Lovering: Pixies dysfunctional as ever

Dave Lovering says the Pixies are still as dysfunctional as ever since bassist Kim Deal left the band.

Deal quit the band last year, just as they were about to record their latest album Indie Cindy. She has since been replaced by former A Perfect Circle and Zwan member Paz Lenchantin, with whom Lovering, Black Francis and Joey Santiago are more than happy.

But even though Deal is no longer around to lock horns with Francis, drummer Lovering says the band still put up with a “lot of bullshit” internally.

He tells MusicRadar: “I think we’re getting on fine in whatever circumstances, but we’re still the same band, same shit goes down even when we’re one less member. We’re still dysfunctional – not as dysfunctional as people think.

“To us we’re normal, this is the way we operate, this is the way we have been operating for a long time, but we’re definitely the same, still operating in the same good and bad way. As they say, a little older and wiser. Wiser means you make everything a little more comfortable, regardless of what it is. Just make it easier on yourself. So we’re putting up with a lot of bullshit.”

When the band first split in the 1990s, Lovering gave up playing drums and became a magician – a move he admits barely covered the bills. When he got a phonecall from Santiago in 2004 to say a reunion was on, he was over the moon.

He says: “It was a bad time in my life. You’ve heard of a starving musician? I became a professional magician – think of the term ‘dying magician.’ It’s not a very good career choice. That wasn’t panning out.

“And at that point I had a really, really bad girlfriend. It was torture. So I was at the lowest point, and then I get a call from Joe – and it was amazing because it was the furthest thing from my mind. I never would have dreamt that the Pixies would get back together, so when it did happen it was very welcome.”

Even though Deal’s departure was a blow, Lovering says he is enjoying working with Lenchantin.

“Paz is a bass player. Kim wasn’t a bass player – she was a guitar player that picked up bass,” he says. “For a short time, we had Kim Shattuck – she was a guitar player. Paz is a bass player, she’s really good, she sings well, the audience loves her.”

Lovering also discusses the band’s popularity in the UK, putting it down to “good taste” and talks about his drumming technique on the new record.

Stef wrote close to 5,000 stories during his time as assistant online news editor and later as online news editor between 2014-2016. An accomplished reporter and journalist, Stef has written extensively for a number of UK newspapers and also played bass with UK rock favourites Logan. His favourite bands are Pixies and Clap Your Hands Say Yeah. Stef left the world of rock'n'roll news behind when he moved to his beloved Canada in 2016, but he started on his next 5000 stories in 2022.