Joey Santiago

Santiago was born in Manila, Philippines, on June 10, 1965, the third of six sons of an anesthesiologist. In 1972, when Ferdinand Marcos declared martial law, the family immigrated to the United States. After two years in Yonkers, New York, the family moved to Longmeadow, Massachusetts, where Santiago attended Longmeadow High School and graduated from Wilbraham & Monson Academy in 1983. His first experience with a musical instrument was playing a Hammond organ at the age of eight, but he never took on the instrument seriously because he had to share it with five brothers. Santiago first played a guitar at the age of nine after he noticed a classical guitar hanging on his oldest brother's wall for decoration. The first song he learned to play was The Velvet Underground's "Rock and Roll". As a teenager, Santiago became interested in computer programming, naming his first program "Iggy" and his second "Pop" after punk rocker Iggy Pop. He participated in a cycle ride across the United States in aid of charity, but on completing it did not bother to collect the sponsor's money. He met Charles Thompson, an anthropology student and the future Pixies frontman, after he heard Thompson and his roommate playing their guitars. Santiago rushed home to collect his guitar, and was soon playing "non-blues-scale, non-cover-song rock" with Thompson. Santiago and Thompson shared a room at the start of the second semester. Santiago soon introduced his new roommate to 1970s punk and the music of David Bowie. He later recalled their time together in college: "Charles and I had a suite at the college dorm. We'd go to shows, I remember seeing Black Flag and Angst. Initially, I think we just liked each other. I did notice right away that he was playing music ... He'd write 'em [the songs], and I'd throw my ideas on the guitar." Thompson sent Santiago a letter with the words "We gotta do it, now is the time, Joe, we gotta chase our dreams"; Santiago replied, saying "Yes, now's the time." Upon receiving this reply, Thompson decided to return to Amherst to start a rock band with Santiago. == Career ==

Pixies Upon Thompson's return to Massachusetts, the pair dropped out of college and moved to Boston. They both took temporary jobs in warehouses, with Santiago working for a butcher block company. In January 1986, Santiago formed the Pixies with Thompson. Santiago made the choice to play lead guitar over Bass. The pair arrived at a name after Santiago selected the word randomly from a dictionary and liked the definition, "mischievous little elves." The Pixies rehearsed throughout 1986, and began performing around Boston in late 1986 and during 1987. The band signed to the English independent record label 4AD in 1987. On meeting the head of the label, Ivo Watts-Russell, Santiago remarked: "All I care about is that you make me famous in the Philippines because all the chicks are really pretty". Watts-Russell later said "that's probably all I ever heard Joey really say," and by that time, Santiago's quietness had been noted by those close to the band. The Pixies' first release, Come On Pilgrim, featured his trademark angular lead guitar on tracks such as "The Holiday Song" and "Vamos". After the Pixies next two albums, Surfer Rosa (1988) and Doolittle (1989), the relationship between the band members became strained; they were constantly touring and had released three albums in two years. At the end of 1989, the band announced a break. After the band reconvened in 1990, Santiago contributed to the band's later releases, Bossanova (1990) and Trompe le Monde (1991), adopting a surf guitar style in the former. The Pixies eventually broke up in 1992, mostly due to tensions between Francis and Deal, although the breakup was not publicly announced until 1993. The Martinis and composing After the breakup of the Pixies, Santiago went into a depression for the first couple of years but remained on good terms with bandmate Black Francis (who soon adopted the name Frank Black). Black, who was recording his 1993 debut album, Frank Black, contacted Santiago to ask whether he would contribute lead guitar. Santiago agreed, and moved into Black's old apartment in L.A. on a whim. The band played live only occasionally until 2001. In the mid-1990s, Santiago began to explore audio editing software. He scored the 2003 film The Low Budget Time Machine and wrote two songs, "Birthday Video" and "Fake Purse", for the Showtime television series Weeds in 2005. Mallari and Santiago continued to write new material as part of the Martinis, but no longer played live. Their debut album, Smitten, took two years to write and was released in 2004; the pair collaborated with a number of musicians, including drummer Josh Freese, during the recording. The band simultaneously released The Smitten Sessions, a limited edition EP. Pixies reunion and future projects in 2005 After the Pixies broke up in 1993, Santiago had stayed in touch with every band member. In the summer of 2003, Black decided to begin reuniting the Pixies and called Santiago first. Santiago later explained: "He called me on my cellphone and I was in Cape Cod visiting family. 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 contacted Lovering and Deal to inform them of Black's decision and by the summer of 2004 the band had reunited. Aside from the Pixies and The Martinis, Santiago scored the soundtrack of the documentary Radiant City in 2006. He signed with the commercial sound agency Elias Arts in the same year, and focused on composing music for television commercials. In a March 2006 Billboard.com interview, he dismissed the possibility of a new Pixies album for the time being: "I'd only be interested if it happens in an organic manner; if all our schedules are aligned and we're all feeling it. That's the only reason to do it." Santiago also played a benefit concert for drummer Wally Ingram in February 2007 as part of The Martinis; the band's first gig for six years. ==Musical style==

Santiago describes his guitar playing as "angular and bent," "all derived from guitar moments that perk my ears up". Notable in his style is his use of distortion and feedback to create open spaces. A good example is the intro of "There Goes My Gun". As Santiago was learning the guitar, he saw himself as a self-conscious amateur, and still speaks of a lack of confidence in his playing. Santiago, rather than listening to popular radio, borrowed rock and roll records from the public library as he was growing up; he first discovered Les Paul and Jimi Hendrix, who led 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 discovered jazz and country artists such as Joe Pass and Chet Atkins after studying the liner notes of albums. His stage antics contrasted with his generally quiet demeanor; he often experimented with his guitar and equipment during songs. Deal's husband, John Murphy, said that during performances of "Vamos", which features guitar feedback throughout, Santiago used to "whack the crap out of his amp", often picking up the amplifier and moving it around. == Personal life ==

Santiago has two children. He lives in Los Angeles. In 2016, Santiago checked into a rehabilitation center to treat his alcohol and drug issues. He has since become sober. ==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) • The Night the Zombies Came (2024) ;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) ==Notes==