Joey Santiago of the Pixies loves bikes, movies and his hummingbirds

I never thought I’d talk about cycling with Joey Santiago. I mean, it’s not strange that I talked about cycling – I even do it while I sleep – but that I did it with him, with the legendary guitarist and co-founder of Pixies: “I love it. I ride a lot. And my bicycle is Italian, I have a Colnago!”.

From May 6th, however, no more pedals: only six strings for Joey, who will leave for a long tour to celebrate his 40 years of the Pixies. The party will also stop in Italy, on July 14th in Milanwhere we will have the opportunity to listen once again to that acute, prolonged and feedback-amplified bending that has made the history of alt rock.

Many guitarists overperform. You have built a career on single notes, dissonances and empty spaces.

I like single notes – and the lines I can make out of them. The right space is created in its own way. This is what I like to do: let the music breathe, let it free. He can’t miss you if you don’t go away, as they say.

If I were to give a five-minute crash course on how to be a creative lead guitarist, I would show a video of “Vamos” live.

At first I put the guitar on the stand because it had to be a Alone of guitar. It was my game, I said: look, more alone more than that… It doesn’t take much, sometimes I don’t even play it, I just use effects. I try to touch the strings as little as possible. It’s fun, and that’s my goal: to try to make the crew laugh. If I make them laugh, then I’ve done my duty. It doesn’t have to be all serious, you can even make fun of very long solos.

You, Charles and David are the atomic nucleus of the band. How has your way of exchanging ideas changed over time?

I have to say that it has remained the same, really. We just record, and when we record, we’re there to do our best. That’s all. We have our notebooks, we take a blank page and fill it, in our style.

Do you ever feel “trapped” by having to play big hits like “Where Is My Mind?” or do you find a way every time not to get tired when you play them live?

You know what’s fun and I never get tired of it, even with “Where Is My Mind?”? The reaction of the public. You’re there playing, the concert progresses… then the time comes to drop the bomb and you watch the backlash. You also have to think that a lot of people are seeing us for the first time at that time, and that’s a good reminder to keep in mind. I remind myself that many people out front got tickets a long time ago, just to hear us.

Have the characteristics of Emma Richardson, new entry on bass, led you to rethink the setlists?

No. Those are the songs we want to play and we know that she can perform them very, very well, with a lot of professionalism and style. There is space to let it flourish in the recording studio.

Your latest records have all been released every two or three years. The last one is from 2024 and we are in 2026, so…

We are discussing various ideas and we already have something in hand, I can confirm it.

How did you find writing with Emma?

Well, even if I don’t pay much attention to it. I’m always stuck in my head. It’s more up to others: if they think something is good, then it’s finished, but for now nothing definitive has come out. I’m still waiting. But some songs we have are good, and I’m proud of the material that’s coming.

Are you still hearing from Kim Deal?

No, but it’s normal. I don’t even hear from David when we’re not on tour, I haven’t heard from him since December maybe. It’s a normal thing: when we don’t work, we don’t feel like each other. But I made a promise: I made sure to wish Kim a happy birthday on June 10th, because we share the same birthday.

Surrealism has always inspired you. Is reality so surreal today that just looking out the window is enough to create a song?

It’s not so much reality that inspires me, but music. I feel inspired based on what I listen to.

And what do you listen to?

Lately I’ve been listening to the soundtrack of “One battle after another”.

Paul Thomas Anderson’s masterpiece.

Speaking of reality, that movie is just perfect for framing what’s happening. While I was listening I was thinking “this stuff is fucking good”. Then, finally, I found out it was Jonny Greenwood’s work and I said to myself: that son of a bitch has done it again. So that’s how I find inspiration. That soundtrack is really, really good.

You have also worked on soundtracks.

Yes, I love what a film can convey to you. It makes you ask questions, there’s a lot of work behind it. I would love to work with Paul Thomas Anderson. I would tell him “hey, I’m here whenever you want, consider me”. Or with David Fincher. I prefer drama, horror, tension, rather than comedy.

You recently spoke out against ICE.

Yes, I wrote it under a post dedicated to my hummingbirds, as a contrast, and I have written many in the past of that kind, but we as a band don’t do anything political. If it ever happens, it should come from Charles, because it depends on the lyrics. It’s nice that there are many artists who expose themselves, but we stay away from them. We just want to entertain people.

When you were young you liked technology. Do you think AI is too present in music today?

To me it’s silly stuff. He screws people, he has no soul. How do you understand where music comes from? You should talk to whoever wrote the prompts for the AI ​​and ask him what secret instructions he fed to the machine. I don’t like that idea and it scares me a little. No thank you.

Have you heard Billy Corgan’s theory that rock in the ’90s was silenced by the powers that be?

No, I didn’t know. I don’t know where he got his information about this, but he might be right. He should look into the matter further. But I think rock and roll can’t be silenced: it will always be there.

Celebrating 40 years of Pixies is a wonderful milestone.

I’m very excited. We will also play at the Royal Albert Hall, it will be very special. But for us it will be a tour like any other, in the end: we will play our best every night.

Your last date in Italy dates back to four years ago. Do you miss us?

Absolutely yes! And I miss your food a lot too. The best memory I have of one of our dates in Bologna is a restaurant I discovered that time. I love it. Then the Vespas parked everywhere, the narrow streets… We can’t wait to return.