library at WCSV had everything to discover there. I was friends with some people at WRUW at Case Western, so I’d go check out their record library as well, listen to stuff, tape stuff.
What are some of the most memorable shows that you’ve ever seen? What makes them stand out?
I’ve seen a lot of shows. I saw the COCTEAU TWINS a couple of times in 1985. I had to drive to Columbus to see them at first, and then later that same year I think they came to Cleveland but that was something else. It was great because they just played with the tape machine playing the drum track, there were three of them on stage. So that was a great experience.
I saw TONES ON TAIL, which is a very short-lived band right after BAUHAUS broke up and to me that was special just because they didn’t last very long, and Daniel Ash formed LOVE AND ROCKETS right after that. I don’t remember all that much about the show except they all wore white jumpsuits like Clockwork Orange type suits. I saw NICK CAVE & THE BAD SEEDS in I think ’84, I drove to Columbus to see them too, but they played a really small club, they played Stache’s. What made that stand out was that it was just so intimate so to me that was great. The whole band was there, Barry Adamson, he used to be in MAGAZINE, was playing bass. Nick Harvey was there. The band was great at that time, it was really good.
I saw BO DIDDLEY with RON WOOD opening up. Ron Wood would do his solo guitar set. He basically just played one song where he just kind jammed around. Just him on stage, he didn’t have a band behind him. So then when Bo Diddley came out to headline, Ron Wood joined his band, that was a lot of fun. I got to see NRBQ back in the late 80’s in Cleveland, and they were just really exciting to see I thought. There’s this British band called THE GODFATHERS, they were really exciting live in the late 80’s. I saw MY BLOODY VALENTINE in ’92, they came through Cleveland, or whatever year that was that they toured on Loveless, I forget what year that was, ’91, ’92. There have been many more shows that were great, but that’s what comes to mind right now.
When shows start back up, who would you like to go see live first?
I’m more in the mode of playing shows than going to see shows in recent years. If a friend plays, I’ll definitely go see them. I guess I’d like to see Guided By Voices play a show.
Is there any band that you’ve always wanted to see live but never had the chance to catch them?
I’ve never gotten to see THIN LIZZY, I would like to see them, but the early 70’s version of Thin Lizzy when they were a three piece. WINGS in ’72. PAUL MCCARTNEY in Wings, that would be great. I had a chance to see THE CLASH in ’82 but for some reason I declined the invitation, they were playing Akron, so I stayed home, and they never really came around again, so I regret not going to that. THE DAMNED, anytime until 1980 would be great. I got to see PRINCE once actually, that was an exciting show. That was kind of recent, that was more in recent years but I’m really glad I got to experience that.
What is the most impressive band you’ve toured with? The one that you just had to watch every night. Did you learn anything by watching them?
Guided By Voices toured with CHEAP TRICK and watching them every night was great. At that time, they played the same set list every night, and what I learned is…it’s better to not play the same set list every night. But they were great, and they were nice to us. Back in 1990 I was in this band; a Cleveland band called MY DAD IS DEAD, and we opened up about nine shows in the states for the PIXIES they were on their Bossanova album tour and I would go out in the crowd and watch them every night. They put on a really good show, it was really exciting live, they had a good light show. At that time, they had a big budget, they had a couple semis. I don’t know if I learned anything, I just enjoyed myself, I guess. As far as other bands that we’ve toured with and opened for, I’m not sure, we’ve hardly really done long tours where there was a headliner that wasn’t the band I was in. That always happens at festivals though, but that’s not touring with a band, you know what I mean? I did a lot of touring with NADA SURF and we played some great festivals. One time, IGGY POP headlined right after us at this small town in France a few years ago and that was great to see, we got to stand on the side of the stage and watch him and his band go through things. There’s another festival, another year in France where, you just kind of arrive at these places and you’re not completely aware of everyone on the bill, you just know it’s a large festival, then you set about doing your own thing, making sure you do sound check, and your gear is working and everything. After we played one of the other stages, this JOY DIVISION song started up and I’m, Oh man that’s something off Unknown Pleasures, it turns out it was PETER HOOK AND THE LIGHT starting their set in the stage opposite us. And so, Daniel the bassist and I made a bee line for that stage, and we got to sort of sit on the side of the stage and watch Peter Hook play all the songs that he made up for Joy Division and NEW ORDER. Which for me, was kind of a personal thrill, I really enjoyed that.
What band or artist do you believe has achieved the most perfect discography?
I don’t think anyone has. Although that’s a very subjective opinion though, a very subjective question as well because everyone has a discography where there’s an album or two that isn’t to some listeners taste that’s a fan of that artist. So, I would say ROCKPILE. They have one album. I mean really, Rockpile, an argument could be made that all the solo records around that time of NICK LOWE and DAVE EDMUNDS it was the same band, it was the same band of Rockpile. One was a Dave Edmunds record, and another was a Nick Lowe record, a couple of them were. And so Rockpile is a band that really only had one album and to me, it wasn’t as good as the solo Dave Edmunds or Nick Lowe things that they all played on, but it’s still pretty good, so I’d probably say Rockpile.
Final thoughts? Anything you would like to promote?
Well Guided By Voices, we have an album out in early December called Styles We Paid For that is available through RockathonRecords.com. There’s a current one called Mirrored Aztec available through the same thing. We also started this year a subscription service called Hot Freaks. That’s something you can go and subscribe to through RockatonRecords.com. It makes a good Christmas gift. It’s a good gift for yourself. Basically, what it is, is a weekly subscription service that arrives to the subscriber via email. It contains rarities, it’s a lot of audio clips, songs, every now and then a video, some photographs, demos, some live tracks. The band and our management came up with the idea to have a subscription service, and then the management went to Rockathon Records and asked them if they would do the paywall and host the paywall and they said sure. So that’s going on right now, and it’s going on for a while. I’m working on some solo material as always. I’m producing an album by this band called THE BYE BYE BLACKBIRDS, a pop band from the Bay Area, it’s called Boxer At Rest. I did some strings on a new EP by SALLY CREW AND THE SUDDEN MOVES. And right now, that’s about it, there’s some things of course in the future coming up but right now I guess that’s what I can say.
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