It is rare in life that you get the opportunity to talk to one of your musical heroes. When that hero happens to be Black Francis, the alter-ego of Charles Michael Kittridge Thompson IV, lead singer of The Pixies and the godfather of grunge, you don’t expect them to be nursing their three-month old son and sipping on champagne at the family dinner table – but as it turns out Thompson is full of surprises.

“I’ve got one little boy lying in my arms and another little boy swinging in the swing, a little girl over here falling asleep in her mother’s arms. And we got a bottle of champagne out here and that’s kinda going down real easy…”

It is safe to say this is not the answer I was expecting when I enquired how things were with Thompson, a man who aided the advent of a musical revolution in the early ‘90s. However I follow his lead and suggest that given he is about to head to Australia the prospect of leaving a newborn behind must be daunting.

“I’m generally okay once I’ve gone. Leading up to it is kinda hard, before I leave town I find personally the hardest.” Thompson elaborates, in an almost lyrical fashion, about the “opportunities for Existential Ennui” that occur whilst on tour. The moment is pure Black Francis, as he rattles off descriptions of “cheap motel[s] with the asbestos ceilings and the long carpet. The kind of place where people commit suicide.” This is the Thompson that I will become familiar with throughout out 15-minute chat. A man who, when left to ‘Black Francis-isms’, will regale (and confuse) me with rambling antidotes – not all that dissimilar to his music.

Thompson has released two albums since 2007 under the Black Francis moniker – the rock star alter-ego first invoked to front The Pixies. Since their demise in ’93, he has continued to write music – quite prolifically – as Frank Black. However, the reunification (and consequent world tour) of The Pixies seemed to reawaken his grittier nom de plume. I have read that this sudden ‘reawakening’ was spawned through Thompson’s inability to get The Pixies back into the studio to record.

When I press him as to why he has suddenly breathed life back into Black Francis, he turns to his wife for input – which she is quick to provide. “Apparently [it was because of] my wife’s constant nagging to become more edgy,” he laughs. She married the rock star, so she wants the rock star back, I suggest? “She is giving you two thumbs up,” chuckles Thompson.

It’s hard not to assume that the reunification of The Pixies wasn’t a major factor, however Thompson seems reluctant to address my subtle insinuation and presses forth undeterred. “Just consider it a hunch. That was the way it was supposed to be – a little tap on my shoulder from Herman Brood saying, ‘become Black Francis again.’”

The Herman Brood reference isn’t as obscure as it sounds. His 2007 release Bluefinger – which has been hailed by critics as an astonishing return to form for Francis – was based entirely on the life and works of the Dutch musician and artist. Brood was an interesting choice for a ‘concept’ album. Having passed away in 2001, he was infamous for his hedonistic, “sex, drugs and rock n roll’” lifestyle. Consequently these themes make up the essence of Bluefinger, complimenting the ‘Black Francis edge’ which the album exudes.

The equally gritty Svn Fingers mini-album released in early 2008 saw Thompson reoccupy ‘concept album’ territory. The album’s title is a reference to Cúchulainn, a hero from Irish mythology who was said to have seven fingers and seven toes. A number of the tracks on the album are even written from Cuchulainn’s perspective. So why two concept albums so close together – was it an effort to overcome writers block?

“I had some writer’s block some years ago, but that was the only time I recall having writers block. [The producers] composed some lyrics pretending to be me and showed them to me and said look you don’t have to keep these lyrics but this is just so you can sing something. And they were terrible lyrics, I was offended by them…I wouldn’t sing one syllable, so I wrote some lyrics. It was a good trick.”

It seems for Thompson that a bad creative concept is worse than no creative concept at all. Could it be this approach which has kept The Pixies from recording music together since their reunion tour? I am reluctant to push ‘The Pixies’ line, but I do ask if there was any truth to the rumours that they were going record together again when they were last in Australia for The V Festival?

“Absolutely. We had even done the research into the Australian recording studios…but it was not to be.” Thompson is so earnest in his response that it is difficult to ascertain how much truth there is in this remark, given his propensity to ‘mislead’ journalists. But I am still regaled by the possibility.

The last time he was in Australia, Thompson was headlining the V Festival and mesmerised audiences with one of the most successful reunion tours of the past few years. I inquire about his enthusiasm for the upcoming solo shows, which will undoubtedly be vastly different from his last visit. “I suppose now I have a family, I prefer to make lots of money. But I feel more comfortable in a nightclub setting, cause that’s where I’m from,” he laughs.

And what can we expect from the shows themselves considering that he has two decades of songs to draw on? “I don’t really do a set list on the one hand. I have a certain number of songs that I have rehearsed up with the band. We don’t play them in the same order every night. We play a couple of folk songs. We don’t play Pixies songs.” You heard it from the man himself.

See Black Francis in all his gritty glory at the following venues.

28 Sep – Metropolis Fremantle, Perth
29 Sep – HQ, Adelaide
1 Oct – The Arena, Brisbane
2 Oct – The Forum, Melbourne
3 Oct – Metro Theatre, Sydney