THE PIXIES
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Rock me joe S
The Pixies made a triumphant return to Spokane on Oct. 3. All photos by Beau Valdez/ Sentinel
Sentinel super fan scores exclusive interview with musical inspiration
itting in a thick layer of dust on an unkempt desktop was an old, of fwhite, beaten landline telephone on speakerphone. Duct tape held its batter y in place. A calm, collected, Filipino-tinged baritone voice sprung from it; a slightly tired singsong; “Helllooo?” Within any of the nearby trailers could have been a variety of important phone calls, but none of their participants likely lent consideration that just across the way fled the voice of one of noisy guitar-playing’s more well-regarded figures. Hello, is this Joey? “Yes, yes it is,” said Pixies lead guitarist Joey Santiago. It’s an odd place for his voice to be. The disconnect between his mellow cool voice, legacy in rock histor y, and the bruised speakerphone he talked through are almost classically discordant, almost as such was the dynamics he was known best for in the band.
So when you decided not to do that and joined the Pixies, what sort of conceptual differentiation did you define yourselves by that sort of separated you from ever ything else in music (U2, Beastie Boys, Depeche Mode, Van Halen, Boston)? “Well, you know, we didn’t plan on being different at all. We just thought a lot of music was maybe cluttered, there was a lot of heavy metal bands back then and we couldn’t play like that. We wanted a more quirky band, I guess, when Charles and I met in U-Mass. We both wanted to start a band. That was one of my things about going to college, was to start a band.”
How are things looking over there? “Good. It’s sunny, I’m in L.A., we just got out of practice yesterday. You know, we’re practicing for the next leg of the tour.” Yeah, that’s starting pretty soon; that’s starting tomorrow or the day after? “It—it—oh, god, yeah, it is tomorrow. Yeah. Starts in San Diego,” he said with lighthearted exasperation.
During the Pixies’ career have you met any rock heroes that inspired you to get involved in rock? “We met David Bowie and U2. People like that, you know, people who we played for. David Bowie actually wanted to meet us in L.A. at this club before we even played with him. He is a big fan of ours. I thought that was weird, you know, the tour manager goes, ‘Oh, someone wants to meet you.’ I went, ‘Who?’ He says, ‘David Bowie.’ ‘Pffhwwah? Yeah, come on over!’”
Journalists have long described Santiago as the quietest member of the band. This seems less due to introversion than just because he was able to nutshell and summarize things well. This could suggest a similarity to his guitar styling; it isn’t about how many notes or chords are traversed, it’s about creating a tone accurately—the less complicated, perhaps the better. Santiago has been living in L.A. and has two children. He has recently finished up the first leg of the Pixies’ North American tour. Aren’t you glad you didn’t get that economics degree? Joey laughed, recalling the degree he gave up in pursuit of a rock career. “Yeah! I didn’t want that, that would’ve been a total waste of money.” So what was it that put you off that degree? “What do you mean? I liked it, you know, I mean I had a propensity for some reason to be good at it. I was probably more interested in the macro, you know?” I tell the stor y of a friend of mine who pursued the same degree for two years only to change it out of boredom. “Yeah, I imagine the career choices would have sucked. For me, anyways.”
To that end, college worked out quite well for Santiago. The band has gone on to have two albums certified gold, influence big-name bands from Weezer to Radiohead, and receive critical accolades as significant as having their album “Doolittle” appearing in Rolling Stone’s top 500 albums and being ranked the second best album of all time by NME readers. It’s hard to imagine this happening without the dominant stylistic addition of Santiago: unpredictable angular riffs and shards of noise that will cut through the bubble-gum dynamism often found in the band’s rhythm section, and ethereal soundscapes that linger in the background like something from a horror film. It’s hard to believe that nothing drove this unique style.
Through all the touring have you met any bands along the way that you think will be making the histor y books the way the Pixies have? “Oh, god, you know, there’s a lot of factors involved. I met Arcade Fire at The Lobby in Detroit when they were just crackin’ it and I never knew who they were at that time, so they handed me a CD and I go; ‘This is Fantastic!’ I thought they were still in the infant stage, and they were like wondering, “What the hell is this CD like?’ And I happened to put it on, and it was really good. There was this other one—you know what, I can’t remember! There’s so many bands that open up for—god d*** it—I wish I knew one of them, but they were skateboarders and they were really, really good.” Later Santiago recalled the band’s name was FIDLAR. “And I like Gogol Bordello who’s gonna open up for us, Cat Power too. She’s opening up for us, too. It’s a great lineup.” The Pixies are of an odd breed wherein they have become much more popular after the dissolving of their band than when they were actually recording in the studio. Their most impactful albums were made in the late 80’s and their influence wasn’t known until the grunge movement was in full swing. On September 23, 1991, the day before Nir va-
na’s “Nevermind” hit record stores, “Trompe Le Monde” was released by the Pixies, marking the beginning of a hiatus from music (particularly album-making) until just this year with the release of “Indie Cindy,” their highest peak on the Billboard 200 yet at #23.
How do you feel about “Where Is My Mind?” being used in ‘Fight Club’? “Oh, of course! Of course! It’s great. If anything, that’s why people love the song. That’s how a lot of new fans have been introduced to us, and I think it was a perfect placement for the song, it was just right on.”
They’ve been touring to promote the album with a new bassist, Paz Lenchantin, after years of tension between Pixies front man Black Francis (Charles Thompson) and previous bassist Kim Deal. “[Touring is] just more invigorating and I think that’s due to us just appreciating it, and also having Paz onboard is making a big, huge difference for us.”
Are you guys working on any new material right now? “No, not at all, not at all. There’s no time! We got a three-week break in-between, it’s just not enough time to get anything going and when we’re on tour we’re just on tour, we’re not able to really hash things out, we don’t do sound check. And that’s probably where bands work out a song—I suppose you could do it on the bus, but when you’re on the bus you just want to take a nap.”
In a previous inter view you said Paz had both yours and Charles’ vote as a new bassist, and David seems to be a fan, and you said there’d be more news on that later. Is there any development there? “No, not yet, she recorded one song with us, a B-side, “Women of War.” And we like the presence in the studio.
What sort of things do you do when you’re not playing or sleeping on tour? “I try to see the city. I’ve got this rule that I have to walk at least one hour or something, I just like to walk around a city, get my exercise in and soak in the sights and all that. I’ll just go to a café and do normal stuff, record shop. I do laundry on the road.”
How does she feel about it? “Well, she loves it. She did love the band beforehand, and she’s got the same personality as us, so it’s good. It’s good.”
Well that’s cool—you get to see all the kinds of dif ferent laundr y and record shops. Santiago chuckles, “yeah, exactly.”
What sort of personality is that? “She’s just funny and very smart, and she’s just very easy-going.” Santiago emphasized the ver y easy-going. Having composed for television and working with The Martinis, do you feel as if that work you’ve done independently of the Pixies has been outshined? “Of course, I can’t beat being in the Pixies. You know, all of us can’t. I got those gigs partly because they definitely need a hand, but at the same time you have to really work at the craft, and after a while they didn’t give a s--- who you were. They just want the movie done, or the TV episodes done, you just have to be professional in the end of it. It’s crazy. And what I learned from that is that nothing’s ever that precious. And you just gotta work fast, and I learned more to be atmospheric— and that’s what I am anyways. But even so, that just made it easier for me to record ‘Indie Cindy.’ Well, it’s not any easier, but I put a lot of pressure on myself.” The phone-line went on the fritz at this point. “I learned how to embrace myself. I’m always trying to grow but, you know, f--- it. This is what I sound like. I can’t help it.” Do you prefer that studio-for-TV, have to get it done by a deadline, over touring? “Nothing beats being in the Pixies. Nothing. So, that’s what I like doing more than anything else.” It’s kind of interesting that you do scoring because it’s not that far off from work with the Pixies to an extent. Like, even Gil [Norton, “Indie Cindy” producer] advised to look at this album cinematically, and you guys are pretty big on film, like with the surrealism influences. “Yeah.”
I was wondering, outside of the pixies, is there any particular work you favor? “Work… well, you know, I like raising my kids. That’s really the priority. When you’re on tour, you wonder what they’re doing, all that stuff, and you gotta raise ‘em and get rid of their bad habits and embrace the good ones. And that’s basically what you do.” Have you shown them any of your work? “Yeah, you know, I’m just a dad to them. They don’t want to know what I do. They want to get fed, go swimming, they wanna play, play catch, they don’t give a crap that I’m in a band. They miss me when I’m gone and they say, ‘Why can’t you do a shorter tour, blah blah blah?’ But they understand that’s what keeps the light on.” Transitioning to one of the more frequently asked questions probably, Indie Cindy has some mixed reviews, possibly more so than any of your previous albums. What would you say to critics who would say the Pixies aren’t whole because Kim’s not there? “Well I mean, come one, it’s not really the music you’re talking about anymore. You know, so… you gotta ignore that. Having said that, we ignore every single review. I don’t read them, actually. These days you just wanna get a lot of Internet hits and get as much attention as you can, you know, and I mean, you’ve got a right not to like it. I don’t like a lot of records that other people like; it’s just the nature of being a music fan. So, hey man, the guy didn’t like it, so you could review him.” You said there’s some records you don’t like; are there any particular genres that appall you or you keep away from? “Nah, not really. I listen to everything. Anything that my kids like, I like, just because they like the music. They like to listen
to it. It’s very different when you’re a dad because your kids open you up. You know, I took my daughter to a Katy Perry show. I liked that, you know, she’s a good performer, she sings, she writes her own stuff, you know, she empowers the audience, and when she spoke to you it felt very intimate. That thing that my daughter got out of that is that you can achieve anything. So that’s good, overall that was it. That was the main thing that she said after. It was a good, positive experience.” With that stage presence, as a performer, speaking about Katy Perr y, how do you feel about your self when you’re on stage? “Eh, you know, I am what I am. People like you. I’m not that animated, and I don’t wanna be fake about it. So, that’s the way I am, it just comes across. And I’m starting to come out of my shell. I saw Weezer, Rivers [Cuomo, Weezer frontman]— he kept to himself, but then when things get going he becomes this performer guy, it was like, “ra, ra, ra,” it was like: OK. Anybody can do it. People do expect you to do that. Not expect, but they wouldn’t be so surprised when you do. I gotta do that. You know, I played with Link Wray one time, and he made me monitor surf. I just went, ‘Come on?!’” Santiago sounded embarrassed, annoyed and bewildered just recalling the moment. “And I put my feet on the monitors and I go; ‘Oh my god…’ And people loved it when we did that, both of us surfing on monitors. It was great. I just played one song with him, I was the guest thing.” Is that someone who was a personal influence? I just imagine he would be a pretty big influence to you. “All that surf stuff, it was a big influence. Once again it’s like scoring a movie,
with one word. You know; ‘bonzaaaaiiiii,’ ‘rummmmbbbbblllllleeee.’ Here the phone went on the fritz again. “It’s the same thing I do with the Pixies, I do one word and I go with it. It’s like, you know, that song, ‘Dead!’ You know, that song ‘Dead?’ That was me doing ‘Psycho,’ you know: ‘EEEK, eeek, EEEEK, eeeek, EEEEEK, eeek,’ except Psycho only kept on one note and it sounded really creepy. They said, ‘Dead,’ so I said, ‘OK, I’ll go ‘Psycho.’” So, with this tour I’ll be seeing you on the third in Spokane— are you as bothered as I am that the show’s gonna be seated? “Is it seated?!” Yeah, it’s a seated show. “Eh, you know, people will end up standing up. There’s some places, we call them soft-seaters. We get a bunch of ‘em, Fox Theaters, they’re just beautiful. They’re very ornate. We did a tour just playing all these venues, beautiful venues, and people want to see us there. They want to be in a classy place. And I end up just looking at the ceiling and enjoying the architecture, all of that stuff. We gotta change it up, you know? It’s not like the band is playing a basketball arena, you know? We did that one time, and I said, ‘If I gotta see another basketball hoop I’m gonna go f------ crazy,’ you know it doesn’t really sound that great, it’s for sports. So we’re just sort of clanging around and I hate playing those kinds of places.” Alright, it’s looking like we’re running out of time; is there anything you’d like to add? “No, I haven’t had my morning coffee so I can’t really add anything right now,” he said with light humor.
w COMING TO A THEATER NEAR YOU
12 | the sentinel
Monday, OCTOBER 27, 2014
Hell in in Heels Heels Hell Deadly dames and killer kings take the stage at HalloQueen T.J. Gossard Features Assistant Cleavage. Stiletto-strutting studs and cleavage-clad kings and queens bared breasts bursting with dollar bills and ruled the stage with bejeweled fists and perfect nails during the Gender and Sexuality Alliance’s (GSA) annual Halloqueen drag show Thursday night, the proceeds of which were shared with the Coeur d’Alene Center for Gender and Sexuality Diversity. Students, elderly, children, community members, B-rated inflatable bats and glow-in-the-dark skeleton decorations demonstrated that the stage dancers weren’t the only ones who knew how to stuff, with the attendance hitting over 150 according to club adviser and chemistry instructor Jon Downing. The performances were vibrantly diverse. Performer Asher Johnson announced shyly before going into her act that she was only going to sing because she didn’t realize these events were mostly lip-synched. But this self-proclaimed rookie to the stage turned heads with her countryman’s outfit coupled to a vocal performance of opera that received a standing ovation. Later, looking like the survivor of an S&M venture through an oil spill, Felony Mayhem Cox burst onstage with a brutal faux-hawk,
spiked bra, broad dominating shoulders and bulging eyes— frightening guests and somersaulting in heels, viciously emanating a mastery of drag theatrics. Closing the night was glittering fireball Beyonce St. James, who twerked and twisted for the climax of the night, wherein she personally grabbed a male audience member who had offered her a dollar bill, sat him on the stage, gave him a lap dance, laid him down and bounced atop his body. The audio had technical difficulties mid-performance, which St. James handled with grace, transitioning the time to speak a little about her experience as an empress in the Imperial Sovereign Court of Spokane. The student reception was ecstatic. “It got pretty crazy,” Megan Abey, 20, General Studies, Coeur d’Alene said. “But in a good way. In the best ways.” The event wasn’t all about fun and games, though. Midway through the show GSA advisers and representatives from the CCGSD spoke about some of the struggles facing the LGBT community, such as higher sexual violence, homelessness, personal experiences with coming out and suicide rates. In light of the recent Supreme Court rulings and the success of the night, the general feeling seemed optimistic about the future
of LGBT relations. “Everybody always talks about RuPaul or the stereotypes of drag queens, and it’s nice to actually show what that’s about,” said event coordinator Jess Brereton, 28, English, Manitou Springs. “It’s a whole other kit and caboodle.” “It’s all theater to me,” Felony Mayhem Cox, 24, Hotel Restaurant Management at Spokane Community College, Post Falls said. “I enjoy it because Felony is so much different than who I am normally, so much more boisterous. She’s loud, obnoxious, she’s
fun, she’s a lot ballsier, and I enjoy the makeup aspect of it, the theater and the embodying an entirely different character that I’ve got to create myself.” An elementary-aged girl in attendance of the show was dancing around by people’s seats. Her name is Tori Wilkinson, and she does drag in her spare time. Her stage name is Surreal Mystery Diamond. “I’ve been doin’ a lot of drag shows, but sometimes I don’t do drag shows. I only do a couple because my mom doesn’t like some-
times doing so much,” Wilkinson said. She smiled and raised her arms proudly. “I always make the whole place shut down!” Make no mistake: this is an event of clothes flinging, sleazy frizzled hair, audience members grinded upon, and blood spatter makeup. However, this is also an event of family, laughter, fake sword battles, Freddie Mercury impersonations, and Ghostbuster-costumed Gangnam style-dancing students. No doubt: fun is to be had at Halloqueen.
“It got pretty crazy, but in a good way. In the best ways.” MEGAN ABEY STUDENT
Photo illustrations and design by Christina Villagomez
Original Photography by Amber Krauss
FEATURES
8 | the sentinel
Monday, Septemper 14, 2014
test of endurance Equipped with waterbottles, sleeping bags, and other survival gear, Ian Brookwell embarks through the California wilderness, encountering hot deserts, grassy plains, lush forests, and ridgeline mountain peaks. Brookwell took along his camera and documented his travels and some of the incredible sights along the way. Photos by Ian Brookwell.
NIC student’s summer adventure takes him through hundreds of miles of California wilderness Tyson Juarez Features Editor Some people are called to seek adventure, whether it is getting away for a weekend on a long road trip or taking an expedition to somewhere uncharted. One NIC student Ian Brookwell, 26, International studies, sought adventure by traveling hundreds of miles by foot with only enough gear to help him survive hardships in the wilderness. Brookwell’s journey took him through most of California, traveling on the Pacific Crest Trail which runs from the Mexican border all the way to the Canadian border. This expedition was the first time Brookwell had spent so many days out in the woods, claiming that prior to his journey he had maybe gone backpacking for four days tops. This attempt would test Brookwells strength and endurance. Beginning his trek at the start of May, Brookwell only had two months to make as much ground as he could until the reality of work and school set back in. In just two months though, Brookwell had traveled over 1000 miles. His trip initially ended at Mount Shasta. “I started late in the season,” said Brookwell. Brookwell also stated that most of the people who plan to hike the whole trail start in early April, and these brave travelers usually take up to six months to complete the whole thing. Most of these runners plan to start this early in order to better withstand conditions they faced. Brookwell encountered many kinds of terrain in the miles he traveled, switching from scorching hot heat and wind in the desert to stormy mountain ridges, facing both dehydration and even electrocution. “You don’t want to be on a ridgeline during a thunderstorm,” said Brookwell. Brookwell explained that hikers carry two poles which could be hazardous because they are metal and at a high elevation there’s a high probability of getting struck by lightning. Travelers on the Pacific Crest would encounter conditions in the desert such as 100 degree weather and high winds. This summer California had one of the worst droughts to date according to Brookwell, making dehydration almost unavoidable. They would also face possible elevation sickness due to the drastic change from low desert lands to high mountain ridges and peaks. At one point hikers would ascend 10,000 ft in elevation in just around a week’s worth of travel. Another obstacle Brookwell encountered was hunger. “The one thing you do when you’re hiking is lust over food,” said Brookwell. “The first thing I started lusting over was steak fat, not even the actually meat.” Brookwell survived for around three weeks off of food he found in hiker donation boxes that were located in hostels that he stayed in, mostly eating a diet consisting of oatmeal and water. Apart from the dangers of his trip, Brookwell got the opportunity to get in touch with nature, something he has been fascinated about ever since he was a young boy living on the coast of California. “I’ve always been excited about the woods and the wilderness,” said Brookwell. Brookwell didn’t even bring his IPod along on the trail, forcing himself to hear the forest the way it was intended to be heard. After about two months, Brookwell finally borrowed an mp3 player from a trail mate he had been traveling with. “It’s totally a magical difference, said Brookwell, “ when you listen to music while you hike you eat the miles down. Along the trail and in the towns he stayed in, Brookwell encountered many different kinds of people, forming friendships with fellow hikers that were in the same situation. Hikers who traveled together would give each other trail names according to Brookwell. He had been named “Chimney Sweep” due to his ability to play a tune on many different instruments like a character from “Mary Poppins.” After all the obstacles and many miles traveled, Brookwell had completed his trip in July and walked away with an experience that he may reflect on for many months to come.