The Pixies

The Pixies biography

The Pixies are an American alternative rock band formed in Boston, Massachusetts in 1986. The group consists of Black Francis (vocals, rhythm guitar), Joey Santiago (lead guitar), Kim Deal (bass, vocals), and David Lovering (drums). The Pixies found only modest commercial success in their home country, but were significantly more successful in the United Kingdom and mainland Europe. The group disbanded in 1993 under acrimonious circumstances, but reunited in 2004.

The band's style of music contains a range of elements, including indie rock and surf rock. Black Francis is the Pixies' primary songwriter and singer. He has written about a number of offbeat subjects in the band's songs, such as extraterrestrials, surrealism, incest, and biblical violence.

The group is credited as being a big influence on the alternative rock boom of the 1990s. Kurt Cobain acknowledged the debt his band Nirvana owed the Pixies, and stated that "Smells Like Teen Spirit" was his attempt to "rip off the Pixies". The Pixies' legacy and popularity grew in the years following their break-up, leading to sold-out world tours following their reunion in 2004.

History

Formation

Joey Santiago and Black Francis (born Charles Thompson IV) first met when they lived next to each other in a suite while attending the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Although Santiago was worried about distractions, he noticed Francis played music and the pair began to jam together. Francis then embarked on a student exchange trip to Puerto Rico to study Spanish. Francis and Santiago spent 1984 working in a warehouse, with Francis composing songs on his acoustic guitar and writing lyrics on the subway train.

The pair formed a band in January 1986. Bass player Kim Deal joined Santiago and Francis two weeks later after responding to a classified advertisement Francis had placed, seeking a female bass player who liked both folk music icons Peter, Paul and Mary and the band Hüsker Dü. Deal was the only person to respond, but arrived at the audition without a bass as she had never played the instrument before. She later obtained one, and the trio started rehearsing in Deal's apartment.

After recruiting Deal, the band tried unsuccessfully to get her sister, Kelley Deal, to join as its drummer. Kim's husband suggested they hire drummer David Lovering, whom Kim had met at her wedding reception. The group arrived at a name after Santiago selected the word "pixies" randomly from a dictionary and took a liking to how it looked and its definition as "mischievous little elves". They began to play shows at bars in and around the Boston area.

Record contract and Come On Pilgrim

While the Pixies were playing a concert with Throwing Muses, they were noticed by producer Gary Smith, manager of Fort Apache Studios. The band produced a 17-track demo at Fort Apache soon afterwards, known to fans as "The Purple Tape" because of the tape cover's purple background. Funded by Francis' father at the cost of $1000, the recording session was completed in three days. Local promoter Ken Goes became the band's manager, and he passed the demo to Ivo Watts-Russell of the independent record label 4AD.

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