Kim Shattuck has claimed that the manager of the Pixies tried to intimidate her during her time with the group.
Shattuck was relieved of her duties as bass player in November of this year having been hired to fill in for Kim Deal, who quit the band in June 2013. Her replacement is Paz Lenchatin, who has previously played with Zwan and A Perfect Circle.
Speaking on the Jonah Raydio podcast, Shattuck revealed: “The manager kept trying to make me really nervous. He’s kind of weird. He did it to me and he did it to Joey [Santiago] before the iTunes Roundhouse gig. He goes into my face and goes, ‘Kim, I just wanted you to know that there are gonna be billions of people watching you live and you need to be perfect.’ I laughed, I’m like, ‘Well good thing for me that I never get nervous.’ I heard him do it to Joey, too.”
She also discussed her response to being fired, stating: “They didn’t tell me why or anything, although I had some inkling why. I don’t know whether I’m ready to say or not. But it wasn’t to do with me as much as you’d think.” Referencing singer Black Francis, however, she said: “I’m so not mad at him. I’m really not. He’s not the problem.”
Francis previously downplayed the significance of Shattuck’s departure from the group, stating: “The big question mark is, if it was going so well, why are you changing it up again? I guess it’s a fair question, but what I would say is, just because some shows went well or a recording session went well with somebody, that doesn’t mean that now you guys are married and this is forever. It’s not really how it works when you’re a band. And it’s hard to explain to people, especially if they get emotionally attached to one person.”
Lenchatin will perform with Pixies when the band headline Field Day in London next year. To check the availability of Field Day tickets and get all the latest listings, head to NME.COM/tickets.