The Smashing Pumpkins
The Smashing Pumpkins is an American alternative rock band formed in Chicago in 1988. Initially founded by vocalist Billy Corgan (vocals, guitar) and James Iha (guitar), they soon included to Jimmy Chamberlin (drums) and D'arcy Wretzky (bass), completing their original lineup. The band has undergone many lineup changes throughout its existence, with Corgan and guitarist Jeff Schroeder being the only official members as of 2014.
Repudiating the punk rock musical roots of many alternative rock contemporaries, the Pumpkins have a diverse, densely stepped and heavy sound. Despite being a band founded in Chicago, the Smashing Pumpkins quickly aligned themselves with the Seattle music scene thanks to their contact with bands like Soundgarden, with whom they played several times in 1991, or the independent record label Sub Pop. His early works added elements of shoegaze, heavy metal, dream pop, psychedelic rock, progressive rock, hard rock and the contemporary grunge scene. from Seattle. At the end of the 1990s, strong influences from industrial rock, gothic rock and electronics were added to their recordings. Corgan is the group's primary songwriter — his lofty musical ambitions and cathartic lyrics have shaped the band and their songs, which have been described as "anguished, bruised reports from a Billy Corgan nightmare world".
The Smashing Pumpkins burst into the musical mainstream with their second album, 1993's Siamese Dream. The group built their audience with extensive touring and their 1995 follow-up, the double album Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness, which debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 chart. With 20 million albums sold in the United States, the Smashing Pumpkins were one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed bands around. of the 1990s. However, infighting, drug use, and declining record sales led to their breakup in 2000.
In 2006, Billy Corgan and Jimmy Chamberlin reunited to record a new Smashing Pumpkins album, Zeitgeist. The band toured with a rotating lineup of between five and nine musicians through much of 2007 and 2008 with new member Jeff Schroeder after Chamberlin left the band in early 2009. Later that year, Corgan began a new recording series titled Teargarden by Kaleidyscope, featuring a rotating lineup of musicians, which has resulted in the albums Oceania (2012) and Monuments to an Elegy (2014), and a forthcoming album. As of 2015, Corgan and Schroeder are the only permanent members of the band. In June 2015, Corgan announced Chamberlin's return to the band but did not clarify whether the stay would be permanent.
History
1988-1991: early years
At nineteen years old, Corgan moves to St. Petersburg, Florida, along with his gothic rock group The Marked. Due to the limited success of the formation, Corgan returns to Chicago after the dissolution of the group and begins to work in a music store. While working at the record store, Corgan met guitarist James Iha. Both began to write songs together, helped by a drum machine, giving the first concert under the name Smashing Pumpkins on July 9, 1988 at a venue called Chicago 21.
It should be noted that at the end of the 80s when Billy Corgan founded The Smashing Pumpkins, he combined his band with another band called "Deep Blue Dream", a band with sounds closer to new wave and post punk that was founded by the musician Wayne Static (Later leader of the industrial metal band Static-X), however, when Smashing Pumpkins began to gain popularity, Corgan decided to devote all his attention to said band and Deep Blue Dream disbanded subsequently.
The Smashing Pumpkins were heavily influenced by The Cure and New Order. Shortly thereafter, Corgan met D'arcy Wretzky during a discussion at the Dan Reed Network presentation in Chicago. After learning that Wretzky played bass, Corgan invited her into the group and they performed their first performance as a trio at the Avalon club in Chicago. After the concert, Cabaret Metro owner Joe Shanahan made an offer to the band at the who offered their support in exchange for replacing the drum machine with a drummer.
The chosen one was Jimmy Chamberlin, who had been part of some jazz formations, so Shanahan agreed to add the group to the rock lineup Against Depression along with October's Child and Love and Addiction. On October 5, 1988, the full lineup played at Cabaret Metro.
During 1989, the band recorded a series of demo cassettes, which were compiled in 1995 into a bootleg called Early 1989 Demos. The Smashing Pumpkins released their first recording, a limited edition single called "I Am One", released in 1990 on Chicago's Limited Potential record label. After selling all the copies, they released the single "Tristessa", released in 1990 by the Sub Pop record label, after the group signed a contract with Virgin Records. For the recording of The Smashing Pumpkins' debut album, Virgin Records hired producer, Butch Vig. Together they recorded the album Gish in 1991, at Smart Studios in Madison, Wisconsin, owned by Vig. The album was released on May 28, 1991, through Caroline Records, a Virgin subsidiary. To gain the consistency he wanted, Corgan preferred to record all the instruments except the drums, which created a tense atmosphere among the group members. Gish became a minor hit, dwarfed by the success of Nirvana's Nevermind. The group promoted the album with a tour, opening for groups including the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Jane's Addiction and Guns N' Roses. During the tour, Iha and Wretzky broke up (since they were a couple), Chamberlin became addicted to narcotics and alcohol, and Corgan fell into a deep state of depression, which led him to write songs for the next album in the apartment. where he was staying then.
1992-1994: commercial success
The group temporarily moved to Marietta, Georgia, between December 1992 and March 1993, to work intensively and without distractions on the recordings of what would be their new album, at Triclops Sound Studios from Atlanta, produced by Butch Vig and Billy Corgan. Finally, on July 27, 1993, the second album appears, Siamese Dream, which debuted in tenth place on the Billboard chart, and sold four million copies in the United States. The promotional music videos were "Cherub Rock", "Today", "Disarm", and "Rocket"; being the first two those that had a strong rotation on the MTV network.
The recording of the album was hard and complicated, since the members of the band argued constantly: Chamberlin became really addicted to alcohol, disappearing for days on end. Also, it was rumored that Corgan, just like the previous work, had recorded all the guitar and bass parts. This made it appear to the press as if Corgan was a true tyrant, to which Corgan replied that he had recorded most of the guitar sounds only because he did it in less time. During the four months of recording, the budget extended to $250,000.
On October 4, 1994, Virgin Records released a compilation of B-sides from the album Siamese Dream, under the name Pisces Iscariot. This record was produced by Kerry Brown, Billy Corgan, Dale Buffin Griffin, James Iha, Butch Vig, and Ted de Bono. Taking advantage of the opportunity, a VHS cassette titled Vieuphoria was also released, which included live material, among others. A CD version of Vieuphoria, titled Earphoria was released promotionally on radio stations. After touring extensively in order to afford the recordings, which included appearances on the 1994 Lollapalooza tour and the 1995 Reading Festival, the group chose to take a break to compose the next album.
1995-1997: Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness
During 1995, Corgan holed up in his apartment and wrote 56 songs for his new album. Following this display of creativity from Corgan, the Smashing headed into the studio to record their next album, which Corgan described as the " The Wall of the '90s," compared to Pink Floyd's famed concept double album.
On October 24, 1995 Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness was released, a 28-song double album that debuted at number one on the Billboard chart of October 1995, selling sixteen million copies worldwide and went nine platinum, becoming the best-selling double album of the decade at the time. After the album's release, Time magazine listed the work as &# 34;the most ambitious by the Smashing Pumpkins". The album earned seven 1997 Grammy Award nominations, winning Best Hard Rock Performance for the song "Bullet with Butterfly Wings". This and four other songs were released as singles, three of them reaching a gold record. Many of the remaining songs of the 56 composed for the album were released as B-sides on "The Airplane Flies High".
In 1996, the band began a promotional tour around the world, called Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness Tour. During this tour, Corgan changes his style, shaving his head and wearing T-shirts with the word Zero in the vast majority of concerts, for which he becomes a musical icon. As a result of the release of their new album, the group was caricatured in an episode of The Simpsons in 1996 along with Sonic Youth and Peter Frampton. On May 11, 1996, during a performance at the Point Theater in Dublin, a tragedy occurred. During a performance of an energetic version of "Bullet with Butterfly Wings," a seventeen-year-old named Bernadette O'Brien was crushed by the crowd, suffering a series of internal injuries that ultimately led to her death. The concert was quickly finished, and the live show the following night was cancelled, out of respect for the young woman.
On July 12, 1996, the group was embroiled in another controversy when tour keyboardist Jonathan Melvoin and Jimmy Chamberlin overdosed on heroin and alcohol in a New York hotel. Melvoin passed away, and Chamberlin was arrested for drug possession. A few days later, the group issued a public statement declaring Chamberlin's expulsion as a result of the incident. The group ended the tour with another keyboardist and drummer, which Corgan in retrospect called the worst decision the group has ever made, damaging the members and the group's reputation. By 1998, a Smashing Pumpkins cover of the Depeche Mode song "Never Let Me Down Again" was included on the tribute album For the Masses.
1998-2000: Adore, Machina and disbandment
During the recording of his next album, Iha declares that «the future is in electronic music. It must be really boring to only play rock music. »These statements become a statement of intent for his next album, which would come out after a period of experimentation with solo projects, Adore . Previously, the band had recorded a song for the soundtrack of the movie Batman & Robin, "The End Is The Beginning Is The End", which would end up winning the Grammy for Best Hard Rock Performance. Adore radically changed his style, clearly approaching electronic positions beyond music based on the classic formation of guitar, bass and drums. Despite the fact that the album received very good reviews and was nominated for Best Alternative Performance at the Grammys, sales were disastrous, being considered the biggest failure in the group's discography. The album sold nearly 830,000 copies in the United States, achieving triple sales on the other side of the Atlantic.
Shortly after the album was released, the group embarked on an extensive tour around the United States to raise funds for an NGO, to which 100% of the total proceeds from the tour were sent. In addition, the cost of the tour was covered entirely from the pockets of the band members. In conclusion, the total donated to the NGO was 2.8 million dollars. In 1999, Jimmy Chamberlin rejoined the group, after rehabilitating himself from his drug addiction. But again the quartet breaks up, since D'arcy left the group at the end of the recordings of the album in progress, in September of the same year, for reasons not clarified by the group. Melissa Auf der Maur, bassist of Hole, was invited to participate in the Sacred and Profane promotional tour. She additionally appeared in the music videos for the album's promotional singles. On February 29, 2000, Machina/The Machines of God was published. The album goes on sale with excellent reviews, more accessible than its predecessor, and enters the Billboard charts in third place. Before long it crumbles on the charts, selling less than Adore.
In a live interview on KROQ radio in May 2000, Billy Corgan announced the group's decision to disband at the end of the year, adding additional dates to their current tour. The latest album by the Smashing Pumpkins, Machina II/The Friends & Enemies of Modern Music, which would correspond to the second part of the previous album, was released in September of that same year. Only twenty-five copies were distributed among the friends of the group, with permission to freely distribute the content on the Internet. The album contained 1 LP and 3 EPs, recorded by Constantinople Records, a label created by Corgan. The decision to record the album independently and to distribute the material over the internet stemmed from Virgin Records' refusal to release a double album, given the low sales of the last two albums. The Smashing Pumpkins performed their last concert at Cabaret Metro, the same venue where they began their career twelve years earlier. For the occasion, Melissa Auf der Maur played, replacing D'arcy who did not want to participate. On the same day, the group also released their latest single: "Untitled". The four hour concert was recorded on video for a later DVD release.
2001-2004: after disbandment
On November 20, 2001, a greatest hits compilation, called Rotten Apples, was released. Along with the single version of the album, a limited double edition was released, which included a compilation of B-sides and rarities, called Judas 0. As an accompaniment, a DVD called Greatest Hits Video Collection 1991-2000 was released which compiled all of the group's promotional music videos, from Gish to Machina/The Machines of God, along with previously unpublished material.
In 2001, Corgan and Chamberlin reunited to form a project after the breakup of the Smashing. His only album, called Mary Star of the Sea, was released under the name of Zwan, which got good reviews but did not materialize commercially, with which Corgan left the project in 2003. On November 2002 the compilation album Earphoria and the DVD Vieuphoria were released jointly. A compilation album, called Rarities and B-Sides, was released through various online music stores on April 5, 2005. A total of 114 songs were released for digital service. of this type, such as the iTunes Music Store, among others.
After Zwan's breakup, Corgan began a solo career releasing a single album, TheFutureEmbrace, in 2005, as well as publishing a book of poetry called "God Is Everywhere From Here To There". On the other hand, Chamberlin started a project called Jimmy Chamberlin Complex, releasing an album in 2005 entitled Life Begins Again. In turn, Iha collaborates with A Perfect Circle and with Chino Moreno, as well as founding his own record label, Scratchie Records. Finally, Wretzky has not done any type of interview or participated in any album, but she was arrested in 2005 for possession of cocaine.
2005-2008: reformation and Zeitgeist
On June 21, 2005, on the occasion of the official launch of TheFutureEmbrace, Billy Corgan published a one-page ad in the Chicago Tribune newspaper, announcing, among other things, his desire to reunite to the band «For a year now, I have been haunting a secret, a secret that I have chosen to keep. But now I want you to be the first to know that I have plans to revamp and resurrect the Smashing Pumpkins. I want my band, my songs and my dreams back."
On April 20, 2006, an announcement was posted on the official website confirming the group's reunion and plans to record a new album in the summer. Later, on July 28, 2006, a message was posted on the official website, saying that the group was currently in the studio, preparing the first album after a seven-year hiatus. Roy Thomas Baker would later be confirmed as the album's producer. According to a message posted by Jimmy Chamberlin on October 20, 2006 on the band's MySpace blog, after finishing work with Baker they enlisted the help of producer Terry Date, who previously worked with Deftones, Pantera and Soundgarden. On January 26, 2007, the group announced the programming of the first concerts in Europe, starting at the Rock am Ring and Rock im Park festivals in Germany, on June 2 and June 3 of the same year, respectively.
On February 7 of the same year, Billy Corgan announced that the band's first post-reunion album, titled Zeitgeist, was scheduled to be released on July 7, 2007, by Reprise. records. Said date would later be postponed to July 10 of the same year.
After a series of doubts regarding who would be the members who would participate in the meeting, being the only ones confirmed Billy Corgan and Jimmy Chamberlin, James Iha confirmed in an interview that he would not be part of the meeting, in April 2007. The obvious exclusion of D'arcy Wretzky, who has withdrawn from music since leaving the group, and the confirmation that Melissa Auf der Maur would not participate in the meeting either, increased doubts. However, the band hired bassist Ginger Reyes soon after.
On May 22, The Smashing Pumpkins returned to the stage, after almost 7 years, at the Le Grand Rex theater in Paris, before an audience of approximately 2,200 spectators. The concert lasted 3 hours and they played 29 songs; including old hits like "Today", "1979" along with songs from his new album, such as his new single "Tarantula". (bass), plus Lisa Harriton on keyboards and backing vocals. January 2, 2008 was marked as the release date for the American Gothic EP on iTunes, adding four new songs to the band's discography. The EP in CD format was released on February 11, 2008. Two weeks later, on February 25, a new UK-only exclusive version of the work was released.
2009-2013: Teargarden, Oceania and tenth studio album
In March 2009, Jimmy Chamberlin decided to leave the group, being replaced a few months later by Mike Byrne, a nineteen-year-old boy from Portland. In September 2009, Billy Corgan announced on his blog that he was launching a new album, titled Teargarden by Kaleidyscope. This could be downloaded completely free through his website. There would be 44 songs and the original idea was to release the first four songs for Halloween and then gradually add the rest. Billy has said that he has returned to his psychedelic roots for the making of the record.
The group planned to release their new album Teargarden By Kaleidyscope for free over the Internet one song at a time. The first single, "A Song For A Son", was released in December 2009. In March 2010, Ginger Reyes officially left the band. Corgan subsequently held auditions for a new bass player. In May, Nicole Fiorentino announced that she had joined the band as bassist, and that she was working on Teargarden By Kaleidyscope. That same month the first EP of the series was released: Songs for a Sailor. The new lineup is currently on a world tour to promote this new project. In November 2010 the second EP was released: The Solstice Bare, which was preceded by the singles "Freak" and "Tom Tom".
During the first half of 2011, the band released two new singles from Teargarden by Kaleydiscope, "Lighting Strikes" and "Owata", Corgan announced that after these songs the group would enter to record a studio album called Oceania, which in the words of the frontman would be "an album within an album" since Oceania was part of the ambitious 44-song project.
2014-2017
On March 25, 2014, Corgan announced that he had signed a new record deal with BMG, for two new albums, Monuments to an Elegy and Day for Night, titled respectively. In June, it was revealed that Mike Byrne was no longer part of the band, to be replaced by Mötley Crüe's Tommy Lee, and it was also confirmed that Nicole Fiorentino was no longer part of the band. In this way Monuments to an Elegy was recorded entirely by Billy Corgan on voice, guitar, bass, piano and synthesizers; Jeff Schroeder on guitar; and Tommy Lee on drums. The album was released on December 9, 2014 and has received generally positive reviews and her next album is already expected. Also in September 2014 was released the reissue of Adore her fourth album, a reissue with a total of 107 songs delivered in this revamped version: live takes and demos, in formats ranging from CD, DVD and vinyl.
At the end of 2014 and beginning of 2015 the band toured Europe, North America, Australia and South America promoting the album Monuments to an Elegy and their greatest hits, the surprise was the formation of the band that so far is only for live performance, Corgan invited the musicians Brad Wilk drummer of Rage Against the Machine and former Audioslave, and Mark Stoermer bassist of The Killers, and together with guitarist Jeff Schroeder are currently the new formation of The Smashing Pumpkins live. On this tour he also had another surprise guest, the singer Marilyn Manson who took the stage in London and Sydney performing the song "Ava Adore".
On March 15, 2015 they performed in a new version of Lollapalooza Chile 2015, where they changed the usual setlist to play and remember their greatest hits. They also performed in Peru, Argentina and Brazil respectively. At the end of this tour, Corgan will dedicate himself to working on the band's next album.
On June 24, 2015, Jimmy Chamberlin's reintegration into the band for the third time was announced, Corgan invited him to be part of the band for a joint tour of Smashing Pumpkins with Marilyn Manson across the United States. Although Corgan did not clarify if Chamberlin's stay will be permanent. While Jimmy has stated: “Billy asked me if he might consider coming back for the tour. It's a great opportunity to not only celebrate music, but also friendship and our legacy."
On March 26, 2016, the band was performing in Los Angeles and James Iha reappeared on stage to the surprise of the audience. It was the first time in sixteen years that James Iha had performed again with The Smashing Pumpkins, also coinciding with his birthday. With Iha on guitar, the band played the songs "Mayonaise", "Soma", "Rocket", "Today", "Disarm" and "Spaceboy" from the album Siamese Dream and "Whir" from the album Pisces Iscariot. James performed in several more shows on this tour. Although there was no official statement confirming James Iha as a permanent member of the band, he did leave the door open for a possible reunion of all the original members.
2018: return of the original line-up and Shiny and Oh So Bright, Vol. 1 / LP: No Past. Not Future. No Sun.
At the beginning of 2018, Billy Corgan announced that he would reunite the original line-up of the band, reintegrating guitarist James Iha, news that his fans had been waiting for years, but bassist D& was not included in that meeting #39;arcy Wretzky despite her interest in working with her former colleagues again.
In March 2018, Corgan mentioned that the band planned to release two EPs in 2018, with the first one tentatively planned for May. On June 8, 2018, the band's first single, " Solara".
In September 2018, they announced the album Shiny and Oh So Bright, Vol. 1 / LP: No Past. Not Future. No Sun., which was released through Napalm Records on November 16, 2018. The album was the victim of mostly negative reviews, however Corgan continues to work and write for what would become Vol. 2 of this series. Of discs.
Pop Culture
In the video game Guitar Hero 3 the song «Cherub Rock» appears, this same song also appears in Rock Band as well as the songs Siva and Zero, the latter two are downloadable. In Rock Band 2 the song "Today" appears. In the video game Guitar Hero World Tour there is also the song Today as well as a downloadable pack containing the songs "1979", "The Everlasting Gaze" and his new single "G.L.O.W.", in this same game Billy Corgan appears as a playable character. In Guitar Hero 5 the song "Bullet with Butterfly Wings" appears. In GTA IV, on Liberty Rock Radio, the song "1979" appears.
When releasing the album Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness, Smashing Pumpkins appears caricatured in episode #24 of the seventh season of The Simpsons called Homerpalooza along with Sonic Youth and Peter Frampton, in this episode they perform the song "Zero". In the movie Scott Pilgrim vs. The World, the protagonist played by Michael Cera wears the famous Zero and Corazón shirts, both symbols of the best days of the Smashing Pumpkins.
The Basque public channel Euskal Irrati Telebista - Radio Televisión Vasca used in May 2000, due to the change of image, produced after eighteen years of using the txori in all its radio and television channels, under the soundtrack With every light.
Members
Timeline
Discography
- Gish (1991)
- Siamese Dream (1993)
- Pisces Iscariot (1994)
- Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness (1995)
- Adore (1998)
- Machina/The Machines of God (2000)
- Machina II/The Friends " Enemies of Modern Music (2000)
- Zeitgeist (2007)
- Teargarden by Kaleidyscope (2009-2014)
- Oceania (2012)
- Monuments to an Elegy (2014)
- Shiny and Oh So Bright, Vol. 1 / LP: No Past. No Future. No Sun. (2018)
- Cyr (2020)
- Atum: A Rock Opera in Three Acts (2023)