When Eugene, OR, comes up in conversation, several fixations quickly pop to the average mind: rain, forest, hippies, marijuana and Ducks. Easy to miss would be a chubby, middle-aged man with a shaved head who often adorns dark sunglasses. But that, perhaps, may be just how Frank Black likes it.
Leisurely enjoying the morning at his home in the rainy college town, the former leader of the Pixies is on daddy duty. “We all have kind of like this flu thing and my wife is eight months pregnant and she’s just wiped out. I’ve got the babies with me downstairs so we may be periodically interrupted,” tells Black through sounds of toddler babble. Already a father of four, his two youngest, Lucy and Jack, can be heard adjoining his every move. “Oh, I see Jack, okay, all right. Let daddy talk on the phone for a few minutes.”
Born Charles Michael Kittridge Thompson IV, the self-titled Frank Black has enjoyed a fairytale career of indie success. The Pixies, both in their efflorescence and after, have been embraced the world over, and Black has since sustained an acclaimed solo career over the course of 16 albums. Returning to the proven stage name of Black Francis for 2007’s fall release Bluefinger, Black has continued channeling the powers of old for his newest output; a seven song EP tagged Sv n F ng rs. The process of writing, recording and producing said record took place over just six days, which Black is quick to downplay. “I don’t know if it’s that big of a deal. As long as I’ve got a day or two in the studio [I can] come up with something. It may not be ‘Hey Jude,’ [laughs] but I’ll come up with something.”
The creative burst came from label Cooking Vinyl simply asking for a b-side. Black, typical of his prolific nature, proceeded to hash out six additional cuts in a flurry. Violet Clark (who also happens to be Black’s wife) and Jason Carter, both of whom joined on Bluefinger, make returns to the studio filling out bass and drums respectively. Carter also wears the producer hat, but more to the tune of engineering assistance and relaxed constructive feedback.

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