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“I was trying to write the ultimate pop song. I was basically trying to rip off the Pixies. I have to admit it.” This quote appears in the January 1994 issue of Rolling Stone, made by none other than Kurt Cobain of Nirvana. He was discussing the influence the Pixies had on the creation of Nirvana’s Smells Like Teen Spirit, the tune that arguably killed eighties hair metal and kick started the nineties grunge movement. More important, Teen Spirit ushered in alternative music to the mainstream. The Pixies were around before Nirvana. Their effect on modern alternative music is still profound more than twenty years later.

Who are the Pixies?
The Big Dog hopes you’re kidding, but if not …

Charles Thompson IV and Joey Santiago were roommates at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. A mutual affection for punk rock music, as well as the work of David Bowie, led to the two forming a band in 1986. The story goes that Kim Deal responded to an ad Charles had placed, looking specifically for a female bass player that liked the music of Husker Du and Peter, Paul and Mary. Next the threesome looked for a drummer, and eventually selected an acquaintance of Deal’s husband, David Lovering.

By this time Charles had selected the stage name of Black Francis. The band was playing gigs around the Boston area when producer Gary Smith of Fort Apache Studios saw the Pixies open for Throwing Muses. Blown away, he brought the band into Fort Apache, where they recorded a 17 track demo that came to be known as The Purple Tape.

The Purple Tape eventually ended up in the hands of Ivo Watts-Russell, founder of legendary English indie label 4AD Records. Although not convinced when originally hearing the demo, Russell eventually signed the band. Eight songs from The Purple Tape ended up on the debut EP released in 1987 from the Pixies, Come On Pilgrim.

The Pixies would only release four albums on 4AD records during their short, tumultuous career:

• Surfer Rosa - 1988
• Doolittle - 1989
• Bossanova - 1990
• Trompe le Monde - 1991

If one was to look at the chart success of the Pixies, it would be easy to wonder why the band is held in such high regard. Although from the United States, the biggest success for the Pixies came overseas in the U.K. Their highest charting album in the U.S. was 1990’s Bossanova, peaking at Number 70. Four of their singles cracked the Top Ten of the U.S. Modern Rock chart, but no single from the band charted on Billboard’s Hot 100 Singles chart.

The Pixies officially broke up in early 1993. Black Francis “changed” his name to Frank Black and embarked on a moderately successful solo career. Kim Deal had previously put together a side project by the name of the Breeders with Tanya Donelly of the Throwing Muses and  Josephine Wiggs from Perfect Disaster. The Breeders released Pod in between the Doolittle and Bossanova albums. Once the Pixies broke up, Deal began work on a second Breeders album. The result was the enormously successful Last Splash in 1993.

The Pixies reunite!
The Big Dog can remember years ago watching an interview with Morrissey of the Smiths during a live in-studio concert on MTV. Morrissey responded to a question about the possibility of a Smiths reunion by stating “people tend to become incredibly romantic about a band once they’re gone.” Such was the case with the Pixies. The band was held in high regard within the alternative music community during their existence, but their popularity soared after the band broke up. Kurt Cobain’s comment about ripping off the Pixies obviously had a huge impact on the new fan appeal, but more important people began to realize just how incredible the band’s music truly was.

For years there were constant rumors of a Pixies reunion, rumors that Frank Black was quick to dismiss. However, fans began to wonder if he was not softening his stance on things once he began incorporating songs from the Pixies in his solo sets. In addition, Frank Black began asking Joey Santiago and David Lovering to play with him on his solo recordings. The issue was always the tension betweeen Black and Kim Deal.

Late 2003 a press release was issued stating that the rumors were true, the Pixies would reunite in spring 2004. The return to the stage by the Pixies was April 13, 2004 at the Fine Line Music Cafe in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Just 18 days later the Pixies were playing to thousands of fans at the 2004 Coachella Festival! One month later the band released its first new single since 1991, Bam Thwok.

All appeared to be well as the Pixies continued to make sporadic live appearances through 2007. However, attempts to come together creatively to produce new material were not working, so by early 2008 Black Francis was stating in interviews the reunion appeared to be over.

2009 and Doolittle live!
The most successful album from the Pixies proved to be Doolittle, and to commemorate its 20th anniversary in 2009 the band decided to play a small tour in Europe where they would play the album in its entirety, plus the relevant B-side singles from that disc. An enormous success, the Pixies have decided to bring that same tour back to the States! If ticket sales from Europe are an indicator, this tour is going to be an absolute monster of an event.

What sets this band apart from so many other bands from the early stages of popular alternative music? They crafted a style best explained by the title of the 2006 documentary about the band’s 2004 reunion tour, loudQUIETloud. The legacy they left behind is equalled by the number of current artists that cite the band as a major influence. Popular artists such as Bob Mould, Radiohead and Weezer have all proclaimed being fans of the Pixies. Supposedly Radiohead balked at the idea of playing after the Pixies at the 2004 Coachella Festival!

Sill not convinced! Check out the Pixies live from 1991 performing Tame, the Big Dog’s favorite track off Doolittle.

Folks, the number of dates on this tour appear at the time of this writing to be fairly limited, so this tour may be pretty exclusive. If the Pixies do not visit your town, this tour is one where a road trip may be in order. Stay updated on tour dates for the Pixies and plan ahead to lock down your tickets. Once tickets to see the Pixies sell out from the venue, be sure to check RazorGator’s inventory for all Pixies concerts.

I can’t believe I will be hearing Crackity Jones, Tame and Debaser live once again, holy cow!

The Big Dog