Back in the day (1987-1992) when I OUGHT to have been listening to the Pixies...I wasn't. I was a huge fan of alt rock of that period, watching "120 Minutes" religiously and running out and buying 2 cds a week for two solid summers based on stuff I saw on the show. And so I really should have listened to them. But at the time I had Kim Deal mixed up with Bjork. I really hate Bjork's voice. And so I hated the Pixies. And I never liked that video for Here Comes Your Man...it creeped me out. I couldn't really see at the time that it was a nice statement about lip synching in music videos. I thought it was dumb and gross at the time.
And so I was a mostly blank slate when I started playing bass in a Pixies tribute band.
Right away I got that Kim Deal was everybody's darling. If I hadn't of gotten that from internet research on the songs...I would have gotten it from playing live. People are nuts for Kim Deal. And that made me a little creeped out. People fixate on women who play rock music...to the point that they zone out the details really. It feels sexist and objectifying. It's weird. It's REALLY weird when it is directed at you...and you aren't the kind of person that men have ever looked twice at before. But men and women alike are right there...seemingly amazed and titilated that a woman can pick up an instrument and play.
So I didn't want to be like that...fixated. But then there she is in all her glorious no makeup wearing, sweaty t-shirt glory. Swearing and laughing and thorougly being exactly the kind of woman that I'm attracted to. A perhaps slightly masculine smart ass. [Don't ask me what "slightly masculine" means. Socially constructed gender roles are not my favorite topic. And I hate the idea that I put those roles on others. But there is no denying that I have a type that I am attracted to...and they aren't girly girls]. So yeah...I'm the worst kind of fixated Kim Deal fan.
But beyond all of that...I realized this weekend that I really owe the gal a debt of gratitude. Setting aside all the fixation. She's taught me a ton over the last two years. And I didn't even realize it. Right away when we started playing Pixies songs I realized that my voice was weak. I had no breath control at all. I'm still struggling with it, but for sure my voice projects better now. I sing in my chest voice more now (I used to be all head voice). I'm even getting better at harmony even though I still suck generally at it. But I'm more aware of my voice and how it works now and I'm getting better at controlling it. It's interesting to try and sing Breeders songs now...because she sang those differently. And I'm still not so good at those songs.
But really what I realized this weekend is what she has taught me about playing the bass. Not totally unlike the way that she started with the bass...I joined a band back in 2003 before I knew how to play the bass. And I'd say that I didn't know much more than that when I joined the Pixies tribute in 2010. And I haven't much worried about playing the bass. The vocals have always been the thing that I worried about. The bass just took care of itself. So this weekend we watched a few bass players who seem to be beginners and the boys were disecting thier technique...and basically saying why they like the way I play better. I guess I never expected to be GOOD at the bass...or for anyone to think I was better than anyone else. And I've not put much time into thinking about how to play the bass. It just happens. But there's all these microscopic things that I do or don't do that make my playing "good". And how weird is that. Thinking about it I realized that, while the playing is all me...that spending two years playing every Pixies song ever written has really given me a unique way to develop my playing. My experience is narrow...but oh so deep. And we've learned the songs in precisely the order (for the most part) that Kim Deal learned them. And so I've been able to follow along and learn more as she learned more. She has this simple, solid style that is 8th note and root based. It isn't anything crazy, but it really serves the song well. It's great pop music. And it is a fantastic foundation to build bass experience on.
And so this weekend, when I teach 3 other people how to play bass, I'll recommend playing Pixies songs. And that will make me seem like a dork who can't let go of my narrow/deep obsession with Kim Deal. But I gotta say...it's good stuff. It's a great foundation to build a life with the bass on. It's a foundation I'm lucky to have stumbled upon.
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