Pop Zeus MVPs Revealed! #2- Greg Demos

(photos courtesy of gbv.com)

Demos! What can I say? There have been many talented bassists over the 21 year history of Guided By Voices- most notably Tim Tobias, Mitch Mitchell, Johnny Strange and Chris Slusarenko. But it's hard to ignore the outstanding contributions and tight striped rock pants of Greg Demos, my second GBV MVP.

Demos relationship with Bob and the band goes all the way back to 1987, when Greg and fellow future GBVer Don Thrasher were in the band New Creatures. Bob jumped on stage at a local gig to sing along with "Nature's Way" by Spirit and they've been friends ever since.

On again, off again is the best way to describe Demos' involvement with Guided By Voices. When not with the band, he has had a successful career as a lawyer of all things. But every time he returns to GBV, Demos brings something special to the mix. His very first appearance with the band was on 1990's Same Place The Fly Got Smashed, largely responsible for the unique sound and production on the album. Greg also played bass on 1992's Propeller, then returned after a break for 1999's Do The Collapse. A string of amazingly kick ass live performances followed culminating in his last show documented in The Who Went Home And Cried DVD.

In recent years, Demos has messed up his "lawyer wig" to participate in side projects Robert Pollard and his Soft Rock Renegades and The Moping Swans. He also made a hilarious and memorable appearance after a lengthy hiatus at GBV's final show in Chicago, cracking Bob up as he totally rocked out on I Drove A Tank. His striped rock pants also made a memorable appearance, as worn by the fan in front of me in line who won the "win Greg's pants" contest!

No bones about it, Greg Demos is a worthy Pop Zeus MVP!