Pack your things and start heading out west, because Billy Corgan announced six tour dates in Southern California. You can catch Monsiuer Pumpkin as part of newly minted supergroup Spirits In the Sky between August 26th and August 31st. Exact deets such as cities and venues are coming soon so keep on the look-out.
While playing with newly-minted supergroup Spirit In the Sky over the weekend in LA, Billy Corgan rolled out a new song as well as new Pumpkins drummer, 19-year-old drummer Mike Byrne. Check the kid and the track in the video above. (YouTube via Stereogum)
Talk about a blast from the past! D’Arcy Wretzky, formerly of the Smashing Pumpkins, put in a call to Chicago’s Q101 radio station and had an impromptu chat with radio host Ryan Manno. Manno has since posted the entire conversation online, in which the bassist discusses life on her horse farm in Michigan, Marilyn Manson’s parents, her admiration of Davy Jones and Silversun Pickups, amongst other topics. Definitely worth a listen. (via P4k)
A fan essay regarding the Smashing Pumpkins’ musical chair-like lineup over the years inspired Billy Corgan to respond on the site in a similarly long-winded entreaty about who the current incarnation of Smashing Pumpkins includes. Corgan doesn’t give anything away about other members, but instead restates how he’s always been the heart of SP (”In the center of any of it has been for me, speaking personally, my music. Yes, MY music”) and seems enthused about the new band’s progress (”I am 100pct committed to the future of SP. I can tell you that. 100pct!! I’ve never been happier about being in SP, or a part of SP, than I am now.”) but we still have no clue who we’ll see standing onstage beside him when the tour rolls around. Read between the lines for yourself here.
He’s something else— that’s for sure.
MESSAGE FROM BILLY CORGAN REGARDING SMASHINGPUMPKINS.COM
Recently I read a post by another famed alt-rocker from my generation lamenting the negative cultures of the internet…how its inherent narcissism ruins a lot of good fun for everyone because those that shout the loudest and are the most obsessive are able to control a dialogue over things that in the normal discourse of real life wouldn’t be that big a deal…I have watched with great interest over the last 15 or so years the rise of the web and how it has given form to new social dynamics and single-handedly helped to blow up the music business that I think I used to belong to…as a interested observer, let me say then that I am fully aware that nothing I say here will change anything as it pertains to any negativity lingering proudly in the human soul, because that is a decision that only comes thru and from the collective; when a majority of us are tired of such constant poison that we’ll scream ‘enough’ at the top of our lungs and the idiots get drowned out by those who have sat silently waiting till they can take it no more…I am more silent these days than not, an ironic fact of which I am criticized by fans for not feeding them with enough vacant info to their liking, but nicely applauded with apathy by those that don’t care should I live or die…after all, aren’t I a horrible, detestable creature that would dare go his own way in life?…shame on me for not being one of the sheeple!!
I have tried in vain to create a positive, loving website that takes into great effect those that would use it most…I hear quite often not to let the bad apples in this bunch that do visit the site far too often ruin it for the rest of those that aren’t so destructive and are capable to see the forest from the trees…the point being ‘hey Billy, its just the way of the world, don’t be so sensitive’…
That’s a similar logic I heard when I first started in music and I was told certain things were not possible with my band or my tunes…my point to you is just because everyone accepts something dumb doesn’t make it good or whole or essential…in essence their point is, yes, the website is a reflection on the larger culture as a whole, and I am powerless to stop it… Todays laughter was me being criticized for a post that had info about a charity that was offering (to the highest bidder) a lunch with me. Unfortunately, unknown to me, the info stated that lunch was on the person who won the auction. Having never offered myself for a charity lunch date before, I was curious to see what fans might say about it. I was surprised to see a minor detail I was unaware of that said the winner must pay the bill at lunch turn into an attack on me and my supposed fortune. What an asshole I am to not want to buy lunch?
I bring this to your attention because this is exactly what’s to be expected in a mean and bitter world. Every act, no matter how kind or caring must be viewed thru the dim lens of ambition, greed, power, and ultimately selfishness. There must be an ulterior motive to all of this, right?? A charity lunch just can’t be as simple as that. The awareness raised for the charity means nothing against what its going to do for my career…and what a career its been! And thank God someone gets to fit the bill for my meal!
Yes I’m being sarcastic but the sad part is someone out there will read this and think the worst, never seeing the darkness and avarice in their own heart…
I’ve made a pledge to lead a different kind of business, and it must begin with this website, which stands as the public face of Smashing Pumpkins World Domination Corp.
What do I wish to dominate with? Love and good music…did he just say love and good music? Now I know he’s insane…
Love means nothing against someone with something to say.
So I’ll get to my point. This website is going to change. It is going to transform into something that is consistent with the concepts of love, grace, and community. We are not looking backwards anymore, only forward. I for one am willing to stand for something good here, in this little corner of the blogosphere, and say it’s time.
What makes the things I’m saying here even more real to me is the passing of my dear friend Sky Sunlight Saxon. Sky lived everyday with the concept of LOVE as his guide, and he walked the talk. He was a spiritual warrior who would tell me that Yahowa knew the beauty of our hearts, and that musicians were the living prophets of the world. So in Sky’s memory I am going to re-dedicate this website to represent the things he cared about most; love, life, music, his spiritual family, and the protection of all God’s creatures, big and small.
