The Smashing Pumpkins Forum: ShamanO - Viewing Profile - The Smashing Pumpkins Forum

You've hesitated somewhat to indulge fans with the band's material from that era.

I think you have to look at the dynamics that exist today in 2012. There is a fan base that is melded to a particular era and that's never going to change. Even if I made an album better than any album I've ever made, those are their albums: Gish, Siamese Dream, Mellon Collie, Adore. You're not going to supersede them. So that becomes part of the dynamic. But the reality is every day, I'm out playing for young kids who really don't care about the past. They want music for their time, their generation. So they like Oceania because it seems to connect with them today. And the fact that the Pumpkins have a past is kind of novel to them. And of course they know a few of the songs. We notice that when we play for a very young crowd, if we play something like "By Starlight" off of Mellon Collie, they don't know the song. It shows you the generational shift is wider than people think.

Yesterday I literally played songs from 1988 all the way up to 2012. It's pretty crazy.

E.E. Cummings said, "To destroy is always the first step in any creation." For Smashing Pumpkins frontman Billy Corgan, destruction and creation are a way of life. "A good artist is willing to die many times over," Corgan tells us over the phone. "What's funny is, I've died so many times."

The lead Pumpkin is talking to us from his home in the affluent Chicago suburb of Highland Park. He's wordy and well spoken; most notably, however, he is open — there's no topic we can't address, he's informed us. The only pauses during our conversation are the brief moments when he tosses toys to his cats.

Corgan has received some criticism since the 2000 breakup of the Smashing Pumpkins, particularly for his 2007 decision to resurrect the band in unrecognizable form. He is now the only remaining original member in the group. "Sometimes I'll interview with a journalist who's obviously not a fan, and they just look at me, like, 'Wow, you're still fucking here!'" Corgan says. "But if the music wasn't decent, I'd be a footnote at this point."

Since no subject is off limits, we dive straight into '90s Pumpkins territory, and explore Corgan's reasons for wanting to resurrect a band that had been so definitively laid to rest. As he speaks of his former bandmates, Corgan sounds as if he's recalling time with an ex-lover. His voice fills with yearning, affection — and scorn. "When I made the decision with (drummer) Jimmy (Chamberlin) to bring the band back, it wasn't too dissimilar from when you think, 'I'm going to get back together with somebody,'" he says. "But it wasn't that easy to return to a place where I even understood what it was about being in the Smashing Pumpkins that I liked."

In 2009, Chamberlin left the band. Determined to endure, Corgan formed yet another lineup to record this year's Oceania, including bassist Nicole Fiorentino, drummer Mike Byrne, and guitarist Jeff Schroeder. "The press has referred to them as 'rent-a-band,'" he says of his new crew, ruefully. "These are people with indie musical backgrounds. They're not L.A. giggers with full-sleeve tattoos."

Oceania is, simply put, an album of "isolation and love," Corgan says. And while it has been much better received than its predecessor, Zeitgeist, it still lacks the luster of those "Siamese Dream-sounding songs" Corgan claims he "isn't interested" in rewriting.

Instead, Corgan thinks the less he pressured himself to "do the ['90s] Pumpkins thing," the more vibrant the sound became. He also credits his new band for this positive direction. "When you actually like each other," he says, "it translates to the music. The difference with Oceania is, I've found harmony again." Harmonious the new outfit may be, Corgan admits the Pumpkins' original lineup carries an irreplaceable mystique. The obvious chemistry between the band members didn't necessarily help them function, though.

"There's no way to properly convey what it was like to be in that band," Corgan says. "And the fucked up stuff is 10 times more fucked up than what the world knows. I was in love with the Smashing Pumpkins," he says, sounding wistful. "I really believed in what we were doing. But I idealized the band — which overlooked their incredibly flawed human personas, and which now bites me in the ass, as they rear their heads for lawsuits." His tone turns from emotive longing to bitter resentment in just a few seconds. This seems to be a trend when he speaks of the old group.

As our conversation wraps up, Corgan becomes reflective. A guy known for his tough talk, the singer suddenly seems vulnerable, more human — quite the contrast from his pompous public persona. In past years, Corgan has been romantically linked to a string of women, including Courtney Love, photographer and director Yelena Yemchuk, Jessica Simpson, and, most recently, Aussie pop singer Jessica Origliasso. But the longest and most intense relationship of his life has been with music.

"It's been a long, weird journey," Corgan says. "If somebody would have told me 15 years ago that at 45 I'd be living in a big house with two dogs and two cats, with no wife and no girlfriend, I wouldn't have believed them. My life did not turn out the way I'd planned it. Not even close."

Despite the turbulence — the Pumpkins' grand demise, the band's rebirth as a wholly new entity, and all the drama in between — Corgan remains optimistic. "Being healthy, humbled by God, musically engaged, and surrounded by good people — those are the moments I'm okay with," he says. "Maybe this was the way it was meant to be all along."

"It's been a long, weird journey," Corgan says. "If somebody would have told me 15 years ago that at 45 I'd be living in a big house with two dogs and two cats, with no wife and no girlfriend, I wouldn't have believed them. My life did not turn out the way I'd planned it. Not even close."

The new contest however, will be on a somewhat different level. Art-related as always, but now the writers and designers amongst you will have a chance to compete and win a pretty cool prize. The winner of this contest will receive a Deluxe Box Set of the Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness reissue, nicely packed with a SPfreaks promo shirt in your size!

Taken from the Mellon Collie reissue press release issued a few days ago:

“The Deluxe Box Set’s 5 CDs include 64 bonus tracks of previously unreleased material or alternate versions of Mellon Collie era songs, and its DVD features a live show filmed at the Brixton Academy, London (1996) and bonus performances from the German music television show Rockpalast (1996). It all comes housed in a 12 x 12 lift-top box with magnetic closure, reimagined cover art and velvet-lined disc holder. The package includes 2 books containing personal notes, lyrics, new collage artwork, plus a Decoupage kit for creating your own scenes from the Mellon Collie universe.”

What do you need to do to win this extraordinary Smashing Pumpkins release? There are two components. The first is a written piece between 1,000 and 2,500 words in length, entitled The World Of Mellon Collie. Feel free to interpret the title and the theme as widely as you see fit to your writing skills. The second component is the creation of a decoupage set. For those unfamiliar with this terminology, please have a look here for an explanation. The decoupage set must be related to a specific song that appeared on the original Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness release from 1995 (to include the vinyl with two additional bonus tracks).

Some guidelines and rules to this contest.

The decoupage set can be designed either digitally, or with physical materials. In the latter case we need a very clear photo(s) of the artwork created.
The decoupage set must not relate to more than one song.
As stated, the article that accompanies the decoupage set has to be at least 1,000 words, but should not be longer as 2,500 words. No exceptions!
Send your contributions to the following email address only: TheSPfreaksTeam@gmail.com.
We are in contact with the band to ascertain if any band member(s) is/are willing to assist with judging. We will make an immediate announcement if this occurs.
Deadline for this contest is December 15, 2012. We hope to announce the winner of the contest between Xmas and New Years Eve, so the winner will have the prize as a New Years present.
Members of the SPfreaks Team are not eligible to enter.
Good luck to you all!