Which other rock star do you most often get confused with? Flashbleu
Dave Grohl! No. When Pixies first started getting big on college radio, I was at an amusement park and these two students came up, kind of trembling, and asked: “Are you Kim Deal?” I told them I was her identical twin and I knew they didn’t believe me. Kim has had the reverse experience. When we were infants our parents painted our toenails different colours to tell us apart.
What were you listening to when growing up in the 70s and 80s? MartaLPerez1983
Dayton, Ohio was 40 minutes’ drive from Kentucky. So I listened to AM radio – a lot of country – and album radio, which was mainly the rock bands that did the circuit. I saw Rush 12 times. When I was working at a pizza place I had a crush on an artist who would make mixtapes for me – Buzzcocks, the Cramps, Gang of Four, James Blood Ulmer and this little-known gal called Laurie Anderson. Back then, girls played keyboards or sang “nice”. So hearing Laurie Anderson narrating Walk the Dog blew my mind.
The Breeders-curated All Tomorrow’s Parties festival [Minehead, 2009] was an amazing weekend, with the Deals popping up on stage with various acts. Any memories/stories? outmoded
I managed to start a fire in our chalet so bad we had to move. Candles, curtains, bad decisions … I did actually throw a television through a hotel window once. On tour with Nirvana, Krist Novoselic said he’d been thinking about it and I said: “Let’s do it!” He called down to the front desk, got permission, paid for the TV and asked security to make sure nobody was below. This is the kind of sweet band they were. Then we shoved it through the window. It was fun, but the funniest bit was all the planning and anticipation.
Have you ever felt the “oh shiiiit!” of meeting another musician/singer you’re a fan of and how did that go? badalice
I can’t believe I’m going to admit this, but at the Breeders ATP I was very excited and went over to Gang of Four’s table and started talking about how much their band meant to me. Eventually one of the guys went: “I think you have us confused with a different band.” I walked away thinking “oh fuck” and told Steve Albini I’d confused Wire with Gang of Four. He said: “Don’t worry. I’m sure that happens all the time.”
Have you ever struggled with confidence or anxiety where playing, performing and recording are concerned? badalice
All of it. I didn’t really play guitar when I joined my famous sister’s band. How’s that for impostor syndrome? But Kim and I had been singing together since we were eight. A lot of the songs that ended up on [the Breeders’] Pod are variations of songs that we’d written in the bedroom, so that helped me. Otherwise I didn’t care that I couldn’t play. The emotional element has very little to do with being able to play scales really fast.
Is the humming at the start of [the Breeders’] Cannonball from the Ewoks in Return of the Jedi? toffeegreg
[Laughs] Kim plugged a harmonica into a Marshall amp to create feedback and distortion and I started humming. But I’m happy to say we found some Ewoks and got ’em in the studio.
The Breeders worked with Spike Jonze before his award-winning music video success with artists such as Beastie Boys, Björk and Fatboy Slim. Was the shoot for 1993’s Cannonball a guerrilla, make-it-up-as-we-go aesthetic, or did Spike’s technical prowess already match his artistic vision? McScootikins
Both those things are true because he was so accomplished. I love the fast-moving Polaroids and the bowling ball in the aquarium. He is a sweet man and did a bunch of stuff, and Kim Gordon’s editing and assistance had a lot to do with the look and dynamics.
Can you describe the difference in the way you write songs with Kim and the Breeders as opposed to with Mike [Montgomery] in R Ring? bumface11
With Mike somebody will have more of a song than the other and we both guide it to a different place. On the new record Mike has a beautiful, heartbreaking song called Lighter Than a Berry, so I supported that. Kim will usually come in with a bit of a chorus or some lyrics, and we come up with parts. Mike and I don’t have the limitation of having to have drums, whereas in a full-band format it’s more people and more ideas, but a smaller room.
In the video for Safari you look like you’ve just come from working in computer programming. Had you? stoneinatincan
When the Breeders started I was working as a defence contractor stationed at an air force base and had top-secret clearances. So when we made the video I had this idea of showing my complete self. I had a bag of cool rock clothes to change into but it seemed like a lie, so I kept my business suit on. I wanted to send a message that music isn’t a cool club, that anyone can do it. Tanya [Donelly, original guitarist] put a jacket on, which changed her vibe a bit and felt like solidarity.
There was a story that Cannonball was going to be used for a Levi’s advert, which at the time was close to a guaranteed chart-topper. Instead it went to two-hit-wonders Stiltskin. How close – if at all – was Cannonball to getting that sort of exposure? vastariner
We got offered a lot of stuff. A shampoo advert with a chick in the shower? No thanks. I’m wearing Levi’s now, but we didn’t like the cut of the video we were shown. Generally we say yes to any horror movie that wants our songs [laughs] and probably no to everything else.
What is your favourite song by Kim, and do you know what her favourite song by you is? BaronUgly
Iris and Oh! From Pod. Even without her amazing lyrics those two songs would have all the emotional depth you need. She recently commented on one of my songs she’d heard on the radio but I can’t remember which!
My brothers were twins and it sometimes seems that they had an almost telepathic relationship. Do you find this to be the case with Kim? PhilipJMRebbeck
I wanna say “yes, we have telepathy!” But it’s nature v nurture. All our musical references, cinema and politics inform who we become and ours were identical, so that’s a lot to do with it.
Do you have any purls of wisdom about knitting? VerulamiumPark Ranger
If you’re working in a pattern, get a stitch counter. I went to rehab for heroin and afterwards discovered that I really liked doing rock’n’roll sober. We went to Amsterdam to do some shows and the girlfriend of the drummer in the opening band, Radar Brothers, taught me how to knit. It was something I could do on the road and I became obsessed with it. So I went from heroin to knitting! Opiates are really hard to get off and I relapsed several times. I’ve now been off them for 14 years, but knitting is completely addictive.
Which other rock star do you most often get confused with? Flashbleu
Dave Grohl! No. When Pixies first started getting big on college radio, I was at an amusement park and these two students came up, kind of trembling, and asked: “Are you Kim Deal?” I told them I was her identical twin and I knew they didn’t believe me. Kim has had the reverse experience. When we were infants our parents painted our toenails different colours to tell us apart.
What were you listening to when growing up in the 70s and 80s? MartaLPerez1983
Dayton, Ohio was 40 minutes’ drive from Kentucky. So I listened to AM radio – a lot of country – and album radio, which was mainly the rock bands that did the circuit. I saw Rush 12 times. When I was working at a pizza place I had a crush on an artist who would make mixtapes for me – Buzzcocks, the Cramps, Gang of Four, James Blood Ulmer and this little-known gal called Laurie Anderson. Back then, girls played keyboards or sang “nice”. So hearing Laurie Anderson narrating Walk the Dog blew my mind.
The Breeders-curated All Tomorrow’s Parties festival [Minehead, 2009] was an amazing weekend, with the Deals popping up on stage with various acts. Any memories/stories? outmoded
I managed to start a fire in our chalet so bad we had to move. Candles, curtains, bad decisions … I did actually throw a television through a hotel window once. On tour with Nirvana, Krist Novoselic said he’d been thinking about it and I said: “Let’s do it!” He called down to the front desk, got permission, paid for the TV and asked security to make sure nobody was below. This is the kind of sweet band they were. Then we shoved it through the window. It was fun, but the funniest bit was all the planning and anticipation.
Have you ever felt the “oh shiiiit!” of meeting another musician/singer you’re a fan of and how did that go? badalice
I can’t believe I’m going to admit this, but at the Breeders ATP I was very excited and went over to Gang of Four’s table and started talking about how much their band meant to me. Eventually one of the guys went: “I think you have us confused with a different band.” I walked away thinking “oh fuck” and told Steve Albini I’d confused Wire with Gang of Four. He said: “Don’t worry. I’m sure that happens all the time.”
Have you ever struggled with confidence or anxiety where playing, performing and recording are concerned? badalice
All of it. I didn’t really play guitar when I joined my famous sister’s band. How’s that for impostor syndrome? But Kim and I had been singing together since we were eight. A lot of the songs that ended up on [the Breeders’] Pod are variations of songs that we’d written in the bedroom, so that helped me. Otherwise I didn’t care that I couldn’t play. The emotional element has very little to do with being able to play scales really fast.
Is the humming at the start of [the Breeders’] Cannonball from the Ewoks in Return of the Jedi? toffeegreg
[Laughs] Kim plugged a harmonica into a Marshall amp to create feedback and distortion and I started humming. But I’m happy to say we found some Ewoks and got ’em in the studio.
The Breeders worked with Spike Jonze before his award-winning music video success with artists such as Beastie Boys, Björk and Fatboy Slim. Was the shoot for 1993’s Cannonball a guerrilla, make-it-up-as-we-go aesthetic, or did Spike’s technical prowess already match his artistic vision? McScootikins
Both those things are true because he was so accomplished. I love the fast-moving Polaroids and the bowling ball in the aquarium. He is a sweet man and did a bunch of stuff, and Kim Gordon’s editing and assistance had a lot to do with the look and dynamics.
Can you describe the difference in the way you write songs with Kim and the Breeders as opposed to with Mike [Montgomery] in R Ring? bumface11
With Mike somebody will have more of a song than the other and we both guide it to a different place. On the new record Mike has a beautiful, heartbreaking song called Lighter Than a Berry, so I supported that. Kim will usually come in with a bit of a chorus or some lyrics, and we come up with parts. Mike and I don’t have the limitation of having to have drums, whereas in a full-band format it’s more people and more ideas, but a smaller room.
In the video for Safari you look like you’ve just come from working in computer programming. Had you? stoneinatincan
When the Breeders started I was working as a defence contractor stationed at an air force base and had top-secret clearances. So when we made the video I had this idea of showing my complete self. I had a bag of cool rock clothes to change into but it seemed like a lie, so I kept my business suit on. I wanted to send a message that music isn’t a cool club, that anyone can do it. Tanya [Donelly, original guitarist] put a jacket on, which changed her vibe a bit and felt like solidarity.
There was a story that Cannonball was going to be used for a Levi’s advert, which at the time was close to a guaranteed chart-topper. Instead it went to two-hit-wonders Stiltskin. How close – if at all – was Cannonball to getting that sort of exposure? vastariner
We got offered a lot of stuff. A shampoo advert with a chick in the shower? No thanks. I’m wearing Levi’s now, but we didn’t like the cut of the video we were shown. Generally we say yes to any horror movie that wants our songs [laughs] and probably no to everything else.
What is your favourite song by Kim, and do you know what her favourite song by you is? BaronUgly
Iris and Oh! From Pod. Even without her amazing lyrics those two songs would have all the emotional depth you need. She recently commented on one of my songs she’d heard on the radio but I can’t remember which!
My brothers were twins and it sometimes seems that they had an almost telepathic relationship. Do you find this to be the case with Kim? PhilipJMRebbeck
I wanna say “yes, we have telepathy!” But it’s nature v nurture. All our musical references, cinema and politics inform who we become and ours were identical, so that’s a lot to do with it.
Do you have any purls of wisdom about knitting? VerulamiumPark Ranger
If you’re working in a pattern, get a stitch counter. I went to rehab for heroin and afterwards discovered that I really liked doing rock’n’roll sober. We went to Amsterdam to do some shows and the girlfriend of the drummer in the opening band, Radar Brothers, taught me how to knit. It was something I could do on the road and I became obsessed with it. So I went from heroin to knitting! Opiates are really hard to get off and I relapsed several times. I’ve now been off them for 14 years, but knitting is completely addictive.