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

Pixies guitarist Joey Santiago is a forward thinker. That ability to keep busy and focus on the next project has likely kept Santiago sane during the tumultuous history of the Pixies, including the band’s decade-long break-up, and the sudden departure of bassist Kim Deal in 2013—both events that Santiago nonchalantly shrugged off at the time.     

The Pixies reunion has now outlasted their initial time together, and with the release of Indie Cindy last year—their first full-length album in fifteen years—the band has proven that they are no longer interested in simply touring endlessly as an alt-rock nostalgia act.

We caught up with Santiago by phone while the band was out on the road earlier this spring for a freewheeling conversation about the band’s reunion, how touring has changed over the years, and his affinity for comedy.

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.

BAD FEELING: On this run you’re doing a mix of headliner and festival shows; is there one you prefer? Do you have to adjust your setlist based on the show you’re playing?

SANTIAGO: For a festival, it depends who’s on before us. If it was a sonic assault, then we will probably towel them off with some soft, soft soothing numbers. And the opposite holds true.

Do you enjoy touring more these days?

It’s easier … there were bands back then that didn’t do too many nocturnal activities; that were preserving themselves. And now I’m one of them. We appreciate it a lot more now. We know how lucky we are. Let’s face it, these hotels aren’t bad, the bus probably can’t get any better unless it’s diamond-studded or something, but it doesn’t get better than this. We have a great crew and we just appreciate everyone around us.

When the Pixies were first around you were very prolific; do you ever think that contributed to the band burning out? Do you think if you hadn’t maintained that pace you would have kept going for longer?

Well, “It’s better to burn out than to fade away,” as a famous Canadian once said. We had to do what we had to do. Back then, a band like us, we had to keep putting them out once per year. There were other bands, super rock bands, who could do it once every three years, maybe once every two. But nowadays, it’s back to where it was. You’ve got to put something out once a year at least, to be on the radar. Don’t you agree?

I think so. People’s attention spans are very short.

Yeah, especially now. For us, as a budding band, I think that was our thought—just to keep plowing ‘em out there. And we didn’t know any better! We thought that’s how you do it.

How much of those early years of the band was fueled by competition? Were you looking at bands like Dinosaur Jr. and Hüsker Dü and trying to top what they were doing?

Well, that’s when I decided to take up karate. That was the competition. If it was music, fine. Let’s judge with nunchucks. No, listen—we were never competitive. Not at all. It just didn’t happen. Maybe as far as the marketing strategy of when to release our record—we’d probably have to be hip to the fact that we shouldn’t coincide with [a band’s] release. To give fans a way to not be broke in one week.

Who do you consider peers of the band now? Is it bands that were around when you were playing the first time, or is it bands you’re out playing with at these festivals?

It’s always nice to see a band out there. They’re all good. I can’t really single any one of them out. Usually the festivals now have weaned out the assholes. I think that’s one of the evolutions of rock.

Are people easier to deal with now than in the 80’s?

Maybe it’s just my tolerance to people now. If you’re lucky enough to be in a festival line-up, people are probably counting their stars more. Because god forbid, they’re not selling anything when it’s free.

What were your feelings like after the band broke up? Is it something you stopped thinking about, or did it feel unresolved?

No, it’s not healthy to do that, so I had to forge on. I suppose for maybe a quick hour I did it, and then I just said, “I’ve got to do something before I get down.” So I didn’t do anything, and then I got down [laughs]. And then I went on to do something else. I just had to figure it out.

You guys recently did the Doolittle anniversary tour where you played the album in full; what do you think of these album tours?

It’s a way for fans to listen to that record live, and I don’t think it’s going to go away anytime soon, you know? We might do Bossanova—well, no, there’s some hard songs to do on that one. The other day I saw the Asia tour—I loved it. It was like a drummer’s wet dream. There were so many drummers in that audience that were like, giving props.

Are there any other full album shows you would want to see?

Well, I wouldn’t mind, I don’t know… The Beatles. The White Album. They actually did that in LA, a bunch of musicians did The White Album front to back.

Did you go see that?

Noooo, I had my kids. They’re my priority.

Did you ever think when you got back together in 2004 that you would release so much new music?

We always thought about it, from the day we were re-uniting. That was the initial thing, “Oh OK, maybe we should.” The first year, the thought was, “No one’s going to be interested in a new album. So why waste the effort?” And so, we kept going around the world and we were so busy, we didn’t have time to record at all. Then the Doolittle tour came along, and it was like, “OK, enough. Uncle! Let’s go record some new stuff now.” And we had to make time for it. We had to stop the touring.

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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