Paz Lenchantin
Lenchantin withPixies in 2018
Background information
Born	(1973-12-12)December 12, 1973 (age 51) Mar del Plata,Buenos Aires Province, Argentina
Genres	Alternative rock indie rock progressive rock
Occupation	Musician
Instruments	Violin bass piano vocals
Years active	2000–present
Formerly of	Pixies A Perfect Circle the Chelsea Brightblack Morning Light Entrance Into the Presence Jarboe Kaura Silver Jews Trust Company Zwan the Entrance Band

Paz Lenchantin (born December 12, 1973) is an Argentine-American musician. She is best known for having been the bass guitarist and backing vocalist of thealternative rock bandPixies, playing with the band and recording three studio albums between 2013 and 2024.^[1] Prior to joining Pixies, Lenchantin was a member ofEntrance,A Perfect Circle,Silver Jews andZwan.

In April 2024,Consequence named Lenchantin the 75th greatest bass guitarist of all time, noting: "Not only did she fit in beautifully in [A Perfect Circle and Pixies], but she was also a shining light in Billy Corgan’s short-lived band Zwan. In addition to her bass playing, she’s also an accomplished vocalist and a skilled violinist."^[2]

Lenchantin moved to Los Angeles with her family at the age of four. Her father, Mario Merdirossian, is a classical pianist who has been a professor of piano at the National University of Buenos Aires-Tandil, the University of Mississippi, and the Catholic University of Lima, Peru.^[3][4] Lenchantin speaks fluent Spanish and English. She began playing piano at age five.^[5] She then tookviolin lessons at age 8 and taught herself how to play guitar at age 12.^[5] Her sisterAna Lenchantin is a musician and a frequent collaborator. She also frequently collaborated with her brother Luciano Lenchantin before his death in 2003. In the '90s, Paz was a piano teacher, a music programmer for video games, and a sound composer for the Sci-Fi Channel.^[6]

Lenchantin joinedBilly Howerdel,Josh Freese,Troy Van Leeuwen, andMaynard James Keenan in the bandA Perfect Circle. She contributed to their albumsMer de Noms andThirteenth Step. Lenchantin later left the group to joinBilly Corgan,Jimmy Chamberlin,Matt Sweeney, andDavid Pajo in the bandZwan.

In 2002, Lenchantin,Melissa Auf der Maur (Smashing Pumpkins andHole),Samantha Maloney, andRadio Sloan (the Need) created a new band, the Chelsea. The all-femalesupergroup played only one show on February 2, 2002 before going their separate ways. An audience recording of said show was later bootlegged. Lenchantin returned to play strings and piano with A Perfect Circle in recording their cover albumEmotive, released November 2, 2004 and debuting at #2 on theBillboard 200. She also contributed a solo cover of the song "The Hollow" to A Perfect Circle's CD/DVD releaseaMOTION. Since 2005, Lenchantin has been collaborating withthe Entrance Band on their albumPrayer of Death, as co- producer as well as contributing bass and violin. She also appeared on the previous Entrance albumWandering Stranger (2004). She is now a seemingly permanent member of the Entrance Band.

Since 2012, Paz has been touring with Josephine Foster supporting theBlood Rushing album promotion.^[7] In December 2013, Lenchantin was announced as the new touring bassist forPixies, in replacement of founding band memberKim Deal and touring bassistKim Shattuck, for their 2014 tour.^[8] In July 2016, Lenchantin confirmed that she was a full-time member of Pixies.^[9]

On 4 March 2024, the Pixies announced that Lenchantin had left "to concentrate on her own projects". In a statement toRolling Stone, Lenchantin said that the choice was not hers and that her "departure [was] a bit of a surprise to [her] as it is to many".^[10]

Lenchantin played strings on theQueens of the Stone Age albumSongs for the Deaf.^[5] She has played with David Pajo inPapa M, and contributed fiddle on theSilver Jews recordTanglewood Numbers.^[5] She has toured with RTX/Jennifer Herrema ofRoyal Trux. In 2002, she performed onTrust Company's albumThe Lonely Position of Neutral. In 2005 she played violin on theKaura track "Dividing Lines". She has also contributed to and toured withJarboe ofSwans. In 2000, she appeared in A Perfect Circle's "Judith" music video as bassist. Lenchantin also played bass onBrightblack Morning Light's 2006 self-titled album onMatador Records. She worked with directorMichael Mann on his filmMiami Vice^[11] contributing violin on several scenes. She contributed playing strings onMelissa Auf der Maur's first solo albumAuf der Maur. In 2008, Paz co-wrote theAshes Divide song "Denial Waits", and she played violin onJenny Lewis' second studio albumAcid Tongue. She appeared onInto the Presence's 2009 album, playing the bass.

Solo^[12]

• Yellow My Skycaptain (2000)
• Songs for Luci (2006)

WithA Perfect Circle

• Mer de Noms (2000)(Strings, bass on "Sleeping Beauty", backing vocals on "Judith")
• Thirteenth Step (2003)(Strings on "Gravity")
• Emotive (2004)(Piano, strings)
• Amotion (2004)(Acoustic guitar, piano, strings)

WithPixies

• Indie Cindy (2014)(Bass on all Deluxe edition live tracks, vocals and bass on vinyl exclusive track "Women of War")
• Head Carrier (2016)(Bass, backing vocals, lead vocals on "All I Think About Now")
• Beneath the Eyrie (2019)(Bass, backing vocals, lead vocal on "Los Surfers Muertos")
• Doggerel (2022)(Bass, backing vocals, keyboards)

WithZwan

• Mary Star of the Sea (2003)(Bass, backing vocals)

WithAshes Divide

• Keep Telling Myself It's Alright (2008)(Co-writing on "Denial Waits")

WithBrightblack Morning Light

• Brightblack Morning Light (2006)(Bass, piano)

WithEntrance

• Wandering Stranger (2004)
• Prayer of Death (2006)(Bass; co-producer; violin; vocals)
• The Entrance Band (2009)(Bass)
• Fine Flow (2012)(Bass)

WithJenny Lewis

• Acid Tongue (2008)(Violin on "Black Sand")

WithJosephine Foster

• Blood Rushing (2012)(Indian flute, bass, violin, vocals)

WithKaura

• Kaura EP (2005)(Violin on "Dividing Lines")

WithMelissa Auf der Maur

• Auf der Maur (2004)(Strings)

WithQueen Adreena

• Pretty Like Drugs (2002)(Violin on "Beneath the Skin")

WithQueens of the Stone Age

• Songs for the Deaf (2002)(Strings on "Mosquito Song")

WithSilver Jews

• Tanglewood Numbers (2005)(Fiddle)

WithTrust Company

• The Lonely Position of Neutral (2002)(Strings, piano on "Hover (Alternate Version)")

WithJarboe

• The Men Album (2005)(Bass on "Feral" and vocals / strings on "A Woman's Dreams")

• Media related toPaz Lenchantin at Wikimedia Commons

• 1973 births
• Living people
• A Perfect Circle members
• Argentine emigrants to the United States
• Argentine people of French descent
• Argentine people of Armenian descent
• Argentine bass guitarists
• Argentine rock musicians
• American rock musicians
• American women bass guitarists
• American women rock singers
• Argentine rock singers
• Argentine women rock singers
• Hispanic and Latino American musicians
• People from Mar del Plata
• American rock violinists
• Zwan members
• Alternative metal bass guitarists
• Pixies (band) members
• Alternative rock bass guitarists
• Silver Jews members
• 21st-century American singers
• 21st-century American women singers
• 21st-century American bass guitarists
• 21st-century American violinists

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