My name is Norman Weichel and I was born a pieces in 1979, that made me 14 years old when the Siamese Dream album was released in 1993. At 14 years of age I was buying every album that came out and having so much fun listening to bands I have never heard of before. The Smashing Pumpkins were such as stand out band for me and I remember introducing them to all my friends. They would laugh at me when I told them the name was the smashing pumpkins but I'd say, man...check this out...they did and everyone liked it.
I was hooked on them, finally taking the Stone Temple Pilot's album “Core” out of my new CD player and constantly listening to the fresh new sounds of Siamese Dream.
I felt such a strong connection to the music with songs like Luna, Soma, and Disarm and songs like Hummer, Quiet, and Today left me breathing fresh air and feeling great about life every day...It was the perfect album for me at that time of my life. I was forever a Smashing Pumpkins fan the moment I finished listening to Siamese Dream from beginning to end.
I enjoyed the Smashing Pumpkins music so much that I decided that just being an artist by Drawing and painting wasn't enough. The Smashing Pumpkins taught me what music was all about. It was about expressing yourself. I started writing poems and songs and eventually started to get good at guitar. I am a fan of the Smashing Pumpkins because their music changed my life. No other band before them has made me want to become a musician and now I have a band of my own.

As I got older, now 16 years old in 1995, I was first in line at my local music store eagerly awaiting my copy of the brand new album Mellon Collie & the Infinite Sadness. Now I was aware of them and like an excited fan I ripped open the plastic package on my way home and began to look at the artwork. Being an artist myself I felt the importance of art in albums. Siamese Dream was a fresh album full of life but as I became 16 years old I began to listen to more and more “dark” music. When I saw the new album art I was very happy to see 2 of my favorite things. Outer Space and darkness. I have always understood art and the impact of colours and the dark blue felt very deep and I couldn't wait to hear Mellon Collie & the Infinite Sadness for the first time. At this point I still have not listened to Gish yet so everything I know about the Smashing Pumpkins was from Siamese Dream & Pisces Iscariot.
I get home and I put Disc one: Dawn to Dusk in my Saga CD player. At first I wasn't sure what to think...I remember being taken back a bit as I listened to track 1 “Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness”. I was listening to albums like Ministy's Psalm 69, NIN's Downward Spirl, and remembering the last 2 Pumpkin albums...the first song on Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness Disk 1 was definitely different from what I expected and that just made me very intrigued. The synthesizer sounds got louder in the mix and the piano was deep and moving but I wasn't feeling it the first time...Then Tonight, Tonight, Jellybelly, Zero, etc...My mind was blowing and it was almost too good. I became very excited about Disc two: Twilight to Starlight as the first CD was so amazing. As soon as I played Where Boys Fear to Tread I knew that my love for the Smashing Pumpkins could grow larger and grow it did. I was known as “the Smashing Pumpkins fan guy” at my high school. I bought the Zero shirt at the Maple Leaf Gardens show they played in Toronto September 1996 and I wore the silver pants to school...I was so much of a fan I look back and wonder how a band could mean so much to me but that just it...they were not just a band to me. They were an escape and I felt like I entered another world, my own world when I listened to them.

Smashing Pumpkins really surprised me with Adore as my musical style had changed since Mellon Collie. I always knew the Pumpkins would be forever my favorite band at this point but I also knew I wasn't into the same music I liked in my early teens. I was starting to get into technical dark wave and getting into Skinny Puppy for the first time in the late 90's. I still listened to the Pumpkins a lot, mostly Mellon Collie. By now I have owned every album the Pumpkins had made. I wasn't sure what the new Pumpkins album would be like but I remember wondering if my taste in music had changed to much to fully enjoy the Pumpkins like I did with Mellon Collie. How could they possibly make an album that would satisfy me after the grand masterpiece double album that I still constantly listened to, I asked myself. Well, they did. Adore was amazing and I really felt like they made music at a constantly evolving pace and I was right along side them every step of the way. I was now 19 years old when Adore came out and I had been doing the black cloths Gothic style thing in High school since I was about 18. When I saw that the Smashing Pumpkins went to that dark level...even darker and more beautiful than Mellon Collie I was in awe. Of course I have been going to all the Pumpkins live concerts that came to Toronto since 1993 and Adore was no different. I went to the Massey Hall to watch Adore and it was a fantastic show.

Nothing could be better than having the Pumpkins come out with another album in the year 2000. Machina/The Machines of God. The artwork is still there, the pumpkins are there, the music was there. I was a proud owner of this album and tickets to the sacred and profane tour. I honestly loved each song but thinking back I can say highlights for me were the songs: Age of Innocence, Wound, and This Time.

I've kept a close eye on the Smashing Pumpkins all these years, I bought the Zwan album and enjoyed it very much. Heartsong and Ride A Black Swan were among my favorite songs from Mary Star of the Sea. I very much loved the live version of Heartsong I downloaded. I think that Zwan was just what the doctor ordered, for the fans. I think it was time that fans felt the lighter side of Billy and Jimmy again. It's not really what I am about anymore as I'm a completely different person now than I was when I bought Siamese Dream off the shelf but it was great in general for the fans of the Pumpkins to hear that Billy and Jimmy were together again and that the music was coming across light and rocking.

The Future Embrace was a truly great album and being one of the fans that went to see the performance live...it is something that I'll never forget. I love how Billy's appearance during this time was still goth but in his own style. I'm right there with you as I am into new wave futuristic type music right down to Black Metal and Gothic rock. Billy Corgan's Future Embrace was such a unique noise.

Now we have a new Smashing Pumpkins album and you dare ask why I'm a fan! I grew up with the albums the Smashing Pumpkins made and I have felt a connection to the music in a different way each time. This band always finds a way to sound unique each album and that can't be easy. It was neat to hear that the new album's title “Zeitgeist was a German word as I am German with the sir name “Weichel”. I love German music such as Blutengel and Ramstein and I love the Pumpkins so thats just kinda cool.
I have the new song “Tarantula” and I [bad word removed]ing love it! It is so wicked and it just gets better and better the more I listen to it. I haven't been this excited about an album's release since Internet downloading became popular. I can't wait to buy this album on July 10th!

Now you know why I'm forever a Smashing Pumpkins fan.

Norman Weichel.