Pitchfork

Looks like they couldn't keep good ol' Bob Pollard off the road for too long. The indie shaman has announced a tour in support of his Merge Records solo debut, From a Compound Eye, which is set to hit stores January 24. On the trek, Pollard will be backed by singer/songwriter Tommy Keene on guitar and keyboards, Dave Phillips on guitar, Verbow's Jason Narducy on bass, and Jon Wurster of Superchunk and the Scharpling and Wurster comedy duo on drums.

Motor away:

01-26 Athens, GA - 40 Watt
01-27 Carrboro, NC - Cat's Cradle
01-28 Washington, DC - 9:30 Club
02-09 Cleveland, OH - Beachland Ballroom
02-10 Columbus, OH - Little Brother's
02-11 Newport, KY - Southgate House
02-24 Los Angeles, CA - Knitting Factory
02-25 San Francisco, CA - The Independent
02-27 Portland, OR - Doug Fir Lounge
02-28 Seattle, WA - Crocodile Café
03-30 Minneapolis, MN - First Ave
03-31 Chicago, IL - Metro
04-01 Detroit, MI - St. Andrews
04-20 New York, NY - Irving Plaza
04-21 Boston, MA - Paradise
04-22 Philadelphia, PA - Theatre of Living Arts

Fans should prepare to expect...the expected, as Pollard recently explained to Billboard.com: "I don't think it will be much different than a Guided by Voices show. I don't know how else to do it. It's not going to be me sitting at the piano with a spotlight on me. I'll get drunk, come out and stumble around!"

He added, "There are 26 songs on From a Compound Eye, and we're going to do 22 or 23 of them. That's a big chunk of the show. I'll do a few songs from some of my EPs, two or three from the Moping Swans, and there's a Circus Devils song I want to do. I may do eight or nine songs from old Robert Pollard albums, and maybe a GBV song or two in the regular set. Then, maybe an entire Guided by Voices encore."

And it looks like the "P" section of the record store is going to be packed in 2006, as Pollard has already announced plans for his second solo album of the new year. He recently revealed to Billboard.com that the new project, which bears the working title Normal Happiness, is already complete, and tentatively due for release in October 2006 on Merge.

The LP is said to feature a number of tracks originally written for the soundtrack to Steven Soderbergh's upcoming film, Bubble, which is set to hit U.S. theaters in January. An EP of material from the Bubble sessions, creatively titled Music For "Bubble" was released on Fading Captain in December. One of the tracks from that EP, "Boxing About", has been reworked for Normal Happiness, according to Billboard.

Pollard described the upcoming release as "a pop album" jam-packed with "16 two-minute pop songs." Which means it's pretty much business as usual.

Not surprisingly, Pollard is also involved in a pair of new side projects. Billboard.com reports that he's collaborating with ex-GBV bassist Chris Slusarenko as the Takeovers, and with Tommy Keene as the Keene Brothers. The debut releases from both outfits are expected to be issued this May through Fading Captain label, with firm dates and tracklists yet to be finalized.

And finally, if the recent Guided by Voices concert DVD (The Electrifying Conclusion, and book (Guided By Voices: A Brief History by ex-GBV member Jim Greer) don't take up enough room under the tree this holiday season, hip shoppers looking for that one-of-a-kind stocking stuffer for their GBV-loving spouses can head over to eBay, where Rockathon Records is running an auction to benefit Pollard's brother Jimmy Pollard and his wife, who are in danger of losing their jobs at an auto plant due to the downturn in the economy.

But get ready to shell out major cash-- an original copy of Propeller, signed by both Bob and Jimmy, went for a whopping $4,850.00 last week. The person who bought that is either an exemplary human being whose altruism should be admired by all, or completely insane.

* Pitchfork Review: Robert Pollard: Zoom (It Happens All Over the World) EP / Music From Bubble EP
"