Frank Black: Frank Black and the Catholics
by Chris M. Short
published: November 1998, Tidal Wave Magazine, Issue Three
 

Frank Black is back, making a comeback of sorts. This time he has a band called The Catholics. That is Frank Black and the Catholics. This is a band, folks. The lingering ghost of the Pixies has dogged Black throughout his solo career. Perhaps that contributed to his nearly electronica rendition of Brian Wilson's "Hang On To Your Ego." That cover tune is as far away from what made the Pixies as he could get. One can't blame the man. Critics consistently have looked high and low for the Pixies in each Frank Black record.

"We just wanted to change the name a bit. Perhaps, try and regain some of that "bandness" that I've lost on paper, in the papers, by being solo. Which is what happens, you know," states Black. Frank Black and the Catholics is a band made up of David MacCaffery (bass, background vocals), Scott Boutier (drums), and, for the recording, Lyle Workman (guitar, background vocals). Boutier is from the band, Miracle Legion and Workman has worked with Bourgeois Tagg and Todd Rundgren in addition to extensive session work. They were also with Black on 1996's The Cult of Ray. Black hasn't exactly considered himself completely solo. "Whether you're a solo performer or whether you're in a band with a name, it's still a band," he says with a geekish laugh. He continues, "That's the truth. You have a drummer [laugh], you have a bass player, you got a guitar player, whatever. You make music. If you are playing in night club, you charge money, and people purchase tickets and you are gonna put on a show [laughs]. Everything is the same really, there is a lot of stuff that is the same. But anyway, it is never perceived that way. A band is like a sports team. With a magical lineup, if you are a solo guy then everyone you are playing with is a hired gun. There is some truth in those beliefs. They're also exaggerated in those cases."

Fans and critics alike buy into the sports team analogy. It is increasingly difficult to shed the past when your band was as magical as the Pixies. "I mean it is a little bit of a declaration. There is already a lineup change, unfortunately. We are on tour with a new guitar player," explains Black. Lyle Workman isn't on the road this time around; Rich Gilbert (who has played with Human Sexual Response, Zulus, and Concussion Ensemble) is the new guitarist for the tour. I guess one could say The Catholics have fallen victim to free agency.

Black admits a desire to differentiate his current work from the past, but finds it somewhat difficult. When asked how The Catholics differ from the Pixies, he brings up the recording method. "I don't know if recording live to two-track is going to be the thing distinguishes Frank Black & The Catholics, but so far that is the only kind of recording we have done," says Black. Another element that distinguishes the Catholics is they (the band) understands their roles. "The set of circumstances, these guys have been playing with me for a few years now. You know, I don't think it's a kind of band where the drummer is gonna show up at rehearsal next week and say, 'Hey, I got this little song I've been working on..' [laughs] 'I'm gonna show it to you.' I think they know what I'm about, they like the music, they like being players," Black adds with a devious smile in his voice.

One listen to Frank Black and the Catholics demonstrates a rawness, the sound of a garage band. Black, again, attributes this to the live to two track recording process. "It certainly feels good to have the pendulum swing the other way for awhile, especially all those Pixies records, well, every record I've ever made has been done in this multi-track kind of way. Where you might attempt something live as a backing track. But then it all gets taken apart and you end up redoing every damn note. That's the way I've done all my records. That's the way most people do their records. So it feels really good to play, [in macho voice] like men. Have it be recorded and that's it. Your record is done in just a few days," explains Black.

This may very well be the most pure rock and roll record Frank Black has made (certainly the most energetic since his work with the Pixies). The record is raw, but not "under-produced." It sounds good, not some lo-fi bedroom recording. There also is a sort of intimacy of the recording. One of the aspects of lo-fi bedroom recordings espouse is the feeling the process evokes. The feeling that you are present with the band while they are recording. The beginning of "All My Ghosts" has a "band-warming-up-by-goofing-off" feel to it with Black (or someone) saying "Ok, I'm ready" then the band goes into playing the "Green Acres" theme. The band then plays the opening riff once, stops abruptly, and then goes again. Throughout the record the two track captures the rawness of an older Frank Black, the hum of the amps, the heavy bass drum kick, and raw, blistering guitar solos.

Maybe the coolest thing about the recording is Black's guitar is in the left channel, with Workman's in the right. This makes listening with headphones very cool. Fans of Black's hyperkinetic rhythm guitar style that he honed with the Pixies, can pick it up like never before. And because the recording was done live, that intimacy is achieved seamlessly. Sure it is imitate, but it also possesses a reckless quality, that is associated with live performances. Black's vocals seem to have gone through a bit of a change. Gone is that trademark falsetto, well at least on every track. On songs like "I Need Peace," "Solid Gold," and "Suffering", Black sings much lower while maintaining that intensity he is known for. Black is skeptical, "Well, I don't know, it's not a change that I would have noticed," and, while yawning, he adds, "They're just songs, I can't say there are any voices that are new, it's just like singing, to me."

The two track recording affected how Black writes songs. "I had to finish a bunch of the songs so that they were totally finished, lyrics and everything. And that is something I had gotten away from, being a mildly successful 'cult guy.' Because I could afford to hang out in the studio, in the past, with the Pixies especially. Just write lyrics in the studio, and write arrangements in the studio," states Black. He acknowledges that spending time in the studio "goofing around" can yield good results, but it also can be a constraint. "I guess there is something to be said for doing all of your homework on the songs before you record the first note. So it has affected my songwriting, it forced me to be more traditional about my approach to recording a record. You know, finish the song first, stop goofing around, and relying on the psychedelics of multi-track recording to come up with something interesting," he explains. Speaking, perhaps, from experience, "Because you can come up with something interesting in that writing in the studio type of situation, you can also end up relying on it way too much and getting mediocre results. Perhaps not realizing you are getting mediocre results. It's hard to have perspective when you are in the studio, because you are so excited, and it's so much fun, so I do recognize that you can lose perspective and perhaps come up with something that isn't so hot," he admits.

Frank Black and the Catholics exhibits a more straight ahead rock sound than his previous work. At times, the record borders on a sort of garage power pop, but Black doesn't see it that way, he sees it simply as rock and roll. "I understand what power pop means but I don't really classify any particular rock music as power pop in my own mind. It's all kind of just rock music whether it's Jerry Lee Lewis, or whether it's the Rasberries or whether its Backstreet Boys. It's all pop music, well, rock music. Obviously I have my preferences, I would way rather sit around and listen to the Clash than I would whatever the new goofy hamburger band is being played to death on MTV. But as you know, as someone once said, 'It's all disco,' and I sort of like that statement," he says with that devious smile in his voice.

Lyrics are always interesting when Black is behind the pen. Black Francis introduced us to Tony, Surfer Rosa, Crackity Jones, Mr. Grieves, Velouria, and others, while he was in the Pixies. This record is no different. Peter Radiator is another character from the mind of Frank Black. "The Man Who was Too Loud" is a tribute of sorts to Modern Lover Jonathan Richman, that some have derived a double meaning that the song refers to Black as well ("I didn't intend for it to be interpreted that way, although I did realize at one point that it probably would be. So I get a kick out of that possible interpretation, but it was never intended when I wrote it, there is no double meaning). Crafted cleverly and, somewhat obtusely, one never really understands the "meaning." Black explains the purpose of his lyrics, (stories? Autobiographical? Both?): "It depends on the song. You know, every possible combination of types of songs, whether they are stories or biographical or mumbo jumbo or a combination. Personal, impersonal or whatever, it's all there. It's all one big hodge podge on every record."

Biblical figures also creep in (like Cain and Abel, angels, theological terms like ressurection and incarnation), even a cover of God-rocker Larry Norman's "Six-Sixty-Six". "I don't know, I guess my own exposure to it," states Black when queried about his exposure to church or religion. "As far as incorporating those biblical references into music. To me, that is pretty standard in rock and roll or blues music you know. I'm not saying with everybody. Certainly there is a history of that or tradition of it. I think it is scattered all throughout most of rock music. Not every band, every song, every album, but it's there," he explains, and then laughing adds, "There's a copy of the bible in every hotel room."

Probably the most random thing about the record is Black's cover of Larry Norman's "Six-Sixty-Six". He explains how he came to the point of putting the song on a record, "Probably in the late 70s when I was a young teenager, Larry Norman was my hero. I had all his records. I used to dress up like him, and wear my hair like him and go see him in concert. I've always like that "Six-Sixty-Six" song." Black is a genuine fan of Norman, who has come to FB&C shows a few times. "I've always wanted to tip the hat to him… although most people aren't going to know who he is in the circle that I work in. Anyway I think he appreciated it. He is a real nice guy," says Black.

Black isn't content to sit back and see how the record sells. Currently, the band is out on tour supporting the record, finding themselves slated for some dates with Pearl Jam on the west coast. When they return from the road, they will be back in the studio to finish up a new record ("We already went back into the studio. And we are going back in at the end of this tour. Hopefully, our new record will be out in early 99"). And it will be live to two track. As for the future? "I don't like to pencil stuff on the calendar too far in advance. I don't have any vision or anything really," he says while yawning.

While many rockers get increasingly boring with age, Frank Black has reinvented himself. With the backing of a band, he captures a youthful, raw sound that can please any fan of rock and roll music. With Pixies revivalism gaining a sort of indie cred-like momentum, it is amazing to see Black's current work with his new band being "ignored." Frank Black is "the man who was too loud." Rather than lashing out at the industry for ignoring this record, or being annoyed with the Pixies revivalism, he just keeps churning out quality rock and roll records. He possesses a healthy self-confidence that enables him to do what he wants to do, without worrying about mass acceptance. Yes, the Pixies were amazing, but take a break from the past, and listen to the present that is Frank Black and the Catholics.

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