(press release) "Honeycomb," Frank Black's first solo album since 1996's "The Cult of Ray," will be released in North America on July 19, and the Pixies' front-man is loaded with stories about what was for him, a very memorable recording experience. Black recorded "Honeycomb" in Nashville with legendary musicians such as Steve Cropper, Spooner Oldham, David Hood and Chester Thompson.
About the "Honeycomb" track "Another Velvet Nightmare," he recounts, "This is an example of how great Cropper, Spooner, and these guys are as an ensemble. None of this was planned out. Everything fell into place while I was playing the song with them for the first time. I wrote this with Reid Paley, mainly by email and telephone, and there were a lot of misunderstandings. He tends to waltz things up and I tend not do. So when we got together in New York to finish it, he'd play the song and I'd go, "What are you doing, man? It's not a waltz; it's in 4/4." And he'd go, "No, it's not. It's a triplet feel." We couldn't decide which way to go, so I figured we'd do both and hope for the best. Well, when I brought it to Nashville the musicians treated it so smoothly: They kicked from 4 to 3 so effortlessly and made it sound humorous, almost a little risquι. It was a potentially
difficult song, but it sounds like they've done it a thousand times."
Prior to "Honeycomb's" July 19 in-store date, Black will join his fellow Pixies on a summer tour that will include headlining the July 23 Lollapalooza festival. Pixies tour kicks off May 26 in Portland, OR, and confirmed dates are below.
PIXIES U.S. Summer Tour Dates
MAY
26 Roseland Theatre, Portland, OR (two shows)
27 Roseland Theatre, Portland, OR (two shows)
28 Sasquatch Festival, Gorge Amphitheatre, George, WA
30 Warfield Theatre, San Francisco, CA
31 Civic Auditorium, San Jose, CA
JUNE
2 Wiltern Theatre, Los Angeles, CA (two shows)
3 Wiltern Theatre, Los Angeles, CA (two shows)
5 Red Rocks, Denver, CO
7 Murat Theatre, Indianapolis, IN
8 CMJ Rock Hall Music Fest, Cleveland, OH (7:30 show)
8 Scene Pavilion, Cleveland, OH (9:00PM show)
9 Chevrolet Amphitheatre, Pittsburgh, PA
11 Music Midtown Festival (Miller Lite/99X Stage), Atlanta, GA
12 The Ritz, Raleigh, NC
13 Merriweather Post Pavilion, Washington, D.C.
14 Jones Beach, Wantagh, Long Island, New York
15 Agannis Arena, Boston, MA
JULY
23 Lollapalooza, Grant Park, Chicago, IL (headline)
