Gothamist Band Interview: Robert Pollard
13th Nov 2006, 20:49 GMT
Maybe it was recording and releasing four albums in the late 80s and early 90s while playing no shows. Perhaps it was signing to 1995's hottest indie label, Matador, as a 37 year-old Dayton inhabitant who refused to move to New York or another major media center. Or the fact that, despite commonly held opinion that prohibits giving fans too much of what labels think they want, Robert Pollard has been self-releasing LPs, EPs and singles in addition to his "normal" releases for over a decade. Leave it to Pollard, then, to flaunt convention even with his high profile releases. Normal Happiness, released last month on Merge, is his second release on that label in less than a year. Completely different from last January's double album prog attack From A Compound Eye, Normal Happiness consists of sixteen short and sparkling pop jewels, each taking advantage of Pollard's ability to create captivating songs via melodies that live happily outside the mainstream. Robert Pollard plays Bowery Ballroom tonight, you can buy tickets here. This interview is being conducted via email, yet popular belief holds that you don't do "computer stuff". What's the deal? Is this really you typing? I occasionally do computer stuff through my girlfriend Sarah's email address and I also order things on half.com and E-bay. These are my words. I will have Sarah type them. As he has on previous albums, producer Todd Tobias plays a key role on Normal Happiness. Clearly, you are happy with what the collaboration has produced on previous albums such as Fiction Man and From A Compound Eye. Would you ever consider using your current live band in the studio, or do you prefer to keep the recording process and the live performance experience separate? Right now I think the combinations have been very successful, by my standards anyway. It's hard to top Todd's creative energy in every aspect of the recording process. He's a very talented musician, but so are the guys in the live line-up so doing a studio album with them is not entirely out of the question. Normal Happiness is a collection of twisted, two-minute pop gems. Are these songs that you wrote over time, saving them for a specific album? Or did you write these songs after deciding to make Normal Happiness? I wrote a total of 47 songs and it just so happened that my favorite ones happened to be the poppier ones and that tone or attitude carried over into the recording process itself. I didn't feel the final product was overly "sappy" so I decided to call it "Normal Happiness". Not too heavy and not light. Guided By Voices was always a Robert Pollard vehicle, but retiring a respected, proven brand name can be risky. As a solo artist, do you feel that you've got something to prove? I don't think I have anything to prove other than the fact that I'm not going away. I'm going to continue to attempt to make interesting albums and improve my songwriting craft. The shows with your new band The Ascended Masters are focused and tight, rarely teetering on the edge as many GBV shows did. Is this the result of a new band finding its voice, or a feel that was intended from the start? It's the result of a totally different combination of personalities. A certain amount of "sloppiness" had come to be accepted or tolerated from GBV line-ups. I think we drank a bit more and I was the primary role model. The new line-up don't necessarily follow my lead quite as enthusiastically. At least not as consistantly. New York City has always been a special place for you - GBV played one of its first shows outside of Dayton here (as well as three of its final shows ever), longtime GBV label Matador is here, and you even considered moving here. So... are NYC shows special, or a major pain in the butt? I have considered moving to NYC. I love it and I've spent almost a month at a time during various recording projects (TVT years). I'm usually ready to leave after that amount of time though. I'm kind of a suburban boy. I like to be close to the city but not too close. NYC is about a 10 hr. drive, a 1 1/2 hr. flight so I come there often. The crowds are fantastic and I consider it to be my home as far as playing live is concerned. New York and maybe Chicago or D.C..
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