Artist bio

See also: Pixies

Frank Black, nee Charles Thompson, is one of the most accomplished rock songwriters of his era, basically the 20th century's final 15 years and beyond. He earned his stripes with five albums in six years as the frontman for underground icons the Pixies, but after disbanding the group via press release in 1993, he embarked on an even bolder mission: to outlive the legacy he created.

1993's Frank Black and 1994's Teenager Of The Year proved Black's creativity to have even more range than he displayed with his critically acclaimed former band. Both find him reaching past his well-known surf-punk motifs to create pop-rock vistas that distilled dozens of influences into tunes about UFOs, architects, obscure towns, facial hair, and the Three Stooges.

But lo, Black was not completely happy on his own. He missed having a trusty band behind him that he could tour long and hard with and not worry about collaborating with dozens of people on each album. Enter the Catholics, basically the former Miracle Legion rhythm section of Scott Boutier and David McCaffrey. With a string of guitarists including Lyle Workman, Rich Gilbert, and Dave Philips, Frank and the Catholics turned into an old-school band of rock troubadors, punching out albums like Frank Black And The Catholics, Pistolero, Dog In The Sand, and Devil's Workshop with impressive regularity.

Black adopted the new m.o. of recording live to two-track, which gave his albums an immediate feel and gave his band a reason to really learn their shit and get air-tight in time for the performances. The former indie icon is currently living out his dream as a rock and roller with a band in a van, criss-crossing the country to play ear-crushing shows at a smoky club near you.

Albums by this artist

Bluefinger (2007)

Fastman Raiderman (2006)

Honeycomb (2005)

Show Me Your Tears (2003)

Black Letter Days (2002)

Devil's Workshop (2002)

Oddballs (2001)

Dog In The Sand (Recommended) (2001)

Pistolero (1999)

Frank Black And The Catholics (1998)

The Cult Of Ray (1996)

Teenager Of The Year (Recommended) (1994)

Frank Black (1993)

Concerts

February 5, 2001
Mercury Lounge, New York

July 6, 1999
The Metro, Chicago

Interviews

The Devil's Workshops
July 15, 2002

Frank Black

Frank Black

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» TROY CARPENTER | CO-DIRECTOR

Frank Black Frank Black EMusic, 1993 RiYL: Lou Reed, David Bowie, Mike Watt

Frank Black's eponymous debut of 1993 is the expression of an artist fully released from his shackles and turned loose to create a masterpiece.

As the frontman of the Pixies, Black introduced a blend of strange lyrics, heavy riffing, loud-soft dynamics and catchy choruses to the college audience in the late '80s and early '90s. But by the end of that band's tenure, his collaboration with bassist and vocalist Kim Deal, later of the Breeders, had stifled both of their creative urges, and the band parted ways.

Frank Black released his "debut" album mere months after his press release announcing the band had broken up. It is a deep and fascinating record which finds his ever-changing personae still in a somewhat Pixies-related mindset. But simultaneously Black distinguishes the new material from his previous work in a number of ways.

Though Pixies guitarist Joey Santiago appears on a few tracks, Black recruited a varied bunch of musicians to help him record Frank Black. Bassist/keyboardist Eric Drew Feldman(Captain Beefheart sideman) and drummer Nick Vincent back Black throughout the record, while John Linnell and Kurt Hoffman (of They Might Be Giants) show up with their rock and roll saxophones.

Standout tracks include "Two Spaces," a farfisa-driven track nestled in the middle of the record, serving up a poppy little groove to propel the listener toward the album's climax. "Hang On To Your Ego" is a cover of an old Beach Boys outtake (an earlier version of Pet Sounds' "I Know There's An Answer"), while "Tossed" has a distorted surf-rock sound that doesn't conjure up the beach as much as walking through a big city.

As usual, Black's lyrical topics are an occult buffet. "Parry The Wind High, Low," the album's most ambitious and forward-thinking track, marks his affinity for UFOs by sending its narrator to a UFO convention and then, presumably, to an abduction ("when the ship meets your car / you know you can't go real far / well, they could treat you real nice / or put a tracking device -- way down inside").

"Fu Manchu" is a discussion on the merits of a certain type of moustache, "Places Named After Numbers" treats black holes, and "Czar" and "Ten Percenter" tribute John Denver and Iggy Pop, respectively. The last track, "Don't Ya Rile 'Em," loosely illustrates Black's theory that the use of artificial light has distorted the human race's eyesight and sanity.

Black covers every base that an ex-Pixie fan could truly expect him to and he adds more into the mix as well. The songs sound less strained to fit a particular sound or mood, but free to evolve in the fertile imagination of Frank Black. A brilliant debut.

TROY CARPENTER | Troy Carpenter founded NATN from a Chicago apartment during the ambitious winter of 1998 with co-conspirators Ben French and Jonathan Cohen. After a five-year stint in New York, he and wife Lourdes have recently relocated to Indianapolis, where he spends days listening to music and nights in the kitchen at Elements restaurant. Musical heroes: Jimi Hendrix, Bob Marley, Super Furry Animals. What else makes life worth living: Sushi, Phucty, runs in the park, and the Atlanta Braves.