Kelley Deal – Kim Deal

Welcome to a “Two-Fer Friday” on Rock 11W. Today we remember and send birthday greetings to daughters of the Buckeye State, Kelley and Kim Deal, from Huber Heights, OH.

The Deal Twins (Sorry, I can't tell who is who. They hadn't begun parting their hair on opposite sides yet -- Kelley left; Kim right.)

These identical twin musicians were born 11 minutes apart (Kelley was delivered first) in Dayton, OH, on this date in 1961. Their father was a laser physicist at Wright-Patterson AFB, fully supportive of their musical aspirations. Kim was playing acoustic guitar at age 11. The twins began performing together at 16, after Kelley saw The Song Remains the Same and decided she wanted to be a performer. Their first performance was opening for Steppenwolf at McGuffey’s House of Draft, a biker bar in Dayton, OH. They were two girls and an acoustic guitar singing Hank Williams, Everly Brothers, and Blind Faith songs, and called themselves The Breeders. By the following year they had all the instruments, a drum machine, a soundboard, 4 track recorder, amplifiers, and PA system. Kelley played bass guitar and drums; Kim played the guitar. The girls were popular, played sports, and Kim was a cheerleader. But, Kelley had a darker side, using hard drugs even back in high school.

Kim went to 7 colleges and universities, including tOSU in 1979, but didn’t graduate from any of them. Kelley worked a 9 to 5 job. In 1985, the girls moved to Boston, and Kim answered an ad seeking musicians “into Husker Du and Peter, Paul and Mary” and having “no chops”. Kim was the only person who responded to the placement by the guitarists who became The Pixies. Kim offered to switch to the bass, and Kelley was asked to be the drummer. Kim was in, but Kelley declined, instead moving to California to work as a computer programmer. As a feminist joke, Kim performed in The Pixies under the name Mrs. John Murphy (her married name).

The Pixies

The Pixies were relatively popular on the Boston bar scene, albeit cut from different cloth than other rock bands. They were alt rock before alt rock existed. There was an element of surf punk to their sound. Their lyrics were intelligent, dark, and at times perverse and subversive. The contrast between pop sounds and aggressive lyrics; the bass and drum rhythms and dissonant guitar licks; and radical dynamic changes from verses to chorus, all presaged Nirvana. Bowie called The Pixies one of the two most important American bands of the 80s (with Sonic Youth). Only moderately successful in the US, The Pixies were superstars in the UK and Europe, playing the biggest festivals. They released 4 albums before breaking up in 1993.

During a Pixies hiatus in 1990, Kim formed The Breeders with Tanya Donelly of Throwing Muses. Kim was the lead vocalist and played lead guitar. Kelley was invited to join as the drummer, but could not get time off from work. Their first album was Pod, acclaimed by critics and colleagues like Kurt Cobain, but hardly a commercial success. Kim and Tanya returned to their respective bands until another downtime in 1992. This time when Kelley was invited to join The Breeders she agreed, but only if she could play lead guitar – something she’d never done before. Kim gave her a crash course and she picked it up quickly. In 1993, they released an EP, "Safari", and their second full length album, Last Splash. The album was a smash, spinning out 3 singles including “Cannonball” which peaked at #2 on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart. On the strength of Last Splash, The Breeders toured with Nirvana on the 1994 In Utero Tour, and were invited to play that year’s Lollapalooza tour.

The Breeders (1993)

Unfortunately, these successes did nothing good for Kelley’s drug habits. The Breeders became inactive as she struggled with heroin addiction. A partially successful intervention followed by rehab for most of 1995 finally helped her kick her habit. While in rehab, Kelley began writing songs, and when sober formed The Kelley Deal 6000. They released 2 albums before re-joining The Breeders in 1997. Kelley also played bass for The Last Hard Men that year. During same time, Kim put together her own band, The Amps, performing under the nom de rock Tammy Ampersand. Her group also played as The Breeders in 1996, and after Kelley re-joined the group.

The Breeders (2013)

In 2002, Kim developed her own drug addiction and went into rehab. She was clean and able to join The Pixies reunion in 2004, and continued to play with them until 2013. The Breeders released new albums in 2002 and 2008. In 2011, Kelley began a side duo with Mike Montgomery called R. Ring. She has also taken up knitting as a form of meditation, and sells her goods online. In 2013, The Breeders went on tour to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Last Splash. The Deals are still on “quietus” but have hinted that a new Breeders album is in the works.  

Happy Birthday Kelley and Kim! We wish you continued health and look forward to hearing you again soon.