Frank Black Blames Pixies’ Breakup on Irresponsible Management
Pixies frontman Frank Black believes the band's 1993 breakup might not have happened if they'd just been allowed to take a breather long enough to sort out their difficulties.
Speaking with Q (via NME), Black looked back on the tensions between himself and former bassist Kim Deal, who chafed at the creative restrictions of the group and ultimately left to focus on her other successful project, the Breeders. With the benefit of hindsight, Black understands where Deal was coming from — and he seems to think he might have come around to her way of thinking much earlier if he'd had a minute to gain perspective.
"Kim and I just didn’t get along well after a time," he explained. "She always had her own ambitions and became comfortable in a leadership role in her other band. It must have been hard for her to be in a band where some other guy was always pulling at the reins. We would have survived if we could have just stopped the train and taken a f---ing vacation. The people around us who were older should have seen that."
The group included a song about Deal on the upcoming Head Carrier, their second release since reforming in 2004 — and the first with new full-time bassist Paz Lenchantin, who stepped in after Deal departed again in 2013. Calling their last release, 2014's Indie Cindy, "transitional at best," he mused, "It was the most honest move we could make, like ‘We lost an arm, but here we are, still trying to do it.’"
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