Interview: Pixies
11th November 2013
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“First of all I never thought the Pixies would get back together, that was the furthest thing from my mind.”
David Lovering, drummer with the legendary Pixies, is talking about one of rock music’s unlikeliest resurrections. In 2004, the impossible happened and Pixies kick started a decade of non-stop touring to meet demand.
2013 has been a year of surprises. There was the bombshell of bassist Kim Deal’s departure which was followed swiftly by the shock-release of their first music in 20 years.
The reunion market, reviving the past, is big business – a circuit of acts churning out the old numbers for people who prefer to look back not forward. After 10 years peddling the past Pixies were running the risk of simply living off their old victories and becoming part of the furniture.
Repetition can lead to boredom. Is this what spurred Pixies into doing something new?
“I don’t know if we were getting bored, really. But, erm, we had been touring since 2004 and at the seven year mark we were like, hold on a minute, we have been touring longer with the reunion than we were initially a band together. We didn’t just do one tour, we did two years of the Doolittle tour and it just kept on going and going, people still wanted to see us.
It just seemed logical. We were thinking years ago of doing new material it just took a long time, at least three years ago we were talking about doing something new. We can’t just go on our own laurels any more. We don’t wanna be one of those nostalgia bands, like Blue Oyster Cult, anything like that.”
And it all played out in true, turbulent, Pixies style.
Whilst working on new material bassist Kim Deal announced she was leaving the band. It was likely that the band were going to fold again, just on the verge of new material and pushing their legacy forward.
With new material on the cards they entered the studio anyway and drafted in Kim Shattuck of The Muffs to fill the gap on tour.
“It’s whole different chapter we are going into now, I wouldn’t say version point two or anything like that. The first gig it was interesting playing with someone new. Since then, my mind set is just ‘Pixies all together – as a band’ and stuff, so it really hasn’t played a part in my emotions. The band’s just a whole other thing now.”
The idea of Pixies ‘all together – as a band’ is a refreshing change. The tensions within their relationships are well documented, not least on reunion documentary Loud, Quiet, Loud, which shows a group of people paying each other lip-service in order to do a job rather than friends doing what they love.
The most noticeable transformation in the 2013 incarnation of Pixies is the appearance of a new contentment and love for what they are doing. Does this indicate a new found harmony offstage to match that of their obvious unity on-stage?
“I would say that we are ‘professional’ now, we are definitely pro at it. Everywhere we go and everything we do is all pro, it’s taken years and years of doing this to get there. I think we are PLAYING BETTER, actually, myself, I definitely think I am playing better than I have. I may be older now and may not have the stamina or the reach I had when I was younger. But I am grooving more and having much more fun playing than I ever have.”
This new found contentment led to the unexpected release of ‘Bagboy’ the first new material in 20 years (if you ignore ‘Bam Thwok’ in 2004). It simply turned up online one day – cue fan and media frenzy!
“We had no expectations. Everything we have been doing so far has been in terms of surprises. I mean first with Kim’s departure, and the next surprise was the new music with ‘Bagboy’ and then the announcing of the tour and then more new music.
“I think with Bagboy it was more the fact we had something ‘new’, more than what the song actually was to how well it went with people and how it was received. It was just the fact that we had something new.
It created a little buzz, with the video and everything – it got the word out, which I am happy about.”

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