Charles Michael Kittredge Thompson IV has been a solo artist for three times as long as he was originally in the Pixies. He's released three times as many albums as he did with the band, under three different stage names -- his original Pixies moniker Black Francis, the solo change-up Frank Black, and even the combination Frank Black Francis. And yet, he'll never totally get away from the legacy of the Boston band that he started in 1987 with a 17-track demo, the now-famous "purple tape" that was financed by his dad.
Those 17 songs, remade and remodeled over the four short years that the Pixies released albums, would come to represent almost a quarter of the band's total output, including the entirety of their debut EP from the same year, Come On Pilgrim. Though he broke up the band in 1992, after the snowballing tension between him and bassist Kim Deal finally came to a head, Thompson keeps getting drawn back to that legacy. After steadfastly denying the band would ever reunite, they finally did, in 2004. They've toured on and off every few years since then and make an appearance at the Henry Miller Library on April 15.
Charles Michael Kittredge Thompson IV has been a solo artist for three times as long as he was originally in the Pixies. He's released three times as many albums as he did with the band, under three different stage names -- his original Pixies moniker Black Francis, the solo change-up Frank Black, and even the combination Frank Black Francis. And yet, he'll never totally get away from the legacy of the Boston band that he started in 1987 with a 17-track demo, the now-famous "purple tape" that was financed by his dad.
Those 17 songs, remade and remodeled over the four short years that the Pixies released albums, would come to represent almost a quarter of the band's total output, including the entirety of their debut EP from the same year, Come On Pilgrim. Though he broke up the band in 1992, after the snowballing tension between him and bassist Kim Deal finally came to a head, Thompson keeps getting drawn back to that legacy. After steadfastly denying the band would ever reunite, they finally did, in 2004. They've toured on and off every few years since then and make an appearance at the Henry Miller Library on April 15.
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