The Breeders - Last Splash

The Breeders are an American rock band, formed in 1977 as a folk rock duo featuring twin sisters Kim and Kelley Deal of Dayton, Ohio which played country covers at truck stops and bars and dissipated in the early 80's, only to be revived as a side project in 1988 for Kim who by then was playing bass for Pixies and Tanya Donelly of Throwing Muses. After those original bands became less active, The Breeders became more important to both artists. A tape recording of their original demos with drummer Mickey Bones and violinist Carrie Bradley was sent to Ivo Watts-Russell, who immediately signed the band to his 4AD Records label in 1989. Their debut album, Pod, was recorded by Steve Albini in Edinburgh, and was released on 4AD in 1990. Deal's influence is obvious, but bassist Josephine Wiggs and Slint drummer Britt Walford (credited here as Shannon Doughton) add to the ensemble sound.
By the release of four-song EP Safari in 1992, Deal was done with Pixies and had enlisted her twin sister Kelley to play guitar for the Breeders. Donelly exited the band to form Belly, and drummer Jim MacPherson joined in time for Last Splash in 1993. The album spawned the hit "Cannonball." Cannonball hit #2 on the Billboard Modern Rock Charts, and the album "Last Splash" was certified Platinum thereafter. The band opened for Alternative Rock monsters Nirvana in their 1993-1994 In Utero tour, it was the last Nirvana tour, singer Kurt Cobain died in early 1994.
In 1995, Kelley Deal was involved in a drug bust, so sister Kim formed the side project The Amps with MacPherson, bassist Luis Lerma (member of Dayton, OH band The Tasties) and guitarist Nate Farley, who later joined Guided by Voices. The Amps released the album Pacer in October 1995. Following drug rehab, Kelley started the Kelley Deal 6000 and also formed the unlikely Last Hard Men with Skid Row singer Sebastian Bach, ex-The Smashing Pumpkins drummer Jimmy Chamberlin, and Jimmy Flemion of The Frogs.
Rumors of Kim Deal reuniting with the original band continued to circulate in the 90s, although the only material to surface was a cover of "Collage," recorded for The Mod Squad soundtrack in 1999. The Deal sisters recruited new personnel to play several live shows in 2001, and returned to the studio with guitarist Richard Presley, bass player Mando Lopez and drummer Jose Medeles to record the third Breeders studio album Title TK with Steve Albini.
The Breeders were also recruited, in early 2002, to perform in an episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. They were approached by the production staff, after they had been performing the show's theme, originally written by Nerf Herder, as a regular part of their concert set. The episode is entitled Him, and aired November 5, 2002.
The Breeders contributed the track "Wicked Little Town: Hedwig Version" to the 2003 Hedwig and the Angry Inch tribute album, "Wig in a Box".
In 2004, Warner Music Group announced plans to drop the Breeders from their label following low album sales of Title TK. The decision came with Warner's plans to drop several other artists as well.
As of May, 2006, Deal is working on new material with The Breeders with plans to release an EP late in the year and a full length album in early 2007. The working lineup at this point includes Kim and Kelley Deal, Jose Medeles and Carrie Bradley. It was reported on Jose Medeles' blog that the band will be working with Steve Albini on a number of songs on the upcoming album.
The Breeders remain a pivotal force in the alternative rock women movement and are revered by their peers. In 2006 French indie-rocker Julie Peel honored The Breeders by covering "Divine Hammer" on a limited edition 7" Blue Vinyl Split released exclusively by American Laundromat Records. The Flaming Lips have also covered "Divine Hammer" on tour, and the list goes on.

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Last Splash