Frank Black

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Frank Black
Black playing at the San Diego Street Scene Festival in 2005.
Background information
Birth name	Charles Michael Kittridge Thompson IV[1]
Also known as	Black Francis
Born	April 6, 1965 (age 42) Boston, Massachusetts[2]
Genre(s)	Rock, Alternative rock
Occupation(s)	Singer, Songwriter, Guitarist
Instrument(s)	Vocals, Guitar
Years active	1985–present
Label(s)	4AD American Cooking Vinyl SpinArt
Associated acts	Pixies Frank Black and the Catholics
Website	http://www.frankblack.net/

Frank Black (born April 6, 1965 as Charles Michael Kittridge Thompson IV) is an American singer, songwriter and guitarist.^[1] Active since 1985, Black is best known as leader of the influential alternative rock band Pixies, where he performed under the stage name Black Francis.^[3] Following the band's breakup in 1993, he embarked on a solo career under his current pseudonym. After releasing two albums with 4AD, he left the label and formed a backing band, Frank Black and the Catholics. Black reformed the Pixies in 2004 and continues to release solo records while touring and recording with the band.^[4]

Black's vocal style has varied from a screaming, yowling delivery as lead vocalist of the Pixies to a more measured and melodical style in later Pixies' albums and solo career.^[5] His cryptic lyrics mostly explore unconventional subjects, such as surrealism, incest and Biblical violence, along with dam collapses, science fiction and surf culture.^[6] His use of atypical meter signatures, loud-quiet dynamics and distinct preference for live-to-two-track recording in his career as a solo artist give him a unique style in alternative rock.^[7][8]

As frontman of the Pixies, Black's songs (such as "Where Is My Mind?" and "Debaser") received praise and citations from contemporaries, including Radiohead's Thom Yorke and Nirvana's Kurt Cobain. Cobain once said that "Smells Like Teen Spirit" was his attempt at trying to "rip off the Pixies".^[9] However, in his solo work and records with the Catholics, he received fewer popular and critical accolades.^[10]

Contents 1 Biography 1.1 Youth and college 1.2 Pixies 1.3 Early solo career 1.4 Frank Black and the Catholics 1.5 Pixies reunion, Nashville and beyond 2 Musical style 2.1 Influences 2.2 Songwriting and lyrics 3 Television appearances and videos 4 Samples 4.1 Pixies 4.2 Solo career 5 Selected discography 5.1 Studio albums 5.2 Singles 6 Notes and references 7 External links

[edit] Biography

[edit] Youth and college

Charles Thompson was born in Boston, Massachusetts on April 6, 1965. His father was a bar owner, and Thompson first lived in Los Angeles, California as a baby because his father wanted to "learn more about the restaurant and bar business".^[11] Thompson was introduced to music at a young age, as his parents listened to 1960s folk rock. His first guitar was his mother's, a Yamaha classical guitar bought with money from his father's bar tips, which he started to play at age "11 or 12".^[2]

Thompson's family moved around, first with his natural father, and then his stepfather, a religious man who "pursued real estate on both coasts".^[12][13] When Thompson was 12, his mother and stepfather joined a church that was tied to the evangelical Assemblies of God,^[13] a move that influenced many of his songs written with the Pixies, which often refer to the Bible.^[14] He discovered the music of Christian rock singer-songwriter Larry Norman at 13 when Norman played at a religious summer camp that Thompson attended. Norman's music influenced Thompson to the extent that he named the Pixies' first EP and a lyric in the band's song "Levitate Me" after one of Norman's catchphrases, "come on, pilgrim!" Thompson later described the music he listened to during his youth:^[11]

“

I used to hang out with some misfits. [...] We were the "we listen to odd-ball music" kids. I wasn't hanging out at all-ages shows or trying to get into clubs to see bands, and I was buying records at used records stores and borrowing them from the library. You just saw Emerson, Lake and Palmer records. So I didn't know [punk] music but I started to hear about it in high school. But it was probably a good thing that I didn't know it, that I instead listened to a lot of '60s records and this religious music.

”

Just before Thompson's senior year, his family moved to Westport, Massachusetts, where he received a Teenager of the Year award — the title of a later solo album.^[15] During this time, Thompson composed several songs that appeared in his later career, including "Here Comes Your Man" from Doolittle, and "Velvety Instrumental Version".^[16]

After graduating from high school in 1983, he studied in the University of Massachusetts Amherst, majoring in anthropology.^[17] Thompson shared a room with another roommate for a semester before moving in with future Pixies guitarist Joey Santiago.^[18] The two shared an interest in rock music, and Santiago introduced Thompson to 1970s punk and the music of David Bowie; they began to jam together.^[19] It was at this time that Thompson discovered The Cars, a band he described as "very influential on me and the Pixies".^[20] Santiago later recalled his time in college:^[18]

“

Charles and I had a suite at the college dorm. We'd go to shows, I remember seeing Black Flag and Angst. Initially, I think we just liked each other. I did notice right away that he was playing music. I didn't want any more distractions, but I took my guitar up and we started fooling around with it. He'd write 'em, and I'd throw my ideas on the guitar.

”

In his second year of college, Thompson embarked on a trip to San Juan, Puerto Rico as part of an exchange program. He spent six months in an apartment with a "weird, psycho, gay roommate", who later served as a direct inspiration for the Pixies' song "Crackity Jones";^[21] many of the band's early songs refer to Thompson's experiences in Puerto Rico. Thompson failed to grasp the Spanish language, and left his studies after debating whether he would go to New Zealand to view Halley's Comet (he later said it "seemed like the cool romantic thing to do at the time"),^[22] or start a rock band.^[19] He wrote a letter urging Santiago, with the words "we gotta do it, now is the time Joe",^[23] to join him in a band upon his return to Boston.^[24]

[edit] Pixies

Main article: Pixies

Soon after arriving back in Massachusetts, Thompson dropped out of college, and moved to Boston with Santiago. He spent 1984 working in a warehouse, "managing buttons on teddy bears", composing songs on his acoustic guitar, and writing lyrics on the subway train.^[24] Late in 1985, Thompson formed the Pixies with Santiago.^[25] Early in 1986, bassist Kim Deal was recruited via a classified advert placed in a Boston paper, which requested a bassist "into Hüsker Dü and Peter, Paul and Mary". Drummer Dave Lovering was later hired on recommendation from Deal.^[17]

In 1987, the Pixies recorded an eighteen-track demo tape, commonly referred to as The Purple Tape amongst fans. Thompson's (natural) father assisted the band financially, loaning $1000 in order to record the demo tape; Thompson later said that his father "wasn't around for a lot of my younger years, so I think he was doing his best to make up for lost time".^[26] The Purple Tape led to a recording contract with the English independent record label 4AD.^[19] Thompson adopted the alias "Black Francis" for the release of Come on Pilgrim, a name inspired by his father: “he had been saving that name in case he had another son”.^[27]

In 1988, the Pixies recorded their second album Surfer Rosa. Francis wrote and sang on all the tracks, with the exception of the single "Gigantic", which was co-written and sung by Deal. To support the album, the band undertook a European tour, during which Francis met Eric Drew Feldman,^[28] a later collaborator on Pixies and solo albums. Doolittle, with Francis-written songs such as "Debaser" and "Monkey Gone To Heaven",^[29] was released the following year to widespread critical acclaim.^[30] However, by this time, tensions between Francis and Deal combined with exhaustion, and led the band to announce a hiatus.^[31] Francis has an aversion to flying, and spent this time driving across America with his girlfriend, Jean Walsh, performing solo shows in order to raise funds to buy furniture in his new Los Angeles apartment.^[32]

The band reconvened in 1990, and recorded two further albums: 1990's Bossanova and 1991's Trompe le Monde; the latter was Francis' first collaboration with Feldman. The later Pixies albums were characterized by Francis' increasing influence on the band's output, as well as a focus on science fiction themes, including aliens and UFOs.^[33] These themes would continue to be explored throughout his early solo work. Trompe le Monde includes the song "U-Mass", which was written about the university he attended as a youth, and due to the keyboard part played by Feldman, signified a move away from the band's purely alternative rock sound. Although Deal had contributed to previous albums, from Bossanova on, Francis wrote all the band's original material. This contributed to the increasing tension between Francis and Deal,^[32] and the Pixies broke up in 1992; this was not publicly announced until early in 1993.^[34]

[edit] Early solo career

While the Pixies' 1991 album Trompe le Monde was being recorded, Francis had discussions with the album's producer, Gil Norton, about a possible solo record.^[35] He told Norton he was keen to record again, even though he had no new material; as a result, the two decided on a cover album. However, by the time Francis visited a recording studio again in 1992, he had "plenty of tunes and musical scraps".^[36]

He collaborated with Feldman to record new material; they began by trimming down the number of covers to one, The Beach Boys' "Hang On to Your Ego".^[37] Feldman became the album's producer, and played keyboard and bass guitar on several songs,^[38] with Santiago featuring on lead guitar.^[39] Francis recorded the album during the hiatus and breakup of the Pixies in late 1992 and early 1993. He then adopted the stage name "Frank Black" (inverting his old persona "Black Francis") and released the results as Frank Black in March 1993.^[40] Frank Black was characterized by a focus on UFOs and science fiction, although he explored other eclectic subjects, such as in "I Heard Ramona Sing", a song about the Ramones.^[41] The album was similar in style, both musically and lyrically, to the Pixies' albums Bossanova and Trompe le Monde. Feldman later said that the first record connected his solo career with Trompe le Monde, "but at the same time it is an island, like nothing else he [Black] did".^[42]

The following year, Black released his second solo record, a quirky twenty-two song double album entitled Teenager of the Year.^[43] Teenager included the song "Headache" (sample (help·info)), a moderate success on alternative rock playlists; critics described the song as "irresistible pop".^[44] The production of Teenager of the Year was markedly different to Frank Black; in the previous album, MIDI templates were used when writing songs, but in Teenager, Black showed individual parts to band members. Feldman noted that Black's songwriting became "a lot more spontaneous" while recording the album.^[42] Black had begun to stray from his style with the Pixies, writing songs that covered a variety of genres and topics, and his new-found method of recording was closer to later albums than that of Frank Black and Trompe le Monde.

Both Frank Black and Teenager of the Year were critically well-received and remain fan favorites, although they enjoyed little commercial success. In 1995, Black left his long-time labels 4AD and Elektra.^[45] Black continued to write new material: 1996 saw the release of The Cult of Ray on Rick Rubin's American Recordings; the album marked a turn away from the elaborate production of his first solo works and was recorded primarily live with few overdubs. His band for this album featured sole Teenager holdover Lyle Workman on lead guitar, along with bassist David McCaffrey and Scott Boutier on drums.^[46][47] Though the album was neither critically nor commercially successful, its stripped-down approach would increasingly define Black's working methods for the next several years.

[edit] Frank Black and the Catholics

Black dubbed this backing band "the Catholics", and the band's eponymous album Frank Black and the Catholics was recorded in 1997. Recorded live-to-two-track initially as merely a demo, Black was so pleased with the results that he decided to release the sessions with no further production.^[48] The album was delayed for over a year by conflicts at American, both internal and over its production,^[49] and was ultimately released in late 1998 by SpinArt Records in the US. Since leaving American, Black has avoided long-term contracts with labels, and has maintained ownership of his album masters, licensing each album individually for release.^[50] Frank Black and the Catholics became the first album to be posted to the eMusic service; they claim it is "the first album ever made legally available for commercial download".^[51] Critical reception to the album was mixed, with some writers noting Black's seemingly deliberate turn away from the "quirkiness" of the Pixies and his early solo work for a self-consciously straightforward approach,^[48][52] and the "disappointingly straightforward punk-pop" musical style present on the album.^[53]

Black would continue to eschew multi-track recording for the live-to-two-track technique for all subsequent releases under the group name. Live-to-two-track recording precludes the use of overdubs to correct errors or add texture; all takes are recorded continuously, and mixing is done "on the fly". On later albums, Black incorporated more musicians into the sessions to allow for more varied instrumental textures. Explaining his rationale behind the method, Black commented:^[54]

“

Well, it's real. It's a recording of a performance, of a real performance between a group of people, an entourage, a band, as opposed to a facsimile of that, which is frequently what people do with multi-track recording. [...] I prefer it. It's a little more real. It's got a little more heart.

”

Workman left the Catholics in 1998 to pursue session and sideman work; Rich Gilbert was added to the band to replace him.^[55] Frank Black and the Catholics released Pistolero in 1999, which critics cited as a return to Black's earlier form,^[53] and Dog in the Sand in 2001, considered a high point in Black's solo career.^[56][57] Dog in the Sand added Dave Philips on pedal steel guitar and lead guitar, and Santiago and Feldman began making occasional appearances with the group live and on record.^[58]

By this time, while dismissing the possibility of a Pixies reunion, Black had begun to incorporate an increasing number of the band's songs into Catholics concerts, as well as including Santiago in his solo work again.^[59] Black and the Catholics continued to release records; two separate albums, Black Letter Days and Devil's Workshop, were released simultaneously in 2002.^[60] Devil's Workshop included the song "Velvety" (sample (help·info)), a version of the Pixies' song "Velvety Instrumental Version" (written by Black as a teenager) with lyrics.^[61] The song was one of the first signs that Black had acknowledged his past work with the Pixies in his solo output. A sixth album with the Catholics, Show Me Your Tears, was released in 2003. Show Me Your Tears' title and many of the songs in it were inspired by Black's recent divorce and entry into therapy.^[45]

[edit] Pixies reunion, Nashville and beyond

In late 2003, following long-standing rumours, an official announcement was made that the Pixies were practising for a reunion tour. The band played publicly for the first time in 12 years in April 2004, and went on to tour extensively throughout the U.S, Canada and Europe in the same year. They also recorded a new Deal-written composition, "Bam Thwok", which was released on the iTunes Music Store.^[62] Frank Black Francis, a double album bridging the gap between his two personas, was released to coincide with the Pixies reunion tour. The first disc consisted of solo demos of Pixies songs recorded the day before the Purple Tape was recorded, and the second contained studio collaborations, again of Pixies songs, with Two Pale Boys.^[63]

Also in 2004, Black began to collaborate with a group of Nashville session men, including Steve Cropper, Spooner Oldham, Reggie Young, and Anton Fig, as well as producer Jon Tiven. In July 2005, the collective released Honeycomb under the Frank Black name, to generally favorable reviews. Entertainment Weekly described the album as "spare, graceful, [and] in the pocket", while Billboard noted it as "One of his finest hours".^[64] A second volume of Nashville sessions, a double album entitled Fastman Raiderman, was released in June 2006.^[65] Black appeared at a concert by Christian rock pioneer Larry Norman in June 2005 in Salem, Oregon.^[66] Norman and Black performed a duet on "Watch What You're Doing", which later appeared on Norman's album, Live at The Elsinore.^[67]

Black continued to tour with the Pixies through 2005 and 2006. Though the Catholics were effectively defunct, March 2006 saw the release on the iTunes Music Store of two separate albums of the band's B-sides and rarities, Snake Oil and One More Road for the Hit, with an eye towards a future CD release. Black was also working on more new solo material with Eric Drew Feldman in the first part of 2006, some of which has already been performed live with Feldman. In the fall of 2006, Black began his first solo tour since 2003.^[68] In October 2006, Black announced plans for the Pixies to start rehearsing and recording a new album in January 2007, and to release a solo "Best Of" compilation next year.^[4] In December 2006, Black released the internet-only "Christmass" album; a collection of new studio tracks, hotel room sessions, and live acoustic recordings from a solo tour the previous summer.^[69] In early 2007, a new album entitled Bluefinger was cryptically announced via his official website. ^[70]

Black currently lives in Eugene, Oregon, and is married to Violet Clark, his second wife, with whom he has four children.^[1]

[edit] Musical style

See also: Pixies' musical style

Over the course of his career, Black's musical style has grown to encompass a large number of genres; however, he is considered to produce rock or alternative rock compositions.^[71] Whereas songs such as "Here Comes Your Man" (Doolittle), "Velvety" (Devil's Workshop) and "Headache" (Teenager of the Year) expose a more light rock side, others such as "Something Against You" (Surfer Rosa) and "Thalassocracy" (Teenager of the Year) hint to a more heavy rock influence in his material. A strong country music influence is also increasingly evident in his style, most notably in his Nashville albums, Honeycomb and Fastman Raiderman.

Black acquired his trademark screaming as a teenager, when, according to Black, a Thai neighbor asked him to sing "Oh! Darling" by The Beatles (from their album Abbey Road) and to "Scream it like you hate that bitch!"^[72]Black's powerful screams were a signature of Pixies albums, along with the band's typical song structure of quietly paced verses followed by thundering chorus lines and repetitive guitar staccato.^[17]

[edit] Influences

Black has drawn influence from a number of musical genres. As a teenager, Black mostly listened to 1960's folk and religious music, including the Christian singer-songwriter Larry Norman. Later in high school and in college, he discovered punk music (Black Flag), along with bands from other genres, such as the new wave band The Cars. While in Boston in 1984, before starting the Pixies, Black listened to Hüsker Dü's Zen Arcade, The Spotlight Kid by Captain Beefheart, and I'm Sick of You, an Iggy Pop bootleg.^[73] His choice of covers in his career reveals many influences, with songs such as The Beatles' "Wild Honey Pie" (from The White Album) and "Head On" (by The Jesus and Mary Chain) with the Pixies, and The Beach Boys' "Hang On to Your Ego" in his solo career.

Other media has influenced Black. References to the Bible, especially in his career with the Pixies, appear in his work; most notably in the incestuous tale of "Nimrod's Son", the stories of Uriah, Bathsheba in "Dead", Samson in "Gouge Away" and references to the The Tower of Babel in songs such as "Build High" and "Old Black Dawning".^[74] He cited surrealist films Eraserhead and Un Chien Andalou (as mentioned in "Debaser") as major influences on his work with the Pixies; however, Surrealism was less of an influence in his solo career.^[75] He commented on these influences (which he paid tribute to most in the Pixies' Doolittle), saying he "didn't have the patience to sit around reading Surrealist novels", but found it easier to watch twenty-minute films.^[76]

[edit] Songwriting and lyrics

During his stay in Puerto Rico, Black acquired a fairly fluent, although informal and at times incorrect, use of Spanish, which he has continued throughout his career. Several early Pixies songs, including "Isla de Encanta" and "Vamos", reference his experiences in San Juan, and the lyrics are often heavily seasoned with the island's slang. The island's influence in his work is most notable in the song "Isla De Encanta", named after the island's motto, "Isla Del Encanto". Other Pixies songs drawn from his experiences there include "Vamos" (Come on Pilgrim), "Oh My Golly!", "Where Is My Mind?" (Surfer Rosa) and the B-side "Bailey's Walk". Several of his songs contain Spanish lyrics, most notably in the Pixies' first album, Come On Pilgrim, and a Spanish translation of "Evil Hearted You" by The Yardbirds.^[77] From his later works with the Pixies onwards, his use of Spanish drifted westward, reflecting places and aspects of the state of California and its culture.^[54]

Black's lyrics are noted for their obscure references to off-beat topics such as outer space, UFOs, and The Three Stooges — the last of these being the subject of "Two Reelers", a song from Teenager of the Year.^[42] Lyrics with a focus on science fiction were particularly prominent on the later Pixies records, as well as his early solo albums.^[78] With the Catholics, his lyrics have tended towards historical topics; for example, the song "St. Francis Dam Disaster" (from Dog in the Sand) details the catastrophic collapse of the St. Francis Dam near Los Angeles in March 1928,^[74] and the All My Ghosts EP featured an account of the "Humboldt County Massacre" of Wiyot Indians in 1860 near Eureka, California.^[79]

[edit] Television appearances and videos

See also: Pixies' television appearances and videos

Black has appeared on a range of television shows solo and as part of the Pixies, ranging from 120 Minutes and The Late Show in the US, to The Word in the UK.^[80]

As part of the Pixies, he was reluctant to film music videos for singles. Elektra Records' Peter Lubin commented that "to get videos out of them was a major [...] undertaking and it only got worse over time", citing the fact that Black refused to lip-sync to music videos;^[81] the video for the Pixies' "Here Comes Your Man" features Black and Deal opening their mouths as the vocals are being heard, mocking the practice.

In his early solo career as Frank Black, his videos were more professional; he became more willing to take part in them. "Los Angeles" is an example; the video features Black riding across a desert on a hovercraft. They Might Be Giants' John Flansburgh, who helped produce the "Los Angeles" video, later commented on the change in Black's attitude to music videos:^[42]

“

I think the Pixies had made enough anti-videos that Charles was ready to do things that were more visually hopped up. The "Los Angeles" video that we did, the last minute and a half of the song is this open field of grey over which hovercrafts are floating. It's about as tripped up as any video I've ever been involved in, and it was also realizing a dream of Charles', getting him in a hovercraft.

”

Black has only released one music video since leaving 4AD, a low-budget video in Germany for Dog in the Sand's "Robert Onion". The last widely-released video produced for Black's solo material was for "Men in Black", from Cult of Ray.^[82]

[edit] Samples

[edit] Pixies

[edit] Solo career

[edit] Selected discography

Main article: Frank Black discography

[edit] Studio albums

Year	Title	Label
1993	Frank Black	4AD Records
1994	Teenager of the Year	4AD Records
1996	The Cult of Ray	American Recordings
1998	Frank Black and the Catholics*	SpinART
1999	Pistolero*	What Are Records?
2000	Sunday Sunny Mill Valley Groove Day*	Not released.[83]
2001	Dog in the Sand*	What Are Records?
2002	Black Letter Days*	SpinART / Cooking Vinyl
2002	Devil's Workshop*	SpinART / Cooking Vinyl
2003	Show Me Your Tears*	SpinART / Cooking Vinyl
2004	Frank Black Francis	SpinART / Cooking Vinyl
2005	Honeycomb	Back Porch / Cooking Vinyl
2006	Fast Man Raider Man	Back Porch / Cooking Vinyl
2006	Christmass	Cooking Vinyl
2007	Bluefinger	TBA

* as Frank Black and the Catholics

[edit] Singles

Year	Title	Label
1993	Hang On to Your Ego	4AD Records
1994	Headache	Badd
1995	Men In Black	American Recordings
1995	The Marsist/Better Things	Dragnet
1996	I Don't Want to Hurt You	Sony
1998	All My Ghosts	Play It Again Sam
2003	Nadine	Cooking Vinyl

[edit] Notes and references

[edit] External links

• FrankBlack.net - Approved fan site
• Frank Black discography
• Frank Black's Allmusic entry
• 4AD - Frank Black
• Frank Black discography at the "4AD Database"

Pixies

Black Francis | Kim Deal | Joey Santiago | David Lovering

Discography

Studio albums and EPs: Come on Pilgrim (EP) | Surfer Rosa | Doolittle | Bossanova | Trompe le Monde Pixies at the BBC | Complete 'B' Sides | Pixies (The Purple Tape)

Singles: "Gigantic" | "Monkey Gone to Heaven" | "Here Comes Your Man" | "Velouria" | "Dig for Fire" | "Planet of Sound" | "Letter to Memphis" | "Alec Eiffel" | "Head On" | "Debaser" | "Bam Thwok"

Compilation Albums: Death to the Pixies | Wave of Mutilation: Best of Pixies

Related bands

The Breeders | Frank Black and the Catholics | The Amps | The Martinis

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Persondata
NAME	Thompson, Charles Michael Kittridge, IV
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Black, Frank; Francis, Black
SHORT DESCRIPTION	Alternative rock musician
DATE OF BIRTH	April 6, 1965
PLACE OF BIRTH	Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America
DATE OF DEATH
PLACE OF DEATH