CheekyChicago

Original indie-rock heroes, Pavement, are reuniting. That’s right, 2010 will bring the reunion of the noted rock band on Central Park’s Summerstage, for its first show in over ten years. Quickly after the announcement was made, details soon followed, clarifying that the string of New York shows (three subsequent shows were added), didn’t necessarily mean a “prelude to additional jaunts and/or a permanent reunion”, according to the band’s longtime label, Matador Records. So, although superfans will have to keep waiting for that already long-awaited Pavement material, the band will, in fact, follow up its New York shows with a full-on world tour. The band has also been in talks with big-name festivals, including Coachella. According to a Rolling Stone interview with Pavement guitarist, Scott “Spiral Stairs” Kannberg, a Pavement reunion had never been widely discussed between the band’s former members, but when their agent approached them with questions regarding the New York shows, the band’s sentiment was that of enthusiasm toward a reunion of sorts, and that it “happened naturally.”

Pavement formed as a studio project between Stockton, CA-based musicians Stephen Malkmus and Scott Kannberg, in the late 1980s. They coined a series of low-fi recordings, and by 1992, added drummer Gary Young, drummer Bob Nastanovich and bassist Mark Ibold to the lineup. The group’s debut album, Slanted and Enchanted, remains one of the strongest lo-fi, indie-rock albums of the era. Malkmus’ lyrics, doused in wit, sarcasm and borderline pretension, gathered a large following on the “college radio” front. 1994′s Crooked Rain was followed up by three more studio albums, including Pavement’s final record on Matador, 1999′s Terror Twilight. The band, which disbanded indefinitely in 1999, will pull from this now-iconic material to release a greatest hits compilation to coincide with its reunion tour.

Pavement reunion rumors have sporadically spanned the last decade, but we’ve finally solidified (at least, some type of) a plan in that direction. For those who weren’t lucky enough to snag tickets to Pavement’s first New York show (they sold out in two minutes!), stay tuned for details of the band’s 2010 world tour. In the meantime, we’ll resurrect our Pavement CDs, play them on heavy rotation and take what we can get.