Joey Santiago facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Joey Santiago
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Santiago performing in 2017
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Joseph Alberto Santiago |
| Born | June 10, 1965 Manila, Philippines |
| Origin | Longmeadow, Massachusetts, U.S. |
| Genres | Alternative rock |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, composer |
| Instruments | Guitar |
| Years active | 1986–present |
Joseph Alberto Santiago (born June 10, 1965) is an American musician and composer. He is best known as the co-founder and lead guitarist of the alternative rock band Pixies. He has been active in music since 1986.
After the Pixies broke up in 1993, Santiago created music for movies and TV shows. He also started a band called The Martinis with Linda Mallari. He played guitar on albums for other musicians, including his former Pixies bandmate Frank Black. Santiago returned to play lead guitar for the Pixies when they reunited in 2004. He describes his guitar playing as "angular and bent." He was inspired by famous guitarists like Les Paul, George Harrison, and Jimi Hendrix. Many critics have praised his guitar playing as a key part of the Pixies' unique sound.
Contents
Early Life and Musical Beginnings
Santiago was born in Manila, Philippines, on June 10, 1965. He was the third of six sons. In 1972, his family moved to the United States. They lived in Yonkers, New York, for two years before moving to Longmeadow, Massachusetts. Santiago went to Longmeadow High School and later graduated from Wilbraham & Monson Academy in 1983.
He first tried playing a Hammond organ when he was eight. However, he didn't play it much because he had to share it with his five brothers. Santiago started playing guitar at age nine. He saw a classical guitar hanging on his oldest brother's wall. The first song he learned to play was "Rock and Roll" by The Velvet Underground.
As a teenager, Santiago also liked computer programming. He named his first two programs "Iggy" and "Pop" after the punk rocker Iggy Pop.
College and Meeting Frank Black
After high school, Santiago studied at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. He didn't choose a major right away, but later picked economics. At college, he met Charles Thompson, who would become the lead singer of the Pixies. Santiago heard Thompson and his roommate playing guitars. He quickly went to get his own guitar and soon they were playing music together.
Santiago and Thompson shared a room in their second semester. Santiago introduced Thompson to 1970s punk music and David Bowie. Santiago remembered their time in college: "Charles and I had a suite at the college dorm. We'd go to shows, I remember seeing Black Flag and Angst." He added that Thompson would write songs, and he would add his guitar ideas.
In their second year, Thompson went to Puerto Rico as an exchange student. After six months, Thompson sent Santiago a letter saying, "We gotta do it, now is the time, Joe, we gotta chase our dreams." Santiago replied, "Yes, now's the time." After getting this reply, Thompson returned to Amherst to start a rock band with Santiago.
Music Career
Forming the Pixies
When Thompson returned to Massachusetts, both he and Santiago left college. They moved to Boston and took temporary jobs. In January 1986, Santiago and Thompson formed the Pixies. Santiago chose to play lead guitar. They picked the name "Pixies" after Santiago found the word in a dictionary and liked its meaning, "mischievous little elves."
A week later, they found bassist Kim Deal through an ad in a Boston newspaper. Drummer David Lovering joined the band after Deal's husband recommended him. The Pixies practiced throughout 1986 and began performing in Boston in late 1986 and 1987.
The band signed with the English record label 4AD in 1987. When Santiago met the label head, Ivo Watts-Russell, he joked, "All I care about is that you make me famous in the Philippines because all the chicks are really pretty." Santiago was known for being quiet around the band. The Pixies' first release, Come On Pilgrim, showed off his unique guitar style on songs like "The Holiday Song."
Pixies' Success and Breakup
After their albums Surfer Rosa (1988) and Doolittle (1989), the band members felt stressed. The Pixies were constantly touring and had released three albums in two years. During a concert in Boston, Santiago smashed his guitar and left the stage. The band announced a break soon after. During this time, Santiago visited the Grand Canyon to "find himself."
The band reunited in 1990. Santiago played on their later albums, Bossanova (1990) and Trompe le Monde (1991). He used a "surf guitar" style in Bossanova. The Pixies eventually broke up in 1992, mainly due to disagreements between Francis and Deal. The breakup was announced publicly in 1993.
The Martinis and Composing Music
After the Pixies broke up, Santiago was sad for a few years. However, he remained friends with Frank Black. Black asked Santiago to play lead guitar on his 1993 debut album, Frank Black. Santiago agreed and moved to Los Angeles. Santiago played lead guitar on several of Frank Black's solo albums, including Teenager of the Year (1994). He also played on Steve Westfield's 1994 album Mangled.
A year later, Santiago formed The Martinis with Linda Mallari. By the end of the 1990s, they had only released one song, "Free" (1995). This song appeared on the soundtrack for the movie Empire Records. The band played live only a few times until 2001.
In the mid-1990s, Santiago started learning about audio editing software. He composed music for several independent films, including Crime and Punishment in Suburbia in 2000. He also helped score the TV series Undeclared for the Fox Network. He continued to play lead guitar on albums, working with Charles Douglas on his 2004 album Statecraft. He composed music for the 2003 film The Low Budget Time Machine. He also wrote two songs, "Birthday Video" and "Fake Purse," for the Showtime TV series Weeds in 2005.
Mallari and Santiago kept writing new music for The Martinis. Their first album, Smitten, took two years to create and was released in 2004. Santiago described the album as "a lot poppier and quirkier" than their earlier music.
Pixies Reunion and Other Projects
After the Pixies broke up in 1993, Santiago stayed in touch with all the band members. In the summer of 2003, Frank Black decided to reunite the Pixies and called Santiago first. Santiago later said, "He called me on my cellphone... He said in this coy voice, 'Hey Joey, uh, you been hearin' these rumors that we're getting back together? Gee, I wonder who started it?' I go, 'Charles, did you do that?' and he goes, 'Yeah.'" Santiago then told Lovering and Deal about Black's idea. By the summer of 2004, the band had reunited.
DreamWorks asked the Pixies to write a song for the Shrek 2 movie soundtrack in early 2004. They agreed, and recorded early versions of the song in Santiago's basement. The band used Santiago's experience with soundtracks to refine the song. DreamWorks rejected the song, so the band released it as a single called "Bam Thwok".
Besides the Pixies and The Martinis, Santiago composed the music for the documentary Radiant City in 2006. He also started working with Elias Arts, a company that creates music for TV commercials. In 2006, he said that a new Pixies album would only happen if everyone's schedules aligned and they all felt ready. In February 2007, The Martinis played their first concert in six years to support drummer Wally Ingram.
Musical Style and Influences
Santiago describes his guitar playing as "angular and bent." He says his style comes from guitar sounds that "perk my ears up." He often uses distortion and feedback in his music, leaving open spaces in the sound. A good example is the beginning of the song "There Goes My Gun."
He credits much of his style to songs he loved when he first learned guitar. For example, he liked the "bent note" that George Harrison played in The Beatles' "Savoy Truffle." He used similar techniques with the Pixies. For instance, the song "Dead" from Doolittle starts with Santiago's guitar making a "squawking" sound like a "wounded animal." When he was learning guitar, Santiago saw himself as an amateur and still sometimes lacks confidence in his playing.
Instead of listening to popular radio, Santiago borrowed rock and roll records from the public library as he grew up. He first discovered Les Paul and Jimi Hendrix, which led him to jazz guitarist Wes Montgomery. Santiago later commented on Montgomery's influence: "And that's when I said, 'Ah, that's a hook. That's some hooky stuff in the jazz world'." He found jazz and country artists like Joe Pass and Chet Atkins by reading album notes. Santiago was also influenced by the "Hendrix chord," a special guitar chord that added a powerful feeling to Thompson's singing. As a teenager, Santiago also listened to classic rock and protopunk artists like The Who, The Rolling Stones, The Velvet Underground, and Iggy Pop.
Santiago's stage actions often stood out compared to his quiet personality. He would often experiment with his guitar and equipment during songs. During some guitar solos, Santiago would pull the guitar up to his mouth and break guitar strings with his teeth.
Personal Life
Santiago has two children and lives in Los Angeles. In March 2022, he announced his engagement to producer Erin Whitaker.
Discography
- Pixies
- Surfer Rosa (1988)
- Doolittle (1989)
- Bossanova (1990)
- Trompe le Monde (1991)
- Indie Cindy (2014)
- Head Carrier (2016)
- Beneath the Eyrie (2019)
- Doggerel (2022)
- Frank Black
- Frank Black (1993)
- Teenager of the Year (1994)
- Dog in the Sand (2001)
- Devil's Workshop (2002)
- Show Me Your Tears (2003)
- Frank Black Francis (additional editing, 2004)
- The Martinis
- Smitten (2004)
- The Smitten Sessions (2004)
- The Everybody
- Avatar (2009)
- Other appearances
Santiago is credited as guitar unless otherwise specified:
- Mangled (Steve Westfield, 1994)
- Stuff (Holly McNarland, 1997)
- It Came from the Barn (producer) (Pajama Slave Dancers, 1997)
- Home Is Where My Feet Are (Holly McNarland, 2002)
- Statecraft (Charles Douglas, 2004)
- Weeds: Music from the Original Series (composed and performed "Birthday Video" and "Fake Purse") (Weeds, 2005)
- In Pursuit Of Your Happiness (Mark Mulcahy, 2005)
- Songs About Time (The Rentals, 2009)
- Twistable, Turnable Man: A Musical Tribute To The Songs Of Shel Silverstein (Various Artists, 2010)
- A Walk with Love & Death (Melvins, 2017)
See also
In Spanish: Joey Santiago para niños
