What made Guided by Voices' rise from underground curios to indie superstars in the early '90s so noteworthy was that vocalist/guitarist Robert Pollard was also a teacher, an uncommon occupation for ock & roll idols. Pollard was born on October 31, 1957, in Dayton, OH. As a child, Pollard was groomed by his father to become a professional athlete, but in college he realized that music meant more to him than sports. Pollard formed Guided by Voices in Dayton in 1983 while working part-time at an elementary school. Also consisting of Paul Comstock (guitar/piano), Mitch Mitchell (bass), and Eric Payton (drums), Guided by Voices released their first EP, Forever Since Breakfast, in 1986. Pollard's love for British Invasion records, as well as an admiration for progressive rock and R.E.M.'s murky jangle, sculpted the band's early LPs, all of which Pollard, his brother, and the group's manager financed by requesting a loan from the Dayton Public Schools Credit Union.

Although Pollard remained at the helm, Guided by Voices had a continuously changing lineup in the '80s and '90s. A firm believer in the artistic qualities of "lo-fi" production, Pollard also has an ear for accessible albeit quirky pop, and when both sides converged on 1994's Bee Thousand, many critics began to chant his name. On Bee Thousand, Pollard's songwriting finally reached its potential, and the band's initial post-punk experimentation was toned down for hook-laden college rock such as "I Am a Scientist." The group was suddenly thrust into the mainstream, appearing briefly on MTV and acquiring the kind of glowing accolades from corporate magazines often given to established alternative bands like R.E.M. and Nirvana.