The time the Pixies were split up was a blessing for the band.
In 1993, the band had slowly built enough of a fan base to headline theaters and large clubs. But for the most part, the Pixies’ reputation among other musicians and music critics far outweighed their popularity with music fans.
| Sasquatch! Festival: With Modest Mouse, Kanye West. Wilco: 11 a.m. Saturday, Gorge Amphitheatre, George. $55, 206-628-0888. |
One key supporter was Kurt Cobain, the late lead singer of Nirvana, who touted the Pixies’ kinetic and inventive blend of punk, rock and surf music as a major inspiration for Nirvana’s brand of punkish grunge rock. A host of other acts, such as Wayne Coyne of the Flaming Lips, Radiohead and Weezer, have also sung the praises of the Pixies.
The result has been a mushrooming fan base that discovered the Pixies after the fact, a larger-than-life image for the band and plenty of clamoring for a reunion that seemed unlikely given the acrimonious circumstances that surrounded singer-guitarist Frank Black’s decision to disband the group and start a solo career in 1993.
Against that backdrop, it was no wonder last year’s Pixies reunion was greeted with surprise, delight and huge expectations.
It was a classic case of a legend becoming bigger than the band itself, and the sell-out arena-size crowds that bought tickets for Pixies shows were tangible evidence of how popular the group had become during their 11 years apart.
Black, in a recent interview, said he and his Pixies bandmates – bassist-singer Kim Deal, guitarist Joey Santiago and drummer David Lovering – dealt with the anticipation surrounding the reunion the only way they knew how, by ignoring it.
“We didn’t make a big deal out of the band the first time around. We just did what we did,” Black said. “We just hoped that everybody was right as far as the big myth was concerned, and we just did what we did again. We didn’t analyze it. We didn’t make a big deal out of it. We just did our little schtick and everyone seemed satisfied.”
The fact the Pixies are returning to the road this summer is a good indication that last year’s reunion tour was both an artistic and commercial success.
Black, who went by the name Black Francis during the Pixies’ original run (his real name is Charles Thompson), said the four band members get along fine these days.
“I think we always did get along, even when there was stress,” Black said. “Now that stress really isn’t there, so we’re able to be cozy and friendly. We used to be cozy and friendly too, when we first started. But eventually things get messed up … and people start to focus on the stress.”
At this point, the Pixies appear to be taking their future one step at a time.
The Pixies perform at the Sasquatch! Festival Saturday at the Gorge.
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