GUIDED BY VOICES: "THE INSECTS OF ROCK"
Live at Lounge Ax - Chicago, IL - July 9th, 1994
Final Show of the "Insects of Rock" Tour
(Original artwork by Chris Barth/Barthatronic included!)

AUD > mic(?) > recorder(?) > cassette (master) > cassette (source) > Tascam 424 mkII 4-track
recorder > .wav (44.1kHz - Audacity 1.2.3) > Peak 4 (compression, gain) > FLACFrontend > 
.flac8

Special thanks to Jeff Warren and Chris Barth!

This is a solid, well-balanced audience recording with lots of punch and good definition 
between instruments.  Taken a generation away from the master, you're not likely to ever 
find a better source.  As far as I know, this one has remained relatively uncirculated for 
going on twelve years.  There is a small amount of general hiss and some distortion in the 
vocals, but not to the point of distraction.  

Track 6 ("My Valuable Hunting Knife") sounds like it contains a glitch at 0:46, but that's 
really just Kevin Fennell dropping the beat momentarily.  The source cassette was the same.

According to gbvdb.com, this was GBV's 25th (or so) show after returning to the live stage 
in 1993 after seven years of "retirement".  It was also the last show of GBV's first major 
headlining tour in support of "Bee Thousand".  One of a handful of shows featuring openers 
and future Guided by Voices members Cobra Verde, this show documents what was probably the 
first collaboration between Robert Pollard, Doug Gillard, and Jon Petkovic - in the form of 
backing vocals supplied with some help from Franklin Bruno on "Quality of Armor".

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From "Twenty-One Years of Hunting Accidents in the Forests of Rock-n-Roll" by James Greer:
   
"Insects of Rock, a package tour featuring other Scat bands - most importantly (for future
reference), on at least one or two shows, label-mates Cobra Verde - represented the first
time the band had ever been out for an extended period of time (GBV rented a van)."

"I took the bar in February 1994 and then started playing solidly," remembers Greg (Demos).
"I did the Insects of Rock tour, Lollapalooza...Those first six months seemed to me the most
fun, before it became a business."
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But wait - it gets better.  Looking for "all the hits" before they became "all the hits"? 
(Like the "new single and video" 'I Am a Scientist'?)  No rotten bananas in this bunch:

Total Time: 53min 38sec
01. (Hey, What Do You Guys Want to Be When You Grow Up?)
02. Echos Myron
03. Smothered in Hugs
04. Closer You Are
05. Postal Blowfish
06. My Valuable Hunting Knife
07. (Hey Hey, The Insects of Rock)
08. Blimps Go 90
09. Shocker in Gloomtown
10. Tractor Rape Chain
11. Lethargy
12. The Goldheart Mountaintop Queen Directory
13. Gold Star for Robot Boy
14. Motor Away
15. Striped White Jets
16. Non-Absorbing
17. My Impression Now
18. Yours to Keep
19. Break Even
20. Unleashed! The Large-Hearted Boy
21. Exit Flagger
22. I Am a Scientist

23. (This Guy's Pants)
24. Pimple Zoo
25. Matter Eater Lad
26. Quality of Armor *

27. (This is GBV Land) 
28. Weed King
29. Some Drilling Implied

Lineup: 
Robert Pollard - Tobin Sprout - Mitch Mitchell - Greg Demos - Kevin Fennell

* featuring "The Insects of Rock" on backing vocals: 
Doug Gillard - Jon Petkovic - Franklin Bruno