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

Mercury Lounge, New York (February 5, 2001)

Black was well received by the sold-out audience, though its members tended to clamor more for the older tunes rather than newer material from the just-released Dog In The Sand (to which Philips lends his guitar and vocal work).

Before opening with the Pixies gem "Gouge Away," Black's explanation "this song is about Samson and Delilah" was met with resounding cheers. "A lot of people seem to have heard what this song's about!" the surprised Black remarked.

Philips' playing was appreciated from the beginning, as his electric recreation of "Gouge Away"'s searing guitar lines provided the perfect accompaniment to Black's howling vocals and familiar chord progression (Black played a sort of amplified hollow-body guitar).

Black often seemed immersed in his songs, throwing his head back in delight as he and Philips jammed out on the coda to "Los Angeles" or closing his eyes during the bridge of "Steak 'n' Sabre."

The duo seemed most excited playing their newest material, including six songs from Dog and four additional new tunes he recently recorded with his band and Philips (some of which, Black explained, would be used for b-sides). Though the album had been in stores for less than a week, the crowd was appreciative of enthusiastic Dog tracks like "Robert Onion" and "If It Takes All Night."

A performer who clearly relishes the bond between audience and musician, Black kept up a jocular manner all evening, telling stories of life in the band's van and little anecdotes about the songs he was playing. Black lost his way one verse into "Fu Manchu," continuing the lyrics with "I just fucked up the song.." and strumming about wildly for a few seconds before segueing nicely into "Monkey Gone To Heaven" to the delight of the crowd. He elicited a smattering of laughs by playing that song's familiar lead guitar licks as an understated acoustic melody, remarking "awww" at the awkwardly cute sound.

They closed the show with the touching ballad "I'll Be Blue," from Dog, then Black stood smiling and soaking up some well-deserved applause before strapping his guitar back on for a rousing version of "Headache," from 1994's Teenager Of The Year. Black hit most of his high notes, and everyone left happy.

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.