'80s Alternative Stars Pixies To Reform, Tour

The much-ballyhooed reunion of seminal alternative rock act the Pixies is getting off the ground. Beyond a previously announced May 1 appearance at the Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival in Indio, Calif., the group is now confirmed to open for the Red Hot Chili Peppers on June 15 at Paris' Parc Des Princes. The quartet has not played live together since disbanding in 1993.

Sources confirm to Billboard.biz that dates are being booked, and guitarist/vocalist Frank Black's un-official Web site reports that the Pixies will first embark on a North American warm-up tour leading up to the Coachella appearance. A full-scale tour will follow, encompassing both North America and summer European festivals.

Despite all the plans, drummer David Lovering told Billboard.biz last week that the group has yet to begin rehearsing. Asked if he looked forward to the prospect of reconvening with Black, guitarist Joey Santiago and bassist Kim Deal, he replied, "Absolutely. I'd given up drums for a long time. I haven't played them in years and years. It would just be fun to do it again. We just have fun playing."

Indeed, Lovering has spent the past six years working as professional magician, a pursuit he says is made possible by the ongoing interest in the Pixies' formidable legacy. "I appreciate that it's still sustaining me -- it keeps selling records," he said. "It shows there is some fan base out there [because] it keeps going over and over to a whole new audience of 18-year-olds."

To coincide with the reunion, 4AD/Beggars Banquet is eyeing the release of a new Pixies retrospective as well as a DVD featuring music videos and a full 1988 concert. It would appear that Black is forgoing a tour in support of his upcoming spinART double-album "Frank Black Francis" in favor of roadwork with the Pixies.