Guided by Voices will be rocking Bunbury Music Festival on Sunday July 15th! Guided by Voices have been a part of the scene off and on with a few different lineups since 1983. The original lineup reunited in 2010 and have been going strong since. I recently chatted with Kevin Fennell from GBV and we talked about new music, The Southgate House, playing festivals and touring.
In 2010, when GBV reunited with the original lineup, one of their stops was at our very own Southgate House. Fennell recalls SGH being one of their favorite venues to play and was sad to hear of the closing. He hopes for a speedy reopening of SGH but is glad to hear that the space is still in operation as The Thompson House.
Bunbury Music Festival is a hotbed of bands just on the verge of being in the main spotlight. I asked Fennell what new music was on his radar and what music in general helped to shape him as a musician.
He is a huge fan of all things rock, King Crimson, The Who, The Liars, Led Zeppelin, The Clash, High Strung... GBV is touring with Detective and he feels honored to be able to travel with a band that can rock with the best of them and create inspiration for GBV to play out even harder. Fennell is not usually a huge fan of the music festival environment as there are so many variables to consider...weather, sound, a possible carnival atmosphere but he had a blast at Pitchfork Music Festival last July in Chicago and is looking forward to playing for us at Bunbury.
GBV are no newbies to being on the road. Over the years the members of GBV have grown to appreciate each other, the public is fickle and they realize as big as they are it could all just go away (not likely in my own opinion). They tour much more posh than back in the day. Nicer hotels, better travel accommodations in general, no tour bus. GBV are just having fun being a band and making music with each other, this year alone they will be releasing 3 new records!
Fennell feels that GBV are more enthusiastic these days, they love what they are doing and feel less pressure than back in the day. He feels that the big payoff is to make people jump around, to entertain and bring happiness to the crowd. Audiences can feel when there is harmony in a band, the energy is evident creating a better show for band and crowd alike.
Guided By Voices are playing Bunbury Music Festival this Sunday! Go dance your ass off and lets show GBV how much Cincinnatians can ROCK!
