Just over two years after Billy Corgan sang the Smashing Pumpkins to sleep, his new band, Zwan, will release its debut album on Reprise Records. The still-untitled LP is slated for release in late January/early February, with its first single, "Honestly," set to hit radio in late November, according to a label spokesperson. Following the Pumpkins' final show in December of 2000, Corgan hardly took the long, lazy vacation he promised to give himself at the time. "I can sleep in for the first time in my life," he said the night before his 22 million-selling band folded up its tent at the Metro, the hometown Chicago club where it all began. Instead, Corgan began writing new songs, quickly amassing a fresh batch of nearly 50 tunes. Featuring guitarist Matt Sweeney (Chavez), bassist David Pajo (Tortoise) and former Pumpkins drummer Jimmy Chamberlin, the new band made its debut less than a year later, performing at the Glass House in Pomona, California, on November 16, 2001 (see "Billy Corgan Ready To Debut His New Band, Zwan"). Zwan recently recruited Paz Lenchantin (A Perfect Circle), who replaced Pajo on bass. Pajo switched to guitar, giving the band a formidable three-guitar lineup.
Zwan's live sound bears a distinct resemblance to the dynamic of the Pumpkins, down to Chamberlin's muscular, jazzy drumming and Corgan's unmistakable buzzsaw whine vocal, but often without the flowing, psychedelic sweep of the Pumpkins' more experimental tracks. Generous amounts of live material available on more than half a dozen Zwan fan sites, in addition to officially-released audio and video on the Zwan site, offers a glimpse of a band that mixes the fluid power of the Pumpkins with a sometimes more straightforward rock sound.
Among the songs the group has performed live, according to set lists from the Zwan Web site are "Jesus, I," "God's Gonna Set This World on Fire," "Glorious," "A New Poetry," "The World Goes Round," "Love Lies in Ruin," "Baby Let's Rock," "Signal This Strong," "Girl With the Cruel Face," "And So I Died of a Broken Heart," "Freedom Ain't What It Used to Be," "Candy Came Calling," "El-A-Noy," "Chicks Just Get in the Way," "Solace and Serenity," "Careless Love," "Roma Girl," "Silly Sally," "Chrysanthemum," "The Shining Path" and "What Have They Done to Me?"
The hushed acoustic ballad "Jesus, I" can be heard in the trailer for "Spun," the upcoming feature from transgressive music video director Jonas Akerlund (Prodigy, Smashing Pumpkins) (see "Members Of Korn, Pumpkins, Wilco Scoring With Movie Music"), starring Jason Schwartzman, Brittany Murphy, John Leguizamo, Mena Suvari and "Almost Famous" star Patrick Fugit.
Zwan are hitting a number of holiday radio shows including KROQ's Almost Acoustic Christmas (Los Angeles, December 8), WBCN's X-Mas Rave (Boston, December 11), WXRK's Claus-Fest (New York, December 12) WHFS' HFSmas Nutcracker (Washington, D.C., December 13), WPLY's FEASTival (Philadelphia, December 15) and CIMX's The Night 89X Stole Christmas (Detroit, December 17), with more dates to be announced soon.
The band's spokesperson said it was not yet known which songs will make it onto the album, but just moments after the Pumpkins' final show, Corgan promised he would not tread the same ground again. "It won't be a variation of the Pumpkins theme," Corgan said of his next project. "It will be a completely different deal and a completely different part of my person."
-- Gil Kaufman
Zwan will be playing three dates at the Double Door club in Chicago on April 12, 13 and 14. Tickets go onsale through Ticketmaster this Saturday, the 23rd, at 1 p.m.
Marianne Faithfull has put out a press release for her new album Kissin Time, which will feature some contributions from Billy. Read all about it here!
Read the entire article at MyAOL.com!
(6/15/01, 10 a.m. ET) -- Former Smashing Pumpkins frontman Billy Corgan has formed a new band, Virgin Records announced Tuesday (August 14). The unnamed group is currently concentrating on rehearsing and recording.
Meanwhile, a limited edition of his previous group's upcoming Greatest Hits album will feature an accompanying disc of B-sides and other rarities. The collection, titled Judas O'Riley, will includes songs from sessions that produced the Pumpkins' last three albums-- Mellon Collie And The Infinite Sadness, Adore, and MACHINA/The Machines Of God. Judas O'Riley follows the group's previous rarities collection, 1994's Pisces Iscariot.
A Pumpkins DVD will also be issued around the same time as Greatest Hits, which is due from Virgin Records this fall. The DVD will compile the group's videos and feature documentary footage on the making of the clips.
Corgan has also been busy elsewhere. He collaborated with New Order for its new album, NEWORDERGETREADY, due October 16, while also appearing onstage with the group at four dates of Moby's recent Area:One festival. Corgan has also produced three tracks for the upcoming album by singer-songwriter Marianne Faithful, known for her 1979 album Broken English and for her historic association with the Rolling Stones.
The show, which is being organised by Third Eye Blind's Stephan Jenkins, goes under the banner 'Breathe', and will feature various collaborations, according to sonicnet.com.
So far scheduled to appear, in addition to the Deftones/Corgan pairing, are Crazytown joining forces with Sugar Ray, and Jenkins is also reported to have approached David Bowie to perform with Third Eye Blind. Seal is another act lined up to appear, performing an acoustic set, and No Doubt's Gwen Stefani is also reported to have been approached.
The show takes place at the Greek Theatre on October 27.
Jenkins said: "I tried to think of something that would be fun for the bands and the audience, and I decided to have band pairings. I think audiences who are so surfeited on seeing radio shows where all your favourite bands come out and play a 30-minute set will get to see something really different."
It will benefit charity Step Up, which supports and treats underprivileged women with breast cancer. Jenkins commented: "The point of the show is to emphasize that breast cancer isn't a woman's issue, it's everybody's issue because it touches families. So I wanted to have an eclectic mix of everybody's music. You have somebody like Seal playing right next to the Deftones. I dig that."
Speaking in an interview with the local Chicago Tribune newspaper (July 22), Corgan, who has recently visited the UK to make a live appearance with New Order, said he is currently recording demos in a Chicago studio, with a view to starting an album proper by the end of 2001.
Speaking about his time since the demise of the Smashing Pumpkins, he said: "I didn't pick up a guitar for a while, which I hadn't done since I was 19, when it was coming down to whether I should cut my hair and get a job or play rock 'n' roll. This was a similar thing. I put it down and said I'm not picking it back up unless I want to. It just came back. And I feel like a million bucks."
Speaking about the as-yet-untitled record, he commented: "I'm trying to be flexible about all aspects of it, the music and the personnel. I originally thought it would take till next year, but I'm now thinking by year's end we'll start recording."
Elsewhere, Corgan said he has co-written a song for a forthcoming record by Lisa Marie Presley and elaborated on his work with '60s star Marianne Faithfull. As revealed on NME.COM, members of Blur and Beck are amongst the stars who are working on the record.
"We did three songs for her next album," he said. "Two originals and a cover of `Something Tells Me I'm Into Something Good' the Herman's Hermits song. I asked her what she had been listening to, and she told me somewhat sheepishly that she'd been listening to Herman's Hermits. And we talked about that sunny-ness in music, and how people don't trust that anymore. So why not do the song? A mature woman singing about that happiness? When she understands what she's translating to that voice, it's unbelievable. Don't let the mature Marianne fool you. She is still a punk rocker and it's so refreshing. I'm like, here I go. I'm 34, it's a new phase, it's not about teenage pain anymore. But when you meet someone like that, and realise they're still all there, it's so inspiring. "
Smashing Pumpkinsare planning a Greatest Hits compilation and DVD for future release.
Hits disc, B-sides collection to be joined by music video compilation, concert video.
The Smashing Pumpkins' afterlife looks to be a lively one.
The band will release several albums and DVDs this year and next, singer Billy Corgan told fans at a sold-out Smashing Pumpkins tribute concert Saturday in Chicago.
Corgan made a surprise appearance at the Metro for Act IV: A Tribute to the Smashing Pumpkins ? The Echo Rings Forever On. The concert's title refers to the band's three-act farewell show at the venue in December.
Taking the same stage the Pumpkins frequently commanded in their early years, Corgan told a dazed crowd that a collection of the band's hits was being compiled for release later this year, according to Metro Promotions Manager Virginia Jones.
A limited-edition collection of B-sides, a "sort of a follow-up to Pisces Iscariot," featuring outtakes from the Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness, Adore and Machina/The Machines of God sessions, will also be released this year, Corgan said.
Two Smashing Pumpkins DVDs are also in the works, though they probably won't hit stores until next year, according to Corgan. A collection of all the band's videos will be released first, followed by a concert special filmed at the farewell show. The latter will include a documentary that is "taking a lot of time," he explained.
A Virgin Records spokesperson said the tentatively titled Smashing Pumpkins' Greatest Hits is scheduled for a November 6 release. Information was not available on other projects from the band.
Corgan, whose last public appearance in Chicago was to salute Bozo the Clown during the final taping of his landmark television show, spent most of his time Saturday backstage, Jones said. "He was chatting with the bands and answering their questions," she added.
The singer took the stage to introduce the show's headliner, Chicago's Kill Hannah. He said the show was "in the true spirit of why the Smashing Pumpkins became a band," according to Jones.
The 4th Act, as the show was commonly referred to by Pumpkins fans, was the brainchild of Toronto fan Steven Pukin, who solicited demos from Pumpkins admirers around the world via the band's Web site and handed them over to the Metro for selection.
Bands on the bill included San Diego's Robyn, San Francisco's Christophe Thibault, Iowa's Lindsey Kuper, South Africa's Ketamine and New York's Lost Logic. A Chicago band called D'Arcy, named after original Pumpkins bassist D'Arcy Wretzky but not featuring her, also performed.
Pukin and other fans also put together Ghost Children, a tribute CD of fans covering their favorite Pumpkins songs. Copies were sold at the concert, and the proceeds, along with those from the show, went to the Make-a-Wish Foundation.
Jones said Metro owner Joe Shanahan, a longtime supporter of the band, choose to book the tribute concert on July 7 to celebrate the anniversary of Smashing Pumpkins Day in Chicago.
Fittingly, the city of Chicago once again declared July 7 Smashing Pumpkins Day in honor of the tribute show, which raised more than $10,000, Jones said.
CHICAGO ? Billy Corgan returned here on Tuesday for his second post-Smashing Pumpkins performance, this time paying tribute to a balding, ball-nosed clown.
Corgan, former Pumpkins drummer Jimmy Chamberlin and three other musicians played an emotional rendition of Bob Dylan's "Forever Young" for "Bozo: 40 Years of Fun," the final taping of the landmark children's show that starred local hero Bozo the Clown.
"May God bless and keep you always/ May your wishes all come true/ May you always do for others/ And let others do for you," Corgan sang as he glanced around the studio, eyeing the colorful props and sharing smiles with Wizzo the Wizard. "May you build a ladder to the stars/ And climb on every rung/ May you stay forever young/ Forever young."
"I was actually here on my 11th birthday. Nothing has changed," Corgan said after the taping. "We were in rehearsal yesterday just watching and ... childhood memories are obscure, but certain things will really trigger them. Watching the videotape and hearing the music, all these cobwebs were coming off."
Corgan said the Smashing Pumpkins once talked about coming on the show, which debuted in Chicago on June 20, 1960. So when he heard they were taping the final episode, he called the producers to offer his services.
"I said anything you need, I would love to be a part, even if it's just introducing a segment," Corgan explained. "We talked about it and the idea of a song came up."
Corgan said he asked a friend for song ideas and he suggested the Broadway standard "Send in the Clowns."
"No f---ing way, right?" Corgan said, laughing. "Then he suggested 'Forever Young,' which is one of my favorite Bob Dylan songs. At first I said no, then I thought about it, and it pretty much sums it up, it really does."
At Corgan's first post-Pumpkins performance, a benefit show in March that raised money for homeless children, he performed Dylan's "Gotta Serve Somebody" with Marianne Faithfull (see "Billy Corgan, Marianne Faithfull Glide Through Third Waltz").
"I'm doing anything to serve Bob," Corgan joked.
On Tuesday, the singer entered WGN's Studio 1 about 15 minutes into the taping, wearing black pants and an electric blue dress shirt. Bozo introduced him twice as "the singer of one of the world's most popular bands ? Billy Coogan" before he finally got the name right on the third take.
Corgan laughed at Bozo's mess-ups along with the crowd, which included Billy Corgan Sr. and Joe Shanahan, owner of the Metro, the legendary music club where the Pumpkins played their first show.
In the band with Corgan and Chamberlin were former Urge Overkill bassist Eddie Roeser, Yum Yum guitarist Chris Holmes and keyboardist Linda Strawberry, whom Corgan described as a solo artist from Utah.
"Bozo: 40 Years of Fun" will air nationally on WGN, which is available on basic cable in most cities, in a special primetime slot on July 14 at 7 p.m. CT. The show features a mix of new segments, including the final Grand Prize Game and final Grand March, along with clips from throughout the show's 40 years.
Billy was a special part of the Bozo the Clown show filming this week in Chicago. He formed a special group [Jimmy was part of it] to sing Bob Dylan's "Forever Young" for the show, which will air on Chicago tv station WGN. For more on this, check out WGN's website info here. Billy is also quoted as saying that "To anybody 20 years or older, especially in Chicago, the show was a big part of our lives." (Thanks to Jennifer for sending this in.)
New Order bassist Peter Hook has denied that former Smashing Pumpkins frontman Billy Corgan has been recruited as their new guitarist.
It has been reported elsewhere that Corgan was to be a temporary replacement for long-time keyboard player Gillian Gilbert who is taking an indefinite break from the band to care for her daughter.
According to Gilbert's partner and New Order drummer Stephen Morris, their 18-month daughter is recovering from a serious illness.
However, speaking to Music365 today (May 23) from Manchester, New Order bassist Peter Hook has revealed that the band are currently working with former Marion guitarist Phillip Cunningham.
Hook said that the collaboration with Corgan had been "blown out of proportion."
He says: "I think people must appreciate his [Billy Corgan's] part is a guest appearance. He's not actually written anything, he's just come on and we've liked the feel and got a taste for it."
He adds, "In many ways he's given something back to New Order."
The band are set to release their first album in eight years entitled 'Get Ready' On August 27. It's the band's first since 'Republic'.
The album will be preceded by a single, 'Crystal' to be released in July.
Corgan actually only features on one track on the album called 'Turn My Way'.
Speaking about the new album, Hook says, "It's a lot different to everything. Steve Osborne's [producer] done a fantastic job."
The bassist added that the entire band had curtailed other projects to concentrate on New Order. "It's the first time we've been happy together and I think that comes through so much on the album."
Hook described the new album as "in your face, rocky, get up off your chair stuff", adding, "It's very hard."
Billy is joining up with the band New Order to take over guitar duties for some of their upcoming shows. Here are the dates he's playing with them, courtesy of the SPIFC:
July 28th, 2001 Fuji Rock Festival '01 Naeba Ski Resort, JAPAN
July 31st, 2001 Shoreline Ampitheatre Mountain View, CA, USA
August 2nd, 2001 Thunderbird Stadium Vancouver, BC, CANADA
August 3rd, 2001 Gorge Amphitheatre George, WA, USA
August 5th, 2001 Glen Helen Blockbuster Pavilion Devore, CA, USA
All tickets are onsale now.
I am so sorry but I didn't even know about this till a week later. So sorry...but apparently, Billy and Jimmy played a show last week in Utah! You can find some pictures here that were posted at the Siva boards by Aaron and as far as the post says, they played no Pumpkins songs. Aaron said that the name of the band Billy and Jimmy played with was called Royal Bliss, and I guess that's about all the info I can give you. I'm sorry for not having paid attention to the news. :\ I'll put some more info if I see more info!
Hello more answers for your questions I'm in utah, and it is very strange. love billy
7. Can you confirm once and for all- will there be a metro dvd or cd- and when will it be released if there is one on the way??
We are in the process right now of figuring out what to release next, but I can say as of right now no final decisions have been made regarding any projectsÖ
Are you conducting sociological experiements with us?
Good questionÖthe answer is yes and noÖno because Iím not doing anything your government, your teachers, and your favourite pop stars arenít already doing to you, they just donít have the guts to tell you how and why they are doing it soÖyes, everything we did and do is an experiment to make you happier and healthier and deeper and *gasp* more spiritual human beingsÖyou can always change the channel of course, and I would just hope that you might trust the good intentions of the band at this point..
24. What is the official status of chapter 4? i.e., is it the apex of the mystery for which we are striving to solve, a fan collaborative that we have to create, a missing link that will never be found, or something else entirely?
The title of chapter 4 is called ìthe true story of the machinesî and it has yet to be releasedÖI appreciate the fan collaborations, but the fans writing chapter 4 is not what I had in mindÖdonít forget you are in the story, and trust me when I say that it is hard to write the play while you are acting in itÖ
25. lets face it music needs to be somewhat restructured, not music itself but maybe the creation/production process... what do you think is necessary for fans/musicians to do, to pull ourselves out of this post evolutionary slime that we are in fans need to align themselves with the fact that they are playing a bigger and bigger role in the way music is being released, and the intent of that music (whether to get you to buy hamburgers or make you laugh)Ömusicians need to see the immense possibilities of fans interacting with the band on all levels: albums, live shows, and of course their website/tv channelÖwhen did the concept for Machina first enter your mind? And why?
For many years I wanted to create something larger than the band, and I knew I would have to waitÖI realized that the band brfeaking up was the perfect time to create such a storyÖthe chapters and thoughts wound thru everything we ever did, machina just brought it all togetherÖfrom bye june to try, try, tryÖ
53. What is the bands take on demos being released (Reel Time Studios, for example)?
Weíve never had a real problem with bootlegs per se, because generally the people who want to hear shows and demos ARE fansÖthe problems begin when it stops being a friendly exchange of music and becomes someoneís commercial enterprise: i.e. making money off the bands name and musicÖalso, some material that has eeked out has come from the hands of ìfriendsî, and in some ways this is a betrayal of why they were given a tape in the first placeÖobviously we donít have control over everything, but it has certainly made us more cautious about what we give anyoneÖthe stuff that people really want no one has, not even individual band members, itís all under lock and keyÖand anyway, what is out there is a small fraction of what existsÖon a related tangent, I must warn that many things that are sold as authentic pieces of memorabilia are FAKESÖthe autographs of all the pumpkins are very distinctive, and I feel very bad for anyone who has paid good money for something that is just a cheap imitationÖ
39. Are there any plans to release Machina II on compact disc or preferably even vinyl sometime in the future?
We hope one day to release machina in itís sequenced entirety, with a more comprehensive text to support the storyÖ
47. what is the most important thing that the band/billy wanted us, the fans, to get out of all the intricacies and mythology of the Pumpkins (especially Machina)?
To see that everything is not always as it appears to be, and that we are forever looking for external things to define usÖsymbols are meant to be signposts of unconscious recognition, but the signposts are not the storyÖthe story is about the band, about rock and roll, itís about love and tragedy, but the real secret is that it is about happiness and where to find itÖ
143. And is the new New Order album going to be as good as I've heard?
I can tell you as a fan that the album is going to be fantastic, and that getting the opportunity to work on it was a great thrillÖ
hello everyone, how are you, i am fine, thanks and...let me start by saying that i thought of the idea of answering a few questions, now that the band had ended, would help clear up a few things and also keep this web site from become a dead space with no new thoughts or ideas...i can say personally that i am very pleased with the amount of interest the site has drawn as more and more pumpkins fans from around the world find out about it...the pumpkins, existing now of course only as a ghost, hope that this site can be more than just arguing about which album is worse (that's a joke/illinois style)...that is why we have provided links to things we believe in, and also hope to keep you abreast of what is going on within the pumpkin family (see matt walker's new project, the impossible jamming machine)...i can tell you that beyond planning what we are going to do musically as individuals right now, there are many exciting pumpkin projects in the works, even as i type this...it's been 4 months since the last show, but the spirit of the band is alive and well...thanks, love billy
1. Will we ever know? OR is the whole idea to make what we want out of it?
i assume this question means the machina story and theories, etc. assuming that it is, there are two answers, one: the interaction of the fans was part of the story, so as long as there is interaction from the fans, and until all the true stories have been told, no, you can never completely know and two: you can watch a movie 2 or 3 times before you notice something that you didn't see before...i can say that in people's hurry to "figure it all out" that many parts of the story, and huge chunks of the concept have not been explored...
4. The revolution: Is it in our hearts and minds or a physical task at hand?
the idea of a revolution is to topple that which exists...of course when i use the word in a "pop" sense, and by that i mean revolution t.v. style, i mean that we've got to blow up in popular culture that which becomes boring and obvious, even if it includes myself...so no, it is not a physical thing, but there are things you can do beyond being disenchanted in your heart...if you do not use the voice you have, then you can't expect anything to change...if you don't like what's on the radio, call the station and using your God given intelligence tell them why...or write a letter if you are shy...with alternative music in particular, real fans must attempt to counter the voice of the american mob that wants what it wants without consciensce...the music industry does notice when an album like kid a goes in at number one, and it does encourage the signing of better bands with a deeper musical message...contrary to popular belief, i don't think "popular" music is evil, it only becomes evil when people make it seem more important than it is only because it is selling...no matter what the trend is at any given moment, i personally believe more in music that has a deeper social consciensce...
16. Will you offer the disenchanted youth of america some words (or a book!) of advice?
can't help with your depression but can recommend some authors and books...one huge influence on my thinking has been philip k. dick (valis, the divine invasion, the scanner darkly)...also see william s. burroughs (the naked lunch, the soft boys, nova express)...someone recently turned me onto ken wilber (the spectrum of consciousness) who is just an incredible thinker, and has really helped me to see the world thru different eyes...also i've been reading ernest hemingway (the sun also rises)...you can never go wrong with jack kerouac (on the road, dharma bums)...i also recommend j.g. ballard (crash) or william gibson's last book, i can't think of the title right now...
30. How do you decide on how to perform a song when you do a concert, because live versions of some songs tend to vary greatly. Do you try to go for a general theme, does it reflect your feelings at the given time?
this question has come up alot thru the years, so i guess now would be the time to answer before we release those 14 different versions of bullet...the band came to the conclusion many years ago that playing the songs the same way every night, especially as much as we toured, got boring to us...we never thought of our songs as perfect paintings that were sacrosanct and untouchable, they were ours to destroy as we pleased...we realized that changing the songs around so much displeased certain people, but we felt it was better to see a band excited by the music it was playing than to see a band playing perfect versions disinterestedly...
34. How many recordings exist of songs that nobody, besides people very close to the band, have heard? and 39. will there be a pearl jam-esque series of bootlegs available in the future?
i can tell you that there are many songs that were written by me during the different periods of making the albums that the band have not even heard...there is alot of stuff, and we are just trying to figure out what to do with all of it...there seems to be an insatiable deisre for new things, but i am struck by how quickly something will emerge and be dissected and judged...this makes me hesitant to release certain things because i don't want anything we have ever done to be viewed lightly because we certainly didn't take it that way...that also goes for the live recordings that we posess...at different times, different factions of fans seem to romanticize particular periods of time...everyone cannot always agree on the validity of a certain approach the band took, and only later is more of a consesus reached...for example, i know that many people are very critical of the sound of machina 1, citing machina 2 and it's rawness as something that they are more attracted to...although i respect and understand those opinions, i strongly disagree...for your amusment, i offer this...siamese dream was criticized at the time it was released for it's overproduced and overbearing sound...and the sound of machina 2, and the songs, are from the same recording sessions as machina 1...we have always felt that we knew what we were doing, and stand behind machina 1... there is only a difference of approach in the mixing, and certainly the song selection...i only offer this as evidence that a time will come where all the work can be seen clearly from the vista of proper hindsight, and when that comes, so will the work...