An open letter to Frank Black (or is it Black Francis?)

When I heard you were taking The Pixies on tour with the plan to play Dolittle from start to finish, well that just made my day. As a lad growing up in the hair band wilderness of the late 80s, Dolittle was the bright shining light that led me into a vast world of musical nirvana (yes, that word is used on purpose). Dolittle is a desert island record, a perfect 40-minute masterpiece inspiring so many to follow it needs to be enshrined in a Hall of Fame somewhere.

But then I saw the dates of the tour, and I must say, it left me forlorn. Look, I know Chicago, L.A., New York, Boston and Seattle are easy picks to make, you guys sell out there in minutes. And then I thought, OK, just huge cities, but there sat Eugene, Oregon, and that got me a bit riled.

Why can’t you come anywhere in the South? Trust me, people love the Pixies here, they really do. I was in a coffee bar a few weeks ago, donning my Pixies shirt proudly, when the guy behind the counter gasped.

“Are you Frank Black?” he said.

I guess my bald head and T-shirt gave him sudden pause.

“No,” I said. “Today I’m Black Francis.”

“Really? Cause if you are, I’m about to die.”

Not wanting a dead barista and really wanting my coffee, I relented and told him sadly I was not Frank Black. Somehow I don’t think you wear Pixies shirts to coffee bars.

“Well if you were, that would be awesome, because I love the Pixies,” he said.

He was 25 years old.

You are loved down here, so I beg you, I implore you, to consider adding a show in the South (Atlanta is great, but hey we love you here in Athens way, way much. There’s a cover band called Chien Andalusia, and they rock the loud/quiet/loud. You can stay with Stipe, or at his house if he’s not here. Think about it, five nights at the 40 Watt – it would be epic).

So Frank, or Black, or Charles, please consider this request.

You never know who you could inspire next.

By the way, for those in lucky cities, here's the lineup:

Nov. 4 - Los Angeles, CA @ The Palladium (on sale TBA)
Nov. 8 - Oakland, CA @ Fox Theater (on sale August 16)
Nov. 9 - Oakland, CA @ Fox Theater (on sale August 16)
Nov. 12 - Seattle, WA @ Paramount Theatre (on sale August 1)
Nov. 13 - Seattle, WA @ Paramount Theatre (on sale August 1)
Nov. 14 - Eugene, OR @ Hult Center (on sale August 14)
Nov. 16 - Denver, CO @ The Fillmore (on sale September 12)
Nov. 20 - Chicago, IL @ Aragon Ballroom (on sale September 12)
Nov. 21 - Chicago, IL @ Aragon Ballroom (on sale September 12)
Nov. 23 - New York, NY @ Hammerstein Ballroom (on sale August 14)
Nov. 24 - New York, NY @ Hammerstein Ballroom (on sale August 14)
Nov. 25 - New York, NY @ Hammerstein Ballroom (on sale August 14)
Nov. 27 - Boston, MA @ Wang Center (on sale September 12)
Nov. 30 - Washington, D.C. @ Constitution Hall (on sale September 11)

- Ed Morales, listening mournfully to Gouge Away by The Pixies