FRANK BLACK

With the classic 1989 album Doolittle, Pixies became one of the most beloved indie rock units of the 80s. Before Radiohead and Nirvana borrowed the idea, no band was as closely associated with the ‘quiet/loud’ songwriting trick, and much of that dynamic came down to the interplay between rhythm guitarist/telecaster fan Frank

Black and lead guitarist/les Paul player Joey Santiago. Live, Santiago handled most of the fiddly stuff, with Black often waiting out the verses then weighing in with no-nonsense chords on the chorus – his Tele’s bright single coils offering a punky, angular counterpoint to Santiago’s thick humbuckers. Black keeps vintage models in his touring rack to this day.