Smashing Pumpkins
Forever controversial and never boring, the Smashing Pumpkins have attracted attention from fans, the media and fellow musicians since they burst onto the scene in 1988. Billy Corgan, the band’s shaven-headed chief songwriter, has led the Pumpkins through a densely interwoven mesh of musical genres and public arguments, from hometown Chicago to the UK, to the world. Like most friction, it was caused by talent and jealousy.
The Smashing Pumpkins were there when alt rock smashed its way into mainstream America but all eyes were on Seattle. The so-called Grunge movement had us entranced with its seeming originality, but not everybody agreed with its ideology or sound. The Smashing Pumpkins’ excellent tune, “Drown” was used as part of the soundtrack for the film Singles, about the scene in Seattle, but the Chicago outfit felt uncomfortable riding that wave – even if they were at its crest. This sums up Billy Corgan and, by extension, the rest of the band. These guys were not for marketing and, ironically, they wanted the world to know it!
Corgan, the fearless (yet depressed) leader, concocted a series of devices to hold his mercurial band together, such as an attempt to prevent drummer Jimmy Chamberlin from scoring heroin. Ultimately, the Pumpkins’ concern for ex-carpenter Chamberlin’s health hit a brick wall when, during the Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness tour, Chamberlin and a touring keyboardist both overdosed, resulting in the keyboardist’s death. The talented Chamberlin was jettisoned from the band but in 1998 he returned to the fold. Other members of the Pumpkins, such as guitarist and singer James Iha and bassist D’arcy Wretzky, have also shared in the angst and antagonism, albeit to a lesser extent.
Corgan has been accused of playing too large a contribution to the Smashing Pumpkins, perhaps even to the point of assuming other band members’ musical roles on occasion, but his heart has always been in the right place. Corgan went so far as to admit that almost all of the final takes which made it onto disc were created by himself and Chamberlin! How this affected the rest of the band is uncertain, but there were surely tempestuous fights. Added to the internal strife, the rest of the alt rock world seemed hellbent on destroying the Pumpkins with criticism and cruelty. Despite the barbs, the fans kept buying Smashing Pumpkins tickets and attending Smashing Pumpkins concert tours with relish. Perhaps this was one reason they were rejected by those claiming to be anti-commercial. The fact is, true talent will always out and the Smashing Pumpkins are no exception. They stole the limelight from Grunge as they irritated the alt rockers with their irresistible sound. This Smashing Pumpkins tour schedule will hopefully take in many intimate auditoriums and we’ll all go home very happy.
Fans have devoured every Smashing Pumpkins album, from Siamese Dream to Adore to the Rotten Apples compilation, but the mass favorite is Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness. This was their crowning glory and the main driving force behind the jealousy from the rest of the musical community. Jealousy is good though; after all, if you were no threat, nobody would fear you. Find Smashing Pumpkins tickets here and feel that rush once again, from the guys who took on the alt rock “mainstream” and won the war!
Also, check out Band of Me: Watch Indie Music Videos of emerging Indie Bands and Solo Artists. “Where Musicians Come to Strut Their Stuff!”
