In the late 1980s, Pixies were the unheralded champions of alternative rock. Despite the love showered on more commercial acts like R.E.M. and U2, Pixies (frontman Black Francis, guitarist Joey Santiago, bassist Kim Deal, and drummer David Lovering) were just as inspirational to a new generation of guitar players and songwriters. And while they started out as a Boston club band, they quickly became a global phenomenon.
Signed to the artsy, adventurous UK label 4AD, Pixies had built-in indie rock cache, which helped them rope in equal quotients of English rock fans and U.S. post-punk/college rock adherents. By the release of their first full-length Surfer Rosa (one of the late producer Steve Albini’s first great commercial achievements) in 1988, Pixies had cemented the quirky, angular, eclectic, haunting, and strangely melodic sound that continues to define them.
“I was never interested in sounding like other musicians or being like a cover band,” says Santiago, shortly before the release of Pixies’ ninth full-length album The Night the Zombies Came. “A lot of people were playing to sound like other guitarists, and learning how to shred to play solos, and I just had no interest in doing that. The goal was always to find different ways of doing things, so I didn’t sound like anyone else. It was definitely a big ‘fuck you’ to the popularity of all these other bands. I really enjoyed being different, and I got my jollies off when people didn’t get what we were doing.”
Frontman Black Francis’ unconventional approach to songwriting was the core of Pixies sound, and Santiago’s complimentary, but unorthodox note flurries and torrents of noise helped attract a broad fanbase that included Nirvana. It’s widely accepted that Kurt Cobain’s soft verse/loud chorus approach on songs like “Come as You Are” and “Heart Shaped Box” was inspired by Pixies, and Nirvana openly praised the band, as did the sonically adventurous UK group Radiohead.
Over the decades, Pixies have attracted a loyal following of fans both young and old, and the current crop of guitar-based indie outfits continue to praise Pixies as one of the most influential alt-rock groups – one whose music remains both timely and relevant. The Night the Zombies Came is the band’s fourth album since Deal left in 2013, and the first to feature newest member Emma Richardson on bass (former bassist Paz Lechantin, who joined the band after Deal quit, was dismissed in March 2024). Yet the record doesn’t suffer from the lineup shift; Richardson’s deep, resonant playing effectively roots the songs. While Santiago says the new album is “less aggressive” than Pixies earlier albums, it’s equally unorthodox, tapping into the band’s penchant for strong songwriting, dissonant hooks, and stylistic experimentation while exploring a new, dark range of atmospheres and approaches both musically and lyrically. Santiago recorded the album with a combination of Marshalls (mostly his JCM800) and Gibsons (Les Paul and ES-345) and says recording The Night the Zombies Came was the “most fun” he has had in the studio.
“I Heard Nirvana and I could immediately tell they were listening to the Pixies. But I wasn’t upset.”
During our in-depth conversation, Santiago talked about the band’s modern approach to the new album, Pixies’ influence over the decades of adventurous rock, and his unusual playing style. He also discussed his introduction to guitar and the birth of the band, the friction that led to a 13-year recording hiatus after 1991’s Trompe le Monde, why Pixies got back together, and offers tips for other guitarists inspired by his creative path.
FretBuzz: The Pixies rose to the top of the alternative music scene in the late ‘80s and brought a new sound to what was then largely called college rock. You used waves of loud distortion, point-counterpoint melodies, elements of surf rock, and sudden dynamic shifts in volume, which later became trademarks of many other bands. But as a guitarist, you must have had your influences as well.
Santiago: Like I said, I had no interest in playing other people’s songs, but I did that anyway to broaden my abilities as a guitar player. The weirdest solo I bothered learning was “Sunshine Superman” [by Donovan, which featured lead guitar from Jimmy Page]. It’s a good solo, but learning other people’s stuff can have an adverse effect on you. When I listen to music, I’m aware of the territory these guitar players already established, and I don’t like to trespass.
FretBuzz: How did you cultivate your individualistic approach to guitar playing? Did you use different chord voicings or play inversion of the main riffs?
Santiago: I didn’t come up with the main chords we used. That was a Charles (aka Black Francis) thing. I would play a lot of stuff related to the chords he used. And even my guitar lines would contain a hint of those parts. But a lot of his chord progressions are strange enough already, so I couldn’t help but to put a weird guitar line in there.
FretBuzz: Sometimes you play dense, scratchy guitar noise, but you also flavor the songs with tasteful, but unusual, hooks and atmospheres.
Santiago: For me, it was about keeping it simple as much as anything else. When the Pixies were starting out, there were all these stunt guitar players and super-fast metal music. It was impressive to me, but I knew I was never gonna be able to play at that level, and I had no interest in doing that, anyway. I wasn’t in the culture of it. I didn’t have long hair or listen to those bands. We were never gonna be a metal band. And it wouldn’t have made sense playing that way because everyone else was doing it.
FretBuzz: Did your sound stem more from punk rock, or more specifically the Boston post-punk scene in the late ‘80s, which grew to international acclaim with bands such as Dinosaur Jr, Throwing Muses, Buffalo Tom, and Galaxie 500?
Santiago: It came from us, and a lot of it became more popular after England caught on to it. I think the music scene in England was more adventurous at the time than the stuff that was coming from the U.S. We just happened to be signed to a London-based record label, [4AD], but that was just by coincidence, too. When we started the Pixies, we never wanted to be known as a quote-unquote Boston band. We loved Boston, don’t get me wrong. But we just wanted to be known as a band that played the music we wrote and have people figure it out on their own.
FretBuzz: With an unusual, sometimes harsh, and dissonant sound, was it difficult to gain a following at first? Did people think, “Oh, God, what is this weird music with all grating guitars, surf rock overtones, and screaming?”
Santiago: No. It was crazy. Within a year of our first show, we were touring Europe with a record deal — with everything — really fast. As soon as we started playing in clubs on Tuesday or Wednesday nights, we got promoted to weekends pretty quick and then built our audience through word of mouth.
FretBuzz: Were the first shows learning experiences? Did you go through the normal growing pains as you were struggling to define yourselves?
Santiago: Our growing pains really happened in the rehearsal place where we practiced. We wanted to make sure our shows were true reflections of us. It was our work, and it still is. But back then, we had jobs and we committed ourselves to meeting after we got off work. Whenever the last one of us got out of work, we had a two to three-hour-long rehearsal. And that’s where we got our act together as a band.
FretBuzz: That must have been exhausting.
Santiago: I really enjoyed it because when we were home we were putting the songs together on acoustic guitar. And then playing through amps and hearing it loud was very exciting. I’m a big music fan. I knew what I was doing and I liked what we did. We all liked it, which was important because if you don’t love what you’re playing then what’s the point of doing it? It takes a lot of hard work to be in a band. You don’t do it for nothing. More importantly, the more that people didn’t get it, the more we knew we were on the right path. We were forging a path that was off the beaten path. We were somewhere else, and we were really into that idea. So, it was cool if people didn’t get it, and it was great when a lot of them caught on.
FretBuzz: Can you pinpoint a certain incident when you realized you were getting mainstream acceptance? Was it a particular gig or the reception to one of your songs?
Santiago: It’s hard to say exactly when that happened. It was more of a gradual thing. There’s enough pop sensibilities in the songs, but it’s just a different form of entertainment than other bands were giving people. Then, some people started getting into it and craving it. Back then, the people at the major labels all operated with the same playbook. They said, “Oh, this ‘X’ band works. Let’s get version ‘X2,’ and then we’ll move on to version ‘X3’ after a while.” People got sick of that. Sometimes, people don’t know what they want. You have to feed it to them, and if you keep doing it, they’ll accept it. That’s what we did and 4AD is an adventurous label that wanted us to do our thing. And I think that when [British radio personality and DJ] John Peel started playing us, well, that was a rite of passage right there. And a lot of people got into us after that.
FretBuzz: English audiences have historically caught on to new ideas from American bands before American crowds accepted them. But most Americans didn’t read the British press. What was it that brought you to a new level of success in the U.S.? Was it “Where is My Mind?” from your 1988 full-length Surfer Rosa or “Monkey Gone to Heaven” from 1989’s Doolittle?
Santiago: Surfer Rosa really got us going, and the quote-unquote sophomore record, Doolittle just took off. I don’t really know what caused people to get it. Maybe it was the attention people gave to “Monkey Gone to Heaven,” but I don’t know if it was just that particular song. I think it was more like suddenly people connected with this thing we created.
FretBuzz: Was there some indefinable chemistry between the four of you that made your music greater than the sum of its parts?
Santiago: There was. If I played something and Charles reacted with a certain kind of laughter or sound of surprise, I’d go, “Well, that’s good enough for me. This is going to work.”
“One night, I came home very, very drunk and my father was very upset. And he smashed my acoustic guitar. So, I got an electric guitar . I had a paper route and I saved money from that to buy this crappy guitar. Literally, the fretboard was so dry it was splintering.”
FretBuzz: As a player, who would you consider your main influences, the people that inspired you to establish your own sound?
Santiago: All of the usual: George Harrison, Jimi Hendrix, Joe Pass, Les Paul. Jeff Beck was definitely an influence. You won’t hear it in my playing, but I think their music inspired me to get a certain vibe from them or enjoy their songs.
FretBuzz: Would you say that as a player you knew what musical formulas and tropes you were breaking?
Santiago: I guess I wanted to break some rules. The only real rules I had were not to play any blues and not wanting to show off any technical skills. Other than that, I just messed around with different ideas. I think good is good, and I recognize when I do something good. I also think knowing my limitations is good. You’ve gotta know what’s good for you as a player. If you believe it, you won’t be alone.
FretBuzz: Were you familiar with different scales and modes when you composed leads in the ‘90s?
Santiago: Well, I’m starting to learn that now. I’m working on Locrian and then Phrygian, and went, that’s what I was pretty much doing a lot of back then without even knowing it. And Mixolydian is good when you want to do the Grateful Dead-type stuff. It’s funny because of course I played a lot of the Pentatonic shapes because it’s fun and you can’t hit a wrong note – unless the chords were going half-steps, which is fucked. And that’s what Charles did. He was doing weird chord progressions and I had to figure out stuff to that. But really, I resisted knowing any kind of theory for a long time. I got turned off when people started talking about guitar and it sounded like math. I was like, “Booooriinnggg!” When you talk like that it sounds like there’s no joy in bumping into things.
FretBuzz: Do you prefer to take a spontaneous approach to playing leads without thinking about what scales, modes, or triads you might be using?
Santiago: When I play something, I think to myself, “Does it sound good?” And if it sounds good, I’m like, “Fuck it, it sounds good.” I like people that don’t know what a guitar should sound like. And I don’t like to restrict myself to doing or not doing certain things. Now, I’ll sometimes restrict myself to choosing five notes to use as a solid home bass. And then I’ll start picking it out and putting them in order.
FretBuzz: What would you suggest to players who want to develop a more spontaneous or impulsive style that sounds good but doesn’t specifically rely on a set of established “rules?”
Santiago: Start off with three notes and expand from there. Also, play a string and make melodies out of notes from that one string so you’re not aware if it is something that’s breaking rules or not. For me, I try to pick as many half-steps as I can. If it’s chromatic it’s all the better. There’s a song from Trompe Le Monde, “The Navajo Know” — talk about chromatic shit. It was half steps most of the time for those lines. Whole notes are okay, too. And, really, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with a pentatonic scale. It’s a classic sound. But break away from it, too. A lot of people have done it.
FretBuzz: These days, there are all these plug-ins you can use in any DAW to get a guitar to sound like almost anything. And it’s not hard to do. Bands used to have to work so tirelessly to get the right sounds from amps, cabinets, effects, and mic placement, and now it’s all so easy to emulate with a bit of schooling.
Santiago: I love that. I like dialing it in and it’s so easy to recall. Back in the day, you’d get a separate notebook if you wanted to revisit the song. Or you’d take pictures of it and go back. Now you just push a button.
FretBuzz: Did you take pictures of your pedalboard and the settings of your effects for each song?
Santiago: Nah. I kind of knew what they all were. Onstage, I used to set my delay and my tremolo accordingly for each song. I would have to bend down each time. Now, I suppose there’s a pedal for that. I’m sure that’s next so you could program it all and stop bending down. But there’s something to that, too. I don’t like to synch tempo live. I don’t think I can do it on recordings. Even my tremolo should just wiggle on its own.
FretBuzz: Who brought the surf element of sound to the band on songs like “Gigantic?”
Santiago: Charles and I listened to a lot of surf music, particularly one summer when we were taking summer classes and we had an apartment around Amhearst. Once again, that would seep into what we were doing. My job is to work it in when it seems natural. I do it a lot, like in “Monkey Gone to Heaven.” But when I do that, it’s usually something to do with the chords that Charles is playing and I really try not to play those chords. That would be boring because he’s already doing it so I have to come up with other stuff to put on top of it.
FretBuzz: Obviously, the Pixies had a profound impact on the soft verse, loud chorus structure of so much alternative music. What did you think when you first heard Nirvana, who used to credit you with being a major influence on their sound? Were you annoyed that they took a similar approach to songwriting as you?
Santiago: I listened to them and I could immediately tell they were listening to the Pixies. But I wasn’t upset. That’s the way music goes. People listen to different stuff and get influenced. And they had enough of a unique thing going on, too. It’s good. Nirvana took elements of what we were doing like we took elements of the Velvet Underground here and there. People won’t necessarily hear it, but it’s there.
“I resisted knowing any kind of theory for a long time. I got turned off when people started talking about guitar and it sounded like math. I was like, “Booooriinnggg!”
FretBuzz: Did you come from a musical family and did you take to the guitar early in your life?
Santiago: My parents knew how to play the piano. And I had a grandfather who played in a piano bar to make money so he could gamble. It wasn’t a musical family full of professional musicians. But we had the organ. We had a piano. I had the guitar when I was 12 because I didn’t have to share it. My brother and I would all be on one organ and that was no fun. So I took the guitar down from my brother’s wall. It was an acoustic that was just for decoration. My brother said it was from Radio Shack. I hardly went in his room, but I took it down and tuned it from a book. I was like, “How the hell do you tune this thing? I had the Mel Bay Way. I didn’t have a tuner so I pressed on the keys of the organ to tune the strings. And eventually, I learned how to play it.
FretBuzz: When did you upgrade to electric, and was that a groundbreaking moment for you?
Santiago: One night I came home very, very drunk and my father was very upset. He smashed my acoustic guitar. So, I got an electric guitar [laughs]. I had a paper route and I saved money from that to buy this crappy guitar. Literally, the fretboard was so dry it was splintering. So I stopped playing it and my mother bought me an Ovation Viper and it played really nice. It had a small fretboard and was tight for the size of my fingers at that time. I was still in middle school.
FretBuzz: Did you start jamming with friends or form a band in high school?
Santiago: I tried but I embarrassed myself because people were better than me. There was one time I was playing and my guitar was slightly out of tune. My friend said, “You hear that? It’s not in tune.” And I said, “Yeah, I know but I like it.” That in-between stuff sounded good to me and from then on I think I subconsciously went into a certain zone because there was something to it that’s interesting.
FretBuzz: What was your first band?
Santiago: Pixies was actually the first band I joined. Charles and I were suitemates at UMass. He was in the bedroom a couple doors down from me. You had to enter the suite area and there were five bedrooms. We were just thrown in together.
FretBuzz: Did you get along right away?
Santiago. Yeah, we did. I was there to hopefully start a band and he was there to start a band. And that turned out to be the Pixies. We did have a silly one. We called ourselves the Blizzards because we would get together when school was canceled due to storms. And we would go into someone’s basement and play noise.
FretBuzz: What was Pixies’ first big break?
Santiago: Aside from being signed, I would say our first break was our first show – actually getting through it. It was at Jack’s at Central Square in Cambridge. We were so nervous. But by doing it, we got our anxiety out. There was hardly anyone there. You’d think that would make you less nervous, but it’s actually the opposite. It’s even more nerve-racking because there’s no one out there to pay attention to. You’re not going to get any feedback from people. If you do, it’ll be, like, five people clapping. But that wasn’t even the point. The point was to get through it, and we did. And that was a big help for the next time we did a show.
FretBuzz: What was the biggest obstacle during Pixies career? Was it trying to come up with new ideas after having recorded several successful albums? Was it something that had more to do with personal or interpersonal issues, or something else altogether?
Santiago: All of the above. We recorded an album once a year. That wasn’t really the problem. I just thought that we could have done with a break before we did Trompe Le Monde because then it would have been a different record. But, honestly, I did enjoy every moment of it. I was just having fun.
FretBuzz: You opened for U2 in 1992 on the U.S. leg of their Zoo TV Tour. It seemed like a triumphant moment but by the end of the year you went on sabbatical and soon after, Charles announced the band had broken up. Were there signs in 1992 that Pixiess were falling apart?
Santiago: Yeah, I noticed that people weren’t happy anymore and it wasn’t enjoyable. The last gig we had was in Vancouver and I was so angry I punched a hole through the wall in the dressing room. I couldn’t stand the unhappiness anymore. We were little fucking assholes. We turned into little brats.
FretBuzz: What caused that? Was it burnout, industry pressure, ego battles, substances?
Santiago: It was a combination of a lot of those. I definitely lacked a lot of sleep, maybe substance had something to do with it. But, you know, it was the constant touring. We never really gelled interpersonally because we didn’t grow up with each other. There was just a lot of interpersonal bullshit that got to us.
FretBuzz: Was there tension between Charles and [original bassist] Kim [Deal], who seemed to be heavily into her other band the Breeders?
Santiago: They had tension and that contributed to things. I can’t speak for them, but no one was getting along anymore.
Frebuzz: Did you keep in touch with your bandmates during the downtime? Or did you sever ties and do your own things for the next decade or so?
Santiago: I played on some of Charles’ Frank Black albums – his solo stuff – but we never kept it touch after that. [Drummer] David [Lovering] and I kept in contact and he played in my offshoot band The Martinis for a little bit. But we’ve never been a tight-knit social group. When we got done with our last tour, I hadn’t heard from anyone. And that’s just normal. We don’t do that. And I’m the only one that lives in LA now. We’re all in different locations. Dave is on the central coast of California, Charles lives in Amherst, and our [new] bass player [Emma Richardson] lives in London.
FretBuzz: What triggered the Pixies reunion tour in 2004?
Santiago: The demand was there. The excitement was there, and we wanted to play again. Five or six years after we broke up, people were just wondering when we were going to get back together. So we knew there was interest. If there hadn’t been that interest, maybe we wouldn’t have done it.
FretBuzz: When you first got back together was it like putting on an old pair of shoes or was it more like stepping into spiked boots?
Santiago: Ther chemistry was there right away. I don’t know where Charles was, but David, Kim, and I went through the songs at her rehearsal place here in LA and we made an agreement. We were going to give it a shot, and if it ain’t working we were going to shake hands and say, “Okay, we tried, but we’re not doing this.” But from the get-go, we were like, “Shit, we never really lost a step. It’s still here.”
FretBuzz: You toured for another 10 years before you decided to record together again. And then in 2014 you released Indie Cindy, a collection of previously written B-sides as a way to test the waters. Obviously, the water was fine, and between 2014 and 2024, you recorded another four albums, the most recent being The Night the Zombies Came.
Santiago: We never knew it was going to be so long before we did another record, and after a while, when it was going a long time, we didn’t want to be a “legacy band” and just keep playing shows with no new songs. We wanted to be a real band. And what do real bands do? They record.
FretBuzz: Let’s talk about The Night the Zombies Came, which is instantly identifiable as a Pixies album. There are great elements of what you’ve done in the past. Some of it is soft and atmospheric, other songs have an acerbic edge. But there’s also a tangible dusky darkness to the music. Did you want to make a more downcast album, something that maybe reflected the social and political climate of the era?
Santiago: No. No. No. We never have any plan going in. Our only goal is not to embarrass ourselves. That’s it. Plain and simple. If you listen to all the records we’ve done, we’ve always done a montage of stuff. We had “Here Comes Your Man” and “Tame” on the same album, Doolittle. Really? We’ve got “Gigantic,” “Where is My Mind?” And Broken Face” [on Surfer Rosa]. There’s just weird, weird stuff on there. There’s never really a theme – maybe lyrically – but you can make sense out of anything. You can look at a cloud and come up with some sort of picture there.
FretBuzz: How did The Night the Zombies Came come together? Did you and Charles work on it in a systematic series of writing sessions in the days following 2022’s Doggerel?
Santiago: No, Charles came up with a bunch of stuff with the producer. And it was the modern way. I’d get it through email. And then I’d listen to it and start working on it and send it back to him.
FretBuzz: Do you have any input on the rhythms that Charles writes or do you stick to creating leads and providing melodies and counter-melodies?
Santiago: Charles already has the rhythm tracks down. So, I just stick to the leads. That’s how we’ve worked for the last three albums or so.
FretBuzz: What kind of gear are you using these days?
Santiago: In the studio I use what I take on the road, which is my [Gibson] Les Paul and my 345. At home, I have a Telecaster and some other guitars, but my amps are set up to play humbuckers so I kinda have to stick to Gibson on tour.
FretBuzz: Amps of choice?
Santiago: I got a Marshall, JCM 800 Channel One, and a Vibralux to get the definition of sound. And then the Marshall blends in so you get this mush.
FretBuzz: Do you enhance your sound with pedals?
Santiago: Not really with Pixies, but I love to play them and I went through a lot of fuzzes. For me, nothing beats the Boss Hyper Fuzz. And I got the OCD and the Atomic Boost from Swort Amps. I like Beetronic stuff. I like their wah. And I have a modern DoD that doesn’t sound like a bluesy wah or a cry baby. It’s got its own sound, which I like.
FretBuzz: What do you do to try to complement Charles’ rhythms or contrast with them in a way that’s pleasing to you?
Santiago: First of all, I use Gibson since he’s in Fender land, so it’s going to sound different.
FretBuzz: Do you use more gain than Charles?
Santiago: I play with a lot of gain. I don’t know what he’s got, but my Marshall is already in the dirty channel. And then I’m going through a boost, and then another boost, and then overdrive, so I’m really overdriving that amp.
FretBuzz: There’s still definition in your playing. How do you prevent the sound from turning into a tornado of noise when you’re using so much gain? Do you dial back the bass and treble or boost the mids?
Santiago: I fool around with the OCD. The Marshall settings have been fixed in place since the late ‘80s. There’s Sharpie on all the settings. I might as well glue the knobs in place. They’ve never moved, and they won’t. It’s just what I prefer.
FretBuzz: Was The Night the Zombies Came easy and enjoyable to record or was there a lot of tooth-pulling in the studio?
Santiago: It was so easy. It was the most comfortable I’ve ever been in the studio. I’m getting more comfortable in that world, in general. But I’m still really self-critical. I’m very hard on myself and in the past that’s been frustrating to me.
FretBuzz: How many takes do you usually end up doing for a part before you’re happy with it?
Santiago: I don’t know how many takes, but a song could take anywhere between 30 minutes and two hours. Usually, I will go in there with a concrete idea when it’s time for me to record. I like to know what I’m going for.
FretBuzz: Did you enter the studio as a band to track the record or did you record your parts separately?
Santiago: We tracked together when Dave was cutting his drums. We’d do a run-through, and then discover things that didn’t sound natural, and make arrangement changes. I’ve found that if we’re fighting a lot about a change, maybe we shouldn’t be doing that part. Or, if we’re fighting about a change because it’s a surprise to us, then we have to keep practicing. It’s good for us to run through it with Dave because then everyone gets the structure. After we’re done, he can focus on the guide track, and we can get started on the overdubbing and concentrate more on the kind of sound we want. And there were instances where we kept my original guitar demo takes. Because sometimes we would listen to it and go, “Well, what’s the point of me doing it again? We got the feel we wanted the first time.”
FretBuzz: You said this was the most comfortable you’ve felt in the studio despite your perfectionist work ethic.
Santiago: I was just surprised at how relaxed I was. At times, I actually had fun. Recording, to me, is work. There’s a lot of pressure. It’s stressful. And this time around, I felt like I had multiple ideas on a lot of things. That was fulfilling for me.
FretBuzz: Do you still enjoy playing the old songs live as opposed to the new material?
Santiago: No, I’ll only enjoy it if the people are enjoying it. I enjoy playing for them. But playing live is weird because having a perfect gig requires so many elements. There’s the audience, the sound of the venue, how the four of us are playing. When it comes together, it’s really magical and that hardly ever happens.
FretBuzz: What’s the difference between a show in which you’ve gone through the motions and a show that you’ve found inspiring?
Santiago: That’s a mystery. We really don’t know when it’s going to go well. To be honest, I would say 25 or 30 percent of the time, I don’t feel like being onstage. It’s tiring out there. There are some nights when you’re just fucking wiped, but those are the nights we do really well. When I’m really tired I tend to play better because I’m just throwing it out there. I’m not overthinking it.
FretBuzz: But you’ve enjoyed the recent shows and not felt over-exerted?
Santiago: Yeah, yeah. The breaks help. The crowds have been great and I’m enjoying everything.
FretBuzz: Do you have songs left over from the Zombies sessions that might find their way onto your next album? Or are you not even thinking that far ahead?
Santiago: We have some songs. We also have other ones from previous records that didn’t make sense at the time. So we have stuff that we might come back to.
FretBuzz: Do you often use material from past sessions on new albums?
Santiago: Not really. Maybe two of them will weasel their way into the mix of new songs we’re working on. But we’ll see. We have enough of the other ones to revisit, but they might not make it again. Sometimes things get left out because they don’t fit in with everything else on the album. And sometimes they get left out for a good reason.
