Guitarist Joey Santiago and songwriter Black Francis (born Charles Michael Kitteridge Thompson IV) met when they lived next to each other in a suite while attending the University of Massachusetts Amherst.
 Although Santiago was worried about distractions, he noticed Francis played music and the pair began to jam together.
 Francis embarked on a student exchange trip to Puerto Rico to study Spanish.
After six months, he returned to Amherst and dropped out of the university.
 Francis and Santiago spent 1984 working in a Boston-area warehouse, with Francis composing songs on his acoustic guitar and writing lyrics on the subway train.

The pair formed a band in January 1986.
 Two weeks later, Francis placed an advertisement seeking a bass player who liked both the folk act Peter, Paul and Mary and the alternative rock band Hüsker Dü.
 Kim Deal was the only respondent, and arrived at the audition without a bass, as she had never played one before.
 She was invited to join as she liked the songs Francis showed her.
She obtained a bass, and the trio started rehearsing in Deal's apartment.

After recruiting Deal, Kim paid for her sister, Kelley Deal, to fly to Boston and audition as drummer.
Though Francis approved, Kelley was not confident in her drumming, and was more interested in playing songs written by Kim; she later joined Kim's band the Breeders.
Kim's husband suggested they hire David Lovering, whom Kim had met at her wedding reception.
 The group arrived at a name after Santiago selected the word "pixies" randomly from a dictionary, liking how it looked and its definition as "mischievous little elves".
Pixies moved rehearsals to Lovering's parents' garage in mid-1986 and began to play shows at bars in the Boston area.
Guitarist Joey Santiago and songwriter Black Francis (born Charles Michael Kitteridge Thompson IV) met when they lived next to each other in a suite while attending the University of Massachusetts Amherst.  Although Santiago was worried about distractions, he noticed Francis played music and the pair began to jam together.  Francis embarked on a student exchange trip to Puerto Rico to study Spanish. After six months, he returned to Amherst and dropped out of the university.  Francis and Santiago spent 1984 working in a Boston-area warehouse, with Francis composing songs on his acoustic guitar and writing lyrics on the subway train. 
The pair formed a band in January 1986.  Two weeks later, Francis placed an advertisement seeking a bass player who liked both the folk act Peter, Paul and Mary and the alternative rock band Hüsker Dü.  Kim Deal was the only respondent, and arrived at the audition without a bass, as she had never played one before.  She was invited to join as she liked the songs Francis showed her. She obtained a bass, and the trio started rehearsing in Deal's apartment. 
After recruiting Deal, Kim paid for her sister, Kelley Deal, to fly to Boston and audition as drummer. Though Francis approved, Kelley was not confident in her drumming, and was more interested in playing songs written by Kim; she later joined Kim's band the Breeders. Kim's husband suggested they hire David Lovering, whom Kim had met at her wedding reception.  The group arrived at a name after Santiago selected the word "pixies" randomly from a dictionary, liking how it looked and its definition as "mischievous little elves". Pixies moved rehearsals to Lovering's parents' garage in mid-1986 and began to play shows at bars in the Boston area.
Pixies (band)