Kimberley Ann Deal (born June 10, 1961) is an American musician. She was the original bassist and co-vocalist in the alternative rock band <!--- WP:THE policy: "If a band is officially known without a definite article, but the members typically refer to their group as "the (Name)" in everyday speech, then the definite article should be included in running prose."" --->the Pixies from 1986 to 1993 and again from 2004 to 2013. She is the frontwoman of the Breeders, which she formed in 1989.

Deal joined the Pixies in January 1986, adopting the stage name Mrs. John Murphy for the albums Come on Pilgrim and Surfer Rosa. Following Doolittle and the Pixies' hiatus, she formed the Breeders with Tanya Donelly of Throwing Muses, Josephine Wiggs of the Perfect Disaster, and Britt Walford of Slint; following the band's debut album Pod, her twin sister Kelley Deal replaced Donelly.

The Pixies broke up in early 1993, and Deal returned her focus to the Breeders, who released the platinum-selling album Last Splash in 1993, featuring the popular single "Cannonball". In 1994, the Breeders went on hiatus after Kelley entered drug rehabilitation. During the band's hiatus, Deal adopted the stage name Tammy Ampersand and formed the short-lived rock band the Amps, recording a single album, Pacer, in 1995. After her own stint in drug rehabilitation, Deal eventually reformed the Breeders with a new line-up for two more albums, Title TK in 2002 and Mountain Battles in 2008. She returned to the Pixies when the band reunited in 2004.

In 2013, Deal left the Pixies to concentrate on the Breeders, after that band's most famous line-up reunited for a new series of tours celebrating the 20th anniversary of Last Splash. In 2018, the Breeders released their fifth album All Nerve, the first album to reunite the Deals, Wiggs, and Macpherson since Last Splash. In 2024, Deal released her debut solo album, Nobody Loves You More.

Early life

Deal was born in Dayton, Ohio, United States. Both her parents were from coal mining areas of West Virginia. Her father was a laser physicist who worked at the nearby Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. Kim and her identical twin sister Kelley were introduced to music at a young age; the two sang to a "two-track, quarter-inch, tape" when they were "four or five" years old, and grew up listening to hard rock bands such as AC/DC and Led Zeppelin. When Deal was 11, she learned Roger Miller's "King of the Road" on the acoustic guitar. Attending Wayne High School in suburban Huber Heights, she was a cheerleader and often got into conflicts with authority. "We were popular girls," according to Kelley. "We got good grades and played sports." Still, growing up in Dayton was "like living in Russia," according to Kim. A friend of Kelley's living in California sent the Deals cassettes of artists such as James Blood Ulmer, the Undertones, Elvis Costello, Sex Pistols and Siouxsie and the Banshees. "These tapes were our most treasured possession, the only link with civilization," Kim later recalled. and took several jobs in cellular biology, including working in a hospital laboratory and a biochemical lab.

Musical career

The Pixies

Deal became the bassist and backing vocalist for the Pixies in January 1986, after answering an advertisement in the Boston Phoenix that read, "Band seeks bassist into Hüsker Dü and Peter, Paul and Mary. Please – no ." Deal's was the only response, even though her main instrument was guitar; she borrowed Kelley's bass guitar to use in the band. To complete the lineup, she suggested they hire David Lovering, a friend of her husband whom she had met at their wedding reception, as drummer. For the release of the band's first recording, Come on Pilgrim (1987), Deal used the nom de disque "Mrs. John Murphy" in the liner notes, chosen as an ironic feminist joke, after conversing with a woman who wished to be called only by her husband's name.

alt=Kim Deal playing bass at a 2004 Pixies concert in Kansas City alongside Black Francis, under pink lighting|left|thumb|Deal (right) and Black Francis performing in a 2004 Pixies concert

For Surfer Rosa (1988), Deal sang lead vocals on the album's only single, "Gigantic", which she co-wrote with frontman Black Francis. Doolittle followed a year later, with Deal contributing the song "Silver". By this time, however, tensions began to develop between her and Francis, which marred the album's recording sessions. Deal commented that the sessions "went from just all fun to work." Exhaustion from releasing three records in two years and constant touring further contributed to intra-band friction. The tension and exhaustion culminated at the end of the US "Fuck or Fight" tour, where they were too tired to attend the end-of-tour party. The band soon announced a hiatus.

The Breeders

thumb|left|alt=Kim Deal smoking in a dark venue|Deal performing with the Breeders, c. 2002

During a 1988 Pixies tour of Europe with Throwing Muses, Deal began to write new material. As neither band had plans for the short term, Deal discussed possible side projects with Throwing Muses guitarist Tanya Donelly. After rejecting the idea of creating a dance album together, the pair decided to form a new band. Deal named the band the Breeders, after the folk band she formed with Kelley as a teenager, and they recruited Carrie Bradley, violinist and vocalist in Ed's Redeeming Qualities, to record a short demo tape.

The Breeders' demo was sent to 4AD head Ivo Watts-Russell, who immediately signed them to the label. The Breeders allowed Deal to become more active in songwriting, and their debut album, Pod (1990), written primarily by Deal, was recorded in Edinburgh by Surfer Rosa producer Steve Albini. Pod was praised by contemporaries; Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain later named the album one of his favorites and remarked that "I wish Kim was allowed to write more songs for the Pixies."

Bossanova and Trompe le Monde

Deal returned to the US after the recording of Pod, but was then fired from the Pixies. Regardless, she flew out to Los Angeles, where the other members of the band had moved, to meet them, and was accepted back into the band to record Bossanova (1990).

In 2003, Deal moved back to Dayton to care for her mother, who had been diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. In early April 2008, the Breeders released their fourth full-length studio album, Mountain Battles, followed by the EP Fate to Fatal a year later. On June 14, 2013, it was announced that Deal had left the Pixies. She has since posted new solo music on her website. , she has no contact with her former Pixies bandmates, according to Joey Santiago.

Solo releases, LSXX, and All Nerve

In December 2012, Deal played a solo set at the All Tomorrow's Parties "Nightmare Before Christmas" festival in the UK, debuting several new songs. At the same time, she released her first solo single, "Walking with a Killer", and continued to issue further solo releases throughout 2013 and 2014.

In April 2013, 4AD released LSXX, a 20th anniversary edition of the Breeders album Last Splash. Deal reunited with Kelley Deal, Josephine Wiggs, and Jim Macpherson for a Last Splash anniversary tour of North America, Europe, Australia and South America (Brazil and Chile). In August 2014, it was reported that the same lineup was working on new material.

A new single, "Wait in the Car", was released on October 3, 2017. On March 2, 2018, the reunited lineup released All Nerve, their first studio album in ten years, to widespread critical acclaim. In the following months, the Breeders also collaborated on multiple tracks of Courtney Barnett's May 2018 album Tell Me How You Really Feel, with Kim and Kelley singing backing vocals on the singles "Nameless, Faceless" and "Crippling Self-Doubt and a General Lack of Confidence".

In August 2024, Deal announced the pending November 22 release of her debut solo album, Nobody Loves You More, noting it contains several collaborations. Mojo and Uncut listed the album in their year-end rankings of the best albums of 2024, respectively placing it at number six and number forty-two.

Discography

Pixies

  • Come on Pilgrim (1987)
  • Surfer Rosa (1988)
  • Doolittle (1989)
  • Bossanova (1990)
  • Trompe le Monde (1991)

The Breeders

  • Pod (1990)
  • Safari (EP, 1992)
  • Last Splash (1993)
  • Live in Stockholm 1994 (1994)
  • Head to Toe (EP, 1994)
  • Title TK (2002)
  • Mountain Battles (2008)
  • Fate to Fatal (EP, 2009)
  • All Nerve (2018)

The Amps

  • Pacer (1995)

Solo

  • Nobody Loves You More (2024)

Solo singles

  • "Walking with a Killer" b/w "Dirty Hessians" (2012)
  • "Hot Shot" b/w "Likkle More" (2013)
  • "Are You Mine?" b/w "Wish I Was" (2013)
  • "The Root" b/w "Range On Castle" (2014)
  • "Biker Gone" b/w "Beautiful Moon Clear" (2014)
  • "Coast" (2024)
  • "Crystal Breath" (2024)

Equipment

Bass guitars

Kim Deal generally plays four-string solid-body bass guitars and always uses a pick, particularly the "green Dunlops with the little turtle on them", although since the Pixies' reunion she has also been using custom green Dunlops with "KIM" written on them. She prefers having old strings on a bass.

  • Seagull acoustic
  • 1958 Gibson Les Paul Goldtop Reissue – Also played by Joey Santiago up through Surfer Rosa (before he acquired his own) and then by Kelley Deal in the Breeders.
  • 1991 Fender Stratocaster Ultra
  • Trace Elliot bass head
  • Trace Elliot 1048H bass cabinet, 4×10" speakers

Personal life

Deal married John Murphy on Memorial Day in 1985. Murphy co-wrote the Breeders song "Hoverin'" with Deal. The couple divorced in 1988.

When asked if she had a "gay bone" in her body, Deal responded, "You know what? I'm just so...asexual, I wish I had a gay bone."

Deal is an atheist.

References

Notes

Citations

Bibliography

  • The Breeders
  • [ Kim Deal] at AllMusic