TOBIN SPROUT

Carnival Boy

1996

Moonflower Plastic (Welcome to My Wigwam)

1997

Discogs

Artist Biography by Nathan Bush

Despite his own solo successes, Tobin Sprout will probably always be known as the one-time four-track wizard and songwriting side kick to Robert Pollard in Ohio's lo-fi pop kings Guided By Voices. Though less prolific than his boss, fans of the group were quick to take note of Sprout's irresistible song craft. Relegated to a handful of appearances on each release, the singer/guitarist penned GBV favorites like "Awful Bliss," "Atom Eyes," and "It's Like Soul Man." Sprout left the GBV camp in 1997, pursuing the solo career he launched a year earlier with Carnival Boy. Born in 1955, Tobin Sprout began playing guitar at age eight, teaching himself on the Silvertone his parents purchased for 25 dollars. In his late twenties, Sprout began making his first appearances on a Dayton, OH, scene dominated by metal acts, cover bands, and the occasional coalition of fiery punk youth, with his band Fig.4. Formed in 1983 with bassist Dan Toohey and drummer Jon Peterson, the group only released one 7" during its existence, breaking up before completing their full-length debut. After the split, Sprout enlisted the help of Dayton resident Robert Pollard to finish the album. A frequent attendee at Fig.4 shows, Pollard's early offer to join the group was (rather ironically) rejected. Needing an outlet for his own growing backlog of compositions, Pollard formed Guided By Voices shortly after. The band's Forever Since Breakfast EP was released in 1986, followed by the full-length Devil Between My Toes a year later. Sprout continued to stay in touch, adding his guitar to a couple of tracks on Devil, but eventually moved to Florida, taking a job as a designer and illustrator for See magazine. 

 

Carnival Boy

Tracklist

1. Natural Alarm
2. Cooler Jocks
3. E's Navy Blue
4. The Bone Yard
5. Carnival Boy
6. Martin's Mounted Head
7. Gas Daddy Gas
8. To My Beloved Martha
9. White Flyer
10. I Didn't Know
11. Gallant Men
12. It's Like Soul Man
13. Hermit Stew
14. The Last Man Well Known To Kingpin


Moonflower Plastic (Welcome To My Wigwam)


Tracklist

1. Get Out of My Throat
2. Moonflower Plastic (You're Here)
3. Paper Cut
4. Beast of Souls
5. A Little Odd
6. Angels Hang Their Socks On The Moon
7. All Used Up
8. Since I....
9. Back Chorus
10. Curious Things
11. Exit Planes
12. Little Bit of Dread
13. Hit Junky Dives
14. Water On The Boater's Back