Frank Black - Biography
American singer-songwriter Frank Black was the leader of seminal alternative rock band Pixies and has forged a prolific solo career throughout the 1990s and early 21st century. Christened Charles Michael Kitridge Thompson IV on April 6, 1965, Black was born in Boston, Massachusetts, the son of a bar owner. During his youth, his family bounced back and forth between Boston and Los Angeles, fueled by the business dealings and wanderlust of both his father and, during Black's early adolescence, his deeply religious stepfather. Frank Black began playing his mother's acoustic guitar at age 12 and was soon involved in leading folk music groups at church. Black has cited his primary musical influences as The Beatles, The Beach Boys, The Cars, and surf music, all of which are evident at the heart of his music.
While attending the University of Massachusetts Amherst, he roomed with Joey Santiago, a guitarist who introduced Black to punk rock. Adopting the stage name Black Francis, he and Santiago formed Pixies in 1986, with bassist Kim Deal and drummer David Lovering rounding out the ranks. The following year, Black's father helped the band finance the recording of 17 demos (known as "The Purple Tape"), which secured them a deal with 4AD. Eight of those tracks became Pixies debut release, Come On Pilgrim (1987 4AD), which was named after the slogan of one of Black's former church leaders. The EP introduced the world to Frank Black's signature bipolar vocal style: weary yet melodious one moment, and screaming vitriol the next. Pixies' music melded Black's surf and guitar-pop background with the hard, fast punk sound of the '80s American Underground scene, while carrying these influences toward a new era.
Thanks in part to producer Steve Albini, the band's first full-length, Surfer Rosa (1988 4AD), maintained the raw and wiry sound of the EP, with more of Black's surrealistic lyrics set to catchy, buzzy tunes. While it failed to chart, the excellent album generated a strong buzz. The bigger, cleaner sound of their third album, Doolittle (1989 Elektra), actually added to the band's intensity, while emphasizing the radio potential of songs like their iconic Modern Rock hit, "Monkey Gone to Heaven." A critical smash, Doolittle went Top 10 in England and would influence a whole new generation of bands, from Nirvana to Radiohead and beyond.
Over the next two years, Pixies would release two more albums, Bossanova (1990 Elektra) and Trompe le Monde (1991 Elektra). On both records, the band presented a more straightforward alt-rock sound, while Black's textured vocals and allusive lyrics remained Pixies' most distinguishing feature. The albums each landed in the UK Top 10, but only skimmed the Top 100 in the US. After a 1992 U2 support tour, the band members took a sabbatical. The following year, Black announced the band's end on the radio, much to the surprise and dismay of its three other members.
Having joined forces in 1992 with former Captain Beefheart and Pere Ubu member Eric Drew Feldman, Frank Black had already laid down tunes for his solo debut, which he released that spring. Frank Black (1993 Elektra) represents a natural evolution from the direction of the last two Pixies albums. Joey Santiago even contributes lead guitar, while the presence of saxophone marks Black's interest in pursuing more traditional rock 'n' roll ideas. Nonetheless, the record is very much a product of the grunge-dominated alternative rock era and its incumbent loud, crunchy guitar tones. The critically praised Frank Black spawned two Top 10 Alternative Songs on Billboard: "Los Angeles" and a cover of The Beach Boys' "Hang on to Your Ego." Black's sophomore solo LP, Teenager of the Year (1994 Elektra), presented more and shorter songs, casting a wide net of musical ideas, from buzzing rockers to '60s R&B-like ballads. Santiago adds lead guitar to a few cuts, but the Pixies have been left mostly in the past, as Black freely explores a variety of styles. Reviews were nearly as strong for this second album.
For his next full-length, The Cult of Ray (1996 American), Frank Black assembled a new backing band — later dubbed The Catholics — most of whom would accompany him for the next seven years. Lending Black support on album three are bassist David McCaffery, drummer Scott Boutier, and guitarist Lye Workman. Their sound here, however, is noisy, muddy, and a surprisingly lifeless, leading to tepid reviews. Black and his new troop soldiered on, with the band getting full billing on the next album, Frank Black and the Catholics (1998 SpinART). No-frills alt-rock, recorded live in studio, and sequenced alphabetically, the album eschews artiness, pretension, and, to some ears, inventiveness. Critical reception was mixed for this record, which is more than can be said of its successor, Pistolero (1999 SpinART). Featuring new lead guitarist Rich Gilbert, the record eked out reviews that were tepid at best.
A new decade and some old friends re-energized Frank Black, as evidenced by Dog in the Sand (2001 SpinART). By augmenting his Catholics lineup with formidable former collaborators Eric Feldman and Joey Santiago, Black turned out his best and most nuanced record in years. The songwriting is sharp and varied, moving from the atmospheric alt-Americana of "I've Seen Your Picture" to bluesy rocker "Hermaphroditis," with stops in doo-wop and Violent Femmes-like country gothic along the way. The following year, Black and the Catholics issued two albums simultaneously. Black Letter Days (2002 SpinART) continues in the vein of Dog in the Sand (albeit without Santiago), but the songwriting isn't of as high a caliber. Released the same day, the hastily assembled Devil's Workshop (2002 SpinART) is even less distinctive. The band's final album, Show Me Your Tears (2003 SpinART), was yet another non-starter, eliciting more poor reviews, but returning Black to Billboard with a #24 peak on the Independent Albums chart.
At this point, Frank Black's career was desperately in need of a change. Legions of longtime fans were thrilled when, in late 2003, Black reunited Pixies. The pioneering group toured the world the following year, issuing double-disc recordings of their performances within minutes of each concert's conclusion. Black also issued Frank Black Francis (2004 SpinART), a two-CD, personae-bridging compilation of 1987 solo demos on one disc and newly reworked Pixies cuts (but not with Pixies members) on the other. Despite the baffling concept, the release garnered favorable reviews.
The next year, with both Pixies and Catholics behind him, Frank Black traveled to Nashville to record with local musicians, including singer-songwriter Buddy Miller on guitar and great veteran session men like CBS Orchestra drummer Anton Fig and Muscle Shoals organist Spooner Oldham. Despite (or, perhaps, because of) its pedigree, Honeycomb (2005 Back Porch) lacks Black's unique personality. The record is enjoyable, but far from essential. Still, it managed to hit #11 on Billboard's Heatseekers chart. Just one year later, Frank Black issued the double-album Fast Man, Raider Man (2006 Cooking Vinyl). Unfortunately, the release echoes the over-indulgent nature of his 2002 output, with its 27 new tracks stretching Black's ability to craft that much truly worthwhile material in so little time.
For Black's next release, he re-appropriated his Pixies-era Black Francis moniker. Bluefinger (2007 Cooking Vinyl) is a loose concept album. Its tracks all reference Dutch rocker and artist Herman Brood. Black even covers Brood's "You Can't Break a Heart and Have It," which was featured on the soundtrack to Forgetting Sarah Marshall. The record finds Black returning to raw, punchy alt-rock and is, appropriately enough, the most Pixies-esque Black has sounded since the early '90s. Critical reviews were consistently favorable, if not quite raves. The following year's Svn Fngrs (2008 Cooking Vinyl) EP was just as taut and, with a leaner running time, even more compelling. The following year, Black teamed with his wife Violet Clark as Grand Duchy, releasing Petit Fours (2009 Cooking Vinyl). Continuing as Black Francis, he next put out Nonstoperotik (2010 Cooking Vinyl), an album that mostly returns to the alt-rock guitars of Pixies and his early solo years, while retaining some of the Americana underpinnings of his 2000s work (particularly on the Flying Burrito Brothers cover, "Wheels"). The strong record earned positive reviews from the press.
As of spring 2010, Frank Black continues to record as Black Francis, with his wife in Grand Duchy, and to perform with the reunited Pixies.
