Smashing.Pumpkins -
Interview with
Nic Harcourt
The Smashing Pumpkins (alternately known as simply
Smashing Pumpkins) is an
American alternative rock band from
Chicago, Illinois, formed in
1988. Formed by frontman
Billy Corgan (lead vocals, guitar) and
James Iha (guitar), the band included
D'arcy Wretzky (bass guitar) and
Jimmy Chamberlin (drums) in its original incarnation. It has undergone many line-up changes over the course of its existence, with the current lineup including
Corgan, rhythm guitarist
Jeff Schroeder and
Chamberlin.
Disavowing the punk rock roots of many of their alt-rock contemporaries, the Pumpkins have a diverse, densely layered, and guitar-heavy sound, containing elements of gothic rock, heavy metal,[3] dream pop, psychedelic rock, progressive rock, shoegazing, and electronica in later recordings. Corgan is the group's primary songwriter—his grand musical ambitions and cathartic lyrics have shaped the band's albums and songs, which have been described as "anguished, bruised reports from Billy Corgan's nightmare-land".
The Smashing Pumpkins broke into the musical mainstream with their second
album,
1993's
Siamese Dream. The group built its 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 album chart. With 20 million albums sold in the
United States alone, The Smashing Pumpkins were one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed bands of the
1990s. However, internal fighting, drug use, and diminishing record sales led to a
2000 break-up.
In
2006, Billy Corgan and Jimmy 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 entitled
Teargarden by Kaleidyscope featuring a rotating lineup of musicians, that has resulted in the albums
Oceania (
2012),
Monuments to an Elegy (2014), and a forthcoming album. Chamberlin rejoined, originally temporarily, in
2015 for
The End Times Tour, but remained a member of the band afterwards.
As of 2016, Corgan, Chamberlin &
Schroeder are the sole permanent band members.
- published: 08 Feb 2016
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