Being in Guided By Voices is like trying to drink from a fire hose of songs. Mark Shue would know—he joined in 2016 and has already played on more albums than most bands release in a lifetime. “Once it’s in the can, we don’t really revisit it until six months or a year later when the album comes out,” Shue says. “By the time Space Gun was released, we were already working on something else. We’re always a few steps ahead.”
That relentless churn carries over to the stage. “The sets are two hours 45 minutes, close to three,” Shue says casually. “We’re talking 55 to 60 songs. On this tour we’re playing Space Gun in its entirety, plus surprises.” Some songs are untouchable, the “classics” that never leave the set. But Bob Pollard rotates others to keep it interesting. “Every tour, we rebuild the setlist from the ground up,” Shue says.
Joining GBV was as chaotic as you’d expect. Shue had been a longtime fan, played with Doug Gillard in other projects, and got pulled into Pollard’s orbit through ESP Ohio. Around the same time, Pollard released Please Be Honest, a record he played entirely himself. “That was like a reset button,” Shue explains. “It reestablished what Guided By Voices could be.”
The current lineup has carved out its own sound—less lo-fi clatter, more stadium-sized anthems. “When I first heard Bob’s demos for Space Gun—just him and an acoustic guitar into a boombox—they sounded epic,” Shue recalls. “It felt big.” Tracks like “Flight Advantage” came from one-take live sessions to tape, while odder cuts like “Oh With a Blink” leaned into the record’s spacey themes. “Bob encouraged us to explore new sounds and really get out there,” Shue says.
Even the b-sides get love. Shue contributed “Disconnected Eyes” to a single, while other members added their own. “On a day off, Doug and I wrote and recorded ‘Nice City’ in about 12 hours,” he laughs. “That’s the pace. It’s infectious. Bob’s writing inspires all of us—you just get caught up in the whirlwind.”
That whirlwind is still going strong. A Pollard-approved biography was on the horizon when we spoke. Tours stretch on for hours. Records keep stacking up. “Before you know it, there’s another one,” Shue says with a shrug. “Being a GBV fan is unlike being a fan of any other band. Being in GBV is the same—it’s amazing and insane at once.”
Listen to the interview above and then check out "Space Gun" and "See My Field" below!
