- This article is about the band named Pixies. For pixies of folklore, see pixie.
The Pixies are an indie rock band which toured and recorded in the late 1980s and early 1990s, then reunited in 2004 and began touring again. The Pixies found only modest success in their US homeland, but became major stars in the United Kingdom.The Pixies are noted to have gained much success in the US from promotion by Kurt Cobain of the grunge band Nirvana in the early 90's.
Black Francis a.k.a. Frank Black (vocals, guitar), Joey Santiago (lead guitar), Kim Deal (bass, vocals), and David Lovering (drums). have been the group's continual members. Their melodic music is distinctive, but drew upon elements of punk and indie rock, with occasional touches of surf music and other genres.
Francis was the group's primary songwriter and singer. He has a distinctly desperate, yowling delivery, and typically writes cryptic songs about offbeat subjects, such as unidentified flying objects and surrealism. Deal contributed songs as well, and her often feathery voice acted as an oddly effective counterbalance to Francis (and her earthy sex appeal attracted more than a few male fans). Incidentally, the then-married Deal was credited as "Mrs. John Murphy" on the first few Pixies records.
Musically, the Pixies were just slightly ahead of their time. Right at the moment they were imploding, Nirvana was recording Nevermind, the album that would break alternative rock into the mainstream. There are substantial parallels between the two groups' sounds and Kurt Cobain was known to have been a fan—in fact, in a Rolling Stone interview he claimed "Smells Like Teen Spirit" was his attempt to write a Pixies song. This generated some interest in the band after they were gone.
History
The band was formed in 1986 in Boston, Massachusetts by Joey Santiago and Black Francis (born Charles Thompson IV). The space-obsessed Francis had to decide between seeing Haley's Comet or forming a band and he chose to come to Boston. Bassist Kim Deal later joined Santiago and Francis after responding to a classified ad Francis had placed, seeking a bassist who liked both folk music icons Peter, Paul and Mary and hardcore punkers Hüsker Dü. She also suggested that they pick up drummer David Lovering, whom she had met at her wedding reception.
They arrived at a name ("Pixies") after Santiago selected the word randomly from a dictionary, liked the definition, and began playing shows in the Boston area.
During a concert with Throwing Muses, the band was noticed by Gary Smith, a producer at Fort Apache Studios. Smith became the band's manager and produced a 17 track demo (known as the "Purple Tape", publicly released in 2002). The demo fell into the hands of Ivo Watts-Russell, owner of 4AD, who signed the band. Eight tracks from the demo were selected for the Come on Pilgrim EP, the band's first release. It was followed by their first full-length album, Surfer Rosa in early 1988, recorded by Steve Albini.
4AD was a British music label, and the notoriously rabid British music press immediately clutched the Pixies to their collective bosoms and refused to let go. The band remained unsigned in the US for a while, but after a foray up the UK pop charts and some inroads into American college rock stations, they were picked up by Elektra Records. For the remainder of their career, the Pixies remained large-scale stars in Britain and cult figures in the US.
Their sophomore album, Doolittle, featured the prominent singles: "Here Comes Your Man," and "Monkey Gone to Heaven." It was a top 10 hit in the UK and reached the top 100 in North America.
After Doolittle, Black Francis temporarily went solo, while Kim Deal formed The Breeders with Tanya Donelly of Throwing Muses and Deal's sister, Kelley. During this time, Black Francis limited Deal's contributions to the band; the first two albums had been partly written by Deal, but when Bossanova was released in 1990, all songs were by him. Deal was not pleased, and unilaterally announced an apparent break-up of the band on-stage during the following tour. The Pixies were at the height of their popularity, however, and while headlining at the Reading Festival in 1991, they played a highly enthusiastic version of "Debaser" which has become legendary among fans.
Break-up announcements notwithstanding, one more album was to follow. Trompe le Monde still featured little input from Deal and wasn't as critically well-regarded as their first few albums. Without telling anyone, Black Francis ended the band, and it wasn't until a year later that he faxed an official notice to the other members.
After the break-up
Black Francis renamed himself Frank Black, and released several solo albums. He then went on to form a band with Scott Boutier, Eric Drew Feldman, Rich Gilbert, David McGaffrey, and Dave Phillips called Frank Black and the Catholics.
Deal returned to the Breeders, and scored a hit with "Cannonball" from that group's Last Splash in 1993. However, for several years they struggled to produce another album, mainly due to Kelley Deal's struggles with heroin. The album, Title TK, finally appeared in 2002, with only Kim and Kelley remaining from the previous Breeders lineup. Kim Deal has also recorded with The Amps.
Lovering dropped back into obscurity, making occasional appearances as a "scientific phenomenalist", performing experiments on stage; he also drummed on one of Tanya Donelly's solo albums.
Santiago has appeared on Frank Black's solo albums, writes music for FOX television, and has a band called The Martinis with his wife, Linda Mallari.
Reunion
In the 11 years since the band broke up, there were a number of rumors that would circulate regarding reunion tours. Roughly once a year (often on April Fool's Day) someone would be led to believe that the band had re-united.
It wasn't until 2004 when the Pixies would play their first "post-breakup" concert on April 13 at The Fine Line Music Cafe in downtown Minneapolis, Minnesota and a 15 concert warmup tour of the western United States and Canada, culminating in the performance at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival. Tickets for shows on this tour often sold out minutes after going on sale despite some rather moderately sized Canadian cities such as Winnipeg and Regina being stops. It is rumoured that these dates hold the world record for fastest selling shows ever.
This was followed by a three-month world tour and four-month return to the US, ending on December 18 at the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York City (see tour dates for detailed information).
In spring 2004, 4AD released Wave of Mutilation: The Best of the Pixies and a companion DVD which features a full concert, the music videos, and a documentary on the Pixies. A "new retrospective compilation CD" is set for release in the near future. Many of the reunion shows, including that April 13 show in Minneapolis, were sold by DiscLive in sets of 1,000. The entire edition size has now sold out.
Discography
Studio Albums
Compilations and Tributes
Samples
See also
External links
Last updated: 10-14-2005 22:11:48
