With Gen-Xers now flush with disposable income and nostalgic for their youth, plenty of ’90s acts have returned to the road, and the recording studio, in hopes of reigniting a career. Luscious Jackson just played Bumbershoot; the Pixies, Mazzy Star, and Sebadoh released new albums recently after long breaks; and the Breeders are back with a new album and tour dates. We talked to Breeders lead guitarist Kelley Deal about the decade her band’s second record, ’93’s Last Splash, went platinum.

SW: Do you think the ’90s were a good decade for cultural achievements?Deal: I don’t know if there were ACHIEVE- MENTS in, like, capital letters, but there’s a lot of stuff I like.

Are you nostalgic for that time, or is there another era you’re more interested in?I love the 1940s. I’m sure this isn’t represen- tative of the reality of the ’40s, but I sure like that time, the hair and the cigarettes and the hats. That’s just cool as hell.

Did you ever have an AOL account?No.

Tupac or Biggie?I love Tupac. He’s so cute.

Your album

Last Splash

went platinum. Do you have the plaque hanging somewhere?I have a platinum plaque, I do! It’s kind of leaning against the wall in my closet, actually.

Do you think it’s gauche to hang it in your house?That’s really for your mom and dad. They have one hanging up. That somehow validates your entire life of schlepping around doing music with intermittent pay and intermittent jobs. It’s validation for a misspent youth.

What kind of car did you drive in the ’90s?Oh my God, a white Nissan Sentra.

Which ’90s band would you rather be trapped in an elevator with: Rage Against the Machine or Counting Crows?Rage Against the Machine, definitely.

Can you share any memories of your 1993 tour with Nirvana, and do you remember where you were when you heard Kurt died?I do remember where I was. I don’t remember what city, but we were on tour with Jon Spencer Blues Explosion. We were somewhere down South, I think, and it was so sad. My memories of Nirvana are that they were really, really nice guys. They weren’t assholes at all. They were sweet dudes, very ordinary in a way. There are some memories, but like with the ’60s, they say if you remember it all, you weren’t really there.

Have you ever fantasized about standing on the front of a ship with Leonardo DiCaprio behind you?No, no, no. Maybe with Kate Winslet behind me. Isn’t she dreamy?

Better ’90s one-hit wonder: Marcy Playground’s “Sex and Candy” or the New Radicals’ “You Give What You Get”?I like “Sex and Candy.” I heard that song recently. It’s a really good song.

You guys did Lollapalooza, but did you ever attend Lilith Fair?No.

How did Spike Jonze come to co-direct your video for “Cannonball”?Spike Jonze was a little skater boy that Kim Gordon knew. She was the director, but by the end of it he was so instrumental with his vision and the cool stuff that he was able to get that she ended up doing a co-director thing with him. He’s so talented.

Did you have any sense he’d go on to become an important film director?Do you remember Dirt magazine? It was like the brother magazine to [Sassy]. He did a lot of work for that. He came to Dayton once and he came over to Kim’s [Deal’s sister and the Breeders’ rhythm guitarist] place, and I think he took pictures and wrote a story about traveling and skating through the Midwest. He was like a young punk. I certainly didn’t think, “Oh my God, here’s a guy who’s going to make these amazing movies in the future,” but after “Cannonball” you saw somebody with an amazing point of view who could visually tell a story.

Did you ever meet Bill Clinton?No.

You were in a band with Sebastian Bach, one of my favorite rock-&-roll personalities. Do you have any good Sebastian Bach stories?He is a good story, but I don’t have one particular one. The man is funny. And he can tell a really good story. He has a beautiful voice.

How did you enjoy the

Last Splash

20th anniversary tour? Was it fun to play the songs again?That was fantastic, for a couple reasons. One, it was so great to play with Josephine [Wiggs, bass] and Jim [McPherson, drums] again. But from the first measure of the first song we played down in the basement, this memory came back—the music and the familiarity. We can do this after all. It sounds just like I remember it. And it was really nice to play the record. I like albums that are done from start to finish. Everybody that was there at the show was super-excited to be there because they wanted to hear it.

Are there songs that you guys have never played live before?Oh, yeah. One is called “Mad Lucas,” and it’s a really long dirge. It’s like six minutes, and it’s really slow and beautiful and makes time stand still. It’s hypnotizing. We dig that song, but it’s not something I would ever put in a set list. It would be crazy. It would stop any momentum, with people sitting around for six minutes listening to some hypnotic dirge.

I assume you played other songs too?Many nights we played the entirety of [first album] Pod, which was really fun. And then sometimes we would mix it up between Pod and Safari. This time we’re playing all kinds of stuff, and new stuff as well.

Did you and your identical twin sister Kim ever get up to shenanigans in school to mess with people?We did! When we were in junior high school, [Kim] played the saxophone and I played the drums in the school band. At the behest of our friends, they wanted us to change places. So we did, and of course they all giggled. And the teacher didn’t know or care.

Final question: Blur or Oasis?Yawn.

The Breeders With the Neptunas. The Showbox, 1426 First Ave., 628-3151, showboxpresents.com. $25 adv./$28 DOS. 8:30 p.m. Wed., Sept. 10.

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