Frank Black
Frank Black
Charles Michael Kittridge Thompson IVis an American singer, songwriter and guitarist. He is best known as the frontman of the influential alternative rock band Pixies, with whom he performs under the stage name Black Francis. Following the band's breakup in 1993, he embarked on a solo career under the name Frank Black. After releasing two albums with record label 4AD and one with American Recordings, he left the label and formed a new band, Frank Black and the Catholics. He re-adopted...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionMusician
Date of Birth6 April 1965
CountryUnited States of America
I've made my records and I've done all the interviews. I've done lots of long tours. I've made stupid videos. I've done all that stuff and learned all the lingo and gone to radio stations and shmoozed with DJs on the air and met retail people.
It's obvious you shouldn't steal, kill or be cruel.
It's just, you gotta pay your dues if you want to sing the blues. Not that I've never paid dues in my life, but I just paid a lot in the last couple of years. What can I say? It just gives your songs a whole lot more legitimacy. Or it causes you to write better songs or something, I don't know.
I don't want to do children's music. I write kids songs, but the kids songs I write are for my kids - like when I'm putting them to bed. We sing some song that we made up but I don't want to make a record like that.
Bob Dylan is quite a songwriter, and a great singer and musician. I won't bother with comparing myself to him, but I will say that I heard his records at a very young age and I still listen to all his records.
I have two step-kids and one of my own on the way. That's three college funds.
I can remember back as far as age 8, performing with the Boston Folk Song Society. It was a Woody Guthrie song.
My most cryptic, strange songs might be my most personal, but that isn't how people are going to receive them, because they don't know the code.
I listen to Neil Young and jazz and classical stations and, if my girlfriend's driving, it tends to be Hall & Oates.
As soon as I got into music, I tried to be a working, real artist who gets paid for what he does, who doesn't have a day job.
A lot of the gentle singing style of (jazzman) Chet Baker I noticed more than once showing up in my delivery,
They may be afraid that if we make a mediocre record that it will still come out, because the money has been spent. That's fair enough.
They're so good. There are times when they're playing when it's just: 'Oh my gosh, these guys are like the Rolling Stones or something.' It's pretty stunning.
They're pretty good actually, Hall & Oates. I gotta give them credit. They got a lot of toe-tappers.