Pixies' Joey Santiago on Rory Gallagher: "Just to play those scales in such a fucking unique way... it’s unbelievable"

It's safe to say Ireland LOVES the Pixies. Their upcoming trio of gigs in late August will mark seventeen Irish gigs in all, this past decade. That’s some tipping, especially when you consider the size of some of the venues. There was Marlay Park, the Iveagh Gardens (twice), Trinity College, the Marquee in Cork (twice), and Fisheries Field in Galway (twice). Not to mention Electric Picnic and three sold out shows at the Olympia this past March, as part of the Bossanova x Trompe le Monde European Tour.

Those gigs have coincided with the rise of Pixies Mark II. Over the past 10 years, they have released a quartet of albums, Indie Cindy, Head Carrier, Beneath The Eyrie and Doggerel. Before Indie Cindy arrived in 2014, their previous release was Trompe le Monde in 1991. That particular record completed one of the most incredible quartet of albums released by any band at any time: Surfer Rosa, Doolittle, Bossanova and Trompe le Monde.

Lead guitarist, Joey Santiago, sits in front of me now, a season off 60, grinning widely and complimenting my flat cap, a fashion for which, he too shares a penchant. One of the first things to strike you about Joey Santiago– inarguably one of the most influential guitarists of all time – is that he in no way thinks he is one of the most influential guitarists of all time. The guy is incredibly humble. It makes you like him even more.

Indeed, in episode 4 of It’s A Pixie Podcast, the 12-part series on the creation of 2019’s Beneath The Eyrie, Joey admits to having a tough time producing some of the work. It prompts leading narrator Tony Fletcher to observe that, “Pixies fans might be surprised to hear Joey Santiago talk like this, but you sense that the guitarist needs to question himself to deliver his best and nothing else will do for him but the best.”

I compliment him on the access to his creative process granted in the podcast. It provided a stark reminder of what it takes to create those records.

“I do put a lot of pressure on myself,” Joey agrees. “Does it mean I care a lot? Or do I think lowly of myself? I think it’s a combination of both.”

Fletcher is right, it is surprising when you consider Santiago’s trademark angular lead guitar – a sound that came roaring at us on songs such as ‘Vamos’ and ‘The Holiday Song’ off Come On Pilgrim. Or his surf guitar style across Trompe le Monde. Or the utterly beguiling experimental licks that light up Surfer Rosa, serving as a blueprint for the chief architects of grunge, and paving the way for the global dominance of Nirvana. Pixies’ influence can be heard across bands from Blur and The Strokes to Ride and Kyuss.

I wonder of there were any Irish influences on his work, Joey answers with one word.

“Rory.”

Now we’re talking.

“Fuck man!” he expands. “I just delved into it; I can’t believe how I really haven’t checked him out. Just to play those scales in such a fucking unique way, such unique combinations, it’s unbelievable.”

I recommend checking out Irish Tour ’74, which Joey immediately does, searching the 40th anniversary boxset online.

“Wow!” he exclaims. “Hold on a second here. Jesus Christ, how many songs are here? Alright, I’ll definitely check it out.”

For his part, Joey recommends listening to Californian psychedelic rockers Foxegyn and lesser-known German cosmic rockers Cluster, pointing me to their second effort Cluster II. He tells me that he is interested in “anything different, anything other than what people think we should sound like.”

Of course, Pixies do very little of what people think they should do. I was in the audience for the second of two nights of Pixies playing Fisheries Field in Galway, and they blasted through 33 songs, including fine covers of The Jesus And Mary Chain’s ‘Head On’ and Neil Young’s ‘Winterlong’, in a much-changed setlist from the previous night. Oh, and there’s never any pre-planned setlist and they don’t soundcheck – they sure don’t make things easy on themselves…

“Well, you know, we have a great crew,” Joey explains. “So we can trust it and we’re always well-rehearsed. The soundcheck is technically to get used to the sound of the room and check the monitors, make sure they are right. But come on, right now we have in-ears! Some guys go in there to practice, to work out new songs and stuff, but we prefer to do that backstage when we can really hear ourselves.”

Pixies at The Olympia Theatre, Dublin 26.9.2019 Copyright Colm Kelly.

The trio of sold out shows at Dublin’s Olympia in April marked the first gigs for new bassist and backing vocalist Emma Richardson, who replaced Paz Lenchantin who’d been ten years in the band.

“They were great gigs,” says Joey. “It was Emma’s first show with us, so she was really excited. We were well ready for it and now we even have more songs under our belt to choose from. The venue is spectacular and there is something special about the crowd in Ireland.”

Pixies’ upcoming Irish gigs will make it ten gigs in two years here, indicating an incredible demand from the Irish public. I ask about what’ll be on te set-list.

“We’re going to play some new songs,” he reveals. “Hopefully people don’t find that an opportunity to get a beer, take a piss, yawn, hate themselves – you know, all of the above.”

Which leads me to wonder, is there yet another new Pixies album on the horizon?

“We are planning a new one. Yes, we are.”

Eh, when?

“We’ll see,” teases Joey. “Can you tell I was told to keep it under wraps?”

Since this interview, Pixies have announced a new album, The Night The Zombies Came – out October 25 via BMG.

Pixies play Custom House Square, Belfast (tonight, August 28); and RDS Simmonscourt, Dublin (tomorrow, August 29).