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The Smashing Pumpkins

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The Smashing Pumpkins
File:SmashingPumpkins-MCISera.jpg
Background information
Years active1988 – 2000
Members(right to left)
Jimmy Chamberlin
Billy Corgan
D'Arcy
James Iha

The Smashing Pumpkins (formed in Chicago, Illinois in 1988 and previously known as simply Smashing Pumpkins) were an influential American alternative rock band.

Less punk influenced than many of their contemporaries, the Pumpkins had a densely layered and guitar-heavy sound, containing elements of psychedelic rock, heavy metal, power pop, shoegazer-style production and, in later recordings, electronica. The emotional tone of bandleader Billy Corgan’s songs ranged from angry (“Bullet with Butterfly Wings”) to dour (“Disarm”) to jubilant (“Cherub Rock”).

Selling more than 12 million albums in the United States alone, the Smashing Pumpkins were one of the most commercially and critically successful bands of the 1990s, but infighting and diminishing sales and cultural vitality hampered the band in their later years, leading to a 2000 break-up. Recently, Corgan has announced a desire to reform the band.

Members

The Smashing Pumpkins were originally Billy Corgan (guitar and vocals), James Iha (guitar), D'arcy Wretzky (bass) and Jimmy Chamberlin (drums). However, Melissa auf der Maur replaced D'arcy in the final year (Dec. 1999 to Dec. 2000) of the band. The band also dealt with several replacement drummers through 1997 - 1998 which included Matt Walker and Kenny Aronoff.

History

Early years: Foundation and Gish

At the age of 19, singer and guitarist Billy Corgan left his native Chicago, Illinois, moving to St. Petersburg, Florida with his Goth 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. There, he met guitarist James Iha. They began writing songs with the aid of a drum machine. In 1988, Corgan met bassist D'arcy Wretzky during an argument at another band's gig in Chicago; Wretzky would join the band shortly after. Wretzky 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 threw out the drum machine and recruited a human drummer instead.

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 called "I Am One" in 1990 on local Chicago label Limited Potential. The single sold out and they released another single, "Tristessa" on Sub Pop Records, after which they signed to Virgin Records. To give them indie credibility, Virgin matched the band with Sonic Youth producer Butch Vig and recorded their 1991 debut album Gish in his own studio, Smart Studios in Madison, Wisconsin. They released the album on Virgin subsidiary label Caroline Records. Although the album is often associated with silent film actress Lillian Gish, Corgan has alleged that the record was not named for her. The music fused heavy metal guitars, psychedelia and Dream pop. The album became a minor success. During the Gish tour, Iha and Wretzky went through a messy breakup, Chamberlin became addicted to drugs 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. Gish sold poorly due to the release of Nirvana's classic album Nevermind Sales picked up later on, on the back of Siamese Dream

Siamese Dream : Mainstream success

Siamese Dream, the band's 1993 release.

To counteract his depression, Corgan worked overtime, saying he practically lived in the studio for the 1993 follow up album, Siamese Dream. Contemporary music press portrayed Corgan as something of a tyrant during the recording sessions, with rumors circulating that he had recorded all the guitar and bass parts himself, claims which band members say were greatly exaggerated. It was never confirmed exactly how much each member did on the album, although Billy did say he performed a majority of the guitar work, but only because he wrote the songs.

A bad case of writer's block came upon Corgan before recording and he feared he may not be able to finish an entire album's worth of songs. His writer's block is the subject of the song "Hummer".

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; he was once randomly discovered as far away as Athens, Georgia.

Corgan went on record saying if the record didn't sell well, the band would break up. Siamese Dream sold four million copies in the US, and the videos for the songs "Today" and "Disarm" garnered the Pumpkins international attention through heavy rotation on MTV. The album is generally considered to be the band's finest work.

In 1994, Virgin released a B-sides/rarities compilation Pisces Iscariot and a concert video Vieuphoria. A CD version of Vieuphoria, entitled Earphoria was released to radio stations only. In 2002, Vieuphoria (on DVD) and Earphoria were released to the public.

Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness

File:SmashingPumpkinsMellonCollie.jpg
Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness, the band's 1995 double CD.

Following relentless touring to support the recordings, 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 producer Flood 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-disc (triple on vinyl) album release featuring 28 songs and lasting over 2 hours. While the idea of an overriding concept was dropped somewhere along the way, (although many would argue the arrangement of the tracks on the album depicts the story of a disenchanted youngster going through the motions; hence, the argument made that it is a concept album) Mellon Collie became 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. Its hit songs included "Bullet with Butterfly Wings", "Tonight, Tonight," "1979" and "Zero." 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.

In May 1996, the Smashing Pumpkins played a gig in The Point Depot in Dublin, Ireland. The venue was over-crowded and despite the band's repeated requests for moshing to stop, a 17-year-old fan from Cork, 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. Corgan later said that he considered quitting show business for good after the event.

The band's fortunes changed significantly on July 12, 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. Chamberlin was subsequently fired from the band (though later rehired).

Though the band finished the tour with another drummer and keyboardist, their profile had taken a marked downturn. Billy Corgan became something of a hate figure amongst the hard rock press following a statement in which he declared rock to be dead. He stated that Mellon Collie would be the last Pumpkins record of that type, and that rock was, for himself at least, becoming stale due to a lack of willingness to experiment from other rock artists.

Adore

Billy Corgan
Main article: Adore

Recorded following the death of Corgan's mother, 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 much heavier mood. The record was cut using drum machines and was distinctly experimental. Corgan also modified his public image, shedding his alternative hipster look for a dark Gothic persona, and began hanging around with Marilyn Manson. Although Adore received quite favorable reviews and was nominated for Best Alternative Performance at the Grammys, the album sold only 3 million copies.

Machina

The return of a rehabilitated Jimmy Chamberlin for 2000's MACHINA/The Machines of God signaled a return to a more familiar Pumpkins sound, but failed to widely connect with fans. MACHINA also brought Corgan's desire to write a concept album to fruition.

The band's lineup changed again at this point. Bass player Wretzky departed after the recording of MACHINA/The Machines of God, and former Hole bassist Melissa Auf der Maur was recruited for the "Sacred and Profane" tour in support of the album.

MACHINA was supposed to return the Pumpkins to their signature rock sound, after the more Gothic/Electronic sounding Adore but Corgan's semi-conceptual gibbering and a bad case of over-production ruined the album for most of the bands cult following, Though Corgan's songwriting gift shines through on many songs.

Machina II & Breakup

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 2 LP's 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.

On August 5, 2005 an idea of the value of Machina II was discovered as the Q101 copy (#19) was put up for sale on eBay. The seller decided to end the auction four days early when the bidding had reached $10,000 from a bidder in France. This bidder has since disclosed that there was a mutual agreement after the auction was ended to cancel the sale transaction. It remains to be seen if this copy (or any other) will go up for sale again publicly in the near future, but clearly the whole incident shows that an original vinyl copy could easily fetch upwards of five-figure sums given the current market.

On December 2, 2000, 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 DVD of the 4 hour concert (3 main sets and 4 encores in total) is still in the works.

Post Breakup

2001 saw the release of a greatest hits compilation, Rotten Apples (Greatest Hits), which included various singles spanning their decade long career. The now rare double disc version of the album, released as a limited edition, included a B-sides/rarities collection called Judas 0. A greatest hits DVD was also released around the same time. It compiled all of the Pumpkins promo videos from Gish to MACHINA, the rare promo for "I Am One", a 15 minute short film called "Try" as well as a TV performance of "Geek U.S.A.". It also features the performance of "Fuck You (An Ode To No One)" from their final gig at the Metro. (There is one notable omission, "The End Is the Beginning Is the End", used in the Batman and Robin soundtrack. This is excluded because the rights are owned by Warner Brothers, who loaned out the band from their regular label, Virgin Records.)

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 mixed reviews, and after cancelling a few festival appearances Corgan announced the demise of the band in 2003.

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. On June 3, 2004, he added that "the depth of my hurt [from Iha] is only matched with the depth of my gratitude". In October, 2004, Corgan released his first book, a book of poetry entitled Blinking with Fists. He has also released a solo album, entitled "TheFutureEmbrace". At the same time, Jimmy Chamberlin is touring with his new band The Jimmy Chamberlin Complex who's first album, entitled Life Begins Again, features Billy Corgan singing a track entitled 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. D'arcy Wretzky has not made any statements or appearances since leaving the band in 1999.

Possible Reunion

On June 21 2005, the day of the release of Corgan's album TheFutureEmbrace, Billy 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."[1] Corgan appeared on Chicago morning television to discuss the advertisement and his new album, but gave little elaboration to the actual newspaper advertisement.


No other information was given as to the lineup or possible releases from the group, and he did not say when he would try to reform the Pumpkins. He signed the message off with the Pumpkins traditional logo. Jimmy Chamberlin is the only member that has publicly confirmed interest in joining up with former Smashing Pumpkins band members. Within the first few days after the publication of his ads Chamberlin gave a press interview where in he said he had not heard from D'arcy in years but still remained in e-mail contact with James Iha.

Discography

Studio Albums

Year Title Label Other information US Chart Position US Sales UK Chart Position
1991 Gish Caroline CD 195 1,100,000 -
1993 Siamese Dream Virgin CD, released by vinyl as two red EPs 10 4,600,000 4
1994 Gish Virgin Rerelease, remaster, CD, release by vinyl - - -
1995 Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness Virgin double CD - triple LP, released on vinyl as six 5 track EPs with revisited tracklisting and two bonus tracks 1 (1 week) 4,700,000 4
1998 Adore Virgin CD 2 1,100,000 5
2000 MACHINA/The Machines of God Virgin CD 3 583,000 7
2000 MACHINA II/The Friends & Enemies of Modern Music Constantinople 3 EPs of b-sides & 1 LP; only 25 made - the band encouraged free online distribution - - -


Sales listed are as of May 2005.

EPs and B-sides

Year Title Label Other information US Chart Position US Sales UK Chart Position
1991 Lull Caroline EP - - -
1994 Pisces Iscariot Virgin CD collection of B-sides 4 1,300,000 -
2001 Judas 0 Virgin limited edition bonus CD to Rotten Apples (see below); a collection B-sides meant to "sequel" Pisces Iscariot - - -

Live and compilations

Year Title Label Other information US Chart Position US Sales UK Chart Position
1994 Earphoria Virgin audio companion-piece to Vieuphoria - very limited promotional CD; full release in 2002 - - -
1994 Vieuphoria Virgin live VHS; re-released on DVD with additional bonus material in 2002 - - -
1995 Early 1989 Demos - unofficial release, originally recorded in 1989 - - -
1996 The Aeroplane Flies High Virgin box set of 5 expanded CD singles 42 307,000 -
2001 Rotten Apples (Greatest Hits) Virgin CD; a limited edition included Judas O (see above) 31 729,000 28
2001 Greatest Hits Video Collection Virgin DVD and VHS release; includes all music videos except "The End Is the Beginning Is the End" and the retrospective edit of "Untitled" - - -

In addition to official releases, there are a wide variety of bootleg and rare tracks circulating on the web. The among most substantial ones for the curious would probably be included the following:

  • Metro 1988-10-05 - a recording of their first gig at the Cabaret Metro; given as a special gift to all attendees of their final concert.
  • Reel Time Sessions - two 1989 recording sessions (one electric, one acoustic) of early material.
  • Mashed Potatoes - a five-disc set of rare recordings from 1988 to 1993. Compiled and distributed by Corgan personally for nine close members of family and friends for Christmas 1993.
  • Mellon Collie Demos - several different tapes of recordings from late 1994 and early 1995.
  • Gravity Demos - mostly instrumental demos made in 1994 during a break in the Siamese Dream tour.
  • Adore Demos - recorded in 1997; includes two demos for "The End is the Beginning Is the End", a track for the Batman and Robin soundtrack.
  • Machina Acoustic Demos - demos recorded solo by Corgan in late 1998
  • The Friends and Enemies of Modern Music - studio demos from 1999 and two live tracks from a Halloween 1998 show. Not to be confused with Machina II.

You can find some of these, along with other material, at [2], among other places.

Music videos

The music videos are collected on "The Smashing Pumpkins Greatest Hits Video Collection: 1991-2000," available on DVD. The End Is the Beginning Is the End was not included, since it was licensed to Warner Brothers. A version of Untitled shot in the studio during its recording is included as an easter egg; the popular live montage version was omitted for reasons unknown.

Sample

See also

References

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