Kim Shattuck Opens Up About Pixies Firing

Kim Shattuck has opened up about being dismissed from her short role as touring bassist for the Pixies. In a recent interview with NME, the Muffs frontwoman said that she learned she was getting the ax during a phone call with the band’s manager. “I would have preferred if they told me face-to-face as a group, but they’re nice people,” she said. “I’m still a fan of the Pixies!”

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Shattuck joined the Pixies in July, replacing founding bassist Kim Deal, who had abruptly quit the band the month before. Shattuck toured with them through the summer, traveling to Europe and playing on TV appearances. “Everything had gone well, the reviews were all good and the fans were super-nice about everything. They were like, ‘We love you, New Kim!'” she says. “We said goodbye at the airport and the following morning the manager called me and said, ‘The band has made the decision to go with another bass player.’ I was shocked.”

Shattuck speculates that problems may have arisen because the other Pixies are “more introverted people” than she is. She recalled a show at the Mayan Theater in Los Angeles where her enthusiasm led her to jump into the crowd. “I know they weren’t thrilled about that,” she said. “When I got offstage, the manager told me not to do that again. I said, ‘Really, for my own safety?’ And he said, ‘No, because the Pixies don’t do that.'”

The Pixies announced on Monday that they’ve hired Paz Lenchantin of a Perfect Circle and the Entrance Band as their replacement bassist. The band kicks off their North American tour with a stop in Toronto on January 15th and will be hitting the festival circuit in South America and Europe starting in the spring.