The Guided by Voices Story
"Watch me Jumpstart" is a documentary showing what the music business is like for the members of the Dayton, Ohio based band, Guided by Voices. This musical collection was re- released near the end of last year on DVD and now includes videos and other features from the band's more recent history.

Bob Pollard, the leader and prolific songwriter, commands the microphone for most of this DVD. He talks about the band; his life as a musician; the approach he takes to songwriting; his hometown of Dayton, Ohio; and other trivial tidbits. I have met Pollard a few times myself and, while he likes to drink up and party, he is actually a pretty well- grounded type of guy, as this documentary shows.

The cinematography in this documentary is taken mostly from the Dayton, Ohio area. The movie starts with scenes of Dayton, as seen from the front of a vehicle as it drives down the streets of the city. There are also scenes taken of Pollard's home and some of the other band member's houses. At the end of the DVD is a special section titled "Live Snippets", which is basically a continuation of the main film, with more behind the scenes talk with the members of the band and more live performances.

This film mixes black & white scenes with color scenes, making for some interesting viewing that keeps your attention. I would like the film even better if it included more in- depth analysis of the band and its members, but this is still a first- rate collection for all fans of GBV. It's a little outdated, since most all of the members form 1996 (when the original film was made) left the band within the next seven or eight years, but fans of the group and of alternative music in general will enjoy it nonetheless.

The one GBV DVD to get!
If you are in the market for a DVD featuring the great and prolific Guided By Voices, this is the one to pick up. Banks Tarver has created a documentary about the boys from Dayton, Ohio that is strangely both intimate and distancing at the same time, but always compelling. Beautifully filmed in the last days of the 'classic' lineup, circa "Under the Bushes, Under the Stars", Tarver captures both a brief history of the band, daily life in Dayton and behind the scenes gems- a portrait of a bunch of friends creating something wonderful in the midst of quiet Midwest suburbia. Also included on the DVD are all of the GBV music videos, the best directed by Tarver himself. 2 Easter Eggs of recent videos "My Kind of Soldier" and "Back to the Lake" await your finding, as well as 2 live performances, one long set from the original video featuring said 'classic' lineup, and the other more recent (circa 2002) albeit brief performance of 3 tunes from the Warsaw in NYC. Of extra special note is the short companion piece only on the DVD by Banks Tarver called "Beautiful Plastic". It's a great little snippet featuring Bob Pollard and his brother Jim digging through a basement box of clippings, collages, song lyrics and photographs. It's really wonderful and inspiring to see Bob waxing nostalgic about old songs, discarded album covers and ideas- a rare glimpse into the creative process for this massively creative artist.

Like GBV? You'll love this VHS!
This video is a spectacular look into the band in their hometown and on tour during the Under The Bushes/Under The Stars period, It is split into three parts first you get to see the boys being interviewed by various rock mags at shows and around their hometown, second piece has alot of live footage plus a hilarious show in Austin where idiots from a band called Picasso Trigger try to start a fight with them (ahhh kids) and the tape ends with five videos some of which are: I am a Scientist, Bulldog Skin, My Valuable Hunting Knife, Auditorium/Motor Away. If you want to know what these guys are/were like back in the mid Ninties this is a great perspective.

A Great Introduction To Guided By Voices
"Watch Me Jumpstart" is most definitely a great video. I would recomend it to anyone who enjoys original and unique music. It also does a great job on creating the biography of Guided By Voices. There are a lot of good songs on this tape too. This tape is great if you are just a Guided By Voices newby. This was hands down and awesome video, that should belong to any Guided By Voices fan.

Guided by Voices for Dummies
I bought this video for my husband, the hard-core GBV fan. The video explains the creative energy of the members and their whole take on the music industry and how they fit into it. Most of their creations were done with their own recording equipment. This video also talks about the making of the band, including some music videos. For any GBV fan, this is a must (my husband claims). It was well worth the money. After watching it, I felt like a part of the band.