Biography
Reid Paley emerged as a vocalist and composer whose gritty, forceful delivery powers his robust blend of blues with classic rock and roll. Brooklyn, New York, marks his birthplace, and his musical profile began to rise after relocating to Pittsburgh for higher education. There, he joined forces with guitarist Tom Moran, bassist Dave Doremus, and drummer Brian Gillespie to establish the band known as the Five. Their energetic fusion of blues and punk garnered a devoted local audience in Pittsburgh, leading to a couple of 7-inch singles before the group relocated to Boston in 1984 seeking broader exposure. While in Boston, the Five frequently performed alongside the emerging Pixies, allowing Paley to develop a rapport with the group’s frontman Charles Thompson, better known as Black Francis. The Five disbanded in 1987 soon after completing their sole album, titled simply The Five, prompting Paley’s move to New York. There he took up construction work and constructed sets for music videos, including those for INXS and Salt-N-Pepa. An acquaintance’s position as an engineer at a studio enabled Paley to visit and lay down demos for songs he had been developing, eventually accumulating a substantial collection of recordings over several years. Sub Pop Records issued his single “Time for You” backed with “Best of All” in 1996, followed by his debut solo effort Lucky’s Tune in 1999, which his friend Thompson—now performing as Frank Black—produced. The follow-up Revival came out in 2000 under the production of Eric Drew Feldman, a Pixies collaborator, though attempts at a third album stalled amid fruitless label discussions. Paley maintained activity through live performances, often supporting Frank Black or the Pixies reunion, and songwriting; a number of joint efforts with Black featured on the 2006 release Fast Man Raider Man. His third album, Approximate Hellhound vs. the Monkey Demon, arrived in 2007 via his independent label Metaphor Rhythms, credited to the Reid Paley Trio consisting of Paley handling guitar and vocals alongside Eric Eble on bass and Jim Murray on drums. In 2010, Paley reunited with Thompson, reverting to the Black Francis moniker, and the duo composed ten fresh tracks over three days during Francis’s solo engagements in New York. Shortly thereafter, they headed to Nashville—coinciding with Pixies concerts there—and captured all ten songs in two days, supported by esteemed Southern soul musicians Spooner Oldham on piano and David Hood on bass. The resulting record, Paley & Francis, saw release in October 2011.
Albums
