Pixies
Alt-rock royalty the Pixies burned bright in the late 80s and burned out in the early 90s. Since reforming, a whole new generation have discovered them. Guitarist Joey Santiago talks to Carl Marsh ahead of a Cardiff arena date.
Does it feel like the band has gone in a different direction with the new album, Beneath The Eyrie?
Yeah. I mean, I guess we have to go in a different direction. We are not ones to make the same record twice as we haven’t done that since Surfer Rosa – Doolittle was different, Bossanova was different, Trompe Le Monde was different. So all these new albums are different. I don’t know what the difference is, but all I know is I still like it! [laughs]
Bassist Paz Lenchantin has been a permanent member for a few years – how has she settled into the band now?
She is settling in great; obviously, that’s why she’s become a member. And she did, you know, breathe a little life into the band. Life, not little! She’s great. Her input is always welcome, and always right. She’s a great player.
Back in the early days of the band, you never made videos for your first two albums Come On Pilgrim and Surfer Rosa. What made you start to do them from Doolittle onwards?
Back then we were probably just like a bunch of punks that didn’t want to do videos like everybody else was doing. To get any airplay at that time, you had to throw tons of money into it, and people were charging a lot of money to make videos. Nowadays, it’s a promotional tool for everybody, from the people making the records to the people making the videos. Also, we became fond of doing them after a while.
For you, Joey, I know you were influenced by Jimi Hendrix and George Harrison but how did you find your guitar-playing style?
Apart from The Beatles, I listened to a lot of Donovan and a lot of other bands and songs to find out what I wanted to sound like and most importantly what I didn’t want to sound like. If I find someone that does something and it’s their own thing, I leave it alone. I won’t even go in that territory. It’s almost like a ‘No Trespassing’ sign when I hear other people playing.
Do you feel humble when you hear that yourselves influenced other bands like Nirvana, Radiohead and Kings Of Leon – and, later in his career, even David Bowie?
I was blown away by Bowie and his statement, that was the most mind-blowing one. Humbled, yeah, but also, most important is that it legitimised the band, which is great in that we are part of that language now. Where people can say, “let’s make it Stones sounding, let’s make it Zeppelin sounding,” now people can say “let’s make it Pixies sounding” – and I’ve heard that. Part of that is that we didn’t trespass on people’s style – we left it alone.
How do you hope to keep making your music timeless?
No sonic tricks – and if there are, they are going to be subtle, that’s the productive value of it. The timelessness of it is good songs. Good songs are timeless, they all are.
What modern music do you listen to these days?
[Checking his phone] Let me see; I like Billie Eilish. My daughter was listening to her and I thought “I like it!” So I confess to listening to something new.
Well, you’ve always got to try something new, haven’t you?
I have been, as it’s come to a point for me now where I am exploring new music because I have been in the past for so long. Now, I am going to enjoy new music when I am ready for it. Back then, I was always exploring the old stuff because you can only learn from history, that was the blueprint. Now, new music is when you discover it, no matter when it was recorded.
Motorpoint Arena Cardiff, Fri 13 Sept. Tickets: £39.50. Info: 029 20022 4488 / www.motorpointarenacardiff.co.uk
