Joey Santiago recently took some time to chat with Goldmine about his musical career. Among the issues discussed, his confession that the Pixies‘ separation was a refreshing experience stood out.
When asked about why they broke up in 1993, the musician described a vivid picture of a creative partnership pushed to its limits. He mentioned how their deteriorating relationship led him to ‘lose it’ and punch a hole in the wall during their final show.
The guitarist started explaining the reason for the hiatus by saying:
“Same thing as with every other band. Eventually, you got sick of it, and we weren’t getting along; we weren’t having fun. But the last album, ‘Trompe le Monde,’ didn’t feel like a swansong album. You know, when you start overdubbing, you do it because that’s the purpose. That’s the best way to really hone in and use technology, right?
We’re not a jazz band, although we can do that. Then it started serving the purpose of ‘I don’t want to see people.’ Before, it was like, okay, I’m gonna do this; it’s cool; we’re crafting a thoughtful guitar part. Then, after a while, it became a case of doing it for privacy.”
His words continued as follows:
“I refused to believe that we weren’t having fun. But after a while, the attitude just got to me. It’s like, ‘Oh my God, we’re really not having fun.’ I remember punching a hole in the wall in Vancouver, and that was our last show ever. Thank God that wall didn’t have a two-by-four in it. You could call it fatigue.
When it broke up, I was relieved. Just because I could get a break. I knew it was going to do that. But it would have served us well to just take a hiatus. But breaking up was the thing we had to do. And it served us well. You know, it made a story out of it. You can’t have a reunion without a breakup, right?”
Fortunately, the band patched things up 20 years ago and is hitting the road again for their US tour from May to September.
