With a new Pixies album, Beneath The Eyrie, released next week, GQ sat down with frontman Black Francis in a darkened room in the Royal Garden Hotel to discuss root vegetables, seersucker suits and why it’s good to read up on Miles Davis before you listen to his music.

GQ’s buying a round. What’s your poison?

Well, at the moment, it's not alcoholic. I’ve become fond of a non-alcoholic beverage made here in the UK called Seedlip. How it's made is similar in the way that gin is distilled and uses a certain herb recipe. I have to say, a Seedlip and tonic is pretty damn good if you like the taste of a mixed drink.

Do you have a favourite fictional hero?

You know, I guess probably Alice in Wonderland – Through The Looking-Glass – because she's from the very early days of my youth, but also because the author has armed her with a witty ability to converse with all of the other characters. I like that. She's funny and she's smart. I guess she's a heroic character.

What's your greatest fear?

It changes all the time. I suppose it’s not being able to do my job. I’ve had the classic dream where I show up at a gig and we don't know the song and the whole show just falls apart. We have to walk offstage in shame and everyone's confused – and there’s not even that many people there.

Has that ever happened in real life?

Not that long ago, I performed with a few friends of mine at a memorial for a friend of ours who had passed away. There were lots of other musicians performing. Most of the other musicians were jazz musicians and they were very good at what they do. Even though we'd played together before, we didn't have as good a grasp of the material as we thought we did and it was pretty embarrassing. And also, because it wasn't a proper gig, because it was this memorial, it felt like we should have done a really great job and we did a pretty shitty job. It wasn’t just one song; it was, like, six. One train wreck after the other, in front of all these jazz musicians, who were just looking at us going like, “What are you guys doing? This is, like, shameful, you know?” It was awful. But we suspect that our friend who passed away would have gotten a pretty big kick out of it.

What’s your cast-iron guy tip?

Cologne.

Any specific cologne?

No. Just find one you like and don't be afraid to use a little too much: it'll evaporate and you won't smell too strongly forever. I think that cologne is a good thing. Perfume is a nice invention of civilisation. I mean, it's been around for a really long time, but before you called it cologne or perfume, you could say people applied other things to their bodies to give them a different aroma other than what they would naturally produce.

Find a cologne you like and don't be afraid to use a little too much: it'll evaporate and you won't smell too strongly forever

If it's in a vaporiser and it's got a lot of alcohol and it smells good, you could clean surfaces with it. My impression is that it's a fairly sterile liquid. It's multipurpose. You don't have to use it just on your body: you can freshen up your clothing with it.

Which book have you read the most often?

I don't have that many strong allegiances to books. I like books, but I don't reread them so many times. I go back once in a while to the books of Richard Brautigan, having read all of his books, but life's too short to read the same book.

What would others consider to be your greatest virtue?

I don't know if it's a virtue as much as a tendency, but I like taking care of people. Family members, kids, romantic partners, band members, whatever – I feel like I have purpose when I'm making sure everyone has what they want to eat, what they want to drink, that they're getting their needs met, that everyone's having fun. I enjoy that.

What would be on your coat of arms?

The onion. Some form of the onion, because it's an amazing vegetable. There’s all different kinds. I think I would be sad if it didn't exist; they’re a formative part of a lot of cuisine around the world and I just think they're good. Raw, cooked, fried, boiled, pickled, chopped whole. They're just cool.

Just an onion? You can add other things.

Oh, I see. Well, I’d put a little bit of garlic in there. Maybe herbes de Provence or a splattering of marjoram and lavender.

But all round, a focus on root vegetables?

Yeah.

What's the oldest item of clothing in your wardrobe?

A seersucker suit. It’s olive green and I bought it in New Orleans probably 20 years ago.

Does that get a lot of wear?

No, it doesn’t. I just put it on recently to see if it fit, but it did fit, so I was pleased. But I think I need to take it to a tailor again: the legs seem too wide. Seersucker is a nice material because it's so light and it looks good wrinkled. It's going to get some attention at the tailor, I think.

When was the last time you threw a punch?

I broke my hand hitting some furniture. I was by myself and I didn't have it looked at or anything. I was getting ready to go on tour and I was assessing: can I still play the guitar? I didn't know if it was broken or not. I think I must have broken it. I still can't close my finger all the way. And sometimes it bothers me – when other men shake my hand [and] they want to give me that firm grip. They’ll grab it the wrong way and I'll be meeting a bunch of people and just be like, “Argh!” Don't hit furniture.

Which band would you most like to bring back together?

Jonathan Richman and The Modern Lovers.

How come?

They only have one or two records and they're good. They're from a certain era, but they represent something that's a little bit arty or esoteric. I don't think that they would play in stadiums, but I think that a lot of people would come out of the woodwork to see that.

What are you listening to at the moment, music-wise?

I listen to a lot of Bernard Herrmann, who does the soundtracks for a lot of the Alfred Hitchcock films, and I also listen to a few pieces from the Vertigo soundtrack. I listen to that pretty heavily. I listen to a lot of Bert Jansch. I listen to a lot of Nick Drake. I listen to a lot of Claude Debussy. I mostly listen to folk, jazz and classical, more than rock.

I think I’d read about Charles Mingus and Miles Davis before I was able to actually really sit down and be patient enough to really absorb it

That’s very eclectic. Has that changed over time?

Yeah, because sometimes you don't have the patience to listen to certain things. Sometimes I find it easier to listen to certain music after I've read about the person that made the music, the composer, for some reason. It's just enough of something for me to hang on to that, when I go to listen to it, it somehow informs my listening experience.

Who have you had that with? Any specific composers?

I’ve found that to be true with certain jazz performers. I think I’d read about Charles Mingus and Miles Davis before I was able to actually really sit down and be patient enough to really absorb it.

Do you admire any political figures?

That's a good question. You know, I actually like Jerry Brown. He was the governor of California; he just retired. I don't even know that much about him politically. I know he's a Democrat. He's more on the liberal side of things. But I like his personality. He seems a little grouchy and he seems like he's reasonable. He seems pretty independent. I just always liked his vibe. I think he's an interesting person.

Last question: what’s next for Black Francis?

I'm planning on doing a bunch of painting, because I haven't painted a lot in the past few months. I have some plans to pick that up and finish some things that I had started and to try to start a new batch of things. That's what's next for me, creatively.

Beneath The Eyrie is out on 13 September.

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