When Kim Deal left the Pixies earlier this year, the band had a hole at bass, and they recruited Muffs frontwoman Kim Shattuck as their new bassist. But after just a couple of months of touring, the band fired Shattuck — surprising and saddening her — and replaced her with Paz Lenchantin, formerly of A Perfect Circle. Pixies fans weren’t too happy at this turn of events, and now frontman Frank Black (or, if you prefer, Black Francis) has addressed them.

Talking to Yahoo, Black says:

The big question mark is, if it was going so well, why are you changing it up again? I guess it’s a fair question, but what I would say is, just because some shows went well or a recording session went well with somebody, that doesn’t mean that now you guys are married and this is forever. It’s not really how it works when you’re a band. And it’s hard to explain to people, especially if they get emotionally attached to one person…

Frankly, you don’t want to explain it to anybody – it’s a lot of its personal, private shit. t’s like politics and sports and people’s personal lives have all been smeared together in this modern world. It’s a very presumptuous attitude about a lot of things. [People say] ‘Oh you’re shifting something in your world – we demand a statement as to why.’ I’m not the mayor, this isn’t the bus service for a town. This is a rock band. There’s been a shift in the lineup, big woop-dee-doo…as far as we’re concerned it ain’t that big of a deal.

So there you have it: Move along, nothing to see here. Black also has some words about the band’s decision to record new music and Deal’s decision to leave; read it here.