Keeping up with Doug Gillard

I had a little interview with the extremely overcommitted Doug Gillard a week or so ago...and you can read about him now in Blurt.

EVERYWHERE AT ONCE: Doug Gillard
From Beefheart and Beatles tributes to collaborations with Sally Crewe, Robert Pollard and My Dad Is Dead, the multitasker also finds time for his own music.

BY JENNIFER KELLY

"It's a whirlwind this year. There's just so much going on."

Doug Gillard takes a brief pitstop to take the journalist's phone call. Reached in his hometown of Cleveland, he's currently working with Cobra Verde bassist Ed Sotelo to get ready for a tour with Tommy Keene.

Busy? That's not the half of it. If we could get him to wear a red-striped shirt and a beret, Gillard could easily stage the rock and roll version of Where's Waldo? He's everywhere, all the time, and no, he never gets his gigs mixed up. I asked. He said no.

For instance, if you caught the Captain Beefheart tribute at the Bowery Poetry Club in New York City in June, you might have spotted the ex-Guided By Voices, ex-Cobra Verde, ex-too many bands to even list guitarist Gillard holding court with the Bush Tetras, covering the Beef's "Hot Head," "Tropical Hot Dog Night" and "Big Eyed Beans from Venus." If you happened to be in Hamburg last year, at the Indra Club, on the 50th anniversary of the Beatles' first club dates, you might also have noticed a certain familiar guitarist rocking out with Bambi Kino. Show up at a Nada Surf show lately? Gillard was there, too. Ditto for the recent reunion shows for Homestead Records' My Dad Is Dead. He also found time to record a second Lifeguards album with Robert Pollard. Right now, he's getting ready for a tour with Tommy Keene, where he will play in his own band and back up Sally Crewe and the Sudden Moves on guitar.

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Doug's got a whole bunch of live tunes up at the Free Music Archive.