The Breeders Talk 'Last Splash', Posterity, & The Art Of The Side Project

There are a handful of bands that will forever be quiet game changers, most wholly appreciated by those who come after.

With few exceptions, this handful aren’t the type to indulge themselves or trends, but rather, are the ones that let the music speak for itself.

Following 23 years after their first release, The Breeders are still one of the finest examples of this kind of act; consummate professionals who don’t take themselves, or what they do, too seriously.

“We just never anticipated success and that’s a good place to start from, I think,” says bassist Josephine Wiggs.

Founded in 1990 when Kim Deal found herself writing songs that weren’t suited to her then-primary musical focus, Pixies, Deal made their first record with an $11,000 budget. Still considered one of the defining records of the early ‘90s alterna-rock scene, Pod marked the beginning of one of the most successful side-projects of all time.

“It was a strange time, but we were all having a lot of fun and Kim just loved and still does love writing and working a lot,” says Wiggs.

“The thing is though, as much as we started out doing it when we were all free, none of us treated it like it like less than anything else… “We just never anticipated success and that’s a good place to start from, I think.”

“I think we always had it in our heads that if it ever wasn’t fun for us, we wouldn’t be doing it. We clearly still feel that way now! Why else would we be touring the world years later? For the love of it.”

The tour Wiggs speaks of, in celebration of their 1993 record Last Splash which spawned their biggest commercially-celebrated hit ‘Cannonball’, has taken them all over the world.

After more than two decades, Wiggs admits it’s easier spending this time together now that it was when they originally toured the record.

“I think we probably respect eachother more now. I thought then and I still do today that Kelly [Deal, guitarist] is still one of the best guitar players I know.”

Deal has also professed her admiration for her bandmates stating that no one in the world can play the bassline of ‘Cannonball’ quite like Wiggs. “See!” says Wiggs laughing, “We really do like each other!”

Along with fighting the stigma associated with the notion of ‘the side project’, they’ve also had to fight the still-prevalent questions associated with being in a band with a mostly-female lineup.

“It’s always struck me as more of an issue for everyone else,” Wiggs admits. “I’m just glad people still like [Last Splash]. There’s always a part of me that’s still happy anyone shows up!”

“I don’t know… I mean, I don’t want to say it isn’t nice for people to say that bands like us somehow changed things, but really, we just didn’t make a big deal about it and so no one that we worked or toured with did either, really.”

Noting that it’s still a talked-about issue in music today, Wiggs admits that she understands that the lack of females in music is still an issue but admits, “I think that maybe, it’s less of an issue, if you don’t sell yourself that way.”

The current line up, which features Kim and Kelly Deal, drummer Jim McPherson, and Wiggs back on bass, have been receiving stellar reviews for their shows that have left dedicated fans leaving satisfied.

“It has been really great, the crowd reaction and playing Last Splash in full,” Wiggs enthuses; “we’re playing it in the order it appears on the album though and I can’t tell you how many times I wish ‘Cannonball’ wasn’t the second song on the album!

During the European leg of the tour, Wiggs and co. decided half-jokingly that it might be a treat for fans if after playing Last Splash they then launched into a Pod anniversary tour.

“I’m not sure if any of us thought it was serious. But you know, we had a break on tour and we ended up all going away and learning the album from start to finish. Anyway… we ended up doing it and everyone involved kind of freaked out!”

What’s astonishing is that Wigg, and assumedly her bandmates as well, have no idea how entirely life-defining that experience could have been for those lucky punters in the crowd.

“Oh… I don’t know about that! I just hope they had as much fun as I did.”

Hitting Australia for ATP’s Release The Bats as well as their own solo tour of the iconic record, Wiggs’ humility extends to the group’s legacy.

“I’m just glad people still like it. There’s always a part of me that’s still happy anyone shows up!”

Despite their modesty, it’s a hell of a legacy. After all, it might be easy to be reductive and dismissive of a female-fronted side project if it weren’t for The Breeders.

Maybe they didn’t intend to enforce that kind of change, but they did, and for that they should be celebrated. More eminent though, is their music which, decades on stands as era-defining and soul-crushingly important.

The Breeders 2013 Australian Tour

Monday October 28 – Sydney – Enmore Theatre

Tuesday October 29 – Brisbane – Tivoli

Thursday October 31 – Perth – Astor

ATP Melbourne 2013 Release The Bats Set Times

Stage One – The Palais
Doors: 12.45pm
The UV Race: 1.30pm – 2.15pm
Secret Band TBA: 2.45pm – 3.45pm
Pop Crimes – The Songs of Roland S. Howard: 4.15pm – 5.15pm
Television perform Marquee Moon: 5.45pm – 6.45pm
The Scientists: 7.15pm – 8pm
Fuck Buttons: 8.25pm – 9.15pm
The Breeders perform Last Splash: 9.45pm – 10.45pm

Stage Two – Prince Bandroom
Doors: 12.00pm
White Walls: 12.45pm – 1.30pm
The Spinning Rooms: 2.15pm – 3pm
Hoss: 3.30pm – 4.15pm
Total Control: 5.15pm – 6pm
Forest Swords: 6.30pm – 7.15pm
Lightning Bolt: 7.45pm – 8.30pm
Sleep: 9pm – 10pm