Pixies guitarist Joey Santiago on the band’s future : ‘I think the next record should be punchier – and funny’

Was there any kind of self-imposed pressure within the band about putting out new material after so long?

There’s always pressure to put out an album. Every album has its pressures, like, “What’s the audience going to think about us now, after Surfa Rosa?” And then after Doolittle, it’s like, “Oh shit, the pressure’s getting too much!” We never think about it that way, we just think about growing. And with Indie Cindy, that’s the feeling I have—jeez, we grew up in a classy way here.

The release strategy was interesting too; you had a number of EP’s coming out first. Was that a throwback to when EP’s were more common for bands?

Yeah, yeah, kind of. Initially, it was just to ease a little bit of the pressure off. “We don’t have to make an album, we can just make an EP.” That’s all bands really have to do nowadays, and there’s really no difference. There’s no difference in price at all. Unless you’re buying the vinyl, and then that’s where we go full on it, you know? “And we’ll make sure the packaging is so [elaborate], that we don’t make any money.” No, it has to be worth it. That physical aspect of your product – I don’t like to use that word—has to be presented in the most pristine way. It’s only a limited amount anyway—if we were to press a couple hundred thousand, the quality wouldn’t be… I’m not saying it would suffer, but we put everything into the packaging now. Those are for the die-hard fans. There’s fewer and fewer people that are liking that stuff. The new [fans] just want MP3’s. The older ones, they appreciate what that is, and that’s what we’re giving them.

What was your initial reaction when Kim Deal quit during the recording of Indie Cindy? Did you have a sense it was coming, or were you taken by surprise?

A bit of both. My initial reaction was—seriously—I was doing an errand. So I said, “Oh, OK, is that what you’re doing? I gotta go up the hill and get a slide,” because I was doing some stuff in the studio. And that’s all I did. I don’t know what kind of reaction that was. I’m a social retard.

After Kim Deal left you had Kim Shattuck from The Muffs in the band for a while; how did that fall apart?

It was just a personality conflict, that’s all. And musically. And intelligently. All of those factor into account.

How is it with Pax Lenchantin now? How difficult is it to bring someone new into the band?

Well, it was pretty evident from the first practice we had that she was the one. She fit in gracefully. And that’s it, we couldn’t be any happier, at all.

When did you get into film scoring? Was that something you were always interested in, or did it take off when the Pixies took a break?

That took off more when the Pixies were on break, and also, there was a time we got approached to do a film—I forget what it was, a French film. Anyway, people always thought that I would have a knack for it. So I gave it a shot. I was a sonic trip away from the traffic, the 9-5 traffic; that was my main goal.

A lot of the Pixies’ music is very cinematic, did that prepare you for working directly with film?

Yeah, with putting the cherry on top with music, you have to be noticed, and not get in the way.

Two conflicting things.

Yeah, exactly. Same thing with a film. After we watch it, my girlfriend will say, “What did you think about it?” And I would think, “I liked the music.” And she’s say, “Oh, I didn’t even notice that.” And I’d say, “Oh. See?” And that’s perfect. If she didn’t notice it and I did, and I liked it, it’s that way, you know what I mean?

I read that you spend a lot of time in comedy clubs; who are some of the comedians you’re into right now?

[Laughs] Well, I like Tig [Notaro]. And then there’s Kyle Kinane. Louis CK, the staples.

Tig Nataro is here next week, I’m looking forward to that.

You should, you’ll be very entertained. You’ll feel very uncomfortable. She’s mastered the art of live comedy.

Would you ever try standup? You seem like a funny guy.

Ehh, nah. I don’t have the cajones. I’ve heard people say I should give it a shot, but nah. Let it just be a private thing. Just feel lucky you’re around me when I’m being funny [laughs].

There’s always been a sense of humour in the band.

There is, actually. There’s always been a humorous aspect. There’s inside jokes to my playing. That’s up to the musicians to figure out.

What’s up next for the Pixies? Anything you can let us in on?

Well, since Charles [Black Francis] introduced me to Kyle Kinane—that has nothing to do with what I’m going to say—I think the next record should be punchier. And funny.  

The Pixies play Amnesia Rockfest on June 21, alongside System of a Down, Slayer, Tenacious D, Rancid, and many more. Tickets are available at amnesiarockfest.com. The band also play Toronto’s TURF festival on September 20 – tickets are available at torontourbanrootsfest.com