What was it about the Phantom Tollbooth record that made you want to add your own vocals?
I was a big fan of that period of really heavy, hard psychedelic stuff like Phantom Tollbooth, Das Damen, Painted Willie, some of the Amphetamine Reptile stuff, like Helmet and that kind of shit. But I thought Power Toy was the best record of that genre. The music is so complex. Parts of it are just completely jazzy and crazy, and other parts are really anthemic and Who-like. I thought it was a killer record. Not to say that the vocals were bad, because I liked them, but I thought it could use more of a classic-rock edge. I thought I could give it a Blue Öyster Cult, Alice Cooper, Captain Beefheart kind of thing.

I’d been doing all of these collaborations, and I was thinking of what else I could do, what would really be challenging, and I thought this would be a big challenge. We contacted (Phantom Tollbooth guitarist) Dave Rick, and it finally came together. I thought it was pretty unselfish of them for them to allow me to do that. The band is a trio, and they can all play. It was a challenge for me. It was really difficult. At one point, I said, “I’m failing at this, it’s not working.” I’ve never labored over anything, but for like a month I kept trying to come up with ideas. I had to map everything out because it was so complicated. It’s like math rock, and I had to figure out what was going on. It took me a long time. Finally, I just said, “I don’t know if I can do this.” I think I got some pot and got stoned, and it finally came together. It took me almost two months to get it together, but once I went into the studio, I did it in like six hours.

Why did you feel like it wasn’t working?
It’s just that the music is so complicated, I think it’s over my head. I think these guys are too good for me. I thought I bit off more than I could chew. I told somebody that my next project is going to be to redo the vocals for Houses Of The Holy. I’ve always liked Led Zeppelin, but I never liked Robert Plant. The music’s fucking great. So maybe I can contact Jimmy Page and he’ll allow me to do that.

I’m glad you brought that up because I was going to ask if there were any other records you wanted to do that with. But let me ask you first, have the Phantom Tollbooth guys heard the finished product?
Yeah. They love it, man. We’ve sent some e-mails back and forth because they all live in different parts of the country, and they really dig it. They think now, because of what I did, that they can hear their parts better. It’s kind of weird because the parts I sing on are the parts they didn’t sing on, so if you played both versions at the same time, you’d have continuous vocals all the way through the songs.

They dig it, man. Chris Slusarenko, the guy from Off Records who put it out, we hung out with Dave Rick for a couple of days in New York when we went to mix the record, and Dave is pretty excited about it. If it didn’t work, at least I gave it hell. I gave it a shot, like Jack Nicholson in One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest. [Laughs] What was it, when he tried to lift the drinking fountain, and he said, “Well, I gave it hell didn’t I?” One of the most interesting things about Beard Of Lightning is the concept itself. I’m sure some people will think that you shouldn’t do something like that. I talked to Dave Rick, and I asked him, “Do you think some of your fans will be pissed off about this?” And he said something like, “What fans?” I talked to Gerard Cosloy of Matador, who I think is going to do the liner notes, and asked him, “Do you like Phantom Tollbooth?” And he said, “Yeah, it’s just you and me, that’s it.” But I’m sure they had some fans because I thought they were an amazing band.

OK, back to the other question: What other albums, besides Houses Of The Holy, would you want to put your own vocals on?
Some people have suggested Rush, because Geddy Lee’s vocals are a bit hard to take. So maybe 2112 or whatever it was called.

Ever since Bee Thousand came out in 1994, you’ve become better known and you’ve done a ton of interviews. What’s your take on the interview process now? Necessary evil, or do you like it at all?
I hate it. I don’t mind talking to people I know, like you. It depends on the interviewer, really. I’m kind of shy, anyway, and it’s difficult to talk to total strangers about personal things. But I’ve gotten used to it. Sometimes they’re good, sometimes they’re terrible.

Can you remember the dumbest question you’ve ever been asked?
I had someone ask me kind of a dumb question the other day, but it wasn’t in an interview. I was in a bar in Dayton, the Southern Belle, and this girl kind of swung around on her barstool and said, “I’m sorry to do a double take, but I realized that I recognize you.” I was like, “Oh, from Guided By Voices?” And she goes, “Don’t you work at the AutoZone?” [Laughs] And then people at the bar laughed their asses off.

I’ll bet that was a real ego boost.
Yeah. See, that’s pretty much where I stand.

Changing subjects, do you miss not having a job to go to every day?
I kind of miss having my days planned out for me a little bit. It makes the weekend more exciting. But, no, I enjoy—I was going to say sleeping in, but I really don’t sleep in. It doesn’t hurt to get up in the morning even when you don’t have to do anything. It’s nice to have the morning to myself to do what I want to do instead of what someone is telling me to do.

The reason I ask, there are people like me who work a full-time job—
Would you miss it if you didn’t have to do it anymore?

Well, that’s what I’m getting at. I always wonder if I would. I’ve been unemployed before, and at first it’s kind of cool to know that I don’t have to go into work, but it gets old after a while.
Yeah, you get bored.

That’s what I was wondering. I know you write songs all the time and you’re doing other things, but are there times when you get bored doing what you do full-time?
Oh, yeah, I get totally bored. In the day, it’s not too bad. That’s why I don’t miss work. I can find things to do in the morning. I try to keep myself busy writing lyrics and watching movies. [Laughs] I get kind of restless when it gets to be about 4 or 5 o’clock, and that’s when I might usually go to a bar or something. I miss working a little bit. I miss getting a paycheck on Friday. I used to get in a lot of wrecks on Friday. I’d be excited that I got my paycheck and I’d be ready to go drink or whatever, and I’d hit somebody.

How many wrecks are we talking about?
Probably five or six. Not bad ones, though.

It’s a good thing you work at AutoZone.
Yeah, really. I can fix my own car. [Laughs]

Do you consider how prolific you are to be a blessing or a curse?
I think it’s a blessing. It’s what I like to do. I’m not familiar with writer’s block. I’ve never had it, but I’m sure it’s not a good thing. I’ve known people who have gone through that and they have to go to South America or Ireland or somewhere to try be inspired. I don’t have to do that. I’m pretty much inspired by the people that I meet and that I hang out with. I also don’t press. I don’t worry about it. I just do it naturally. I think it’s a blessing. I’m not sure if it’s a gift, but it’s definitely a blessing.

I was curious if you feel pressure to live up to what you’ve done or what you’re supposed to be.
I get that kind of thing sometimes. People will ask me, “Why don’t you write happy songs anymore?” or “Why don’t you write another ‘Game Of Pricks?’” or “Are you ever going to do Bee Thousand again?” My answer is always, “No, I’ll do whatever comes naturally.” So I get pressure, but I don’t feel it too much. We pretty much stay the same. We sell the same amount of records all of the time. When we did the jump to TVT, I had some people blowing smoke up my ass, and I kind of believed it at times—like we had the potential to have a hit—but I kind of got over that. I was like, fuck it, just enjoy yourself.

You were a jock in high school and college. Did you have the creative side to you all along?
Before I was even in a band or could play guitar or play music, even as a little kid, I wrote songs a cappella. I would make album covers and things like that. I used to draw the Warner Bros. label on them and shit. That’s weird, because Warner Bros. was one of the first labels that wanted to sign us. But I’ve always been pretty creative. I always kept it to myself. I would work on album covers and lyrics and kind of hide when I did it because people would see them and say, “What the fuck are you doing? What the hell is that?”

Didn’t your dad sort of push you toward athletics rather than music?
Well, he turned me onto music. He listened to crooners like Perry Como and Frank Sinatra, and I’d listen to that kind of stuff. Then he kind of allowed me to start buying records, but I was buying too many records, so he tried to stop me. I would spend all of my money. Music got to be a habit, and I started wanting to participate in it myself and form bands, and he wanted to discourage me at that time because he had aspirations for me to be an athlete. He thought music was getting in the way of responsibilities and school and sports. But he’s all right with it now.

You’re getting ready to play some shows with Cheap Trick. The last time you played with them, didn’t they make some comments to you like they thought you guys drank too much?
They did that a little bit. I think it was good-natured ribbing. I had the misconception that they didn’t like playing with us, but they contacted us this time. I think Bun E. Carlos is a Guided By Voices fan. I’m looking forward to it. If Cheap Trick wants you to tour with them, you do it. It’s interesting because this time we’re playing the Midwest and we’re playing Rockford, which is their hometown. It’s going to be interesting. We were supposed to do a split single for this tour. We did their song “Downed,” and they were supposed to do “Exit Flagger,” but I think they changed their mind. I don’t think they made the deadline, so the single isn’t going to be ready for this tour. But I think we’re still going to do it. I think we’re going to play with them in July at the Stone Pony in New Jersey, and the single should be ready for that.

What can we expect from the new GBV record (Earthquake Glue, due in August)?
I think it’s a little more straightforward than the last one. The last one kind of hearkened back to Alien Lanes a little bit. This one is 14 songs but without too many 35-second songs or whatever. I think it’s better. I never put out a record unless it’s the best thing we’ve ever done. Obviously, it’s hard to tell until a few years have gone by, but I think it’s a really good record. I think there are more interesting things going on musically as far as input from the band. Everybody did a lot of cool stuff. Kevin March, the drummer, plays marimba on one song, and Doug plays harmonica, so there’s some cool instrumentation. Other than that, it’s what you get with Guided By Voices. [Laughs] We’re like cereal—Cap’n Crunch or something.

You guys are the Cap’n Crunch of the indie-rock world.
Yeah. One of the possible titles for the record was Cap’n Crunch Is In The Milk Again. [Laughs] I don’t know if they would’ve let us use that one.