Time for our occasional dip into the game we like to call Six Degrees Of Kevin Shields.
As ever, we need some sort of musical reference point to start our meanderings - and for no other reason than I was watching one of their recent shows on YouTube the other week - we are starting this time with Dayton, Ohio's finest, Robert Pollard (apologies to my wife - she's not a fan).
Robert Ellsworth Pollard Jr is the founder, leader and one constant member of lo-fi Ohioan legends, Guided By Voices (GBV). Despite being a bit of a standout pitcher at Wright State University (he once threw a no-hitter), he decided being a pro athlete was a bit too much like hard work. So, instead he became a school teacher, working with a wide range of age groups before settling on fourth grade. In the background though, he was pursuing the love of music he has had since his teenage years. The proto version of GBV began in 1981, although it wasn't formally named until 1983. Since 1986s Forever Since Breakfast EP, Pollard has recorded something like 38 GBV albums and 22 solo and side projects albums (I'm being vague, because by the time you read this, he may well have released several more). He is possibly one of the most prolific songwriters there is, and over the last 40 years he has well over 3,000 songs registered with the BMI.
One of the revolving GBV cast members over the years was James Greer. He played bass in the band between 1994 and 1996, featuring on the albums Alien Lanes and Under The Bushes, Under The Stars. But he is perhaps more well known as a journalist and author, having worked for much of the 1990s for Spin magazine. He has written three novels; Artificial Light, Bad Eminence and The Failure. He has also written several screenplays, including The Spy Next Door (featuring Jackie Chan) and Unsane (directed by Steven Soderbergh and starring Claire Foy). Then there are the music books, including the one that includes himself - GBV: A Brief History: 21 Years Of Hunting Accidents In The Forest Of Rock n Roll.
GBV: Game Of Pricks - https://youtu.be/suCRbhc7WEw?si=iW8dNR5jwpEORyl4
(1996, live in Dayton at the launch for Under The Bushes - captures the chaos and lo-fi
genius of the band).
In 1992, Greer had written a book about REM, called Behind The Mask, included photos by visual artist Laura Levine. She did portrait photo work with a wide range of musical acts over the years, including Bjork, The Ramones, Beastie Boys and Iggy Pop. At 16, a young Levine had managed to talk her way into a Central Park gig where she ended up shooting photos of Paul Simon and Patti Smith. Her artwork as also been included on a variety of albums for the likes of Robyn Hitchcock, Joan Jett and The Replacements.
Levine's work was featured on The Replacements 2006 best of album, Don't You Know Who I Think I Was? Released on Rhino Records, it includes eighteen tracks from across the bands 1981 - 1990 output, and two newer tracks, Message To The Boys and Pool & Dive. Those latter ones included the three remaining original band members, Paul Westerberg, Tommy Stinson and Chris Mars (although he only doing backing vocals, with drumming being done by Josh Freese).
The Replacements: Alex Chilton - https://youtu.be/__rzIQKhgfI?si=fgyhe3BaPDKBW2xd
(Live, 2014 reunion tour? - A fantastic version of one of my favourites)
Floridian Josh Freese is one of the most prolific session drummers of the last forty years. He had music in his blood, with his father being the director of the Disneyland and Disney World bands, and his mother a classical pianist. He has appeared on over 400 albums since 1986, but is best known for his stints with Guns n Roses (1997-99), A Perfect Circle (1999-2012) and since May 2023, as the replacement for the later, great Taylor Hawkins in Foo Fighters. He has been a professional drummer since the age of 12, playing with Polo, a Top40 covers band at Disneyland. He jokingly referred to himself as "the blue collar freelance drummer to the stars." He has played live with the likes of Nine Inch Nails, Weezer, Sting, The Offspring and Devo, and has appeared on albums by artists as diverse as Suicidal Tendencies, Rob Zombie, Kelly Clarkson, Evanescence, Michael Bublé, Katy Perry and Social Distortion.
Foo Fighters: All My Life - https://youtu.be/ZZ9AEaVvUok?si=6cVjEeTog56ZNqeG
(2023, live at Glastonbury - including Josh Freese)
A Perfect Circle is one of the side projects of Tool's Maynard James Keenan, who was invited to form the band by his friend Billy Howerdel, who had been a guitar tech for NIN, Smashing Pumpkins and Tool. They have released four albums since their 1999 origins, although their work has been sporadic, including a full hiatus between 2004 - 2010. The first line up included Keenan and Howerdel, along with Paz Lenchantin (Argentine-American bass player who went on to join Pixies in 2014), Troy Van Leeuwen (guitarist who later played with Queens Of The Stone Age) and Tim Alexander (drummer with Primus, who was soon replaced by Josh Freese). The current version of the band includes James Iha of Smashing Pumpkins fame.
The first A Perfect Circle album, Mer de Noms (sea of names) came out in 2000 on Virgin Records, reaching number 4 on the US Billboard chart and selling an incredible 188,000 copies in its first week. It featured their unique blend of prog , alternative and hard rock - it was produced by Howerdel and mixed by Alan Moulder.
A Perfect Circle: 3 Libras - https://youtu.be/u9MAg9E5K3w?si=VhzNjlBq0Fn_s1JM
(2000, Official music video)
Alan Moulder, from Boston in Lincolnshire, found himself training as an assistant engineer at London's Trident Studios in the early 1980s, where he cut his teeth working with the likes of Jean Muchel Jarre and Flood (Killing Joke). His work with Flood began with the Jesus & Mary Chain, for whom he eventually engineer their 1989 record, Automatic. He has produced records for Ride (Going Blank Again), Swervedriver (Mezcal Head), Nine Inch Nails (With Teeth) and Foals (Holy Fire) - and mixed them for the likes of Smashing Pumpkins, Lush, Curve (he is married to lead singer Toni Halliday), The Cure, Korn, Placebo, The Killers, Editors.
He also engineered the Glider EP, Tremolo EP and Loveless album for My Bloody Valentine, featuring KEVIN SHIELDS.