Kim Shattuck: ‘Pixies sacked me in phone call from band manager’

Rocker Kim Shattuck was told she had been fired from the Pixies in a shock phone call from the band’s manager, and she fears her exit from the group was sparked by a stage-diving incident during a gig. The bassist was axed from the line-up last month (Nov13), less than six months after taking over from Kim Deal, who announced in June (13) that she had quit the band after 27 years.
Shattuck has now opened up about her dismissal, revealing she is upset the group did not tell her the news to her face, but she fears her bubbly personality clashed with the “quiet, introverted” nature of her bandmates.
She tells NME magazine, “I was surprised. Everything had gone well, the reviews were all good and the fans were super-nice about everything. They were like, ‘We love you, New Kim!’ We said goodbye at the airport: ‘Good show! See you next year!’ And the following morning the manager called me and said, ‘The band has made a decision to go with another bass player.’ My response was, ‘OK, did I suck?’ (and he said) ‘No, you didn’t suck.’ I said, ‘Well I hope I didn’t let anybody down during the live shows,’ and he said, ‘No, you did nothing wrong.’
“I asked him who’s the next bass player and he said, ‘I’m not at liberty to discuss that with you.’ And that was it. I was a little bit shocked… I would’ve preferred it if they had told me face to face as a group, but they’re nice people. I’m still a fan of the Pixies!”
Shattuck fears an incident during a gig in Los Angeles, when the over-excited rocker jumped into the crowd mid-song, might have prompted her departure.
She adds, “There’d be jokes and goofy banter backstage, but they’re a pretty quiet bunch. I get the feeling they’re more introverted people than I am. Nobody really talked about deep issues, at least out loud.
“There was a show at the Mayan in Los Angeles where I got overly enthusiastic and jumped into the crowd, and I know they weren’t thrilled about that. When I got offstage the manager told me not to do that again. I said, ‘Really, for my own safety?’ And he said, ‘No, because the Pixies don’t do that.'”