After he joined the Smashing Pumpkins 17 years ago, drummer Jimmy Chamberlin’s career began to revolve around incidents of death and rebirth. In March of 1996, his father died when the Pumpkins were on tour. Then in July of that same year, road keyboardist Jonathan Melvoin died from a heroin overdose while shooting up with Chamberlin. The drummer was arrested for possession and booted from the band for his inability to kick smack, with which he had battled since 1991. Ironically, the seeming death of his career triggered his spiritual rebirth. With help from friends, he got clean and rejoined… Read more »
Billy Corgan of the Smashing Pumpkins has been added to the bill for the fourth annual Waltz benefit concert taking place in Chicago Saturday night (March 23). Corgan joins previously announced performers Steve Earle, Ronnie Spector, Wilco’s John Stirratt, former Pumpkins drummer Jimmy Chamberlin (who now drums for Corgan’s new band Zwan), Sonia Dada, Alejandro Escovedo, Graham Parker, Ivan Neville, Sonny Landreth, Kelly Hogan, the Mekons’s Jon Langford, Ken Nordine, David Amram, and Nicholas Tremulis and his band at the Chicago club Metro. Ronnie Spector revealed she’s looking forward to being on the bill with such a wide array of… Read more »
On Nov. 20, 2001, Virgin Records will release the long-awaited Smashing Pumpkins Greatest Hits Video Collection 1991-2000. The video companion to the Smashing Pumpkins’ Greatest Hits CD Rotten Apples will feature over eighteen music videos chronicling the Pumpkins’ musical career. In total, the DVD contains over 90 minutes of solid music, as well as an array of extras, including commentary about the production of the clips by the band themselves, narration by the directors who lensed the videos, never-before-seen outtakes from the shoots, and bonus behind-the-scenes documentaries. Among the highlights on the compilation are the band’s very first video, a… Read more »
In the Fall of 2001, Virgin Records will release the long awaited Smashing Pumpkins “Greatest Hits” album. The tracks for the compilation are currently being selected by the band. To coincide with this release, Virgin will also release a two-CD package (limited edition) that will include the “Greatest Hits” disc as well as “Judas O Riley.” “Judas O Riley” is the follow-up to “Pisces Iscariot,” the 1994 b-sides release by the Pumpkins, and will include b-sides and rarities culled from the band’s sessions, which produced “Melon Collie and the Infinite Sadness,” “Adore,” and “MACHINA/the machines of God.” The artwork for… Read more »
A previously unreleased Smashing Pumpkins song, “SuperChrist,” will be released on a CD featuring bands consisting of employees of Guitar Center. The album will be available from March 1 at Guitar Center outlets. The members of the Pumpkins chose the acts appearing on the compilation based on submissions from Guitar Center. “SuperChrist” did not make the cut for the Pumpkins’ 2007 album “Zeitgeist,” but has been performed on tour. It will be the subject of a new video, premiering February 27 on MySpace. “We didn’t feel we understood the song and thought playing it on tour would help us sort… Read more »
Rockers want to act, actors want to rock. What are you gonna do? For musicians who lack thespian aspirations, though, scoring a movie seems to suffice. Following in the footsteps of everyone from Bob Dylan and Jon Bon Jovi to Björk and Peter Gabriel, bandleaders Jonathan Davis, Billy Corgan and Jeff Tweedy and solo act Badly Drawn Boy are scoring some points with the Hollywood crowd this summer. Korn singer Davis teamed up with film scoring veteran and ex-Oingo Boingo keyboardist Richard Gibbs for the soundtrack to “Queen of the Damned,” released earlier this year. The pair co-wrote and performed… Read more »
The Smashing Pumpkins will release their upcoming greatest hits package, Rotten Apples, on November 20th. Along with the prerequisite never before seen band photos, the album features songs from all five of the Pumpkins’ studio releases, as well as the song “Drown,” which was featured on the soundtrack to the film Singles. “Real Love,” a previously unreleased track from the Internet only release Machina II: Friends and Enemies of Modern Music and “Untitled,” a new track, are also included on the hits disc. Along with Rotten Apples the band’s former label Virgin Records will release a limited edition double-disc set… Read more »
We caught up with Billy Corgan on the Gibson Brands Alternative Press Music Awards – fueled by Monster Energy red carpet to congratulate him on, well, everything, and chat about the new Smashing Pumpkins album.
Today, we wish a very happy birthday to “Hey There Delilah” by Plain White T’s as the indispensable emo-pop song turns 18 years old. Not only that, but Fearless Records, who released the song on May 9, 2006, is celebrating the 30th anniversary of the label’s inception this year. Over the past three decades, they have been home to some of the scene’s greatest acts, including Movements, Pierce The Veil, I Prevail, Plain White T’s, and more. It’s a whirlwind of celebrations for two monumental entities that molded the 2000s emo scene. Let’s be honest: “Hey There Delilah” had all… Read more »
PVRIS is back with a brightly romantic single, “Oil & Water,” out via Hopeless Records. Highlighted by sultry vocals partnered with mellow guitars and layered with a continuously catchy beat, the song displays vocalist Lynn Gunn’s knack for creating a dizzyingly reflective track. Gunn says the inspiration behind the lyrics is about what you would do for a relationship. “The song is about the push and pull of mismatched love and the lengths you’d go to make it work.” Not only does she develop a sound that is intriguing and infectious, but she becomes relatable through her writing that connects… Read more »
