Frank Black

This article is about the musician Frank Black. For the politician, see Frank S. Black .

Frank Black, October 2009

Frank Black (born April 6, 1965 in Boston , Massachusetts ) (also: Black Francis , real name: Charles Thompson , full name: Charles Michael Kittridge Thompson IV ) is an American musician. From 1986 to 1993 he was the singer and guitarist of the alternative rock band Pixies , then released a number of successful solo albums and has been the front man again since the Pixies reunited in 2004 .

Life

Frank Black was born in Boston and raised in California. He met Joey Santiago at the University of Massachusetts Amherst . Both decided to form a band . In response to their now legendary advertisement (looking for a bass player who would like both the hardcore punk band Hüsker Dü and the folk group Peter, Paul and Mary ), they were joined by bassist Kim Deal and drummer Dave Lovering on, and the pixies were born .

After four albums, which were praised by critics, but were only moderately successful, the band was disbanded by Frank Black in 1993 (the main reason given is the differences between him and Kim Deal). Black first announced the separation without the knowledge of his colleagues in a BBC radio interview and informed the other band members by fax. In 2004 the Pixies reunited after a twelve-year break, followed by a world tour and appearances at numerous festivals. Furthermore, a DVD and a best-of selection of the Pixies were released. Black released (without a tape) the double CD Frankblackfrancis in 2004 , which contains demo and alternative versions of early Pixies titles.

Solo projects

Frank Black next to a statue of Herman Brood in Zwolle, February 2008

Instead of bringing out albums according to the Pixies scheme, Black concentrated after the breakup in 1993 mainly on developing his own style . The breakthrough to a main act, especially expected by the record company Sony, did not materialize.

The turn back to the permanent band followed after The Cult of Ray . The new formation called Frank Black & The Catholics , which played roots-oriented and country-inspired rock 'n' roll in small clubs, was celebrated as the “true Rolling Stones”. The first release, Frank Black & The Catholics , was actually a demo recording that was recorded live in a two-track process, but was still released in this form by Black's new label SpinArt Records . The recording process became a trademark, and all of the band's follow-up works were created in this way. In 2012 the band's first live album ( Live at Melkweg ) was released, which had already been recorded on March 24, 2001 in Amsterdam.

Frank Black is not considered a particularly high-profile rock star, but is hugely respected among musicians. Kurt Cobain named Frank Black next to the Beatles as one of his greatest musical role models . Since 2007, Black has been performing again under the stage name from his time with the Pixies, Black Francis . He released the albums Bluefinger , Svn Fngrs and Nonstoperotik under this name . In 2008, Frank Black founded the rock band Grand Duchy together with his wife Violet Clark and, as Black Francis, recruited the expressionist German silent film Der Golem in 2010 on behalf of the San Francisco International Film Festival .

Collaboration with other artists

In 1995 Frank Black was a guest singer on Mike Watts album Ball-Hog or Tugboat and picked up the microphone on the song Chinese Firedrill . In the same year he recorded with Reeves Gabrels (including Tin Machine ) the track 119 Years Ago for his album The Sacred Squall of Now and in 1999 the track Jewel for the album Ulysses (Della Notte) .

On January 9, 1997, Frank Black performed at Madison Square Garden in New York with David Bowie , who was celebrating his fiftieth birthday there. Black and Bowie played the songs Fashion and Scary Monsters .

In 2003 Frank Black performed at a placebo concert in Paris - they played Where Is My Mind? from the pixies. The performance can be seen on the live DVD Soulmates Never Die by Placebo.

Frank Black has been running his own record label The Bureau Records since 2007 , on which he publishes his own material as well as the music of other artists.

In 2009 he produced the album Art Brut Vs. Satan from the British band Art Brut . Also their 2011 album Brilliant! Tragic! was again produced by Frank Black.

Discography

Albums

• 1993: Frank Black
• 1994: Teenager of the Year
• 1996: The Cult of Ray
• 1998: Frank Black & The Catholics (Frank Black & The Catholics)
• 1999: Pistolero (Frank Black & The Catholics)
• 2000: Oddballs (compilation)
• 2001: Dog in the Sand (Frank Black & The Catholics)
• 2002: Black Letter Days (Frank Black & The Catholics)
• 2002: Devil's Workshop (Frank Black & The Catholics)
• 2003: Show Me Your Tears (Frank Black & The Catholics)
• 2004: Frankblackfrancis (together with Two Pale Boys)
• 2005: Honeycomb
• 2006: Fast Man / Raider Man
• 2006: One More Road for the Hit (Frank Black & The Catholics, Compilation, only as mp3)
• 2006: Snake Oil (compilation, only as mp3)
• 2006: Christmass (Live-CD and DVD)
• 2007: Live Session (only on Itunes)
• 2007: Frank Black 93 - 03 (compilation)
• 2007: Bluefinger (as Black Francis)
• 2008: Svn Fngrs (as Black Francis)
• 2008: Live at the Hotel Utah Saloon (on USB stick )
• 2010: NonStopErotik (as Black Francis)
• 2010: The Golem (DVD and CD, as Black Francis)
• 2010: AbbabubbA (as Black Francis)
• 2010: Live in Nijmegen (as Black Francis, on USB stick)
• 2011: Paley & Francis (as Black Francis, together with Reid Paley )
• 2012: Live at Melkweg (as Frank Black & The Catholics)

Singles

• 1993: Los Angeles (4AD Records)
• 1993: Hang on to Your Ego (4AD Records)
• 1993: Frank Black (Hello Recording Club)
• 1994: Headache (Badd)
• 1995: The Marsist / Better Things (Dragnet)
• 1995: Men in Black (American Recordings)
• 1996: I Don't Want to Hurt You (Sony)
• 1998: All My Ghosts (Play It Again Sam)
• 1998: Dog Gone
• 1999: I Gotta Move (Cortex)
• 2000: Robert Onion ( Cooking Vinyl )
• 2001: St. Francis Dam Disaster (Cooking Vinyl)
• 2003: Everything Is New (Cooking Vinyl)
• 2003: Nadine (Cooking Vinyl)
• 2007: Threshold Apprehension (Cooking Vinyl)

Web links

• www.frankblack.net
• www.blackfrancis.net
• Frank Black at laut.de

Individual evidence

1. ↑ allmusic.com
2. ↑ http://blackfrancis.net/the-bureau-records  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
3. ↑ http://thebureaurecords.com/