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		ROBERT POLLARD (voice, song lyrics, album art, founder) Robert is known by musicologists as the man who founded the band Guided By Voices in 1983 while he was a school teacher in Dayton, Ohio. In addition to his work with Circus Devils, Robert enjoys making records under his own name. Robert makes his home in Dayton, Ohio. In his spare time Bob likes to make origami sky hawks. He also enjoys waiting by the window in anticipation of his daily visit from meals on wheels. Click here for more info on Robert.

		TODD TOBIAS (production, drums, bass, guitar, keys and other noises) Todd makes his home in the forests of northeast Ohio, just north of Akron. When not toiling in the studio, Todd seeks the seclusion of the deep woods. Nothing is known about his habits or what he enjoys to do. In addition to his work with Circus Devils, Todd has produced and performed on records by Robert Pollard, Guided by Voices, Clouds Forming Crowns, Psycho and the Birds, and The Celebrity Pilots among others. Click here for more info on Todd's production work.

		TIM TOBIAS (guitars, rock) Tim has been fronting bands in the Cleveland area since the early 1980's, including 4 coyotes and Gem. In 1999, Robert asked Tim to join Guided By Voices on bass. In 2004, Tim formed the band Clouds Forming Crowns, which has two titles available on Morphius records. Tim makes his home in Cleveland, Ohio. His hobbies include watching TV. He also enjoys playing the guitar and watching TV (at the same time). Click here for more info on Clouds Forming Crowns.

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How it all began.....

Taken from the pamphlet collection titled:
LEST WE FORGET: MILESTONES TOWARD THE END OF A NEW
MONOLITHIC CULTURE: A BRIEF PRE-HISTORY.
(VOLUME 9: RECORDED SOUND AND ITS PURVEYORS)
by Dr. Gregory Fleer.

Time: the late 1970's. Place: the Ohio countryside.
Following a disastrous gig at a local church camp, the
newly formed rock and roll band Baby Q and the Death
Rays are on their way home when their car breaks down
on a remote stretch of road. As they wait for their friends
to return to the stranded car, band members Tim and
Todd, the Tobias brothers, are approached in the dark by a
shadowy figure who crouches in the woods before
showing himself. Todd has a flashlight and switches the
beam on the man's face. To the brothers' surprise and
disbelief, the man's face is covered in hair, like a dog's. In
a voice filled with manic jubilation, the hair-face man lifts
his hands to the sky and proclaims "Circus Devils is real!"
before vanishing back into the dark woods.

Fast forward more than twenty years to the winter of 2000.
Robert Pollard, then front man of the band Guided by
Voices, walks out of a Columbus, Ohio record store
empty-handed and frustrated after failing to find
something interesting to buy. In the parking lot Pollard is
approached by a man whose face is concealed by his
upturned collar and a pair of dark shades. Robert tries
to get into his car, but the stranger stops him and delivers
the words: "Circus Devils is real." Having been a teacher,
Robert promptly corrects the stranger. "No, Circus Devils
ARE real. Devils is plural, my boy." "No," the stranger
insists. "Circus Devils IS real." The stranger then pulls
down his collar and takes off his shades to reveal a face
covered completely with hair. Alarmed, Robert jumps
into his car and speeds away. Shortly after, Robert tells
the story of his strange encounter to the Tobias brothers,
who then tell their story of a similar encounter more than
twenty years before. Something has to be done about this,
Pollard decides, and shortly after, Circus Devils records
begin to appear.

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Circus Devils uses Hagstrom guitars

Circus Devils uses goat-skin drum heads

A microphone used by Circus Devils

Circus Devils uses Starlight drums

The photographs below show equipment used
by Circus Devils


Guitars which Circus Devils plan to use on
their next recording, including the famous
"Red" guitar owned by Chris Sheehan of
the Celebrity Pilots


Click here to see photos of Circus Devils in action at the studio

Click here to see Circus Devils videos

Click here to see a collection of Circus Devils pinups by graphic artist David Crunelle

Click here for the gallery of famous circus devils fans