Complete List Of The Pixies Band Members

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The Pixies formed in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1986 after Black Francis and Joey Santiago began putting the band together and were joined by bassist Kim Deal and drummer David Lovering. Their early albums, including Surfer Rosa (1988), Doolittle (1989), Bossanova (1990), and Trompe le Monde (1991), helped define the quiet-loud dynamics, fractured guitar textures, surreal lyrics, and melodic instincts that made the group one of the most influential alternative rock bands of its era.

Pixies broke up in 1993 and reunited in 2004. The band has continued recording and touring through several changes in the bass position while Black Francis, Joey Santiago, and David Lovering have remained the core lineup. As of 2026, Emma Richardson is the band’s bassist and backing vocalist, joining the three founding members for the Pixies 40 anniversary tour. The band’s most recent studio album is The Night the Zombies Came, released in 2024.

CURRENT PIXIES BAND MEMBERS

Black Francis (Charles Thompson)

Black Francis, born Charles Michael Kittridge Thompson IV, is the Pixies’ lead vocalist, rhythm guitarist, and principal songwriter. He co-founded the band in 1986 with Joey Santiago and wrote most of the group’s best-known songs, including “Where Is My Mind?,” “Debaser,” “Monkey Gone to Heaven,” and “Here Comes Your Man.” His songwriting combines surreal imagery, religion, science fiction, violence, humor, and sudden shifts between melody and abrasion. After the Pixies initially broke up, he launched a prolific solo career as Frank Black and later recorded extensively with Frank Black and the Catholics. He returned when the Pixies reunited in 2004 and has remained the band’s creative center through its post-reunion albums and 2026 anniversary touring.

Joey Santiago

Joey Santiago is the Pixies’ lead guitarist and one of the band’s founding members. His playing is central to the group’s identity, using bent notes, dissonance, feedback, unusual phrasing, and melodic hooks instead of conventional rock-guitar soloing. His parts on songs such as “Where Is My Mind?,” “Vamos,” “Debaser,” and “Gigantic” helped establish a guitar vocabulary that influenced generations of alternative and indie rock musicians. During the Pixies’ original breakup, Santiago worked on film and television music and formed The Martinis with his wife, Linda Mallari. He returned for the 2004 reunion and continues as a founding member of the current lineup.

David Lovering

David Lovering has been the Pixies’ drummer since the group’s formation in 1986. His controlled but forceful playing is a major part of the band’s famous quiet-loud dynamic, giving Black Francis and Joey Santiago room to move between sparse passages and explosive sections. Lovering played on all of the classic Pixies albums and has also contributed occasional vocals, including the lead vocal on “La La Love You” from Doolittle. During the band’s long hiatus he pursued other interests, including performing as a magician under the name The Scientific Phenomenalist. Lovering rejoined the Pixies in 2004 and remains the drummer in the band’s 2026 lineup.

Emma Richardson

Emma Richardson joined the Pixies in 2024 after the departure of Paz Lenchantin. Best known previously as the bassist and vocalist for Band of Skulls, Richardson took over bass and backing-vocal duties for the Pixies’ 2024 touring schedule and has remained with the band since then. She also contributed bass and vocals to The Night the Zombies Came, the Pixies album released in October 2024. Richardson’s voice became especially noticeable in the harmonies on the new material, adding another vocal texture to the band’s current sound. She remains the Pixies’ bassist for the band’s 2026 40th-anniversary touring lineup.

FORMER PIXIES BAND MEMBERS

Kim Deal

Kim Deal was the Pixies’ original bassist and one of the defining voices of the band’s first era. She joined in 1986 and played on Come On Pilgrim, Surfer Rosa, Doolittle, Bossanova, and Trompe le Monde, while also contributing backing and occasional lead vocals. Deal co-wrote and sang lead on “Gigantic,” one of the band’s signature early songs, and her understated bass playing gave the Pixies’ guitar noise a powerful rhythmic foundation. During the Pixies’ original run she also formed The Breeders, whose 1993 album Last Splash became a major alternative rock success. Deal returned for the Pixies’ 2004 reunion and remained through the early sessions for the band’s comeback recordings before leaving in 2013.

Paz Lenchantin

Paz Lenchantin first joined the Pixies as a touring bassist in 2014 following Kim Shattuck’s brief period with the band. She became an official permanent member in 2016 and played bass, violin, keyboards, and backing vocals while also contributing occasional lead vocals. Lenchantin appeared on Head Carrier (2016), Beneath the Eyrie (2019), and Doggerel (2022), becoming an important part of the Pixies’ post-reunion studio identity. Before joining the group she had played with A Perfect Circle, Zwan, and other projects. The Pixies announced her departure in March 2024, after which Emma Richardson joined the touring lineup and later contributed to The Night the Zombies Came.

TOURING AND SESSION MUSICIANS

Kim Shattuck

Kim Shattuck briefly served as the Pixies’ touring bassist in 2013 after Kim Deal left the group. Best known as the singer and guitarist for The Muffs, Shattuck brought her own energetic punk-pop personality to the live lineup. She did not become a studio member of the Pixies and was not part of the recordings that became Indie Cindy. Her stint ended late in 2013, and Paz Lenchantin was announced as the next touring bassist shortly afterward. Shattuck died in 2019, leaving behind a highly respected body of work with The Muffs and several other bands.

Simon “Ding” Archer

Simon “Ding” Archer was a session bassist for the Pixies during the 2012 recording sessions that eventually produced the material collected on Indie Cindy. A former member of The Fall and an experienced producer and multi-instrumentalist, Archer was brought in after Kim Deal left the sessions at Rockfield Studios in Wales. His bass appears on the recordings released through the Pixies’ 2013 and 2014 EPs and later compiled as Indie Cindy. He was not the band’s touring bassist in 2012, despite the way the older version of this article described his role. Kim Shattuck and then Paz Lenchantin handled the live bass position after Deal’s departure.

Eric Drew Feldman

Eric Drew Feldman worked with the Pixies during the Trompe le Monde era in 1991 as an auxiliary keyboard and synthesizer player. Known for his work with Captain Beefheart, Pere Ubu, and later Frank Black, Feldman contributed keyboards and electronic textures to the album. He also toured with the Pixies after the record’s release, expanding the live arrangements beyond the band’s standard four-piece setup. His relationship with Black Francis continued after the Pixies’ breakup, when he became an important collaborator on Frank Black’s early solo records. Feldman’s role was temporary, but he remains one of the best-documented additional musicians to have worked with the band during its original era.

Check out more Pixies articles on ClassicRockHistory.com.

Read More: Top 10 Pixies Songs

Updated September 21, 2026.