Robert Pollard “didn’t have any musical talent” when growing up
Throughout most of his career, Guided By Voices leader Robert Pollard only picked up a guitar by necessity. During live performances, Pollard wouldn’t be caught dead with a six-string. In the studio, he only played guitar due to the lack of stability within the band’s lineup. Since he was the main songwriter, it was often easier for Pollard to simply lay down a guitar line and let the rest of the band fill out the arrangement.
Pollard only learned how to play the guitar after he graduated from high school. He spent his time singing in various cover bands in his hometown of Northridge, Ohio, but his upstart interest in songwriting was stunted by only being a singer. To Pollard, not knowing how to play guitar was akin to having no talent whatsoever.
“Growing up, I didn’t really have any musical talent. I could always sing, but that’s it,” Pollard told Magnet Magazine in 2016. “So I started hanging around with all these weirdoes from Northridge who could play guitar. And I would just watch them, ‘Wow, I’ve got to learn how to do that.’ That song ‘Hank’s Little Fingers’ (on Devil Between My Toes) – Hank (Davidson) is the guy that inspired me to play the guitar. He had a deformed hand with these little bitty fingers.”
“I was either a senior in high school or a freshman in college,” Pollard added. “I had bought an acoustic guitar with my graduation money. And Hank inspired me to play it. I don’t think Hank knows about Guided By Voices—he’s this reclusive guy with long hair and long fingernails. I asked a friend of mine, ‘Should I tell Hank that he’s responsible for all of our success?’ He said, ‘No.’ ‘Well, should I tell him about the song ‘Hank’s Little Fingers’?’ He said, ‘No, Hank would not be happy with that.’ So Hank still doesn’t know.”
By the time Pollard got his guitar skills up to snuff enough to form Guided By Voices, he found a profession that would allow him to focus on music: teaching. During the days, Pollard would teach in various grades, spending most of his time in elementary schools. Guided By Voices weren’t successful enough for Pollard to abandon his day job, but it became so demanding that the pressure nearly caused him to quit.
“It was incredibly difficult. For a year I was driving myself crazy, splitting myself between Guided By Voices and teaching,” Pollard explained. “The last year I taught was when Bee Thousand was out, and things were starting to get into full swing for us. We did a couple tours and had to play out on weekends, so I had to take off every Friday for over a month.”
“I figured I might get fired for stuff like that. But the principal I worked with was really cool. And when I finally told her I was quitting, she was so cool about it,” Pollard added. “She said she knew I was going to quit. [Laughing] I had come into school a couple times when I was drunk because we were out all night recording. But I always got along with everybody.”
Check out ‘Hot Freaks’ from Bee Thousand down below.
