- Is it the Great Pumpkin or Charlie Brown?
Smashing Pumpkins singer-guitarist Billy Corgan is the only original member left in the post-punk/goth/metal band. (New members are guitarist Jeff Schroeder, drummer Mike Byrne, and bassist Nicole Fiorentino.) He’s taking the restructured group on a 13-show “intimate” tour in support of Teargarden by Kaleidyscope Vol. 1: Songs for a Sailor, the first part of an evolving online project that will eventually include more than 40 new songs. The Smashing Pumpkins start their tour at House of Blues on Tuesday, July 6. We talked to Corgan about what’s going on. —Jeff Niesel
I just saw you in the Rush documentary. I thought it was cool you admitted being a fan.
They’re one of my favorite bands growing up. I still love them. I’m proud of them as a band for continuing to push forward. I thought they were the most amazing thing I ever heard. They were one of the first bands that spoke to me. They were the first band that I thought was from my generation, even though they were obviously older. I particularly liked the lyrics and that influenced how I look at lyric writing. If you look at my lyrics, there’s a lot of [Rush drummer] Neil Peart in there. When we first started the Pumpkins and Jimmy Chamberlin joined and I realized he knew every Rush fill, I was like, “OK. This is great.” The prog element of the band is something that not everyone has understood, but Jimmy and I were both really into it.
I often read that the Pumpkins “disavowed their punk rock roots” in the early days. Would you say that’s accurate?
I don’t think that’s accurate. None of us were really into punk rock. I loved punk music, but I wasn’t a fan in the sense that it influenced my writing. I grew up a musician dad who was very critical of bands that couldn’t play their instruments. And part of what punk was about was that you don’t have to play well; you just have to feel right. I saw Bad Brains, 7 Seconds, and DOA. I loved them and thought they were great. But they never influenced me. There was a moment in time with Nirvana and Green Day when punk came into the mainstream. Everyone pretended to be into punk. But I didn’t want to pretend I was into the Clash because I wasn’t.
The band had such a great run in the ’90s. What led to its dissolution, which really came at the height of things?
You know, all four of us were all from dysfunctional backgrounds. [Guitarist] James [Iha] had the most normal background. But none of us were perfect people. We were not prepared for the attention. We had two people in the course of our ten years who had substance abuse issues. In addition to that, we were in band that not everyone understood what we were doing. Even though we were popular, we kept hearing that we were terrible, and that I couldn’t sing. There was always this element of negativity surrounding even the best moments we had. Our videos were the only thing that most people agreed upon as a positive. It put a tremendous amount of pressure on us to continue to be successful. We just ran out of gas with the fairy dust. We had seven magical years and since then, it’s been like, “What was that about?” I have a big mouth, and that hasn’t helped. If I had kept my mouth shut, I think things would have been easier. That being said, I’m proud of the fact that we continued to pursue a musical goal even after the band broke up. I continue to pursue the original vision, which is kind of like the Rush thing. We want to push forward and continue to find new ground. I’m only now feeling comfortable. Now, I can do this as I’ve meant to do this all along, with a happy face and a full heart and deal with the pressure.
This article appears in Jun 30 – Jul 6, 2010.
It’s really great having Billy pushing forward. People usually complain about Pumpkins being different than before. But that’s the big deal, to change ever. Even in the same album Pumpkins always tried to pass through a lot of distinct styles, but always keeping a SP essence. So, it’s natural imagine that music would change through the years, even more if we considerer that Billy is the last one of original members. But the essence is still there. Besides that, I love to know that while record companies keep going totally lost about the new musical panorama, Billy was smart enough finding a solution that is great for both sides, for him and for the fans. I bought my Teargarden by Kaleidyscope Vol. 1 and I just loved it. For sure, I intended to buy the next ones.
Billy was highly offensive to the audience on that last tour, and I suspect many of those people will stay away this time. $50 is a lot of money for kazoo encores on a 20th Anniversary tour. He’s lost the plot.
Great interview. I loved the last tour, and can’t wait for this one.
whatever Andre Timm. If you knew anything about the persona of the Pumpkins, you’d know what the kazoos were all about. I bet you complained about the stuffed animal skits on the Vieuphoria video too.
oops, i meant @Teh B0lly…not @Andre Timm.
Explain it to me, Fizzy. Explain to me how Billy said he’d never carry on without the original members, then did. How the band was done in 2000, then wasn’t. How the Metro DVD, Church Sessions, and Gish Box was coming out, then didn’t. Explain to me the clusterf*ck that was Zwan and the solo record. Explain to me the six female bass players and three asian rhythm guitarists, but “we’re a real band” BS. Tell me about the kazoo encore, and the 25-minute noisefest that was “Set the Controls…” on the last tour, and the constant baiting of the audience. And do tell me about the 20-year old kid, who previously worked at McDonalds, who replaced one of the most acclaimed drummers of the 90’s.
Mostly, explain to me how you bought a four-song CD of bad music for $30 in 2010.
As it turns out, I know more about the Pumpkins than you’ll ever forget, which is exactly how I know what a disaster this tour will be. I predict he will bust out the ukulele and torment you with his “real” singing.
@ Teh B0lly:
You mus know a lot about the band! I never realised there were six female bass players or three rhythm guitarists! Who were they? About the drummer: I won’t write about him here, but if you look him up on Wikipedia, there’s a bit about him there. His name is Mike Byrne, but since you know more about the Pumpkins than even Fizzy Bublech will ever forget, you probably know his name already.
@Michael Galucci / Billy Corgan:
Thanks to you both. This was a great, informative interview to read. Keep it up!
Vaughn, I stand corrected… 5 bass players. Technically Linda Strawberry was a keyboardist.
Bass: D’arcy, Auf der Maur, Paz (Zwan), Pooley, Fiorentino
Guitar: Iha, Pajo, Schroeder
The 2010 Smashing Pumpkins are just like The Dukes of Hazard… if we replace blonde guys with blonde guys, nobody will notice the difference.
Why can’t people who like putting out music just be able to put out music, and if somebody likes it then they can buy it and if somebody does not like it then don’t buy it. And why is it that if somebody does like it that people who don’t like it talk trash to the people who do like it ? I mean he is giving the music away for free…..and if you like it and want to own it then you can buy the CD…i mean what is wrong with that ? Why are people so angry about something as simple as that. They are a band that will go out and play some shows, if you want to go and see them then go, if you don’t then don’t….i mean really what is the big deal. Why are we as people now so fast to try and drag people down, they are a band that enjoys playing and putting out music…if you like it great & if you don’t then move on and listen to the music you do like……I just don’t understand what has happen to us as people…..it’s just really sad.
Teh Bolly,…i too find it somewhat strange that Corgan finds “similar” looking musicians, although Dave Pajo(ex- Slint member…great band), I think is of Spanish descent, not asian.
But even though I find this kinda weird too,…it has no effect on what the outcome is,…they’re all still great musicians, who apparently want to achieve the same goal,…& that’s to rock yer F^&kin face off…I just seen ’em last night in Orlando,…& it was WAY better than what I was envisioning.
The fact that Corgan’s putting this all out for you to get for free is another accomplishment in its self. Kudos to Corgan for wanting to do this.