The Smashing Pumpkins
The Smashing Pumpkins is a popular
American alternative rock band which formed in
Chicago, Illinois in 1988.
Less influenced by
punk rock than many of their contemporaries, the Pumpkins have a densely layered and guitar-heavy sound, containing elements of
gothic rock,
heavy metal,
dream pop,
psychedelic rock,
progressive rock,
shoegazer-style production and, in later recordings,
electronica. The emotional tone of frontman
Billy Corgan's songwriting ranges from angry ("
Bullet with Butterfly Wings"), to dour ("
Disarm"), to jubilant ("
Cherub Rock").
Selling more than 40 million albums world-wide, the Smashing Pumpkins were one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed bands of the 1990s, but internal fighting, diminishing sales, and cultural vitality hampered the band in their later years, leading to a 2000 break-up. In April of 2006, the band officially announced they were reuniting and recording a new album.
The Smashing Pumpkins were originally
Billy Corgan (lead guitar and vocals),
James Iha (rhythm guitar),
D'arcy Wretzky (bass) and
Jimmy Chamberlin (drums). However,
Melissa Auf der Maur replaced Wretzky in the final year (December 1999 to December 2000) of the band. The band also dealt with several replacement drummers through 1997 and 1998 including
Matt Walker and
Kenny Aronoff during Chamberlin's dismissal from the band.
|
The Smashing Pumpkins circa 1991. Left to right: Chamberlin, Iha, Corgan, Wretzky |
At the age of 19, singer and guitarist Billy Corgan left his native
Chicago,
Illinois, moving to
St. Petersburg,
Florida with his
gothic rock band
The Marked, so called because of the birth marks on his and his drummer's hands. The band had limited success and quickly dissolved. Corgan returned to Chicago, taking a job in a record store. While working there, he met guitarist
James Iha. Adorning themselves with
paisley and other psychedelic trappings, the two began writing songs together (with the aid of a
drum machine) that were heavily influenced by
The Cure and
New Order. In 1988, Corgan met bassist D'arcy Wretzky during an argument at another band's gig in Chicago. Wretzky soon joined the band, and she and Iha would eventually have a short-lived personal relationship. They played their first gig as a trio at a Polish bar.
Jazz drummer Jimmy Chamberlin was brought in to the band after Cabaret Metro owner Joe Shanahan agreed to book the Pumpkins to open for
Jane's Addiction, provided they throw out the drum machine and recruite a human drummer. The addition of Chamberlin was at first an unlikely match, as Chamberlin knew nothing of alternative music at the time. As Corgan recollected of the period, "We were completely into the sad-rock, Cure kind of thing. It took about two or three practices before I realized that the power in his playing was something that enabled us to rock harder than we could ever have imagined".
[Kot, Greg. "Pumpkin Seeds". Guitar World. January 2002.] |
Gish, The band's 1991 Debut Album |
In 1989, the group had recorded a handful of demo tapes, which appeared on the 1995 bootleg release
Early 1989 Demos. They released their first record, a limited edition single of "
I Am One", in 1990 on local Chicago label Limited Potential. The single sold out and they released another single, "
Tristessa", on
Sub Pop, after which they signed to
Virgin Records. The Smashing Pumpkins recorded their 1991 debut album
Gish with
Sonic Youth producer
Butch Vig in his own studio,
Smart Studios in
Madison, Wisconsin. In order to gain the consistency he desired, Corgan often played all instruments on the record save drums, which created tension in the band. To give them
indie credibility, Virgin released the album on its subsidiary label
Caroline Records. The music fused
heavy metal guitars,
psychedelia and
dream pop, garnering them comparisons to Jane's Addiction.
[Rotondi, James. "Orange Crunch". Guitar Player. January 1996.] Gish became a minor success, with the single "
Rhinoceros" receiving some airplay in
Modern Rock radio. The band supported the album with a tour that included opening for bands such as the
Red Hot Chili Peppers, Jane's Addiction, and
Guns N' Roses. During the tour, Iha and Wretzky went through a messy breakup, Chamberlin became addicted to narcotics and alcohol and Corgan entered a deep
depression, writing some songs for the upcoming album in the parking garage where he lived at the time.
With the breakthrough of
alternative rock into the American mainstream due to the popularity of
grunge bands such as
Nirvana and
Pearl Jam, the Smashing Pumpkins were poised for major commercial success. At this time, the Pumpkins were routinely lumped in with the grunge movement due to their cathartic sound and heavy metal influences such as
Black Sabbath, amid their protests. In a
Halloween night interview on
120 Minutes in 1993, Corgan remarked, "We've graduated now from [being called] 'the next Jane's Addiction' to 'the next Nirvana', now we're 'the next Pearl Jam.'"
[Transcript of 120 Minutes interview, October 1993. Retrieved June 14, 2006.] The group nevertheless contributed the song "Drown" to the platinum-selling soundtrack of the 1992 movie
Singles, a film set in the
Seattle grunge music scene.
Corgan said that in the wake of Nirvana's landmark 1991 album
Nevermind, "We felt a great pressure that if we didn't come up with a record that was huge, we were done. It was that simple in our minds. We felt like our lives depended on it".
Feeling enormous critical and commercial pressure, Corgan's depression deepened to the point where he contemplated
suicide.
[Corgan has admitted on various occasions that the band's hit "Today" was written as an ironic statement about his suicidal thoughts at the time, perhaps most notably during the band's performance on an episode of VH1 Storytellers in 2000] To counteract his depression, Corgan worked overtime, saying he practically lived in the studio for the 1993 follow-up album,
Siamese Dream. The album was recorded at Triclops Sound Studios in
Atlanta, Georgia, mostly between December 1992 and March 1993, with Butch Vig reprising his role as producer; the band lived in
Marietta during the
Siamese Dream recording sessions. The decision to record so far away from their hometown was motivated partially to keep away from local friends and distractions during the recording, but largely as a desperate attempt to cut Chamberlin off from his known drug connections.
In this respect, the strategy failed miserably, as Chamberlin quickly managed to find new connections and often was absent without any contact for days at a time.
The recording environment was fraught with difficulty. The band fought constantly. Contemporary music press portrayed Corgan as somewhat of a tyrant during the recording sessions (accusations that Corgan admitted there was some truth to, although he felt the press misunderstood the situation),
[Mundy, Chris. "Strange Fruit: Success Has Come at a High Price For This Chicago Band". Rolling Stone. April 21, 1994.] with rumors circulating that he had recorded all the guitar and bass parts himself. It was never confirmed exactly how much each member participated on the album; Corgan did say he performed a majority of the guitar work, but only because he could record tracks and parts in far fewer takes.
[Azerrad, Michael. "Smashing Pumpkins' Sudden Impact". Rolling Stone. October 1, 1993.] Corgan said in a
Guitar World interview that the song "Soma" alone contains up to 40 overdubbed guitar parts. In all, it took over four months to complete the record with the budget exceeding $250,000. The troubles surrounding the recording sessions did not hamper the band's chances of success, however.
Siamese Dream debuted at number 10 on the
Billboard charts, sold four million copies in the
U.S. alone, and garnered the Pumpkins international attention for the videos for the songs "
Today" and "
Disarm"() through heavy rotation on
MTV.
While the Pumpkins were successful, they weren't universally adored by the alternative rock community. Accusations of careerism by the indie scene were levied against the band since its early days.
[Kelly, Christina. "Smashing Pumpkins-The multi-platinum band is over the infighting but can the harmony last?". US Magazine. December 1995.] Indie rock band
Pavement's 1994 song "Range Life" refers to the band with the lines "I don't understand what they mean/And I could really give a fuck". Former
Hüsker Dü frontman
Bob Mould called them "the grunge
Monkees",
and fellow Chicago musician/producer
Steve Albini wrote a scathing letter in response to an article praising the band where he countered the Pumpkins were no more alternative than
REO Speedwagon and determined them "by, of and for the mainstream" and "ultimately insignificant".
[Albini, Steve. "Three Pandering Sluts and Their Music-Press Stooge". Chicago Reader. January 28, 1994.] Others such as
Courtney Love of
Hole (who dated Corgan before marrying Nirvana's
Kurt Cobain) were vocal supporters of the band.
In 1994, Virgin released the
B-sides/rarities compilation
Pisces Iscariot which outperformed
Siamese Dream by reaching number four on the
Billboard charts. Also released was a VHS cassette titled
Vieuphoria featuring a mix of live performances and behind-the-scenes footage. Following relentless touring to support the recordings, including headline slots on the 1994
Lollapalooza tour and at
Reading Festival in 1995, the band took time off to write the follow-up album. Corgan worked non-stop over the next year and wrote, according to statements in interviews, about 56 songs for the next album. Following this spell of concentrated creativity, the Pumpkins went back into the studio with producers
Flood and
Alan Moulder to work on what Corgan described as
"The Wall of the '90s," a comparison with
Pink Floyd's famous double
concept album.
The result was
Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness, a
double album release featuring 28 songs and lasting over 2 hours (the vinyl version of the album contained three records, two extra songs and an alternate tracklisting). The songs were intended to hang together conceptually as a symbol of the cycle of life and death.
Praised by
Time as "the group's most ambitious and accomplished work yet",
[Review of Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness. Time. November 13, 1995.]Mellon Collie debuted at number one on the
Billboard charts in October 1995 and was even more successful than
Siamese Dream, selling over sixteen million copies worldwide. It also garnered seven 1996
Grammy Award nominations, including Album of the Year. The album spawned five singlesof which the first three were certified gold and all but "Zero" entered the Top 40. Many of the remaining songs that, for one reason or another, did not make it onto
Mellon Collie were released as B-sides to the singles, eventually compiled in the now out-of-print
The Aeroplane Flies High box set.
The Pumpkins embarked on a massive world tour in support of
Mellon Collie. Corgan's lookwas an iconic image of the period. The band also made a guest appearance in an episode of
The Simpsons in 1996 titled "
Homerpalooza". However, the year was not an entirely positive one for the band. In May 1996, the Smashing Pumpkins played a gig at
The Point Theatre in Dublin, Ireland. The venue was overcrowded and despite the band's repeated requests for moshing to stop, a 17 year old fan named Bernadette O'Brien was crushed to death. The concert ended early and the following night's performance in Belfast was cancelled out of respect for her.
The band suffered a personal tragedy on the night of
July 11,
1996, when touring keyboardist
Jonathan Melvoin and Chamberlin overdosed on
heroin in a hotel room in
New York City. Melvoin died, and Chamberlin was arrested for drug possession. A few days later the band issued a statement notifying the public that Chamberlin had been fired as a result of the incident.
Though the band finished the tour with another drummer and keyboardist, in retrospect Corgan called it the worst decision the band ever made, damaging themselves and their reputation in the long run.
Meanwhile the band had given interviews since the release of
Mellon Collie stating that it would be the last conventional Pumpkins record,
[Di Perna, Alan. "Zero Worship". Guitar World. December 1995.] and that rock was becoming stale. James Iha said at the end of 1996, "The future is in electronic music. It really seems boring just to play rock music."
[Graff, Gary. "Smashing Pumpkins-Rave of the Future". Guitar World. December 1996.]The Pumpkins' first post-
Mellon Collie material was "
The End is the Beginning is the End" (also appearing in a revamped form as "The Beginning is the End is the Beginning") for the
Batman & Robin soundtrack and "Eye" for
Lost Highway. Both contributions relied heavily on electronic influences and served as precursors to the group's next album.
|
Adore, the band's 1998 release. |
Recorded following the death of Corgan's mother and his divorce, 1998's
Adore represented a significant change of style from the Pumpkins' previous guitar based rock, veering into electronica, trimming much of the guitar-driven sonic underpinnings and infused with a slightly darker aesthetic. The record was cut using drum machines and was distinctly experimental in the vein of
post-punk bands such as
Depeche Mode, New Order, and The Cure (all of whom Corgan enjoyed in his youth). The group also modified its public image, shedding its alternative hipster look for a dark
Gothic persona. Although
Adore received favorable reviews and was nominated for Best Alternative Performance at the Grammy Awards, the album had only sold about 830,000 copies in the United States by the end of the year, which lead the music industry to consider it a failure;
the album nonetheless sold three times as many copies overseas.
The band's lineup changed again with the recording of 2000's
MACHINA/The Machines of God. The rehiring of a rehabilitated Jimmy Chamberlin signaled a return to a more familiar Pumpkins sound for the album, yet Wretzky departed the band after the recording sessions concluded. Former
Hole bassist
Melissa Auf der Maur was recruited for the "Sacred and Profane" tour in support of the album. Auf der Maur also appeared in the videos accompanying the album.
MACHINA was initially promoted as the Pumpkins' return to form, after the more gothic, electronic-sounding
Adore; however, on its release, many reviewers and fans took issue with the album's "
Wall of Sound" production, finding that what was intended to have been a reappearance of the band's signature hard rock sound had been overprocessed — in particular, stripping away the warmth and nuance for which Iha's and Corgan's guitar work had become known. In addition, many longtime fans became disenchanted with the conceptual nature of the album and its mystical and spiritual themes. The album debuted at number 3 on the
Billboard charts, but quickly disappeared and as of 2006 has only been certified gold.
On
May 23,
2000 in a live radio interview on
KROQ (Los Angeles), Billy Corgan announced the band's decision to break up at the end of that year following additional touring and recording.
In a first for an established band, the group's final album,
MACHINA II/The Friends & Enemies of Modern Music, was released in September 2000 in a limited pressing on vinyl with permission and instructions for free redistribution on the
Internet by fans. Only 25 copies were cut, each of which was hand numbered and given to friends of the band along with band members themselves. The album contained 1 LP and 3 EP's released under the
Constantinople Records label, created by Corgan. This is the only Smashing Pumpkins album released that is not under the
Virgin Records label. The reason for this decision was that Virgin refused Corgan's request to release a final double album, citing poor sales figures for the last two albums. This, combined with the fact that the band was on the verge of breaking up, and would therefore not perform the kind of extended tour necessary to properly promote a double album, led Virgin to feel that the double album would simply be a loss on their part.
|
The Smashing Pumpkins circa 2000. Left to right: Auf Der Maur, Iha, Corgan, Chamberlin. |
On
December 2,
2000, the Smashing Pumpkins played their final concert at The Metro, the same Chicago club where their career had effectively started twelve years earlier. The Smashing Pumpkins' final commercial recording was a single, "
Untitled", released to coincide with the final show. A video of the entire 4 hour concert (3 main sets and 4 encores in total) has yet to be released, though a video of the final performance of "Fuck You (An Ode to No One)" is included on
The Smashing Pumpkins Greatest Hits: 1991-2000 DVD release.
Post breakup
2001 saw the release of a greatest hits compilation,
Rotten Apples (Greatest Hits), which included various singles spanning their career. The double disc version of the album, released as a limited edition, included a B-sides/rarities collection called
Judas 0. The
Greatest Hits Video Collection DVD was also released around the same time, which compiled all of the Pumpkins promo videos from
Gish to
MACHINA along with unreleased material.
[ There is one notable omission, "The End Is the Beginning Is the End". This was excluded because the rights are owned by Warner Brothers, who loaned out the band from their regular label, Virgin Records.] Vieuphoria was released on DVD in 2002, as was the soundtrack album
Earphoria, previously only released to radio stations in 1994.
Corgan and Chamberlin would reunite in 2001 as members of Corgan's next project, the shortlived
Zwan. Their only album,
Mary Star of the Sea, was released to generally positive reviews, and after cancelling a few festival appearances Corgan announced the demise of the band in 2003 under cloudy circumstances.
On
February 17,
2004, Billy Corgan posted a bitter message on his personal
blog calling Wretzky a "mean-spirited drug addict" and blaming Iha for the breakup of The Smashing Pumpkins.
[http://billycorgan.livejournal.com/2004/02/17/ Retrieved June 14, 2006.] On
June 3,
2004, he added that "the depth of my hurt [from Iha] is only matched with the depth of my gratitude".
[http://billycorgan.livejournal.com/7905.html Retrieved June 14, 2006.] Iha responded to Corgan's claims in 2005 by saying "No, I didn't break up the band. The only person who could have done that is Billy".
[Spitz, Marc. "Head On". SPIN. Volume 21 number 8. August 2005.]In October 2004 Corgan released his first book, a collection of poetry entitled
Blinking with Fists. In June 2005 Corgan released a solo album titled
TheFutureEmbrace. It was greeted with generally mixed reviews and lackluster sales. Only one single, "Walking Shade," was released in support of the album.
During 2004 and 2005, Jimmy Chamberlin pursued a hobby in car-racing in Florida; he also formed a new band called
The Jimmy Chamberlin Complex. They released an album in 2005 titled
Life Begins Again.
Billy Corgan provided guest vocals on a track titled "Lokicat".
James Iha has completed his work as a guitarist in
A Perfect Circle and is currently appearing with other acts such as
Chino Moreno's
Team Sleep, and
Vanessa and the O's. He continues to work with his own record label as well, Scratchie Records. He is currently living in
New York.
D'arcy Wretzky has not made any public statements or appearances nor given any interviews since leaving the band in 1999. On
January 25,
2000, she was arrested after she allegedly purchased three bags of crack
cocaine, but after successfully completing a court-ordered drug education program, the charges were dropped.
On
June 21 2005, the day of the release of his album
TheFutureEmbrace, Corgan took out a full-page advertisement in the
Chicago Tribune newspaper to announce that he planned to reunite the band. "For a year now," Corgan wrote, "I have walked around with a secret, a secret I chose to keep. But now I want you to be among the first to know that I have made plans to renew and revive the Smashing Pumpkins. I want my band back, and my songs, and my dreams."
[Corgan, Billy. http://www.billycorgan.com/news050621.html. BillyCorgan.com. June 21, 2005.] Corgan appeared on Chicago morning television to discuss the advertisement and his new album, but gave little elaboration to the actual newspaper advertisement.
While performing at various drum clinics across Europe in September 2005, Jimmy Chamberlin confirmed that both a reunion tour and a new album were planned to begin in February 2006.
On
February 2 2006, MTV.com reported that Corgan and Chamberlin had signed a new management deal with the Front Line Management, with
Melissa Auf Der Maur confirming that the pair were currently working on an album of new material.
The only original members confirmed as of yet are Corgan and Chamberlin, but Auf Der Maur was quoted as saying "My services are always there to play my favorite songs. If D'arcy [Wretzky] is not available, I'm always happy to be second in line."
Official Announcement
On
April 20,
2006, it was officially announced on
www.smashingpumpkins.com that the band was back together writing material for their first album since 2000.
The band is currently recording the album over the summer of
2006. Corgan and Chamberlin are verified as members of the band; however, Iha and Wretzky have not stated any involvement in the reunion. According to an entry made on
May 30,
2006 at his previous band,
Polar Bear's website, former
Jane's Addiction bassist
Eric Avery may be the live bassist or session musician for the new lineup. On July 28, 2006 the band's official website was updated with a message saying "The Smashing Pumpkins are currently in the studio in preparation for their first album in 7 years".
*
List of alternative rock artists*
List of drug-related deaths*
SPISPOPD*
Timeline of alternative rock*Azerrad, Michael. "Smashing Pumpkins' Sudden Impact".
Rolling Stone. October 1, 1993.
*DeRogatis, Jim.
Milk It!: Collected Musings on the Alternative Music Explosion of the 90's. Cambridge: Da Capo, 2003.
*Erlewine, Stephen Thomas & Prato, Greg. "
The Smashing Pumpkins".
All Music Guide. Retrieved June 13, 2005.
*Kot, Greg. "Pumpkin Seeds".
Guitar World. January 2002.
*
Smashing Pumpkins.com *
Netphoria.org: Smashing Pumpkins News & Media fan site*
Siva - Smashing Pumpkins web site
*
The Smashing Pumpkins Fan Collaborative, a fan website*
SPLRA Contains a Wiki for tour information including recording information, pictures, banter, and information about locations.
