Black Francis (a.k.a. Frank Black, a.k.a. Charles Thompson IV, a.k.a. “Sugarbear”) is perhaps best known as the frontman for the veteran indie-rock poster-band known as Pavement. He is perhaps known second-best-ish-ly well as the honey-voiced man behind those famous 1980s Golden Crisp cereal commercials. Given all of this notoriety, it is sometimes hard to remember that Mr. Francis is also a talented singer/songwriter in his own right (his latest release, NonStopErotik is available now on Cooking Vinyl).
Next week, Frank will force us all to reckon with his solo-artist status on a small tour, during which he will perform a very unique and memorable selection of songs from his 20-year career, including “Cut Your Hair,” “Two Headed Boy, Pt. 1,” “Lady Picture Show,” and fan-favorite “With a Little Help from My Friends.” Francis will also be joined on-stage at many of these shows by his friend and former collaborator Eric Drew Feldman, with whom he most notably co-produced Tripping Daisy’s 1998 smash album Jesus Hits Like the Atom Bomb. The two of them also have some connection or another to a band listed on Wikipedia as “The Pixies.” Hey, I remember them. They did that “Possum Kingdom” song, didn’t they? Man, the 90s were rad.
Black Francis tourdates:
08.15.10 - Big Sur, CA - Henry Miller Library Outdoors **
08.16.10 - Santa Barbara-Goleta, CA - Mercury Lounge **
08.17.10 - Visalia, CA - Cellar Door **
08.18.10 - San Francisco, CA - Great American Music Hall **
08.19.10 - Saratoga, CA - Mountain Winery **
08.20.10 - Portland, OR - Portland Zoo **
08.21.10 - Seattle, WA - Triple Door (2 shows) **
08.22.10 - Vancouver, BC - Malkin Bowl **
09.02.10 - Wellfleet, MA - Beachcomber
09.03.10 - New York City, NY - Joe’s Pub
09.04.10 - New York City, NY - Joe’s Pub
** Eric Drew Feldman
• Black Francis: http://www.blackfrancis.net
• Cooking Vinyl: http://www.cookingvinyl.com
[Photo: Angie Garrett]