Pixies To Return To Australia This November To Celebrate Fan Favs ‘Bossanova’ And ‘Trompe Le Monde’

Alt-rock legends PIXIES are returning to Australia this November which will see them perform two consecutive nights in each city. On the first night, they’ll play fan favourite albums, 1990’s Bossanova and 1991 follow up Trompe Le Monde in their entirety, followed by a cross catalogue set and songs from their new album The Night The Zombies Came on the second night. Pixies released their tenth studio album The Night the Zombies Came last year and continue to wow audiences around the world including their recent support of Pearl Jam on their Australian tour.

Thirty years since their groundbreaking Platinum-certified album Doolittle catapulted the band into the UK Top Ten, and twenty years since their celebrated reformation at Coachella, Pixies are deep into their second act, and in the midst of a creative purple patch. It was an absolute honour and privilege speaking to the legendary David Lovering from one of my all time favourite bands.

How was touring Australia with Pearl Jam playing big stadiums?
It was great, we don’t do usually stadium runs or anything like that, but it’s daunting. I think after the first show, we’ve kind of learned how to do it correctly since. The first show was a little, like I say, it was a little new because having not played a stadium or not having played in a few weeks was a lot harder work. The show went well, people loved it. Second show, I knew what was coming. I knew how to play it or how to attack it. So that went much better. By the time we played the Gold Coast, we’re hit our stride, it was great.

Do you get nervous when you’re playing shows of this size?
Never, never, never. I think the first show we did in as a band in Cambridge, Massachusetts, that was the first show I was scared after that, no!

So what is it about Australia that you love? There’s a definitely an affinity there between Australia and the Pixies.
Yeah, it’s unfortunate that back in the day when the Pixies were around, we never played Australia. We played Europe. This is back in up to 1993, we never, never, never played. It was unfortunate because this is a place every other band does and we’ve never done it and when we finally did the reformation it was a joy because it was a place that we’ve never seen, never been to. The people are very receptive, and they’ve been more receptive as we’ve come. They like the Pixies, we’re doing enough shows here that they’re getting what we’re about. So, it’s wonderful and we’re very fortunate to be here.

Exciting that another Australian tour for 2025 has been announced.
Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! It’s nice because we started in April and it’s a nice place to end 2024 here, and we’re going to do the same thing next year when we start in April 2025. We’re going to end again here. So, it’s great.

There’s definitely something special about this tour doing two nights in each city and playing some classic albums as well?
That’ll be fun. We did it in Europe already only one night of Bossanova and Trompe Le Monde. This will be a great to spend time in each city for two days. We’ll do one night of Bossanova and Trompe Le Monde and the classic songs. It’s two different animals, which is interesting. We’ve got our regular set, we don’t have a set list when we do our classic songs, we just know what the first song is, and it’s kind of our shtick. It’s just to fly through the songs to the end. Having to do Bossanova and Trompe Le Monde, now we have something in front of us I can look at. What we have to play after in order makes it much more time-based in a way where I can tell where we are on the set or how far at the end of it. It makes it interesting also because it’s a different animal than the next night being our regular shows. It’s having something formatted and then unformatted. So, it’s a nice just juxtaposition I would say.

Does it take a bit of rehearsing to play some of those songs, the deeper cuts that probably don’t make it into the live set all that often?
Yes, before when we were doing this in Europe, we had two weeks to rehearse it. Now the Pixies are a band that never does two weeks or even any rehearsal. So, we had to learn these songs and especially Trompe Le Monde, there were songs that we’ve never played live, even back in the day, like Space (I Believe In), when I heard that, and again, I haven’t heard that in a long time because we never played it. I thought someone else was playing it. I didn’t think that I played drums on it. It was just, there’s no way I played that. So, I had to learn the song as well as all the others and we did fine in two weeks. We got it and I think we presented very well. It’s wonderful to play these songs that we’ve never played.

Are you continually blown away by the legacy and the influence these albums continue to have and build that does not look like fizzling out ever?
I can physically see the generational, the younger kids, since 2004, it’s been kids since 2004 and it’s still being replaced with kids all the way up to even twenty years later. That’s what I see and it’s wonderful. I think we’re very, very fortunate to have an audience. It’s hard for me to, to really realise it as a legacy or anything because it’s just a band that I play in. I really don’t think of it in as an impactful way. It’s hard to explain. It’s just, wow, I’m just playing drums and music. It’s wonderful to see it with the audience and we are fortunate as a band.

The new album The Night The Zombies Came is outstanding and truly remarkable. Are you feeling really happy with how that turned out?
Thank you, I agree, it’s my favourite album since Trompe Le Monde. If I compare all the Indie Cindy’s and Beneath The Eyrie’s, Head Carrier and everything, I like this the best and the reason I say I also like it the best is because I think that we played very well. We were in a position where going into a studio that we had already been in before, the year before, so there was a comfort level there. We were working with Tom Dalgety, our producer for the fourth album. So, the comfort level there, we were confident, we knew the songs going in as well. Having that confidence, knowing how to play them, and with that comfort level, I think everyone played exceptionally well. I think the songs were very unique and what we did. I think it just made a great album. I’m very, very happy with it.

The concept of zombies and things like that, is that something you’ve been toying around with for a while?
No, no, no. I think it’s just coincidental we were recording in October there, which was Halloween, but I don’t think that, well, I know from Charles’s talk it was nothing that really played out just because of Jane (The Night of the Zombies Came) or those songs. I think it was just coincidental.

Do you think Emma brings a different dynamic to the band?
She does, not only her playing, especially her vocals, her vocals are wonderful. I think the dynamic is socially within the band is absolutely fantastic. We’re a very happy family.

Does it feel like the missing piece, so to speak, in terms of what she’s able to bring?
Yeah, I think she does present it. I mean, it makes it a whole, especially with her vocals and her personality, I think makes everyone play better as well. I don’t want to be embarrassed, so I’ve had to step up my game as far as someone new and playing along with her I think it’s made everything better, absolutely.

Having finished the creative process for this album has that got ideas started for what might be the next album?
No, not really. But I can tell you, we were doing promotions in London for this album. We had free time, so we recorded another one! We weren’t planning it, but we just went in the studio and just did a bunch of songs. But we have enough, again, there were no intentions of releasing it this album, but we had free time and just did it. So that may be this next year. There’s a possibility, you never know.

Did you ever think the band would have a purple patch like this creating so many new songs?
I think this is the most productive we’ve ever been. It’s not that we’re throwing things at a wall to see what will stick, it’s just we’re having fun doing what we do. I think that just the opportunity given and the free time, that’s why we do it.

I have to ask the question about the song Chicken. What’s the story behind that one?
It’s a tough one for me to explain what Charles is writing about, but I’m trying to think what he had said about it. I can’t tell! I don’t know! I know that Charles had chickens! I think that’s how it kind of spawned. I’m sorry I can’t elaborate on it.

Have you got any other side projects on the go, or is it just a hundred percent Pixies at the moment?
One hundred percent Pixies. When we broke up the first time, I was relegating to the fact we would never get back together. When we did, it was the most shocking thing to me. When we did break up, I had played with other bands, but I just became disenchanted with it because the Pixies is something I loved, and it had ended. So having this opportunity again with the Pixies, this is something I absolutely love doing. There’s nothing else planned. The four month break will be an nice break with family before we start again in April in Europe.

Is this the happiest and most content you’ve been musically and sometimes do you feel like pinching yourself with how well things continue to go?
Yeah, we’re very fortunate as a band having this young audience and this album as well. I mean, all the albums, you know, I’m going from Come On Pilgrim, all the way up to this album. Come On Pilgrim was very easy to do because those songs we played in clubs in Boston, we knew them, it’s like riding a bike and as each album came, they became quicker and quicker and you have to learn. You’ve got to come up with parts, you got to learn these songs and there was a bit of trepidation or a little, oh gosh, for each album that I have to really come up with something. So, it was nice to finally come to a point now where everybody was just comfortable with it. I’m very, very happy about the situation.

Interview By Rob Lyon

Catch the Pixies on the following dates, tickets from Live Nation…