Upcoming Robert Pollard Projects for 2007 - Updated Again!

(Updated yet again with some big news on Siverfish Trivia, another new Robert Pollard LP for the fall, plus interesting label news for Sgt. Disco and Bad Football. Plus I reordered the list so its as chronological as I can make it...)

2006 was a banner year for Robert Pollard fans. With 2 excellent solo albums (one a double album), 3 side project LPs released on the same day, a cracking live album, several EPs and 2 live tours with the Ascended Masters, my wallet has been hurting but my ears and soul are abnormally happy. And 2007 looks to be another completely amazing year for us lucky fans. Some of the LPs that were slated for late 2006 have been pushed into next year, but who could complain? Check it...


Robert Pollard "Relaxation Of The Asshole 2 - Meet The King"
(Rockathon Records. Available now!)
Oh yes they did! This limited edition vinyl only follow up to 2005's legendary (?) stage rant comedy album will soon be hitting your mailboxes. According to Pollard, "the cover is a photo of me lying in a bathtub drinking a beer with a track suit on". More yuk yuks for you motherfucks...

Acid Ranch "The Great Houdini Wasn't So Great"
(Record Company Records. Tentative release date early 2007.)
Bob has dug around in the basement and unearthed 40 more Acid Ranch songs (including I'm Talkin' Brotherly Love And You Set My Hand On Fire, Wee Wee Wah Wah, and Lie To The Rainbow)! This limited edition vinyl only 25 track release will undoubtedly have more rockin' weirdness from a pre-Guided By Voices Bob, Jimmy Pollard and Mitch Mitchell. According to Pollard, "the cover is my dad in the middle with a drink and a cigarette in his hand, my ex-brother-in-law Kevin Fennell, and me on the left of my dad with a pinstripe sport coat and a string tie. I don't know what the f*ck I was thinking". No individual unique cover art like last time, but it should be a fun listen.



(fake Silverfish Trivia cover courtesy of DTS and crunch)

Robert Pollard "Silverfish Trivia" (formerly "Hello Forever" and "Gratification To Concrete")
(Prom Is Coming Records. April 17, 2007.)
Forget everything you think you know about Silverfish Trivia! Studio sessions with Todd Tobias were completed in June 2006. But apparently Bob was not satisfied and more recording and tracklist fiddling have transformed the former Hello Forever (described as Kid Marine 2) into Silverfish Trivia. And as of January 2007, Bob has gone back and changed the record for a second time into a mini-LP to be released in April on his new vanity label! The 7 track, 22 minute album has been described by Bob as "much more somber and strange" than recent work. And Chris George of Invert is contributing new string arrangements. The final Silverfish Trivia tracklist is...

Come Outside (string instrumental)
Circle Saw Boys Club
Wickerman Smile
Touched To Be Sure
Waves, Etc.
Cats Love A Parade
Speak In Many Colors (another string instrumental)

...which leaves the following former Silverfish Trivia songs heard on Bob and The Ascended Masters' Normal Happiness tour in November...

The Killers (previously a Psycho And The Birds track)
Piss Along You Bird
Met Her At A Seance
Life Of A Wife

These tracks plus several unknown others (from the original Silverfish Trivia lineup) are either a part of a new and completely different Robert Pollard LP slated for the fall (more details below), two of the Crickets bonus tracks (see below) or part of an EP of leftovers soon to follow that new LP (confused yet?)...

Various "Crickets" - The Best Of The Fading Captain Series
(Fading Captain Series. Tentative release date early May 2007)
This 2 cd 50 track set with booklet will compile the best of the unreal Fading Captain Series, home of Robert Pollard's solo and side projects for 8 years. And rumor has it that there will be 6 unreleased tracks (including 2 former Silverfish Trivia tracks) to entice the fans who already own the entire run (like me, heh). Sadly, this set will be wrapping up the longstanding Fading Captain Series. But take heart, a new home and new plans are in the works for Bob's more experimental projects- namely, Record Company Records and Prom Is Coming Records run by Rockathon's own Rich T and Bob himself!



(fake Sgt. Disco cover courtesy of DTS and upsetter)

Circus Devils "Sgt. Disco"
(Ipecac Recordings. July 2007.)
Not 100% sure what relation this release has to the previously proposed two Circus Devils albums mentioned once upon a time in Todd Tobias' MySpace.com page. But one thing is known, Sgt. Disco is coming! Sgt. Disco is the legendary 4th Circus Devils release (it will be the 5th one released, but number 4 was called Five... you get the idea) once denied to exist, now a reality! And its arriving via Greg Werckman's and Mike Patton's (formerly of Faith No More) record label Ipacac. Breaking with tradition, this 32 track double album will see the light of day in July (unlike the previous Circus Devils albums released on Halloween, Bob's birthday).

The Takeovers "Bad Football"
(Off Records. Tentative release date summer 2007?)
Another pop collaboration with former GBV bassist Chris Slusarenko. Rumor has it that Stephen Malkmus, formerly of indie rock legends Pavement will appear. The last Takeovers album "Turn To Red" is my absolute favorite Pollard project of 2006. So I'm already chomping at the bit. Hoo-hah!

Robert Pollard "Standard Gargoyle Decisions" (tentative title)
(Merge Records? Tentative release date September 2007?)
As of January 2007, Bob has gone back yet again and changed Silverfish Trivia, making it into a mini-LP to be released in April. So the remaining tracks heard on Bob and The Ascended Masters' Normal Happiness tour in November as well as several others are now possibly a part of new Robert Pollard LP for the fall! In addition, Pollard has written and is itching to record an additional 28 songs, the best of which will also be a part of this project. The known leftover songs from Silverfish Trivia are...

The Killers (formerly a Psycho And The Bird's track)
Piss Along You Bird
Met Her At A Seance
Life Of A Wife

but there are no guarantees that these make the cut, with 28 more new ones in contention, leading us to...

Robert Pollard "Untitled EP"
(Merge Records? Tentative release date fall 2007?)
So this is where leftover b-sides from both the Silverfish Trivia sessions and the not-yet-recorded 28 new LP tracks will go. Tradition holds that b-side collection EPs are released within a few months, if not weeks, of the LP. Lots of new music on the horizon for 2007, kids!

Guided By Voices "Some Drinking Implied 2" DVD
(Rockathon Records. Tentative release date late 2007?)
Hey now! Another home brew Guided By Voices DVD from the folks at Rockathon! Expect to see recent live footage of both GBV and Robert Pollard, never before seen rare clips from Bob and Rich T's personal collection and as many of GBV's TV appearances as they can scrounge up. Sounds perfecto!



(Moon cover courtesy of the Guided By Voices Database)

Robert Pollard and The Ascended Masters "Moon" - vinyl LP
(Record Company Records. Tentative release date late 2007?)
This version of Merge's bonus live album will be exactly the same as the CD version, just on vinyl. Always a treat to get stuff on wax and you already know that Moon kicks ass, so its a no brainer.


And that's all we know of... so far!