Nicole Margaret Fiorentino (born April 7, 1979) is an American

bass guitarist A bassist (also known as a bass player or bass guitarist) is a musician who plays a bass instrument such as a double bass (upright bass, contrabass, wood bass), bass guitar (electric bass, acoustic bass), synthbass, keyboard bass or a low bra ...

. Originally a touring member of the

alternative rock Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from Popular culture, mainstre ...

band

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 Chamb ...

(replacing

Ginger Pooley Ginger A. Pooley (née Reyes, born April 22, 1977) is an American rock musician, best known as a bassist and backing vocalist for the Chicago alternative rock band The Smashing Pumpkins. More recently she has played bass for Gwen Stefani and Lea M ...

and her temporary replacement

Mark Tulin Mark may refer to: Currency * Bosnia and Herzegovina convertible mark, the currency of Bosnia and Herzegovina * East German mark, the currency of the German Democratic Republic * Estonian mark, the currency of Estonia between 1918 and 1927 * Finn ...

),The Smashing Pumpkins Announce New Member, Bassist Nicole Fiorentino
". Press release. SmashingPumpkins.com. May 10, 2010.Goodman, William.
Smashing Pumpkins Reveal New Band Member
. ''

Spin Magazine ''Spin'' (stylized in all caps) is an American music magazine founded in 1985 by publisher Bob Guccione, Jr. Now owned by Next Management Partners, the magazine is an online publication since it stopped issuing a print edition in 2012. Histor ...

'' Online. May 11, 2010. she became an official member in 2010. She performs on the band's third ''

Teargarden by Kaleidyscope ''Teargarden by Kaleidyscope'' is a music project by alternative rock band The Smashing Pumpkins that was started in late 2009 by frontman Billy Corgan following the second departure of original drummer Jimmy Chamberlin. The project initially w ...

'' EP (2011) and subsequent album ''

Oceania Oceania (, , ) is a region, geographical region that includes Australasia, Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia. Spanning the Eastern Hemisphere, Eastern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres, Oceania is estimated to have a land area of ...

'' (2012). Fiorentino departed the band in 2014.

Biography

Fiorentino was born in

Ludlow, Massachusetts Ludlow is a New England town in Hampden County, Massachusetts, Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 21,002 as of the 2020 2020 United States Census, census, and it is considered part of the Springfield Springfield me ...

. Prior to joining the Smashing Pumpkins, she was a member of Radio Vago, Chicago alternative act

Veruca Salt Veruca Salt is an American alternative rock band founded in Chicago, Illinois, in 1992 by vocalist-guitarists Nina Gordon and Louise Post, drummer Jim Shapiro and bassist Steve Lack. They are best known for their first single, " Seether", that ...

Spinnerette Spinnerette was an alternative rock band formed in 2007. The band was a vehicle for the solo career of Brody Dalle following the breakup of her previous band, The Distillers, in 2006. The band featured Tony Bevilacqua (also from The Distillers) ...

, Twilight Sleep, and

Light FM 89.9 TheLight (call sign 3TSC) is a Christian community radio station in Melbourne, Australia attracting more than a million listeners per month. It broadcasts on the FM band with the frequency of 89.9, on DAB+ digital radio and streams online ...

, the last of which opened for

Billy Corgan William Patrick Corgan Jr. (born March 17, 1967) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and professional wrestling promoter. He is best known as the lead singer, primary songwriter, guitarist, and only permanent member of the rock band the ...

's one-off band Backwards Clock Society in November 2009. Within a February 17, 2011 post on Smashing Pumpkins' Facebook page, Fiorentino claimed she was one of the girls on the cover of the Pumpkins' 1993 album ''

Siamese Dream ''Siamese Dream'' is the second studio album by American alternative rock band the Smashing Pumpkins, released on July 27, 1993, on Virgin Records. Despite recording sessions fraught with difficulties and tensions, ''Siamese Dream'' debuted at num ...

''. Although it was received by many fans to have been in jest, several news sources and a portion of the fan community believed this to be a genuine claim.Various Authors
Bassist Nicole Was on Cover of Siamese Dream – Netphoria Message Board
. Thread on fansite forum. Netphoria.com. 2011-18-02.Gomez, Ricardo; Mapes, Jillian; Peoples, Glen; Rutherford, Kevin
Billboard Bits: Paramore Eyes Summertime for New Music, Pete Wentz ?Couldn?t Trust? Ashlee Simpson , Billboard.com
. Online.

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

.com. 2011-18-02. ''Rolling Stone'' suggested that Corgan had "decided to pull a Twitter prank".Greene, Andy
Is the New Smashing Pumpkins Bassist on the Cover Of 'Siamese Dream'? , Rolling Stone Music
. Online.

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...

.com. 2011-18-02. Former SmashingPumpkins.com webmaster, Paul Friemel, later claimed that both cover models had been located in 2007 and that neither was Fiorentino. In 2010, Fiorentino began working with

Meghan Toohey Meghan Toohey is a multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, singer, producer, and performer from Massachusetts who resides in New York City. After fronting a Boston-based band called The So and So's, Toohey moved to LA and switched her focus to playing ...

under the group name The Cold and Lovely. In 2012 their debut album was released after it was funded through

Kickstarter Kickstarter is an American public benefit corporation based in Brooklyn, New York, that maintains a global crowdfunding platform focused on creativity. The company's stated mission is to "help bring creative projects to life". As of July 2021, ...

. The album produced one single and video for the song "Not With Me" released on April 24. The following year, on September 24, 2013, The Cold and Lovely released their sophomore record entitled "Ellis Bell EP". In October 2013, Australian art rock band The Red Paintings announced Fiorentino would be performing with them as part of their new 'Wasps' stage show premiere live on AXS TV, October 7. Fiorentino spent most of 2014 working with The Cold and Lovely. The group played a SXSW tour, supporting the re-release their ''Ellis Bell'' EP. They recorded a follow-up EP with new songs. They went on a summer tour of the U.S. East Coast. In May 2014, Fiorentino provided backing vocals to London band, The Microdance's début album ''New Waves of Hope''. In the fall of 2014, Fiorentino joined the band

Night Terrors of 1927 Night Terrors of 1927 was an American pop duo from Los Angeles, California, signed to Atlantic Records. The duo composed of Jarrod Gorbel (ex-front man for Brooklyn outfit The Honorary Title) and former Rilo Kiley guitarist Blake Sennett. In 20 ...

on their fall tour. In September 2014, Corgan stated in an interview with Alternative Nation that both Fiorentino and bandmate Mike Byrne were no longer members of The Smashing Pumpkins, citing different levels of commitment to the Smashing Pumpkins. However, Fiorentino and Corgan remain on amicable terms.

Personal life

Since 2012, Fiorentino has been married to her bandmate

. Fiorentino, who identifies as

queer ''Queer'' is an umbrella term for people who are not heterosexual or cisgender. Originally meaning or , ''queer'' came to be used pejoratively against those with same-sex desires or relationships in the late 19th century. Beginning in the lat ...

, did not publicly disclose her sexuality until 2015, saying "The whole time I was in the Smashing Pumpkins, I was very vocal about my feelings on gay rights, but I never discussed it in terms of my own experiences. I just wasn't ready at that point for my own reasons."

Discography

With The Smashing Pumpkins *''

'' (2011) *''

'' (2012) *''Oceania: Live in NYC'' (2013) With Cold and Lovely *''The Cold and Lovely'' (2012) *''Ellis Bell EP'' (2013) *''What Have I Become'' (2015) With The Microdance *''New Waves of Hope'' (2015) With Veruca Salt *'' IV'' (2006) With Light FM *''Let There Be Light FM'' (2009) *''Buzz Kill City'' (2011)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Fiorentino, Nicole 1979 births American rock bass guitarists Women bass guitarists American LGBT musicians Queer musicians Queer women Living people American people of Italian descent The Smashing Pumpkins members People from Ludlow, Massachusetts Guitarists from Massachusetts American alternative rock musicians Alternative rock bass guitarists LGBT people from Massachusetts Veruca Salt members 21st-century American women musicians 21st-century American bass guitarists