Frank Black

Four days after the Pixies' performance at Lollapalooza 2005 in Chicago, Recoil had a chance to interview the godfather of indie rock, Frank Black. Black's new album, Honeycomb, was released Aug 3. Sporting the feel of Dylan's '65 classic, Blonde on Blonde, yet in the tradition of Black Francis, the new album is by far Black's best work since his 1994 solo EP release, Headache.

Recoil: Honeycomb was recorded in four days, just a few days before you kicked off your reunion tour with the Pixies. Upon recording Honeycomb, did you feel a bit distracted knowing you were about to kick off the most anticipated rock 'n' roll reunion tour in fifteen years?
Frank Black: Not at all.

R: Not at all, you just got in there and mashed it out.
FB: Yeah, you know, I just felt cool. Like I had a lot of things going on, because I was a cool guy. I didn't feel distracted by anything. I felt like, 'Yeah, I'm a rock 'in' roll superstar.' I'm just hanging out in the studio with some cats, and then it's like, 'Hey man, I gotta go. I got a reunion tour with some other cats.'

R: At Chicago's Lollapalooza kick-off, Perry Farrell introduced you as the most influential band of the alternative genre. What was your initial reaction to that?
FB: I don't know if I had a reaction to that. I did think it was very kind of him to use that kind of language – especially [with him] being a musician and all. He could have done it in a more esoteric way, but he did it in a more journalistic way that people could instantly understand. So that was very show-biz of him in a nice way. I just accept these kinds of compliments. My reaction is my little smile on my face, but that is not what it's really all about, it's about playing your gig.

R: Knowing the comment [Farrell] made and the response the crowd had, do you feel like you owe it to your fans to head back into the studio with [the Pixies'] Kim [Deal], Joey [Santiago] and Dave [Lovering]?
FB: It doesn't really work like that. It's like two different worlds, two different moments. It's like to you, they seem related. To me, it's like, I'm cooking a grilled cheese, and then at this moment over here I'm surfing. Do you know what I mean?

R: I guess.
FB: It's like asking me, 'When you were cooking the grilled cheese, did you think about how great it was going to be when you were riding the tube?' That's what it's like to me. When people try to say. 'Hey, so and so introduced you as the most influential band... the audience roared... did that make you think about one more record with these guys?'

R: I guess it's out of the context.
FB: My brain would never sit there and go, 'Oh my God, Perry Farrell said we were the most influential [band], we've got to get back to the studio!' It just doesn't work like that. My brain just doesn't connect the dots that way. It's two totally different things. Making a record – that's what you do in another space and time, another place. What is in front of me, the crowd. One, two, three, four [makes a rock guitar sound with his mouth].

R: Rock it out.
FB: [The show] is what you are focused on. You are not focused on these other aspects of your career, or you are not consumed with poignant thought. It's just sort of like, 'Man it's kind of hot today...'

R: It was a hot one, I was down there. Were you happy to see Lou Barlow, J Mascis, and Murph [of Dinosaur Jr.] reunite?
FB: Yeah, I hope they make a lot of money or whatever. I remember seeing them in college when they were still called Dinosaur. [Mascis] and I shared a roommate, this guy that was formerly my roommate ended being his roommate; we had this weird connection with this guy named Doug [chuckles].

R: Do you plan to commence your Honeycomb tour immediately following your return from Europe with the Pixies at the end of August?
FB: No.

R: Will you be touring for this record?
FB: Yeah, I just don't know when, or what kind of tour it is. I don't know if it is going to be a band, or acoustic. I have to figure that out.

R: Can we expect a tour in the next twelve to eighteen months?
FB: Yeah, yeah sure. Sooner than that even, but not right when I get home.

R: Honeycomb, in my opinion, is your best work in a long while. How was it to be back in the studio with John Tiven after more than a ten year hiatus?
FB: Fine, I guess. It didn't really seem like that long of a time. We have maintained contact all these years. It's like one long ongoing conversation. It's always been about the music. He's John Tiven, he's upbeat, kind of a happy guy who loves music. He knows his music. We've had this ongoing dialogue, over the telephone, I suppose we have only seen each other a couple of times...

R: How long had you been writing this album, prior to going to Nashville to track it?
FB: Two months, three months maybe?

R: You stated that you had tracked the demos for Honeycomb on your laptop using Pro Tools. What are your thoughts on the accessibility of inexpensive production equipment? Many of the independent musicians of today have an edge over musicians in the past in this regard. Do you think it's good for rock 'n' roll?
FB: Good, bad, whatever. I mean you can make a recording on a cassette deck. There are no rules. You can have all the convenience and all the tools in the world – you either got something good going on or you don't. I guess one could say, 'Hey, look at this groovy thing I got... I have my own space ship, I can fly all around, backwards. Look how fast I can go!' Yeah, but what does your song sound like? You know what I mean? That's what matters. I don't think that the advantage is so great for the modern musician. It's nice that they have some modern conveniences, but that is not going to make them express themselves better than someone of yesteryear, someone who didn't even have a tape recorder and had to go to a studio. It's all what you got.

R: Your ex-wife Jean accompanies you on 'Strange Goodbye.' Do you foresee performing it live with her at least once on your Honeycomb tour?
FB: That would be nice. Especially at a big Carnegie [Hall] gig. That would be cute.

R: 'My Life in Storage' is a reflection of your move from L.A. to your new home of Portland. How has the adjustment been, and do you foresee living in Portland in the long run?
FB: I don't know. I mean I like that part of the country, but I don't know if I feel like anywhere feels like home to me. I've adopted the personality of a troubadour, so home is where my family is. It is never really about the city. I can always move; I don't have that heavy nostalgia for a particular location like some people do. I got more Bedouin in me; I'd be happy traveling around on a camel with a tent.

R: In January, your first son Jack was born. How has that affected your future outlook on touring? Do you foresee yourself stepping out of the limelight and settling down with your son after your run with Honeycomb?
FB: After Honeycomb becomes a smash success, I would like to purchase my very own brand new tour bus – for Jack and I to tour the world in. He will be a show-biz baby.

R: Looking back, which time was the most memorable of your career as a recording artist?
FB: Probably the later Catholic stuff, because not only did we record albums, but I also built the studio. Not only was it a studio, it was a mobile studio. So it got moved around to different locations, shifting into different buildings. I was involved in every detail for the making of the last three Catholic albums. Everything from finding a location to setting up the gear to going to the electronics store to buy wire to getting ashtrays for the smokers. Every aspect of going to the studio: 'Do we have enough toilet paper, is the fridge stocked?' – all those little details. Those are very vivid memories, because I was so involved with the details, I can easily conjure up memories of those times.

R: Getting back to Honeycomb, the album has a warm and inviting feel to it. Tell me about your experience at Better Sounds and Gardens in Nashville. Did the environment play a role in the mood created on the record?
FB: I don't know. I don't like to give studios too much credit. You know, you got four walls, you got a ceiling, you got a floor... [Pauses] 'Where do you plug your amp in? Where do I stand, where do I sit? Where is he going to stand or sit?' You know, 'Where's the headphones?' When you're making a record, it's really about music. It's not about, 'Wow, the environment, the city, the pulse of the city, the pulse of that town!' I'm not saying that can't happen, that you can't tap into the atmosphere, but I'm much more blue collar about it.

R: Plug in and rock out.
FB: Yeah! It's about the work, the music and what it sounds like. It's not about soaking up all the vibes. The less vibe the better! If there is too much vibe, man, you don't focus. You don't focus when there are no lights on and incense burning, you know what I mean? That's what some people love; they walk into a studio session and they want to have oriental rugs and the incense burning and the light turned way down low, with candles everywhere. I walk into a studio and it's like, 'Put out those candles. Can we turn on some lights?! Big, bright florescent ones.'

R: Looking forward, where do you see yourself in the next five years?
FB: Talking to you about my next album, I suppose. It's an endless road: you play gigs, you record records, play gigs, record records. You can look back and say, 'Yeah, I did that for a couple of years.' But that's looking back, looking forward, looking into the future, it's all conjecture. It doesn't really do good for anyone to say, 'I wonder if the next few years will bring about my reggae period?' You know what I mean? You might, but you might not. You just don't know. You might play what you thought was reggae and it ends up sounding like something else. You just don't know how it's going to turn out. You can have all the plans in the world, you could work with one guy, sound like this, go here – and then you never actual do it. Something else could just take over. Music is just too fluid – there are just to many mysterious things at work. You just can't really map it all out.

R: So would it be safe to say that you and your son and your Bedouin tribe will be traveling down the highway in your Bedouin bus?
FB: During those time periods, when it comes time for troubadouring, sure.

September 2005