The Smashing Pumpkins

The Smashing Pumpkins (also referred to as simply Smashing Pumpkins) are an American alternative rock band from Chicago. Formed in 1988 by frontman and guitarist Billy Corgan, bassist D'arcy Wretzky, guitarist James Iha and drummer Jimmy Chamberlin, the band has undergone several line-up changes since their reunion in 2006, with Corgan being the sole constant member since its inception. The current lineup features Corgan, Chamberlin, Iha and guitarist Jeff Schroeder.

Disavowing the punk rock roots of many of their contemporaries, they have a diverse, densely-layered sound, containing elements of gothic rock, heavy metal, dream pop, psychedelic rock, progressive rock, shoegaze, and electronica in later recordings. Corgan is the group's primary composer; his musical versatility and cathartic lyrics have shaped the band's distinctive albums, which one writer described as "anguished, bruised reports from Billy Corgan's nightmare-land". With 30 million albums sold worldwide, the Smashing Pumpkins were one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed bands of the 1990s, often cited as an important act in the popularization of alternative rock music. However, internal conflicts, drug use, and diminishing sales led to a break-up in 2000.

In 2006, Corgan and Chamberlin reconvened to record a new Smashing Pumpkins album, '' Zeitgeist''. After touring throughout 2007 and 2008 with a lineup including new guitarist Jeff Schroeder, Chamberlin left the band in early 2009. Later that year, Corgan began a new recording series with a rotating lineup of musicians entitled '' Teargarden by Kaleidyscope'', which encompassed stand-alone singles, EP releases, and two full albums that also fell under the project's scope—''Oceania'' in 2012 and ''Monuments to an Elegy'' in 2014. Chamberlin and Iha officially rejoined the band in February 2018. The reunited lineup released the album '' Shiny and Oh So Bright, Vol. 1 / LP: No Past. No Future. No Sun.'' (2018), '' Cyr'' (2020) and is scheduled to release '' Atum: A Rock Opera in Three Acts'' in three increments across 2022 and 2023.

History

Early years: 1988–1991

Vocalist Billy Corgan in 1992
After the breakup of his gothic rock band The Marked, singer and guitarist Billy Corgan left St. Petersburg, Florida, to return to his native city of Chicago, where he took a job in a record store and formed the idea of a new band to be called the Smashing Pumpkins. 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. The duo performed live for the first time on July 9, 1988, at the Polish bar Chicago 21. This performance included only Corgan on bass and Iha on guitar with a drum machine. Shortly thereafter, Corgan met D'arcy Wretzky after a show by the Dan Reed Network where they argued the merits of the band. After finding out Wretzky played bass guitar, Corgan recruited her into the lineup, and the trio played a show at the Avalon Nightclub. After this show, Cabaret Metro owner Joe Shanahan agreed to book the band on the condition that they replace the drum
machine with a live drummer.

Jazz drummer Jimmy Chamberlin was recommended by a friend of Corgan's. Chamberlin knew little of alternative music and immediately changed the sound of the nascent band. As Corgan recalled 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." On October 5, 1988, the complete band took the stage for the first time at the Cabaret Metro.

In 1989, the Smashing Pumpkins made their first appearance on record with the compilation album ''Light Into Dark'', which featured several Chicago alternative bands. The group released its first single, "I Am One", in 1990 on local Chicago label Limited Potential. The single sold out and they released a follow-up, "Tristessa", on Sub Pop, after which they signed to Caroline Records. The band recorded their 1991 debut studio album '' Gish'' with producer Butch Vig at his Smart Studios in Madison, Wisconsin for $20,000. In order to gain the consistency he desired, Corgan often played all instruments excluding drums, which created tension in the band. The music fused heavy metal guitars, psychedelia, and dream pop, garnering them comparisons to Jane's Addiction. ''Gish'' became a minor success, with the single "Rhinoceros" receiving some airplay on modern rock radio. After releasing the ''Lull'' EP in October 1991 on Caroline Records, the band formally signed with Virgin Records, which was affiliated with Caroline. 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.

Mainstream breakout and ''Siamese Dream'': 1992–1994

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 Smashing Pumpkins were routinely lumped in with the grunge movement, with Corgan protesting, "We've graduated now from 'the next Jane's Addiction' to 'the next Nirvana', now we're 'the next Pearl Jam'."

Amid this environment of intense internal pressure for the band to break through to widespread popularity, the band relocated to Marietta, Georgia in late 1992 to begin work on their second album, with Butch Vig returning as producer. The decision to record so far away from their hometown was motivated partly by the band's desire to avoid friends and distractions during the recording, but largely as a desperate attempt to cut Chamberlin off from his known drug connections. The recording environment for ''Siamese Dream'' was quickly marred by discord within the band. As was the case with ''Gish'', Corgan and Vig decided that Corgan should play nearly all of the guitar and bass parts on the album, contributing to an air of resentment.Azerrad, Michael. "Smashing Pumpkins' Sudden Impact", ''Rolling Stone''. October 1, 1993.Chamberlin, Jimmy; Corgan, Billy (interview subjects). ''Inside the Zeitgeist'' (Reprise Records, 2007). The contemporary music press began to portray Corgan as a tyrant. Corgan's depression, meanwhile, had deepened to the point where he contemplated suicide, and he compensated by practically living in the studio. Meanwhile, Chamberlin quickly managed to find new connections and was often absent without any contact for days at a time. In all, it took over four months to complete the record, with the budget exceeding $250,000.

Despite all the problems in its recording, ''Siamese Dream'' debuted at number ten on the ''Billboard'' 200 chart, and sold over four million copies in the U.S. alone. Alongside the band's mounting mainstream recognition, the band's reputation as careerists among their former peers in the independent music community was worsened. Indie rock band Pavement's 1994 song "Range Life" directly mocks the band in its lyrics, although Stephen Malkmus, lead singer of Pavement, has stated, "I never dissed their music. I just dissed their status." 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, derisively comparing them to REO Speedwagon ("by, of and for the mainstream") and concluding their ultimate insignificance. Fred Armisen said the band simply "flew past us" in the 90s Chicago music scene after his own band Trenchmouth had produced five albums. The opening track and lead single of ''Siamese Dream'', "Cherub Rock", directly addresses Corgan's feud with the "indie-world".

In 1994 Virgin released the B-sides/rarities compilation '' Pisces Iscariot'' which charted higher than ''Siamese Dream'' by reaching number four on the ''Billboard'' 200. 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.

''Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness'': 1995–1997

During 1995, Corgan wrote about 56 songs, following which the band went into the studio with producers Flood and Alan Moulder to work on what Corgan described as "''The Wall'' for Generation X", and which became '' Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness'', a double album of twenty-eight songs, lasting over two hours (the vinyl version of the album contained three records, two extra songs, and an alternate track listing). 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", ''Mellon Collie'' debuted at number one on the ''Billboard'' 200 in October 1995. Even more successful than ''Siamese Dream'', it was certified ten times platinum in the United States and became the best-selling double album of the decade. It also garnered seven 1997 Grammy Award nominations, including Album of the Year. The band won only the Best Hard Rock Performance award, for the album's lead single " Bullet with Butterfly Wings". The album spawned five singles—"Bullet with Butterfly Wings", "1979", "Zero", " Tonight, Tonight" which Corgan stated was inspired by the Cheap Trick song "I'll Be with You Tonight", and " Thirty-Three"—of which the first three were certified gold and all but "Zero" entered the Top 40. Many of the songs that did not make it onto ''Mellon Collie'' were released as B-sides to the singles, and were later compiled in '' The Aeroplane Flies High'' box set. The set was originally limited to 200,000 copies, but more were produced to meet demand.

In 1996 the Pumpkins undertook an extended world tour in support of ''Mellon Collie''. Corgan's look during this period—a shaved head, a long sleeve black shirt with the word "Zero" printed on it, and silver pants—became iconic. That year, the band also made a guest appearance in an episode of ''The Simpsons'', "Homerpalooza". With considerable video rotation on MTV, major industry awards, and "Zero" shirts selling in many malls, the Pumpkins were considered one of the most popular bands of the time.

In May, the Smashing Pumpkins played a gig at the Point Theatre in Dublin, Ireland. Despite the band's repeated requests for moshing to stop, a seventeen-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. However, while Corgan maintained that moshing's "time adcome and gone", the band would continue to request open-floor concerts throughout the rest of the tour.

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 announced that Chamberlin had been fired as a result of the incident. The Pumpkins chose to finish the tour, and hired drummer Matt Walker and keyboardist Dennis Flemion. Corgan later said the decision to continue touring was the worst decision the band had ever made, damaging both their music and their reputation. Chamberlin admitted in a 1994 ''Rolling Stone'' cover story that in the past he'd "gotten high in every city in this country and probably half the cities in Europe." But in recent years, he had reportedly been clean. On July 17, the Pumpkins issued a statement in which they said, "For nine years we have battled with Jimmy's struggles with the insidious disease of drug and alcohol addiction. It has nearly destroyed everything we are and stand for. … We wish imthe best we have to offer". 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."

''Adore'', ''Machina'', and breakup: 1998–2000

After the release of ''Mellon Collie'', the Pumpkins contributed many songs to various compilations. Released in early 1997, the song " Eye", which appeared on the soundtrack to David Lynch's '' Lost Highway'', relied almost exclusively on electronic instruments and signaled a drastic shift from the Pumpkins' previous musical styles. At the time, Corgan stated his "idea asto reconfigure the focus and get away from the classic guitars-bass-drum rock format." Later that year, the group contributed " The End Is the Beginning Is the End" to the soundtrack for the film '' Batman & Robin''. With Matt Walker on drums, the song featured a heavy sound similar to "Bullet with Butterfly Wings" while still having strong electronic influences. The song later won the 1998 Grammy for Best Hard Rock Performance. Though Corgan announced that the song represented the sound people could expect from the band in the future, the band's next album would feature few guitar-driven songs.
left, Original bassist D'arcy Wretzky in 1998
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. The record, cut with assistance from drum machines and studio drummers including Matt Walker, was infused with a darker aesthetic than much of the band's earlier work. The group also modified its public image, shedding its alternative rock look for a more subdued appearance. 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. The album nonetheless debuted at number 2 on the ''Billboard'' 200 and sold three times as many copies overseas. The band began a seventeen-date, fifteen-city charity North American tour in support of ''Adore''. At each stop on the tour, the band donated 100 percent of tickets sales to a local charity organization. The tour's expenses were entirely funded out of the band's own pockets. All told, the band donated over $2.8 million to charity as a result of the tour. On October 31, 1998, during Halloween, the band opened for Kiss at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, dressed in costume as The Beatles.

In 1999 the band surprised fans by reuniting with a rehabilitated Jimmy Chamberlin for a brief tour dubbed "The Arising", which showcased both new and classic material. The lineup was short-lived, however, as the band announced the departure of Wretzky in September during work on the album ''Machina/The Machines of God'', and the band was subsequently dropped by Sharon Osbourne Management. Former Hole bassist Melissa Auf der Maur was recruited for the "Sacred and Profane" tour in support of the album and appeared in the videos accompanying its release. Released in 2000, ''Machina'' was initially promoted as the Pumpkins' return to a more traditional rock sound, after the more gothic, electronic-sounding ''Adore''. The album debuted at number three on the ''Billboard'' charts, but quickly disappeared and as of 2007 had only been certified gold. Music journalist Jim DeRogatis, who described the album as "one of the strongest of their career", noted that the stalled sales for ''Machina'' in comparison to teen pop ascendant at the time "seems like concrete proof that a new wave of young pop fans has turned a deaf ear toward alternative rock."
file:Melissa Auf der Maur - Manchester (crop).jpg, Bassist Melissa Auf der Maur joined after Wretzky's departure in 1999
On May 23, 2000, in a live radio interview on KROQ-FM (Los Angeles), Billy Corgan announced the band's decision to break up at the end of that year following additional touring and recording. The group's final album before the break-up, ''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 twenty-five copies were cut, each of which was hand numbered and given to friends of the band along with band members themselves. The album, released under the Constantinople Records label created by Corgan, consisted of one double LP and three ten-inch EPs. Originally, the band asked Virgin to offer ''Machina II'' as a free download to anyone who bought ''Machina''. When the record label declined, Corgan opted to release the material independently.

On December 2, 2000, Smashing Pumpkins played a farewell concert at The Metro, the same Chicago club where their career had effectively started twelve years earlier. The four-and-a-half-hour-long show featured 35 songs spanning the group's career, and attendees were given a recording of the band's first concert at The Metro, ''Live at Cabaret Metro 10-5-88''. The single "Untitled" was released commercially to coincide with the farewell show.

Post-breakup: 2001–2004

In 2001 the compilation '' Rotten Apples'' was released. The double-disc version of the album, released as a limited edition, included a collection of B-sides and rarities called '' Judas O''. The ''Greatest Hits Video Collection'' DVD was also released at the same time. This was a compilation of all of the Pumpkins promo videos from ''Gish'' to ''Machina'' along with unreleased material. ''Vieuphoria'' was released on DVD in 2002, as was the soundtrack album ''Earphoria'', previously released solely to radio stations in 1994.
left, Original drummer Jimmy Chamberlin in 2014
Billy Corgan and Jimmy Chamberlin reunited in 2001 as members of Corgan's next project, the short-lived supergroup Zwan. The group's only album, '' Mary Star of the Sea'', was released in 2003. After cancelling a few festival appearances, Corgan announced the demise of the band in 2003. During 2001 Corgan also toured as part of New Order and provided vocals on their comeback album '' Get Ready''. In October 2004 Corgan released his first book, '' Blinking with Fists'', a collection of poetry. In June 2005, he released a solo album, ''TheFutureEmbrace'', which he described as "(picking) up the thread of the as-yet-unfinished work of the Smashing Pumpkins".Corgan, Billy. "A Message to Chicago from Billy Corgan", ''Chicago Tribune'', June 21, 2005. Despite this, it was greeted with generally mixed reviews and lackluster sales. Only one single, "Walking Shade", was released in support of the album.

In addition to drumming with Zwan, Jimmy Chamberlin also formed an alternative rock/jazz fusion project band called Jimmy Chamberlin Complex. The group released an album in 2005 titled '' Life Begins Again''. Corgan provided guest vocals on the track "Lokicat". James Iha served as a guitarist in A Perfect Circle, appearing on their ''Thirteenth Step'' club tour and 2004 album, '' eMOTIVe''. He has also been involved with other acts such as Chino Moreno's Team Sleep and Vanessa and the O's. He continues to work with Scratchie Records, his own record label, as well. D'arcy Wretzky has, aside from one radio interview in 2009, 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 cocaine, but after successfully completing a court-ordered drug education program, the charges were dropped.

Corgan insisted during this period that the band would not reform, although when Zwan broke up he announced, "I think my heart was in Smashing Pumpkins ��I think it was naive of me to think that I could find something that would mean as much to me." Corgan said in 2005, "I never wanted to leave the Smashing Pumpkins. That was never the plan." On February 17, 2004, Corgan posted a 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 rom Ihais only matched with the depth of my gratitude". Iha responded to Corgan's claims in 2005, saying, "No, I didn't break up the band. The only person who could have done that is Billy."

Reformation and ''Zeitgeist'': 2005–2008

On June 21, 2005, the day of the release of his first solo album ''TheFutureEmbrace'', Corgan took out full-page advertisements in the ''Chicago Tribune'' and ''Chicago Sun-Times'' 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 and Chamberlin were verified as participants in the reunion, but there was question as to whether other former members of the band would participate.

In April 2007 Iha and Auf der Maur separately confirmed that they were not taking part in the reunion. Chamberlin would later state that Iha and Wretzky "didn't want to be a part of" the reunion.Micallef, Ken. "The Evolution of Jimmy Chamberlin: Still Smashing!" ''Modern Drummer''. November 2007. The Smashing Pumpkins performed live for the first time since 2000 on May 22, 2007, in Paris, France. There, the band unveiled new touring members: guitarist Jeff Schroeder, bassist Ginger Reyes, and keyboardist Lisa Harriton. That same month, "Tarantula" was released as the first single from the band's forthcoming album. On July 7, the band performed at the Live Earth concert in New Jersey.

The band's new album, '' Zeitgeist'', was released that same month on Reprise Records, entering the ''Billboard'' charts at number two and selling 145,000 copies in its first week. ''Zeitgeist'' received mixed reviews, with much of the criticism targeted at the absence of half of the original lineup. The album divided the Pumpkins' fanbase. Corgan would later admit, "I know a lot of our fans are puzzled by ''Zeitgeist''. I think they wanted this massive, grandiose work, but you don't just roll out of bed after seven years without a functioning band and go back to doing that".

Corgan and Chamberlin continued to record as a duo, releasing the four-song EP ''American Gothic'' in January 2008 and the singles " Superchrist" and " G.L.O.W." later that year. That November, the group released the DVD '' If All Goes Wrong'', which chronicled the group's 2007 concert residences in Asheville, North Carolina and San Francisco, California. In late 2008, the band commenced on a controversy-riddled 20th Anniversary Tour. Around this time, Corgan said the group will make no more full-length records in order to focus exclusively on singles, explaining, "The listening patterns have changed, so why are we killing ourselves to do albums, to create balance, and do the arty track to set up the single? It's done."

''Teargarden'' and ''Oceania'': 2009–2013

In March 2009 Corgan announced on the band's website that Chamberlin had left the group and would be replaced. Chamberlin subsequently stated that his departure from the band is "a positive move forward for me. I can no longer commit all of my energy into something that I don't fully possess." Chamberlin stressed that the split was amicable, commenting, "I am glad organhas chosen to continue under the name. It is his right." Chamberlin soon formed the band Skysaw, which has released an album and toured in support of Minus the Bear. In July 2009 Billy Corgan formed a new group called Spirits in the Sky, initially as a tribute band to Sky Saxon of the Seeds, who had recently died. The following month Corgan confirmed on the band's website that 19-year-old Spirits in the Sky drummer Mike Byrne had replaced Chamberlin and that the pair was working on new Pumpkins recordings.

The group announced plans to release a 44-track concept album, '' Teargarden by Kaleidyscope'', for free over the Internet one track at a time. The first track, " A Song for a Son", was released in December 2009 to moderate press acclaim. In March 2010 Ginger Reyes officially left the band, prompting an open call for auditions for a new bassist. In May, Nicole Fiorentino

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