I Don't Understand Animated GIFs...but

Duh...I'm sure I've seen this video before.

I'm forever surprised about the new things I notice after thinking I know everything there is to know about these songs. Admittedly I noticed her singing on the 2nd chorus months ago. But why did it take that long to notice? Maybe I noticed long ago and just couldn't pull it off with the moving line. Funny to think that this bass line once seemed really hard. I feel like I'm in fast forward with the bass these days.

Effects Pedals

Not having a fully developed identity as a player yet...and not having a great ear for sound quality...means that I don't mess much with effects. KiD plays a pretty clean, straight signal bass...so I haven't needed to mess much with it. I have takent the baby step to notice and react to the fact that she played a different kind of bass at different points in the Pixies' career and that this changed the tone. I might not have noticed this on my own admittedly, but I read it online.

Aria Pro II Cardinal Series – The Pixies' first bass belonged to Kelley,and is heard on Come On Pilgrim, Surfer Rosa and seen on the Town & Country live video. It later reappeared in the Kelley Deal 6000.

1962 Fender Precision Reissue– Acquired for use on Doolittle on Gil Norton's insistence. It appears in the video for "Here Comes Your Man". On the Bossanova album, the Precision was used on "Dig for Fire" for its "lazier, growlier sound" that was "not as boingy-boingy-sproingy".

Music Man Stingray – Added in time for Bossanova "because it was active and had a different sound" and became her main live bass "because it was a little less country-sounding than the Fender". The instrument was afterwards played by Josephine Wiggs in The Breeders and Luis Lerma in The Amps.

Steinberger headless (but full-bodied, two-cutaway) bass – Bought during the recording of Trompe Le Monde because the other basses were out of tune on the higher frets. Deal described it as having a "weird, organ-y sound".

The upshot for me as a practical matter is that there are a few songs that I either play with a pick or turn the tone knob "brighter" on. Well...now that I think about it...I really only do this for one song...Bird Dream. I turn the knob all the way bright (I normally play all the way the opposite). I play with a pick on Debaser, Blown Away, and Is She Weird...not for tone reasons per se, but because there are parts of those songs where I play alone and the boys couldn't clearly make out the notes (and thus the tempo) because they were too muddy. So I play with a pick to make them more articulated and louder. But as we are getting into the last of the Trompe le Monde and Bossonova songs I AM more aware of the different, brighter, tone. And I will probably adjust the tone.

My only other experience with effects or tone was for the Flaming Lips tribute. I bought a bass distortion pedal for that (that, even though it is the actual pedal that Michael Ivins uses live, I only ended up using on one song for an over the top punch in wall of ridiculous sound)fuzz pedal for that and borrowed a Peach Fuzz pedal (which is awesome, but pricey). I also briefly experimented with a multi-effects pedal on one song...but we ended up having the keyboard player use that pedal instead for that song.

I don't much fiddle with the knobs on my amp. I'm not sure what I'd even be trying to accomplish. I also have a modern and a vintage channel on my amp...but I don't much know the difference. I know that I like a fatter, less treble, bass sound. That's all I know.

I feel like I ought to try and understand more about effects and the quality of sound. Not so much because I care, but because it is part of the language. It would be nice, when RS and CT are debating this or that tone, if I had any idea what they were talking about.

So I've been obsessed with R Ring lately. And they use some serious effects...and in weird ways I gather. I took some pictures of their pedals the other night.

Here's KeD's guitar pedals. It is a little hard to make out what they are. Left to right it looks like...Boss tuner, Boss Digital Delay DD7, Ibanez/Tube Works Tube King Overdrive TK999 (maybe an older one), and Electro-Harmonix Holy Grail Nano Reverb.  It helps to look at these pics on Flickr blown up and flipped right side up.

Here's KeD's vocal pedals. She kneels on the floor and adjusts these throughout the songs that she uses them on (personal side note here...the setlist is in this photo!). Left to right below is Boss Digital Reverb Delay RV-3, Boss Distortion DS-1, and...and...the label is covered...but it sure looks like a second Boss Digital Reverb Delay RV-3. I'm not sure if she runs these through her amp or through the PA. There's a direct box sitting there. I'm pretty sure that the acoustic guitars were run through the amps, so there's good odds that that direct box is for the mic that runs through the pedals. I don't remember her switching mics though. She would unplug her guitars/keys and run them through the same cable. But I don't remember that with the vocal mic. Hmm.

Last but not least here's MM's board from two angles. Top left to right: Boss Delay DM-2 (red), Boss Tuner, Radial Tonebone JX2 Pro Switchbone AB/Y Pedal. Bottom left to right: Boss Equalizer GE-7, Death by Audio Fuzzwar

I really have no idea how these particular combinations result in the sounds they produced on stage. But at least I know what they were using.

The Theory of Repetition

I have this theory about myself...though it is probably true of most humans in general. If I listen to a song enough times I will like it.  There are songs or groups that you like the first time out. And there are songs or groups that you'll never like no matter what. But for everything in between...listen enough and you'll like it. It's why people hear a song at wedding that they hated in high school and go "I love this song." It is because it is familiar.

I've been following RR over the last year or so not because I loved the music...but because I admired the artists as people. But today...just now...listening to a live recording session after a week of hearing the songs several times in a row...I began to like their music. Going to a show tonight and it'll all be familiar and appropriately beloved.

This probably somehow reduces the value of music...that if you listen enough you like. But I guess I'm just happy to be happy.

The Strangest Weekend of My Life

So I have two blogs currently...in addition to twitter and facebook...which end up being kind of blogs. I try to keep the blogs anonymous as possible and to not advertise them around. The writing is really just meant for me, my long-distance partner, and the odd person that I've never met on the internet to stumble upon and maybe enjoy. I try to keep the blogs topic-focused and not veer off into too much navel gazing. They are really tools of record-keeping for me to mark progress and track resources. I try not to link between the two blogs...or link to them at all.

I recognize that all of this pretend caution is for naught and that some day something on the internet will destroy me. It has happened before and it will happen again. And again.

So it is in passing here that I'll note that on Saturday I spent much of the day with KeD and her current bandmate (one hell of a guy) and that she slept on my couch. I have gone into nausiating detail about this on the other blog and will leave it there. And probably regret having written it someday. I kind of already do. But it feels like it happened in a dream and I'm still trying to process it into concrete. I don't mean a dream like "it was a dream come true"...I mean like I feel like I took some kind of LSD or something and this all happened in that kind of haze. Like watching a movie of yourself. Lack of sleep, lots of driving, and pet health emergencies over the last several days have probably contributed to the effect.

Item of pertinent interest to this blog...she liked the color of my Billy Sheehan knock off bass.

The big take home...I am a little boring but perhaps not too scary of a person. And people are people. And I ought to keep focusing on doing all this music stuff and not worry too much about how well I'm doing or what it all means or where I'm headed. Just keep trying and hopefully having a good time. And try to be nice to people...to everyone...not just the people who seem important at the moment. Everyone ends up being important in the end and you won't know who until it's too late. And remember that, even though it doesn't always SEEM this way, everything is always better done without alcohol. At least anything that matters. And the secret is...everything matters.

Ha!

This guy is awesome. He plays really well.

Oh My God

Pixies Central just posted this photo and it totally takes my breath away. I've been looking for a good still of this instrument forever. This pic is just amazing. You can see every little scar and the cracking of the finish. More than ever I think this is faded Fiesta Red.  And the hand closeup with little green turtle pick and everything. Just. I can't even say. So awesome.

Planet Out/Gay.net Kim Deal Interview

http://www.gay.net/entertainment/2009/05/kim-deal-breeders-interview-pixies.html

Catching Up With the Breeders' Kim Deal


By: Jenny Stewart

5.19.2009

If musicians were only as dynamic in Q&A's as they are on record, then music interviews would remain as unforgettable as classic albums. But those are few and far between.

During one recent interview with a well-known pop star, I asked a simple question: "What part of the creative process do you enjoy most when making a new album?" Granted, the question was a bit cliche, but hardcore music fans tend to be interested in those kinds of things. After three minutes of silence, I thought we'd been disconnected.

"Are you still there?" I asked.
"Yes," she responded.

Another minute went by before she finally added, "I think it's nice that [name of record label] took a chance with this. It’s like, nice that they did.”

Two weeks later I met with a bona fide female rock legend for an interview. But after a series of uncomfortable pauses and countless one word answers, I just gave up. I've never published the piece, and I've never been able to bring myself to listen to the playback. That's how disastrous it was. Sadly, I can barely listen to her music anymore without having flashbacks to the silence.

But truth be told, you can't really fault musicians for the way they sometimes come off in interviews. They are artists, so music is their preferred mode of expression -- not Q&A's.

With that in mind, Pixies bassist and Breeders frontwoman Kim Deal is a rare breed of rocker, blessed not only with talent, but also with conversational skills. She has an opinion on everything asked of her -- and it's always entertaining. You could even mess with her and say, "Kim, which would you rather talk about: The discontinuation of oscillating fans, or the controversy about blind people thinking that electric cabs are dangerous because they're too quiet?" “Oh my GOD!!” she’d likely say. “I mean, you can’t get rid of fans now, can you? In the summer? During the sweet corn crop and all? And, I mean, the blind people have a point, but dude, please!” [Note -- that was just an example, Kim didn't really say that].

I recently chatted with Deal about The Breeders' stellar new EP, "Fate to Fatal," and the latest news on the Pixies. Along the way, we also chatted about celebrity dreams, "American Idol," her mother's struggle with Alzheimer's, the crazy things parents say about their kids, and a possible reality series for Deal and her twin sister Kelley. "Grey Gardens," anyone?

Hi Kim. First off, congratulations on the new Breeders EP. I also hear you're in LA doing some stuff with the Pixies?

Yes, I'm down here in Los Angeles for a few days. The Pixies are doing a few shows in Isle of Wight this June, and I had a really bad dream that I forgot a song! And the dream just seemed so real -- we were playing the song and then I forgot it. So I called Joe [Santiago] and he told me that he had a dream that he forgot a song! He didn't dream it the same night as me, but still, we thought it would be a good idea to get together real quick and go over parts. Charles [Black Francis] was in a different state touring, so I didn’t even ask him to come. I thought the three of us could get our parts down quietly.



So the dream was so vivid you decided to fly to LA to practice? Do you remember which Pixies song it was that you forgot how to play?



[Laughing]. I can't remember the song, but yes, the dream was so vivid I remember how scary it was forgetting the song onstage, but I don’t remember the song. But I do remember it was an outdoor show, and there were a lot of people there.



Speaking of dreams, we just ran a piece on celebrity dreams and how vivid they can get, and hundreds of people are commenting in great detail about their celebrity dreams. Have you ever had a celebrity dream?



[Excited]. Oh my God, yes! I have had them and I totally know what you mean about them being vivid. I had this dream once -- it was when Jennifer Aniston and Brad Pitt were together – and I remember it so clearly.



Ok, in the dream, there was this big party. Now, I don't remember where the party was exactly, but I do remember clearly that it was in fact in a southern state. And the party was outdoors. And it was daytime. Now, I don't remember if the three of us went to the party together? Or if I had like just met them there? Whatever, the point is they were there, you know? It was just like, wierd.



And it was super vivid?



Oh it was so super vivid! And it wasn't some boring dream where you just…meet a celebrity or something, it was so much more than that – I mean, there was a lot going on, you know?



And it was just so weird, I don't even know how to describe it -- and I know I sound crazy -- but we were going through all these different rooms. But like, there didn’t seem to be any order to the rooms, or to anything. I mean, sometimes Brad was there in a room, sometimes the three of us were in a room. Sometimes I'd be alone in a room and Jennifer would walk in. Or both of them. I mean, it was just weird, but I remember it so vividly! Isn't that odd that you would ask me that? Have you ever had a celebrity dream?



I keep having this dream lately that I'm in a bad relationship with Angelina Jolie, and she won't let me break up with her. Have you had any other celebrity dreams or is that the only one?



[Laughing]. Angelina won't let you break up with her! Isn't that weird though that we're both sort of dreaming from the same celebrity tree? Now, I have had more celebrity dreams since then; I only chose that particular one because it sticks out in my head so much and I'm absolutely sure about that one. But let's see. I think I've dreamt about Jennifer Aniston since then. But I think it's just her and Brad isn’t there. I don't know what she's really doing or anything and I don't remember specifics, but she has been in a few of my dreams since the one at the party with all the rooms.



Do you really like Jennifer Aniston or something?



[Laughing] Do I really like Jennifer Aniston? Oh my God, I don't know! I mean, I have no idea! I didn't think so! I mean, she like…seems nice, I guess. I just remembered her being in my dreams. But I have no idea if I like Jennifer Aniston, and I have like no idea why she's been in my dreams! Who knows? Oh my God!



The new EP is out and it's pretty great. God, "Pinnacle Hollow" is the best song.



Isn't that a nice song? I think "Pinnacle Hollow" is a pleasant song to listen to? And usually, that's a bad thing – I think – to say about something, but I really found it really, extremely pleasant music to put on.



It's a great song, and it is very pleasant. It's like soundtrack music, almost. When I'm listening to it, I feel there's a camera on me...



[Yells] And you're with Angelina Jolie and she won't let you break up with her!



[Laughing]. Yes! But seriously, the song is so gorgeous and pleasant it's almost like a continuous valium drip. When you record a song like that, does it make you crave drugs?



I sometimes want to take drugs but it absolutely has nothing to do with whether I'm recording or not. Sometimes the craving or the thought (of doing drugs) will come along when I'm doing nothing. Sometimes it will come along when I'm... I have no idea at all when it's going to come along.



Would you ever want to be a judge on "American Idol"?



No, probably not. And I don’t think I'd even be a good judge because I think I would be "opposite" judge. I would be like, 'Look, if you do the exact opposite of anything that I tell you to do, you'll probably be extremely popular in the United States.' I'd be like, 'No, don't wear all that makeup, and just wear jeans and [a] T-shirt! God! Why are you going to wear that and how can you walk in those shoes?'



Do you watch the show?



No, I wouldn’t watch it by myself, but when I'm at my parents house, I'll watch it with my mother; it's one of the few shows we can watch together. Like, dude, I can't bear 'Dancing with the Stars,' but I can sit down and watch 'American Idol' with her. And that's a good thing that she can do.



How is your mom doing? [Editor's note: Kim's mother is struggling with Alzheimers].



She is…not doing well. She has recently begun saying stuff like, 'Now, you're mine, right?'



Oh man, that’s so sad…



I know, and she's like, forgetting the family connection. Like, she said to my brother the other day, 'You're my son, right?' And she knew it was a 'Kevin,' and she knew generally his personality and stuff.



You know, watching her lose so much information really underlines how much information we actually have to learn. And I'm not talking about schooling. It was weird to watch her lose the grip of time, and to lose it in every way.



Can you give an example?



Like right now, she really believes that her mother and father, and my dad's mother and father are laid out in a nursing home side by side next to each other in a bed across the street from my old high school! Oh my God, and you've got to hear the names of these people -- there's Hobart, Ruby, Blanche Myrtle and Grace. Oh, and Fred!

[Laughing]



And my poor dad! She'll say to my dad, 'Why don't you go visit your mother? I can't believe you won't visit your mother! She'd be so surprised if she saw you.' And of course, sometimes my dad can't stand it, and he has to say something like, 'You're right, she'd be surprised to see me…she's been dead for 30 years!'



Oh my God! I used to work with Alzheimer's patients in college, and once a woman escaped. Luckily we found her safe at the lake, but it was absolutely terrifying.



Oh my God, I know my mom's going to be a runner! I just know it.



Do you ever worry that you might potentially inherit Alzheimer's from her?



Honestly no, because I take after my dad so much for all of his bad qualities that I can't possibly get my mother's Alzheimer's. I mean, I didn’t get her pretty legs. I didn’t get her nice body. We [Kim's twin sister Kelley] don't even look like her, and that's why I couldn't possibly have the one bad thing that she has. I mean, I didn't get any of her good stuff, so I don't think I'll get this.



The last time I interviewed you, the piece got hundreds of comments and a lot of them were about how both lesbians and gay men are attracted to you. I have to ask, do you have a gay bone in your body?



[Thinks] You know what? I'm just so…asexual, I wish I had a gay bone.



That's so wierd. You don't seem asexual. Does it seem weird to you that both are attracted to you?



I can see the lesbian thing, but like, then again, I don't really know because I have no idea what attracts people.



I was just talking to a gay guy friend and it was interesting because he was saying that he didn’t think he was gay all through high school, right? His older brother was gay, so he was used to it, and he just never thought about it. He said the only gay guys he would think of back then were the really 'fabulous' types. And he said he had no idea he was gay until he opened up a copy of Bear magazine in his mid-twenties, and he was like, 'Shwing! I'm gay.'



My point being how would I know what lesbians or gay guys were attracted [to] because one can never know what can turn on a particular lesbian or a particular gay person.



Do you remember when, in an interview a few years ago, you said you looked at all your musical contemporaries and that they were all married with children, and then added, 'I could use a wife?'



Yes, which is really, really insulting to women, of course!



No, it's not! You have every right to want a wife. Even certain women want wives. So, speaking of families, did you ever want children?



I used to always think that in my future self, I would want kids. And I read a 'Newsweek' article in the early 90's and it was an article about women hitting the glass ceiling, blah, blah blah, whatever.



Anyway, there was this female CEO and one of the things she said in the article was for women to not forget having kids. And to make sure you make time, because there's a time limit for that. So that always stuck with me, I made a mental note.



And then, it wasn't like I forgot, it just never happened. But maybe if I was more organized in my life, maybe I could have done something about it, but you know then I think that maybe I'm too lazy to be a mother.



Would you want to adopt one now, or do you just not even care?



I don't know, I worry I'm too lazy. I think I was extremely depressed when I was hitting 40, but then what I think happens is as my mother would say, 'nature takes its course,' and it gets less, it drops off, you know what I'm saying? I'm glad the [brooding] didn’t go into a square root of like, "Oh my god! I still don't have one, Oh my god!" So it just alleviated.



And Kelley doesn't have kids either. I like that you both don’t have kids.



Oh God, I'm going to sound like a fucking weirdo for saying this but I'm going to. OK -- Kelley and I have been noticing all of these things parents say and we get alone and we just -- oh my God, I wish she was here.



What do you mean?



These things parents say! Like, [Serious voice] 'You know, children change your life completely. It's the best thing that's ever happened to me. I was nothing until I had kids.'



[Laughing] I mean, the quotes are just...endless! 'My children give me all the perspective in the world.' 'I didn't even know what living was until I looked into my daughter's eyes in the nursery.' I mean, it just goes... on and on! And then I'm like, 'Well, I guess I blew it, didn't I?'



[Laughing]. What you just said makes that one scene in "Loud Quiet Loud" even funnier. Charles tells you and Kelley that he and his wife just found out they are going to have a baby. You and Kelley light cigarettes and start screaming, "OH MY GOD THAT IS THE BEST NEWS! THAT'S SO GREAT!"



[Laughing hard] Oh, I know! It's all so...strange! But the thing is, I really feel like..that, well, obviously not everyone in the world can be wrong about this. [Whispers] I mean ... can they? Ok, I get it everybody, I mean, obviously I made a HUGE error, and obviously I can't rectify it. Whatever!



There was that fascinating 2002 documentary about you and Kelley, and I just read that your bass player is making a new documentary about the band. Have you ever instead thought about making it a reality series about you and Kelley for like, A&E?



Huh, you know a couple of people have actually asked us about that. I wonder how one would get to do that.



Just get someone to pitch it to a variety of cable channels – A&E, VH1. I think they'd be interested off the bat if they saw the 2002 documentary and recent footage of you two. You and Kelley together on film is entertaining anyway, but when you throw in that you're twins and rock stars, it's just a major hook. Would you do a series?



I don't know if I'd do it. I don't know! I mean, I think Kelley's funny and I enjoy hanging out with her. I'd have to think about it. It would [be] fun to try, though, and see what happens. I don't know.



Here's the final question. Over the years, the one word that is always used when describing you is "cool." There have been songs about it, it's been on web sites, reporters say it, fans say it...



Yeah, but you know what? I could just Google 'Kim Deal is an asshole' and I bet things would come up.



Wait, why did I even just say that? Why would I even Google 'Kim Deal is an asshole?'



I don't know why, but you shouldn't do that. So anyway, since that word is always associated with you, can you think of one characteristic or attribute you possess that's been the reason for people always coming back to that same word about you?



Yes, I know what it is [Pauses].



What is it?



It's cuz I smoke. [Laughs hard].



[Laughing]. Oh you jerk! It would be so "cool" if you really answered!



That was my answer! I used to smoke, and that was cool, but I don’t smoke anymore so I'm not cool anymore. I'm fat and uncool.



Interview by Jenny Stewart, PlanetOut.com/Gay.com Editorial Director

'62 Reissue P Bass Colors

So some day I'd like to own at least one of the basses that Kim Deal played in the Pixies. It isn't a priority...but if and when I ever buy a decent bass...I'll be looking. With my own preferences in mind...I'd lean towards the 62 Reissue Fender Precision.

I've hashed out her basses elsewhere on this blog (see link above)...but one thing that has long bothered me is...what the hell color is that '62 Reissue? I was just reading an article in which she says it is Coral. But doing a little bit of research...Coral doesn't seem to be a color used on 62 basses. Fiesta Red is though...and that's damn close. There was also Shell Pink...but that doesn't look right. I suppose that it is possible that the reissues were made in colors not used for the originals.

Colors below from here. Fender has a red color chart here (no sign of Coral or Shell Pink).

But I will give her that it sure as damn well does look Coral (2nd pic from left).

The second question becomes...what year was the thing? I mean...it was a 62 reissue...but a REissue. It was first used during fall of 1988 recordings for Doolittle. So if she bought it new...it was likely an 88 model. But who the hell knows if it was new. Even if it were from a shop it could have been used...or just a leftover from a year or so before.

If and when the time ever comes...maybe these guys can help.

Update: Somebody on the internet says this...which would explain quite a bit if true:

"Where the incorrect "Coral" and "Shell" descriptions come from is this. Even fresh Fiesta Red really isn't predominantly red, it has a tangerine or orange hue which comes from the white pigment in the mix. What happens to give birth to the "Coral Pink" or in your case "Coral Red" descriptions is that the red pigment is very reactive to light, so the more daylight a vintage Fiesta Red finish sees the more the red pigment fades. The white pigment doesn't fade of course so it gradually becomes more prominent causing the finish to appear pinker as as the red continues to fade over time during exposure to light. Fiesta Red will in fact turn a shade of pink that perfectly fits the inaccurate "Coral Pink" description or in your case "Coral Red."

Almost always colors described as "CORAL" or "PINK" from that era started out as Fiesta Red."

How You Like It Kimmy?

So the history of my life is strewn with chasing girls. Pretty much anything I've ever done has been motivated in some small part by an interest in a girl...trying to impress a girl, trying to be like a girl, trying to date a girl. It's kind of a sick cycle that...while serving as great motivation...usually ends in me making an ass of myself...or making bad decisions based on inappropriate or excessive motivation. I like to think that I've gotten better about this over the years...but I really haven't. Luckily, in the last five years or so this tendancy hasn't plagued me in real life (where it tends to do more damage)...but it's there all the same.

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.

Kim Deal on Playing the Bass

I've been trying to find this article online for some time now and it magically popped up yesterday.

"The Pixies' Kim Deal Turns A Modest Approach Into A Big, Big Sound", Bass Player, November 2004 by Bill Leigh

"No chops" demanded the Boston-area MUSICIANS WANTED ad seeking a female bassist with vocals. It also mentioned an odd combination of preferred influences: folk trio Peter, Paul &Mary and punk rockers Hüsker Dü. "I thought that was funny," grins Kim Deal, recalling how her response to that 1986 listing led to the formation of the Pixies, a band that so inspired a generation of alt-rockers that 12 years after their last album and breakup, the recently reunited group's tour dates have been among the hottest tickets of 2004.

"I think they were really looking to meet rock chicks."

"No!" replies Kim's twin sister, Kelley, her bandmate in the Breeders, the side project turned successful main focus after the Pixies' demise. "You think?"

"Joey once told me so," laughs Kim. "Little did they know they'd end up with a married woman!"

Serially puffing smokes at Kelley's kitchen table, Kim simultaneously exudes a relaxed ease and a slightly nervous creative energy, not unlike her complex contribution to the Pixies' distinctive sound. On song after song, Kim pumps out picked eighth-note lines with a top-of-the-beat steadiness that both upholds and upends the jagged phrasing and bipolar dynamics of vocalist/guitarist Charles "Black Francis" Thompson, guitarist Joey Santiago, and drummer David Lovering. At the same time, she counters Francis's frantic whispers and screams with her own bright, almost girlish vocal harmonies and leads. The mixture brings as much earthiness and charm to the Pixies onstage as it did on their five albums, the first two of which credited Kim only as Mrs. John Murphy. "I lost my identity," she explains, smirking. "Not really. I was pretending that I lost my identity."

Deal had come to Boston with her then-husband, Mr. Murphy, from Dayton, Ohio, where she now lives a few neighborhoods away from her sister. It was in Dayton, as a 13-year-old, that Kim taught herself guitar by picking through her dad's tablature books. In a few years Kim and Kelley were performing covers and originals in bars they were too young to be in.
Soon after arriving in Boston, Kim answered the ad that led to the Pixies, but she hadn't really played bass before. She laughs, "I probably said, 'I play guitar but I'm sure I can play the bass-it's only got four strings!'"

The Pixies used their relative inexperience to develop a musical style that deliberately departed from the Spandex-wrapped rock chops prevalent in the late '80s-just like the ad said. "We weren't really good players back in the day," notes Kim. "And I think that's a good thing." Another ingredient in the Pixies recipe was a conscious eschewing of rock's blues bloodline as a way to avoid clichés. "How many friends do you have that pick up a guitar and start playing the blues?" she complains. "And I don't mean the rhythm of the blues-that stuff's cool. I'm talking about those little pussy two-and-a-half-second licks. Aaarggh, they make me cringe!

"But I guess it's more than just 'No blues licks,'" she continues, trying to clarify the Pixies philosophy. "It's 'Nothing standard.'" Odd-length phrases, strange lyrical themes, and a do-it-yourself attitude was the result, and Deal's own creative imprint was always there, from her bass-craft and vocal contribution on Pixies albums like Surfer Rosa, Doolittle, and Trompe le Monde to "Bam Thwok," the catchy, download-only Pixies ditty Kim wrote earlier this year.

Today the 43-year-old not only has years of bass-playing experience, she also has the knowledge that there's something about her playing approach that has inspired others to play and learn bass. "I tell you, for what I don't play on the bass, I can actually hear people making those same decisions on records. And people say nice things; [Concrete Blonde's] Johnette Napolitano told me she started playing bass again because of me. Even guys; they think, If she can do it, I can do it. That's a good thing, and if girls think the same way, it's really good. I think a lot of people say they learned to play bass because of me because there are plenty of songs on the records that are pretty easy to follow. It's not like I started with Rush songs."

Pixies songs have such a range of dynamics. How does that play out in your bass work?Not much. I don't play any harder or quieter. When you're building a song that has dynamics changes in it, the last thing you want is for people to actually play quietly on the quiet part. You just take stuff out. You build the song so the part is quieter; you don't play quieter. At least I wouldn't.

So it's a matter of layering.Exactly. As a bass player, I'm either in or out. The drums are either in or out; I don't think David is bashing any harder. He might use more cymbals on something that's louder, though.

You excel at one of the harder things to do as a bass player: to play eighth-notes really steadily. I am good at that, aren't I? It's not easy to do. A lot of players lag behind. It's so irritating. And they're playing with their fingers, so they never really get a good attack at the top, and one hit is louder than the other.

When you started out, were there certain things you were listening to that helped you develop that kind of playing?Since we started in the late '80s, I think we had a Joy Division or a Cure-like keyboard bass thing going on. Mainly I knew what I didn't like. I didn't like going with the kick drum. There are songs I do that with, but they don't irritate me like bar bands where the bass is constantly going with the kick drum, even when it's supposed to be a rocking number. I knew I didn't want to do whatever that was.

So early on you were thinking about what kind of a bass player you wanted to be?I wasn't really thinking about me as a bass player-it was more like I couldn't participate in a band that's going to sound like those bands. I knew there was no possible way I could stand there and do that. I would quit. I'm not a musician like that.

So that meant deciding not to play with the kick drum?It was more of an automatic knee-jerk response. I didn't want to just go with the kick drum because that's what the bass is supposed to do.

But you chose not to go with the guitar, either . . . .Oh, you mean doing the heavy metal riff when they all go together? That kind of stupidness is sometimes kind of fun. There's one song we do, "Planet of Sound," where we do that. It's fun. But it's supposed to be dumb fun.

What is your approach on bass with the Pixies?To play eighth-notes-not always, but most of the time. We're not a dance band. It would be awful to try to play some sort of interesting, intricate rhythm over a 4/4 drumbeat with the hi-hat constantly on the eighth-note. The bass in Pixies is just glue; that's all it is. It's not supposed to be something else.

Both the Pixies and the Breeders seem to come from that "do what you can do" punk style of music making.I'm all about that. If I see somebody up there onstage who's just playing scales really good and showing their dexterity, it's like watching somebody type! It's not like I'm a sucker for a-melodic stuff, either, but if it sounds pretty good, I'm way more into that than the virtuosos.

Is it harder to achieve that sort of visceral, feeling-based thing the more you know about music?I swear, I think I've done a pretty good job of blocking all knowledge from me. I purposely have used a lot of restraint when it comes to theory. I've made sure I did not know that if I played a certain chord, that the 5th belongs there instead of the 7th. Maybe some geniuses can see that a certain note belongs there and then be able to choose not to use it, but that kind of knowledge might just block me. I feel like I'd get lazy if I knew the 5th was supposed to go there. I'd just holler out, "Yeah, it's a 5th," instead of waiting until they make a mistake on it and hearing it. You can hear when something sounds good. Even when it's theoretically wrong, it can still sound really super.

But unfortunately, because I don't know any of that theory, I would barely be able to jam on a blues gig. I would make as many mistakes as the notes I hit.

Do you ever write by jamming?I have, but it's not like jamming on a blues song. It's more somebody coming in with an idea-even if it's two chords together, or even a drum beat-and then you try to find a cool rhythm or something within that. But if I did the other thing, to jam, you almost have to declare what music you're going to be in and the writing is already done in a way. If you're jamming on a blues, you already know you're playing a blues song.

What was your first bass?I borrowed Kelley's bass. It was an Aria Cardinal series. I thought it was so cool because it was just a piece of plank wood or something. It was the weirdest-sounding bass. At first I was always like, I'm playing a dumb bass; it's not a Fender, so it's not cool. But then we played with My Bloody Valentine, and that band's bass player had an Aria Pro, too.

When you first started with the Pixies, how did you decide whether to play with a pick or your fingers?I played guitar with a pick, so I just naturally played the bass with a pick. It was so much easier. At the time I didn't even know bass players played with their fingers so much.

Have you played with your fingers since?Yeah, I can if I practice. There's some stuff on the Breeders' Title TK I played with my fingers. I played standup bass on some songs, too.

Have you taken lessons on upright?No. I just use a little piece of tape to mark things, and then I play my thing.

With the Breeders, though, you've mainly played guitar. Why did you decide not to play bass in the Breeders?Because I write with the guitar, it never occurred to me not to play what I just wrote. The first Breeders thing came out in 1989, and I had been a bass player only for three or four years, so it didn't really feel like my instrument. It still doesn't feel like my instrument.

It doesn't?No, but I think I'm good at it.

Why?I don't know. Maybe it's because I'm not a bass fanatic. Maybe because I'm so detached from it I can step back and look at the instrument. And maybe the bass is the type of instrument that sounds good when people have that attitude towards it. Slapping and popping and all that stuff can sometimes sound really good, but if your ego is only validated when you get a chance to show your skills, you can pretty much ruin a song if the song can't support that rhythmically or melodically. I want to sound good, but I have no desire to show my virtuosity on bass. When I pick up the bass, my ego isn't tied to an attention-grabbing bass part. The bass sound I like is more of a static, groovy thing. I like bass lines that maintain the rhythm of the song. There's other bass playing I like where it's a lot of lead, but the lead is still on the scale of the song.

Like who?Like John Entwistle from the Who. With him, there's a lot of lead playing-there's hardly any rhythm going on-because he's gathered so many notes along the way. There's a lot of movement. I like [Tom Petersson's] bass playing in Cheap Trick, too.

I think my bass playing with the Pixies does sound different. It was in the late '80s before the 808 thing was involved in a lot of stuff, so the bass had a normal, pretty low range that wasn't earthquake-low. It wasn't subsonic stuff. [Ed Note: The Roland TR-808 was a drum-machine whose low, resonant kick-drum sound has been used in a lot of hip-hop, dance, and techno music.]

What's your main bass today?My main bass is a Fender Precision, and I plug it into an Ampeg SVT. I also have an Ernie Ball Music Man StingRay; I try to swap onstage but there's just no time between songs. The Precision is coral-colored, a classic custom color. It's a '62 reissue.

When did you switch from the Aria?We were working with [producer] Gil Norton for Doolittle, and he looked at my Aria bass and was like, "Uh, no." So I had to go to Boston and buy a bass because he refused to record mine!

How did you record back then?I usually brought my Peavey Combo 300, and I think I had a Marshall. I always thought it was cool to have a Marshall bass amp, but it never sounded good. The first two records were the Combo 300 and the Aria bass. I'd have a DI in addition to the miked combo, so I'd have something thin and something thick.

Usually we did what I think most bands did in the late '80s: You all got in your iso booths and played all together, hoping to keep the rhythm tracks. You decided which drum track you wanted, did a couple of punch-ins if the bass needed it, and then started working on guitars, which was a bit of a bigger deal since guitar players are so concerned with their sound. And usually they're stuck with the worst mics in the stupidest booths.

Are you concerned with your sound?Not so much with the Pixies stuff, because I feel like I can't grow. I have to sound like the records. I'd love to play this Gibson Thunderbird I got-it's so gorgeous-but the tone is way too big and beautiful and round. It's just not the same.

Did you keep using the Precision after Doolittle?No. I got a Music Man StingRay for Bossanova because it was active and had a different sound. I was experimenting with bass sounds then. I used the StingRay as my main instrument live, too. I don't know why. I think probably because it was a little less country-sounding than the Fender. And then, for Trompe le Monde, we were doing a song in the studio and whatever bass I was using was out of tune high up on the neck, which was bothering Gil, so I went and got a Steinberger. I played it on one song; it was kind of okay because it had this weird, organ-y sound, which I liked but I was really embarrassed to play it. It's odd; there's no headstock. I don't know why they do that. People were riding me because I didn't have a headstock. But my tech, Tommy, made me a cardboard headstock for it-not to fool people, just to make me feel even stupider!

There was a long break between those albums and the current tour. When you first started rehearsing, what was it like playing these tunes again? It was weird. I'd been playing the bass a little, but it's different than playing it for seven hours in one day like when we were rehearsing. I had these big blisters. I thought I wasn't going to remember the parts, but my fingers were just moving! Muscle memory really did kick in. But it's strange to go back and forth from bass to guitar. I remember when I first started playing guitar after the Pixies, I'd plug in and think, This guitar sounds so high-endy! And-ouch!-I was breaking strings; you have to be so delicate with it. I really missed the bass then. I like playing the bass.

So you hit it pretty hard?Yeah, with a pick you've got to hit it hard.

Do you pick by the pickup?It depends. Usually farther up, but if I'm doing a muffle, I'll lay my hand on the bridge and my pick will end up back there. Or sometimes I'll go back farther, but I'm usually in the middle.

Do you keep the tone all the way on?Yeah. Playing with a pick, and using a Fender in the first place, you can pretty much leave the tone all the way up. With the StingRay I roll off the treble a little.

Do you tweak the EQ knobs a certain way?No, usually the bass tech will. I just need it to be on and reasonably up, and the front-of-house guy will figure it out. It's an SVT-you're going to get the same sound. There's no pedals; there's no outboard gear at all.

Any special picks?The green Dunlops with the little turtle on them.

How about strings?Whatever anybody puts on. Hopefully they're old. I can't take new strings. I think I have a set of Dean Markley Blue Steels.

How do you approach singing and playing bass?It's so hard. It was so much different from playing rhythm guitar and singing. I really had to practice. Since what I sing with the Pixies is usually not the lead melody line, it doesn't always start at the top of the four-count, so that makes it hard, too. Also, for some reason, all of our guitar parts are kind of odd-maybe it's because of our "no blues" rule. So especially live, if we're playing on a stage where I can't hear the band, my bass is just going to sound like [makes a muffled, whooshing sound], and then Charles's guitar is going to sound like [makes a buzzing sound], and then I have the drummer. So the only pure note I have onstage to clue me in on the pitch is Joe's guitar [imitates smearing, twangy, double-string guitar bends]. So yeah, that was hard live. I'm better live now because I wear one earplug. But it was really odd-especially starting "Gigantic." Whatever I was singing would work, until the introduction of an actual note, that is.

As a songwriter, have you ever performed solo? I've never played a show solo. I would feel ridiculous. Why should I put that on anyone? I wouldn't want to make someone sit there for even five minutes. Maybe if I was doing covers, I would faithfully sing covers, but . . . .

This might be evidence that deep down you actually have more of a bass player's personality than a guitar player's.Absolutely-and whatever that guitar player thing is, I don't think it works well on bass. It's bad enough to do all that stuff on lead guitar, but on bass it's like, Oh, hell no. It's the same thing with funk players. Most of funk is playing where the holes are, anyway, so you have to be restrained enough to have the holes. And even bassists who you think are virtuosos, like reggae musicians, if you listen, there's not a lot of variation. They could play the shit out of it, but they use restraint. And isn't that what makes somebody good on an instrument, no matter what it is?

Kim Deal's Basses

So I play a Yamaha ATT Plus M bass:

Mine is lime green and a cheap knock off of some famous bass...I think Billy Sheehan's Yamaha Attitude Bass:

Don't know...looks more like a Fender Precision (P) Bass knock off to me. That's what I thought it was when I bought it. And I still don't really know who Billy Sheehan is (well NOW I do). I DO actually have a second bass...but it is also a P bass knockoff (or perhaps an Attitude knockoff)...only crappier (a Lotus).

So how does that compare to what Kim Deal plays? Both are closest, I think, to her 62 Fender reissue (though much crappier). See below.

From Kim Deal Wiki:

Bass guitars
Kim Deal generally plays four-string solid-body bass guitars and always uses a pick particularly the "green Dunlops with the little turtle on them" [28], although since the Pixies' reunion she has also been using custom green Dunlops with "KIM" written on them. She prefers having old strings on a bass.[28]

Aria Pro II Cardinal Series — The Pixies' first bass belonged to Kelley,[28] and is heard on Come On Pilgrim, Surfer Rosa and seen on the Town & Country live video. It later reappeared in the Kelley Deal 6000.

1962 Fender Precision Reissue[27] — Acquired for use on Doolittle on Gil Norton's insistence.[28] It appears in the video for "Here Comes Your Man". On the Bossanova album, the Precision was used on "Dig for Fire" for its "lazier, growlier sound" that was "not as boingy-boingy-sproingy".[27]


Music Man Stingray — Added in time for Bossanova "because it was active and had a different sound" and became her main live bass "because it was a little less country-sounding than the Fender".[28] The instrument was afterwards played by Josephine Wiggs in The Breeders and Luis Lerma in The Amps.

Steinberger headless (but full-bodied, two-cutaway) bass — Bought during the recording of Trompe Le Monde because the other basses were out of tune on the higher frets. Deal described it as having a "weird, organ-y sound".[28]
[no photo...edit 12/1/2010...see below and here, this is the bass played on the Brixton shows 1991...white with black edging]

Gibson Thunderbird — more recently, her favorite bass that she did not use on the Pixies reunion, feeling she had to "sound like the records".[28] It is seen played upside-down (left-handed) by Mando Lopez in The Breeders.

Gots no idea what this is (edit 12/1/2010...this is the Steinberger headless):


or this (though this might just be the same Fender from above with a weird reflection on the pick guard)


Here's another Fender looking thing (a 2010 image late in the tour)...different profile from one directly above. Maybe there's more than one Fender floating around now, or she's changed the pick guard. The three red Fenders pictured here kind of look like three different instruments to me...but maybe it's just the angles. Hard to tell: