Artist Spotlight: The Pixies
At the University of Massachusetts, at Amherst, Charles Michael Kitteridge Thompson IV (Black Francis/Frank Black) and his fellow peer, Filipino student Joey Santiago started a "band." Brought together by their love for such bands as Husker Du and The Replacements, they named themselves the Pixies, after a random flip through a dictionary. That same year, 1986, Thompson went on an exchange program to Puerto Rico, where he soon grew sick of quickly and wrote to Santiago asking him to quit school and focus on the Pixies, in Boston. He agreed. Immediately the two striving musicians placed an ad in the paper looking for a bassist. Kim Deal, who had just moved out to Boston, with her husband, responded promptly. Deal was virtually the only person to answer the ad, so she quickly got the job. Drummer David Lovering, was recommended to the group through Kim's husband. By July 1986, with a supporting gig to local Boston band, Throwing Muses, the Pixies were taking real shape. They did their first recordings in March of 1987, recording 18 songs in 72 consecutive hours. Record execs of 4AD were impressed by the Pixies' efforts and signed them almost immediately, releasing the 8-tracked debut EP, "Come On Pilgrim." In the spring of 1988, with the help of soon-to-be alterna staple, producer Steve Albini, the Pixies recorded and released, "Surfer Rosa." With it's catchy hooks and rattling guitar blended with a rock 'n' roll sensibility, "Surfer Rosa" was met with optimistic press and soon climbed the charts in both the US and the UK. The band closed out the year signing to Elektra Records and reentering the studio to start work on their follow up to "Surfer Rosa." In 1989, the Pixies' work paid off with the critically acclaimed release of "Doolittle," which rocketed up the college radio charts with such singles as "Here Comes Your Man" and "Monkey Gone to Heaven." The band embarked on what was to be called the "Sex and Death" tour, charming audiences across seas. By the end of this tour, as they wrapped up dates in the States, it was becoming evident that the band was running low on fuel and tensions between the members, mainly that of Black Francis and Kim Deal, were on the rise. As a result the band chose to go on hiatus for the time being and pursue other musical ventures. Such ventures included Kim Deal's grouping with Throwing Muses bassist, Tanya Donnely, forming, the Breeders. Shortly after the debut release of the Breeder's "Pod," members of the Pixies reconvened into the studio set to record yet another album.
The outcome was the 1990 release of "Bossanova," which was met with mixed reviews and settled in the middle of the US charts, scoring mellow hits with "Velouria" and "Dig for Fire," landing them a heading spot on that years' Reading Festival. Tension was beginning to peak between Deal and Black, and nothing is more evident then the Pixies 1991 effort, which would also end up being their last, "Trompe Le Monde" Deal's influence was album mute on the album. In the spring of 1992, the Pixies opened for U2, during the Irish band's Zoo tour, it was apparent that the band was on their last leg. Soon after completely the Zoo tour, the Pixies opted to take yet another hiatus, which remains to be broken up to today. In 1993, Black Francis was interviewed on BBC's Radio 5, and took this spot to announce that the Pixies were disbanding. Since then Deal has gone onto fame with the Breeders, who just recently released their "comeback album," "Title TK." Black Francis changed his name to Frank Black and has become somewhat of a notable character in the "indie rock" world, touring/recording under the title Frank Black and the Catholics. Santiago and Lovering formed the Martinis, in 1995; and made an appearance on the soundtrack to "Empire Records." It could be said that the Pixies burnt out before they could ever truly take flame, and bring alterna-rock to the forefront. Surely without the influence of the Pixies, it is very possible that most of the bands we know of today, would not exist.
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*Note: First paragraph written by Ray, revised by Jordyn.