Pixies’ lead guitarist has given some insights on why the legendary band had to ‘let go’ Kim Shattuck.
On the past months Pixies has given a lot to talk about. The release of their two part production EP-1 and EP-2, the announcement of 2014 world tour including impressive festivals such as Estéreo Picnic, and off course, the major line-up changes the band has had with both Kim Deal and Kim Shattuck out of the band and the recent addition of Paz Lenchantin as titular bassist.
On a recent interview with our friends at AlternativeNation lead guitar Joey Santiago talked about several topics regarding the band including the possibility of a third part of ‘EP’, the participation of Kim Deal on these recordings and the departure of Shattuck; according to Kim Shattuck’s statements on leaving the band reasons pointed towards personal differences. Read the insights of Joey Santiago regarding this issue below:
Q: Now when it comes to your favorite topic Kim Shattuck, was it always intended to move on from her after the fall tour and have different bassists live?
A: She was always just going to do that leg. It solidified as we played along the tours, like okay, good thing we gave that memo to her. Then with Paz, it was like shit we want her for awhile. She’s just the right fit for us now. Yes, we intended to do that, but in the back of our minds we wanted the first one to work out, but unfortunately it didn’t. It just wasn’t [appropriate]. So we moved onto another one, Paz, and she is working out famously. She has the chops, she has everything.
Q: Now when it came to the switch, was it kind of a combination of things? Like maybe some differences with Kim, and Paz being available. Because I remember the day you announced Kim wasn’t going to stick around, I heard that you had already found a new bassist.
A: Yeah, but what were we going to do with that information regarding the tour? It would have been shitty for us to tell the current bass the player the news, ‘Hey we found another one, and we want you to be in a good mood when we play!’ There wouldn’t really have been an appropriate time to say anything. That’s really what happened.
Q: One more question on that, was it musical differences or personal? Something like that?
A: You know it’s complicated, the band dynamic is very complicated. Yes, it’s all of those things. It’s everything, that’s what being in a band is about. People could guess why [they] think it didn’t work out. Give me the reasons, and those are probably the reasons, and they are the reasons. Yeah personality, yes. Musically, yes. It’s [nobody’s] fault. You are what you are and you play the way you play. That’s it, that’s the bottom line. It’s like, does it fit in with you? Yes or no? Answer it. It sounds simple, but it’s more difficult than people think.
The communication that we should have had with her, that she wanted, was impossible. We were on tour, and everybody after the last show went home. We were going to tell her, but she already told everyone (laughs). We weren’t the first one, it was like fuck. Then after that, why should we even fucking bother calling her? I called her once just saying, “What the fuck are you doing? Stop it.” Now she’s known as the person that the Pixies fired, the person that played with the Pixies. I mean that’s about it, that’s the bottom line. That’s it, that’s her in a nutshell. That’s the grave she dug for herself, you can’t blame us on that. Once again, you can’t blame her, that’s the way she is. You can’t just blame anyone, she is what she is. That’s basically what she is in a nutshell, the way she reacted.
So there it is, some closure to the whole Shattuck topic, now let’s just hope Lenchantin keeps it up so we can have more Pixies our way.
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