The Smashing Pumpkins

I enjoyed talking to Greg. He is a very well-liked and respected writer, and outside of one small misquote (I don't recall saying we needed to write songs like '1999'. I think I said '1979'), the interview is an accurate potrayal of my feelings. But let's be clear here. I never said I would never play any old songs ever again. That's just drama if that's what people hear, or want to hear. What I've said is that we aren't going to play most of those old songs any more because it locks us into permanent reunion band mode, and we are over it. For some fans to be upset at a band that plays 48 songs over 2 nights, the great majority of which are old, shows you the level of insanity we deal with. The word is called entitled. If they are entitled to demand, we are entilted to be who we are without reservation. There is no apology in that. We feel good, happy, and strong, and that should be the story here. Nobody owns us. We own us. Where is the happy ending of 'the band that once self-destructed is back and playing great and is looking forward to the future?'

If you come see us on some crazy big tour you will hear a few familiar songs, because that is the right forum for it. But it certainly won't be the main focus. When we play small venues we won't be playing those songs pretty much at all cause that won't be the place for it anymore. But that doesn't mean we are even gonna play at all. It doesn't make sense to some now and we understand and we are ok with those that leave because they are stuck in some year from a different decade. We'll be fine without them. Thanks, and goodbye. Just remember us when we say 'I told you so'. Because we are on our way back, and that's that. (Insert smiley face right fucking here). As I said to some fans, if after 20 years we are one song, or one show away from losing your loyalty, good riddance then. We don't need that energy around us.

Our message has been consistent: don't ask us to do or be anything that will once again lead to the death of the band. The band's survival comes first. We can debate aesthetics and marketing platforms later. If you want us to fall away, fade away like some dust and relics it aint gonna happen. We are here to stay. We deserve to be here, and are proud of what we have gotten right thru the years. And we are truly grateful to those fans that trust us like family. The kind of extended family where you can make a mistake, say something not quite the right way, and still be welcomed home. There will never be anything wrong with flying too close to the sun.

God bless everybody here, BC

Sitting now at the San Jose airport, waiting for a flight to Los Angeles seeing as my other flight was canceled. I love airports! Their fake security, their non-stop noise, their Starbucks addicted minions milling about like a khaki apocalypse. Reminds me why I love America so. Remember: America, love it or leave it!

Last evening we were able to play for the first time as a 9 piece version of the band, which is very exciting. The more we let go of how the band is supposed to appear numbers-wise and more of what it is supposed to sound like heart-wise, the closer we get to a present kind of truth. It is very exciting to be making music again for the times we are living in. Playing live is such a big part of that. I had forgotten that in the fallow years of non SP, that connecting with the diverse backgrounds of our audience that has everything to do with finding that voice. I cannot thank those who attend our shows enough.

Of course, last night was not 'our show', more importantly it was 'their show', a concert to raise funds and awareness for the students of the Bridge School. We are really proud yet again to have been able to contribute to this wonderful school thru the dedication of Neil and Pegi Young, and of course, Elliot Roberts (our good friend and one-time manager of Zwan). Bridge School is the kind of place that makes me smile the biggest smile I can.

The night before we played the new Guitar Hero release party, which was great fun. I swore I kept hearing someone from the crowd yelling over and over, 'where are the Smashing Pumpkins?'. I think I imagined it but either way it made me chuckle to myself.

So two very different shows over 2 days, and we were able to play 4 new songs: Owata, A Song for a Son, As Rome Burns, and a 2012 version of Simon and Garfunkels 'The Sounds of Silence'. We've rehearsed now for 3 weeks for the 20th Anniversary tour, so I trust we have a few more suprises in store. That is, if you dare come to watch us piss on our own grave.

I've noticed in the run-up to the tour a few indications that seem to think that we are sentimental in announcing our 20th anniversary extravaganza. When you see the total set-list, particularly for the black crosses and white sunshine shows (or is it the other way round?), I don't think terms like 'harkening back' or 'sentimental' will be the words that will come to mind. This tour is a celebration of where we are, not where we've been. We are HERE! (With a big smile and a foot in your back) Enjoy it if you will, we realize its not for everybody. For that you have a whole army of fellaciators (is that even a word?) to gratefully service you. These are not angry words, by the way. We are having fun. Yes, who would have thunk it that after 20 years (or 21, who's counting?) we would not only be alive, but also loving our jobs and our shows and our experience of being in this group. The rest can go play their sad games of dominion and bridge-burning (meaning ubiquitous band 101 and 102). We have been there and have learned the lesson that there is no joy in it. Its a dead man's dance. Saying something as simple as 'we are real' is not grandiosity, it is fact. We are all real. We are all here. Life is an opportunity. We choose our opportunities wisely. Believe it or not we know what we are doing when we don't get along, don't play nice or fake our way thru the oblivion. So what about the consequences!!? What is life for if you don't make some waves or save a soul here or there? If anyone comes to this tour expecting a hand-holding, teary-eyed tribute to a dead band, forget it. That is long gone. Outside of 9 shows in 1999, that band hasn't existed whole since 1996.

Let me take this pause then to say a few things about our former bandmates...

We absolutely, without reservation, honor James and D'arcy. There is no qualification to that statement. We honor them IN FULL. They were there, then. And together we did some incredible things.
But let me go one step further. When Jimmy and I decided to move forward and begin again with SP we very openly addressed the question of James and D'arcy returning. We spoke honestly with each other about our feelings and personal reservations, and decided together that the door was open to them to return. Because it was the right thing to do. Honestly though it wasn't suprising to us that they didn't want to return, because that was consistent with their general position to date (and continues to be I might add), which is they see the band as something that they got away from for their own reasons. There were no conditions ever put on a return. They simply didn't even want the conversation with us.

I can now say definitively that they aren't ever coming back. Period. There is no maybe. If the door was once open to at least have the conversation and consider the possibility, it is now closed. For good. We have moved on. We love them, and we wish them well.

The Smashing Pumpkins are now whoever is standing on that stage, on any given day, with a willingness to play those songs. Not just any songs, those songs. Because its not just what we play, its how we play them. The music MUST come first. And that's just the way it is. And to the credit of Bruce Hornsby on the whim of a memory, some things will never change. We are who we are. I know what I see. I see what I know. And nothing I know compares to you...

I am not crazy. I am just free. The Smashing too now are free, and in that we are truly insane from the mad beat.

God Bless, with love from the 7th ray and the rainbow at the end of my heart,

William

Those of you that may have seen either the press release or any info out there about the tour may find yourself scratching your head a bit about the shows format. We tried to keep it simple but as is our custom, its just not always that simple!! SO I thought I would post up some additional info to make sure that there was absolute clarity about what shows would be going on where-when.

First off, the 2 night format is about playing the most songs over 2 nights that would hopefully create very distinct shows from one another. No song will be repeated means exactly as it sounds, if you go to show #1 of a 2 night stand (black sunshine!), you wouldn't hear anything on night # 2 (white crosses) that you heard song-wise on the first night.
The cities where we are playing only 1 show will feature an amalgamated show that will most likely have some songs we won't be playing in the 2 night format shows, but take from both the sunshine and the crosses show. Get it? I hope so...cause its a lot for us to digest as well.

Below is a list of shows, where I'll highlight just for overkill what show will be taking place:

Sunshine, Cross, or SS (special show for the one offs)

Sat 11/1 Cleveland, OH Palace Theatre (SS)

Mon 11/3 Toronto, ONT Massey Hall (sunshine)

Tue 11/4 Toronto, ONT Massey Hall (crosses)

Thu 11/6 New York, NY United Palace Theatre (sunshine)

Fri 11/7 New York, NY United Palace Theatre (crosses)

Sat 11/8 Atlantic City, NJ (SS) Borgata

Tue 11/11 Washington, DC DAR Constitution Hall (sunshine)

Wed 11/12 Washington, DC DAR Constitution Hall (crosses)

Fri 11/14 Boston, MA Wang Center (sunshine)

Sat 11/15 Boston, MA Wang Center (crosses)

Sun 11/16 Uncasville, CT Mohegan Sun Arena (SS)

Tue 11/18 Chicago, IL Chicago Theatre (sunshine)

Wed 11/19 Chicago, IL Chicago Theatre (crosses)

Fri 11/21 Chicago, IL Auditorium Theatre (sunshine)

Sat 11/22 Chicago, IL Auditorium Theatre (crosses)

Mon 11/24 Kansas City, MO Midland Theatre (sunshine)

Tue 11/25 Kansas City, MO Midland Theatre (crosses)

Wed 11/26 St. Louis, MO Fox Theatre (SS)

Sun 11/30 San Diego, CA RIMAC Arena (SS)

Tue 12/2 Los Angeles, CA Gibson Amphitheatre (sunshine)

Wed 12/3 Los Angeles, CA Gibson Amphitheatre (crosses)

Hello from Chicago. A few thoughts to share, if you'll indulge. First, thanks to everyone who came out on this last tour. For me, that was the most exciting tour I've been on since before Jimmy left in 1996. I thought the band did a fantastic job, and I really appreciate the enthusiasm we saw towards what we were getting at. It seems like we have finally found what we have been looking for since we came back.

Secondly, I want to say openly that I am optimistic about a return to our site hosting a message board. What I would need to see is a constructive framework that would allow a whole host of thought and opinion in a positive way that brings fans together, and not further divide them. As you can see from the Media Militia writers, thoughtful opinion and criticism are welcome here.

Lastly, I would like to make a small declaration. For 20 years I have been asked 'what kind of music do you make?', and to be honest. I've never had a good answer. When I began playing seriously in 1985, there was no such thing as 'alternative music'. It was known then as 'new wave'. Alternative music seems to be the label that won, so I suppose that's what we get lumped in as. Once we were New Wave, then Post-Modern, then Grunge, and now just plain Alternative. And honestly, I've never liked any of those labels because it doesn't really cover what we do. In addition. Alternative Music has been hijacked by poseurs. No mystery there as to why.

Anyway, what I'm trying to say is I've found a label for our music that fits. And that is that we play 'American Gothic' music. Yes, I know that's the name of our e.p. that came out, but its not meant as a self serving self reference. I was attracted to the idea of an American Gothic movement musically because it embodies both the English ideal of gothic music and the decay of Americana. So that's us for now on. We play American Gothic music. Please use that label, its one I hope sticks :) blah blah

Smashingpumpkins.com would like to announce that a new single is coming from the band in September of this year.

This song will not be attached to Zeitgeist and will be completely new material.

No song title has been revealed at this time.

Hello music lovers.

As the tour winds down I would just like to say what a pleasure and an honor it was to play for so many of you. I try to never forget that my job is a sacred privilege. Music, the thing that binds you to me and all of us to the Universe is my light.

Let me also say that this band, The Smashing Pumpkins, will continue to write, record, release, and perform AS LONG AS WE ARE ABLE!

Some of you may have read bits of an interview that was done in confidence by yours truly in which I say that the Pumpkins probably won't record cd's anymore. What I meant by this is this: Although we may not use the "album" or "full length cd" as a format anymore, WE WILL WRITE AND RECORD MUSIC UNTIL WE ARE DEAD!!!!!!!! WE ARE NOT GOING AWAY!!!!!!!!

I could go on about how I was stolen from, violated, lied to by some ignoble journalist, but what's the point?

I choose light.

Love Jimmy.

The Smashing Pumpkins - Superchrist

Violin by Ysanne Spevack. Guest appearances by Gary Stern and Sky Saxon from The Seeds on Tambourine and Bass. Also appearing: Linda Strawberry, Kristin Burns, Hanna Beth, Audrey Kitching, and Sasha Grey. Directed and edited by Justin Coloma.

I emerge from my seemingly eternal self-imposed silence to bring good news! The collective We is happy to announce that We have just finished a new acoustic e.p. entitled 'American Gothic' that features 4 new songs: The Rose March Again, Again, Again (the crux)POXSunkissed


Even better is the news that these songs will be available on i-tunes starting January 2nd...the collective We looks forward to you hearing these new songs afresh and us playing them to you anew on the upcoming European and Australian tours...

Since the holidays are upon us, the collective I would like to take this opportunity to give gratitude where it is due, and that is to those that are not hypnotized, or so numbed by darkness that they cannot hear the chime in my words...I wish you a warm holiday and a brilliant New Year to come, and may you get all you deserve! (again) From my heart to yours, sincerely, I hope you feel the love that we have for all of you, even for those of you who are lost and seeking, bruised and still keeping...i hope these words find you as well...

The new day has finally come as we turn the corner on the end of one energy that no longer serves us and begin to embrace the new dawn that will...and no, I am not speaking about the band or the music business...what is past is passed, and we all wear the black arm bands in honor of, but life happily, as it should, marches on...hopefully to a good beat...

Thanks to New Orleans for showing Us the meaning of hope...and thanks to the old guard for showing the same dull move, you know the one that never works? Art band that said old guard wishes they were in so bad that they wish importance upon it? Check! No matter what you crutches all dream up, Led Zep is still a 100 times better! Go Zep! Go Team! Rock on! Long Live the Mighty SP!
And...

Thank YOU for showing up! And yes, I mean YOU :)
lovingness, happiness, BC

Greetings, I hope these words find you all at peace.

First I'd like to thank everyone for their prayers and energy. It was well received and I'm feeling much better. The tour was a rock rampage and now we are back in the studio recording some songs for a possible release worldwide.

Look for these around the first of the year. Busy Bees !

I wish all a Happy Holiday and a productive 08!

Hello friends!
Thank you all for the warm birthday wishes. Some of you even shouted them out in the middle of the show last night! How sweet! To celebrate my b-day and the end of the American tour, we had a big sushi dinner at Nobu. It was great to have some quality time together before the big break.

Speaking of which, we will be home for almost 2 & 1/2 months. Seeing as I haven't been home for more than 5 days at a time since April, there will definitely be an adjustment period. However, I think we are all ripe for some rest and replenishment.


At last night's Dallas show, it really struck me how much we have all grown since April. Musically, we have taken lots of chances, turned arrangements inside out, memorized 70 songs or so. I have had a ball and I look forward to making more music together in 2008!





Here are some pics from the Orpheum Theatre shows in Boston. . .


The spaceship has landed!




Heavy Metal Machine!



My father took this pic when he came to see us in Boston. | Ginger, me and friends causin' trouble in the hotel lobby!




Jimmy rockin' Red Rocks, Colorado



Good times at the airport | Doug, the crazy man behind the cart, is our tour manager. He is obsessed with baseball and his diet consists of crispy crème donuts and oreo cookies (don't forget the milk). The stuffed animal, Mr. Barkley, was not injured in the filming of this event.


Meeting of the minds


Keep it rockin!

Lisa

That's what I'm feeling right now as I sit in the Austin airport writing this blog. I feel really blessed to be able to play in this band and be able to play music most every night. Yesterday's show was great. The weather was amazing and the sound was good. It was a great crowd, too. Everyone in the band also seemed to be in great spirits. Austin is a great town with great people. It's no wonder Explosions in the Sky are from Austin.



Me and Munaf from Explosions in the Sky taking an artsy photo


Me and Esteban with Explosions in the Sky

We have had such a great time being on tour with those guys and we miss being on the road with them already. They are such a great band and the most down to earth group of guys I've ever met. I am happy to know that we will be friends for years to come. When we arrived 2 days ago here in Austin, Munaf from Explosions came and picked Jeff and I up from the hotel and took us around town. He showed us the Explosions headquarters and then we all went out for Indian food! It was a amazing. Afterwards, we hit up the downtown area and hung out till the wee hours of the night. We had a blast.





Well, besides Austin, I've had a great time in seeing friends in Boston, Philly, Nashville, Atlanta and of course Vegas. It's fun to be able to visit friends that are scattered throughout the country that I normally wouldn't be able to visit if I weren't on tour. It has been a bit of a rock/friend visiting tour for me, which is great. As this leg of the tour comes to an end, I am happy about how tight we've gotten as a band and of all that we've accomplished this year. I am also excited to go home for the holidays and to be with friends.

Life is good.
Some more recent photos.



On a roadtrip to our show in Columbia, SC







Mall of America A street corner band in New Orleans






Me in front of Cafe Du Monde



Home of Chickoree coffee and binets, mmmm

The band is currently awaiting their flight to return to the rescheduled shows in Atlanta, GA and were kind enough to check in quickly from the airport!

From Jimmy:
I'm feeling much better. I would like to say thanks to everyone for their letters, prayers and patience and to apologize to those who are going to miss the shows. Hopefully we can make it up to you somehow.
JC




Ginger kicks back waiting for her jet



Adam, our chef surfing for recipes!



Jeff Schroeder reading Plato

Also, Billy being the patriotic American that he is, was searched at the airport!

Here's my ticket for my flight today...i got searched because I am a threat to all...

Luckily the entire band made it and is now safe in Atlanta.

If you were paying attention in the last 24 hours, then you know that The Smashing Pumpkins had a welcome blast from the past in Austin last night. None other than dear friend Jimmy Flemion of The Frogs joined us on stage at the Backyard for the 2nd encore.

After the experience, Jimmy Flemion himself had a message he would like to share:
To my dear friends Billy and Jimmy, my heartfelt thanks for last night. I am honored to play with suchexceptional musicians. Your devotion to music has inspired many. Best of luck on the rest of the tour.


Love, Jimmy

Billy Corgan had something to say about the experience himself:
There are few people in the world as talented at Jimmy Flemion. It was great to see the fans embrace him on our stage and end what was a great show with a Frogs all-time classic. Jimmy tore the house down!

Flemion joined Billy Corgan and Jimmy Flemion to play The Frogs' own "I Only Play For Money" and The Beatles' "Taxman" before ending the show with "Disarm" by the Pumpkins themselves.

For more information on the Frogs check out the following links.
www.thefrogsarchive.com | www.myspace.com/thefrogs




Photos courtesy of SP.com member Iolite

There was a moment in time once where I would welcome any opportunity to speak my piece, my heart, if only to rip it from my breast and toss it to your table bloodied and torn, declaring wildly 'look, how gloriously it beats to it's own drum! Even I can't control it's passions and delusions and murmurs'…but these days words iz cheap, and any 'ol chump can throw 'em round like darts…(a blab has become a blob has become a blog)…and just like the sci-fi movie from the 50's "The Blob", no one can figure out how to kill it or simply outrun it…we all just stand here transfixed, gaping at the lack of consciousness of something so unwilling to negotiate, it's only obvious intention seems to be a desire to absorb all in it's path…so with that, with what's left in my mind, I sacrifice these words to the gaping maw of The Void…





I love my country…I love it so much, I'll say it twice…I LOVE this country!!...today i am in Columbus, Ohio, and everything about Columbus has everything to do with what I love about America: the collisions of architectures idealistic and functionally gaudy…the lone characters who climb out of treetops and caves and still retain their sense of home…everywhere that I look here I am reminded of other battles and beliefs that now seem forgotten, yet their symbols still blow their horns in silent reverie because that's all they know how to do…like children waiting for a dad to come home who won't ever come home because he has run off to Trinidad with his secretary…(Uncle Sam has moved down to his timeshare!) But I want him to know I still love him so, and his once glorious charge…that commission is what my uncles died for, and what haunted my grandfather so that he drank himself to death, that feeling of hope and coldness that is America…Walt Disney knew enough to dress it up fancy in sentimentalism to try to keep it warm, but even he tried to outrun it and tackle the coming urban blight with what his EPCOT Center was supposed to be…high technology as a new kind of centering religion…Disney devotee's are still comfortable with his pirate ships, but many forget he also realized that we also need a safe harbor to enjoy our cozy memories from…and unfortunately he too died before he could complete that vision of a 'City of Tomorrow'...so no safe harbors here…



So from this snow globe that I shake up for you I'll try to beam out what goes on back in here…having started this particular journey of The Good Ship Pumpkin way back in November of 2005, I've now had maybe 2 months off total since then…I am not complaining because I love the work, but I am pretty exhausted day after day…however it is the Spirit of the good fans who travel so far to give us that love really lifts me back up…with much help from God…so my Spirit is strong, and I am happy to report that the band is playing beautifully presently, and as a unit is fully committed to not wasting your time with vague intentions…I am also happy to report that we have been able to, over the course of the last 5-6 months, address all the eras of the group quite faithfully, so that there now feels like there is a harmonious balance between Zeitgeist and the previous musical periods…nothing feels like it is being sacrificed against a new whole…of course, some songs don't apply to this, but this has more to do with their inconsistency against the energies of the times we are in than in the foundational energies of Zeitgeist…it makes me very happy we have been able to accomplish this in so short of a time…




Sometimes after shows I like to stop and talk to fans, to hear what they are feeling and what they want, and maybe even see what they need…in Detroit a few nights ago, a fan kept yelling at me 'Billy, more Siamese Dream, more Siamese Dream!'…of course I asked him my favourite question, 'why' and he said, 'because it's the best!'…what I think he really meant is 'it's my favourite album and I came here hoping to hear you play more of those songs'…to his credit, he was young and probably didn't get the chance to see 'ol SP on that tour back in 93-94…so I respect that…(in fact, I respect all fans opinions, even when I may disagree strongly with them, which I often do)…I respect that he may have come in the hope to hear us play his favourite songs, and triumphantly be the band he wants us to be…but as I said the other night to the same audience in Detroit that this young man was in, 'this is not a reunion tour'…



The question I ask is when does the past begin to dictate our future?…if one was to listen to Siamese Dream from a particular perspective, you might hear me at age 25 or so struggling with how to escape my past! How ironic that that same struggle should now become part of my current struggle for autonomy…the current SP is designed to live on happily, strongly, proudly, and boldly…there is no other way that I can see to water the flowers properly…we choose life, and the love of the moment for the song we choose to sing…



I believe God talks to me at each and every moment of my life, the only problem being that I don't listen…God does not want any of us to be unhappy, or to mourn for that which has no meaning…thanks to digital media, many of us can and will be remembered in perpetuity by an unseen future, but they probably won't bother to watch…my guess is our images and sounds will seem as archaic to them as images and sounds from the beginnings of the 20th century sound to us now…so fighting for the preservation of values that don't matter now and will matter even less down the road seems a sad waste of energy…I am happy to be a warrior of light and universal logic if I am fighting for the good in us…sentimentalism in and of itself is a form of death…sentimentalism in the context of preserving that which meant something to our ancestors and therefore is encoded secretly in our dna is something I am raptuous about…if God is love is truth, than you are that to me…SP stands at the center of my musical truth, and mirrors how god stands for me in the center of all truth…I would hope we can faithfully copy that paradigm, and always stay focused on what really matters…we may not always be what you want, but we do have what you need!



B C