Interview: Boston Spaceships
3 Comments Published by Wayne on Friday, September 19, 2008 at 6:41 AM.
For those dedicated few who are bold enough to follow Bob Pollard’s extensive post-Guided by Voices career, the news of Pollard’s new band Boston Spaceships (and subsequent record Brown Submarine) must have sparked some enthusiasm. The lineup seems solid, Pollard on vocals and lots of alcohol, Chris Slusarenko (Guided by Voices, Sprinkler) on guitar, and John Moen (The Decemberists) on drums.The group’s debut record, Brown Submarine, does not disappoint. The sparingly raw record echoes not only Pollard’s past, but that of his own influences as well. From track one on the album, the listener can tell this isn’t a record of great weight, but a record of the moment: capturing spontaneity in stride.
“The idea of the band is a little more innocent and sophomoric than where Bob’s solo stuff has been going.” Slusarenko put it in our over-the-phone interview as he and the rest of the band geared up for their upcoming tour. “Boston Spaceships is all about just being a goof, drinking beer, and getting each other in headlocks.”
Unlike a lot of Pollard’s heavier records in the past few years, Brown Submarine sounds like a group having fun making music. From the bouncy-riffs of "You Satisfy Me" to the (dare I say) fist-pump sing-a-long quality of "Go For The Exit", it’s evident that this band, this record, and this tour will be fun to witness.
Yet, underneath the hype that is growing about this project is a generous amount of nostalgia for Guided By Voices. Hearing a new Bob Pollard record is one thing, but hearing a record with Bob Pollard as a member of a band brings forth a sense of unity and an identity that has been sorely missed since the days of GBV. “Bob’s considering Boston Spaceships as the next band chapter” the noticeably enthusiastic Slusarenko continued. But the guitarist also understood the GBV-precedent that has been set for this band. “I think Bob’s more excited about creating new works, but still holding up his old work in a live setting. For instance, there’ll be GBV songs in the sets for this tour.”
The Fall tour marks the longest tour that Pollard has made since the last tour of Guided By Voices. Making stops 17 cities, including The Paradise in Boston on September 30 (along with Big Dipper).
And if there were any concerns lingering that Boston Spaceships may be a one-time vehicle for Pollard’s prolific songwriting, Slusarenko is quick to point out that the group has more up their collective sleeve. “We just finished the second record, The Planets Are Blasted, which will be out early next year. And we’re already taking tracks for a third one.”
The boldness of Pollard and co. is evident. They make music for the art of making music, a rare trait in the mp3 generation of rock music. As Slusarenko put it, “Bob has always made music for himself, first. He made six records that didn’t get much support, but he loved it. And I think he still does that. I really respect that. And of course he loves that people respond to it as much as they do. But it really comes down to fact that he likes to make art.”
Boston Spaceships - Go For The Exit (from Brown Submarine)
Boston Spaceships - Winston's Atomic Bird (from Brown Submarine)
Labels: Interviews
I was excited to read this article until I read "on vocals and lots of alcohol" or something like that near the beginning. Why do people who write about Bob Pollard feel the need to glorify his drinking, which has changed from the GBV-era buzzed-on-Budweisers to dead-eyed-and-muttering-on-tequila over the last few tours. The last few times I've seen Pollard he's been so drunk he was glassy-eyed and incoherent at the *beginning* of the set, and he's the only one in the band who's drunk. During GBV's prime he got sloshed, yes, but not to the point of not being able to speak, let alone sing. People at the most recent Pollard solo Seattle show, already much less well-attended than the last few GBV tours, were leaving early. The requisite GBV/Bee Thousand medley was painful. It was once fun to go see them and see the band partying as much as the audience, sure, but it's turned into something much different, and a 50-year-old man drinking himself blind, turning in a horrible performance, staggering around the stage singing atonally surrounded by a bunch of hangers-on backstage and in the band laughing at it, well, it's just painful and pathetic. Please quit encouraging it, everybody, so the guy can live to 60, okay?
Lighten up, Francis. Bob's drinking is just fine, Still in Rome, etc.
Did you even read my comment, "Francis"? If he can barely sing, let alone speak, and is emptying bottles of tequila, how is his drinking "fine"? Maybe he's mellowed out a bit by now, but those last couple of tours were hard to witness. And I'm not some schoolmarm...I love getting a buzz on as much as the next old time GBV fan. Blind drunk before the first song when people care about your music and have paid to see you is ridiculous and sad, not let's-get-buzzed-and-have-fun.