Looking Beyond The Indie Scene

And the year off performing since the Metro farewell hasn't been a total vacation: Pollard released two EPs under his own name, as well as "Suitcase 2: American Superdream Wow," a four-disc, 100-track collection of Pollard rarities, each credited to a different band name (Apes in the Window, Bug Eyed Mums, Billy Ray Human, Gene Autry's Psychic) with a booklet featuring Pollard's collages and artwork for fictitious singles from the collection, and "Eat II," his second poetry and art collection.

The GBV farewell juggernaut also included "The Electrifying Conclusion," a four-hour DVD of the final concert that featured an onstage, band-only bar and a 63-song set that began with "Over the Neptune/Mesh Gear Fox," the first track from GBV's breakthrough album, 1992's "Propeller," and ended with "Don't Stop Now." There was also "Guided by Voices: A Brief History -- Twenty-One Years of Hunting Accidents in the Forests of Rock and Roll," by former GBV bassist James Greer. At 280 pages, it was hardly brief but was complete, with a useful GBV family tree and discography. Film director Steven Soderbergh, a longtime GBV fan, contributed a humorous foreword, which is appropriate since Pollard contributed music to Soderbergh's "Bubble."

Opening this weekend, "Bubble" is the first of several high-definition, low-budget digital movies that will be available simultaneously in theaters, on DVD and on digital download. One of the EPs released last year in the Fading Captain series was the instrumental "Music for 'Bubble,' " and Pollard has recorded the follow-up to "Compound Eye" with "Normal Happiness," consisting of pop songs Soderbergh didn't use in the film.

The connection between this musician and director is understandable: Although Soderbergh can deliver the big-budget, glamorous superstar event movie ("Ocean's Eleven" and "Ocean's Twelve"), he's indie at heart. "He's kinda got the same thing going on, plus he works a lot," Pollard says. "He's always involved in a movie, I'm always involved in a record. He's got his big-budget babies and then his experimental projects, and that's pretty much the way I operate."

Except, one should note, for the "big budget" part.

Pollard met Soderbergh only "right before he started shooting, but I've been reading for years where he said GBV was his favorite band. He used 'Do Something Real' [from 1999's 'Speak Kindly of Your Volunteer Fire Department'] in [2002's] 'Full Frontal' -- the only song in the movie. He said, 'We must cross-pollinate.' I said, 'Yes, please, I can use the work!' "

Which fits Pollard's notion that such work not include so much debilitating touring.

"The other thing is you don't make a lot of money playing live -- we're not the Rolling Stones," he says.

That's why eBay may serve as Pollard's personal Social Security down the line, particularly after he noted the high prices folks seemed willing to pay for GBV rarities, such as $4,800 for a mint-condition "Propeller." (Each copy has a unique handmade cover.)

"I sold one before that for $6,200," Pollard admits. "I was kinda curious to see what it would go for, so I signed one of my own. The thing is, if you're an indie rock artist, you don't make a lot of money. Not that I need to do that right now, I'm fine. . . . But just out of comfort I entertain the notion of selling things on eBay.

"I'm thinking of doing an auction with my collages. I have a lot of them and they're all one of a kind, so I'm sure people will want to buy them. If I'm not making much touring or on advances for albums, I don't see what the problem is, though some people think that's gouging fans. I'd disagree. It's about trying to stay afloat and looking at the future. Hopefully the future will hold enough for me to start doing some soundtracks."

According to Pollard, after Soderbergh finishes directing George Clooney and Cate Blanchett in "The Good German" and several other projects (including "Ocean's Thirteen" and "Che"), "he's interested in doing a musical of Cleopatra with Catherine Zeta-Jones and Jim Greer writing the script, and Steven's asked me to write the songs. I hope that kinda pans out because, first of all, it would be interesting -- I like Steven's films, he likes my music -- plus it could actually be quite lucrative."

Having not played live since the Metro farewell, Pollard's shaking off road rust.

"This is the longest time -- 13 months -- that I haven't played a show," he says. "It's been nice, I've had a lot of time to do creative things that I needed to do that were difficult to do when you keep going out on the road."

This weekend at the 9:30 club, Pollard will be backed on guitar by Keene and Dave Phillips (Frank Black, Tommy Stinson), Superchunk drummer Jon Wurster and bassist Jason Narducy. "Tommy Keene's going to be playing keyboards on 14 or 15 songs, and I've never been onstage with a keyboard, it might freak me out," Pollard says. Narducy was recently playing with Bob Mould, who was also featuring a keyboardist for the first time.

"As you get older, you start entering the Peter Gabriel phase; the punk rock days are over," Pollard says. "I'm 48 years old now, and I'm sure Bob felt the same way. We'll be opening with 'Gold,' and Tommy said he's going to play the tremolo guitar and then whip out a harmonica and then go over to the piano -- I'll probably start laughing, probably won't be able to finish the song."

Robert Pollard Appearing Saturday at the 9:30 club Sound: The former schoolteacher continues to champion his "four P's" (pop, punk, prog and psychedelic) while mashing killer hooks, obtuse lyrics and lo-fi sonics.