Boston Spaceships Revealed! Band Members, Tracklist, Preview MP3, Tour Dates, Etc...

As reported earlier, Robert Pollard has a new band called Boston Spaceships! And many more details have come to light regarding who, what, where, when and why...

First and foremost, the all-star touring lineup for Boston Spaceships is...


Robert Pollard: vocals and songwriter


Tommy Keene (The Ascended Masters and Keene Brothers): lead guitar and keyboard


Jason Narducy (The Ascended Masters and Bob Mould Band): bass


Chris Slusarenko (Guided By Voices and The Takeovers): other guitar


John Moen (The Decembrists and The Takeovers): drums


It's like the ultimate Marvel Team-Up with the Ascended Masters joining forces with The Takeovers! A powerhouse unit, without a doubt...


The band's debut album, Brown Submarine (dropping [pun intended] September 2nd on Pollard's own label Guided By Voices Inc.) was recorded in Portland with Slusarenko on everything but drums (Moen, obviously). Bob's vocals were recorded sometime later by Todd Tobias at Waterloo Studios.


And the tracklisting is...

01 Winston's Atomic Bird
02 Brown Submarine
03 You Satisfy Me
04 Ate It Twice
05 Two Girl Area
06 North 11 A.M.,
07 Zero Fix
08 Psych Threat
09 Andy Playboy
10 Rat Trap
11 Soggy Beavers
12 Ready to Pop
13 Still in Rome
14 Go for the Exit

And Go For The Exit is available right now as an MP3 courtesy of those shaggy haired folks at Pitchfork!



If you have been paying attention, you will instantly recognize Go For The Exit as a re-titled and re-worked Suitcase 1 song (and one of my personal favorites) Go For The Answers. And that's one of the coolest things about the Boston Spaceships project. Pollard is using the band as a way to fully realize old songs that were either released only on Suitcase or weren't released at all. Suitcase songs like Soggy Beavers, It's Easy and Dorothy's A Planet will be among the "brown nuggets" on Boston Spaceships' docket (and some may even be hiding in the tracklisting above, under new titles). Another 1/3rd of the songs will be old songs never heard. And the final 1/3rd will be brand new Pollard compositions. Unlike The Takeovers, all the music will be penned by Pollard.

The news gets even better. Bob considers Boston Spaceships to be his new band. So a new BS album will be released every year! The follow up to Brown Submarine is already in the works. This is not to say that the yearly solo and Circus Devils albums will cease production. Never underestimate the Pollard work ethic!

Thankfully, we won't have to wait until September to get some Boston Spaceships wax on our turntables. The debut single, You Satisfy Me b/w Impossible Octopus will be released as a 7" red vinyl single on Happy Jack Rock Records, August 5th!

Soon after Brown Submarine launches, the fully formed Boston Spaceships will hit the road to bring you the rock! Expect to hear an all-new setlist (GBV free, so I've heard) of Boston Spaceships tunes, new solo Pollard and other surprises. Here are the dates and opening acts...

09-25 Cincinnati, OH - Midpoint Music Festival *
09-26 Cleveland Heights, OH - Grog Shop *
09-27 Washington, DC - Black Cat *
09-29 Philadelphia, PA - Johnny Brenda's *
09-30 Boston, MA - Paradise #
10-01 New York, NY - Highline Ballroom *
10-03 Ann Arbor, MI - Blind Pig *
10-04 Dayton, OH - Dayton Music Festival
10-06 Chicago, IL - Double Door *
10-07 St. Paul, MN - Turf Club *
10-09 Champaign, IL - Higher Ground *
10-10 St. Louis, MO - Bluebird *
10-11 Memphis, TN - Hi-Tone *
10-14 Austin, TX - The Parish *
10-15 Dallas, TX - The Loft *
10-17 Atlanta, GA - The Earl *
10-18 Nashville, TN - Mercy Lounge *

* with the High Strung
# with Big Dipper