hello from the sunshine state! last night was a gas...we had it all...rock people ...rich girls unleashed unknowingly
on a sleepy public, to declare siren songs of domination...we let her loose because she is us and we are becoming her
more and more in a half-life sense of the word...so as I write we prepare in dusty tomes for tonight's show...what
is it going to be? maybe tonight is the night to let it all fall apart so it can be put together humpty dumpty style...
we are lost in the wilderness of florida, sunstreaked and crying...is there anybody out there we declare in junk 50's
poetry, and the slapback drums yes! yes! yes! cause we are way out there and we are coming to your town...or at least
a mall near you...the story is being told I have to remind myself cause I forget that we are in it and the ending is
not yet written...or is it in an envelope near you? check under your pillow cause you might find a yellowed tooth or
maybe a band of gold or maybe just a plain old band...may god bless florida! it brings out the demon in me...ps. the
next b-side is liberty and the epiphany machine, coming to a u.k. record shop near you backed with that song why try,
try, try, and keep on trying...we ask ourselves that every single day in every single way...xo
Taken from NoiseRevolution.com
| 5.4.2000: Smashing Pumpkins official site online again |
Smashing Pumpkins official site running again. There are some cool new interactive features and the "sacred and profane" video type feel
to it. It also sportas a new site address @ noiseviolation.com.
| 5.4.2000: Smashing Pumpkins Find Focus On "Profane" Run |
The Smashing Pumpkins are halfway through their "Sacred And Profane" spring tour, an outing that has already dawn rave reviews and sold-out crowds in Chicago, Detroit, and New York City, and now the band is gearing up for a run through the Southeast and the West Coast.
The band will wrap its current U.S. tour at the end of May, then head overseas for shows in Japan in June and July before returning in August to play the Canadian Summersault festival with Our Lady Peace and the Foo Fighters (see "Our Lady Peace Taps Foos, Pumpkins For Summersault").
Pumpkins frontman Billy Corgan told MTV News that the band hopes to map out an additional American run towards the end of this year, and that, so far, the current tour has been one of the Smashing Pumpkins' best to date.
"It seems to be more sacred than profane at this point," Corgan said jokingly, "but as it goes on, it'll get more and more profane, but it's been really good. I'd say it's the best reaction we've ever gotten from our fans.
"We tend to be pretty confusing, as far as playing lots of different versions of our songs and a lot of obscure songs, but we've decided to take the high road on this tour, and everyone seems to be happy for a change."
Corgan also indicated that part of the reason for the Pumpkins' refocused live show was the presence of new bassist and his longtime friend Melissa Auf Der Maur, who began playing with the band in December (see "Smashing Pumpkins To Unveil Auf Der Maur At Hometown Shows").
"With Melissa, she wasn't there through all these years," Corgan said, "so we have to be a little more deliberate about what [songs] we get into, because she doesn't know every song or she hasn't played on every one, so she has to try and keep up with all this stuff.
"We've been a little more deliberate about picking [set lists], but I think in a way it's made us pay more attention to the songs we're picking. We used to sort of prick them off the top of our heads, and if we liked it, we liked it.
"We didn't really think about the consequences as far as the audience," he concluded, "and that's why people have been mad at us for years. [Laughs]"
article courtesy of MTV online
| 5.2.2000: What's D'arcy up to? |
We're sure you've been wondering what D'Arcy Wretzky has been up to since her court
date for possession of crack cocaine last Valentine's Day. She has been religiously attending her four drug abuse prevention
classes as ordered by Cook County District Court Judge Nicholas Ford, but that doesn't mean that she's not having a little fun.
The former Smashing Pumpkins bassist D'Arcy Wretzky is currently keeping company with Hollywood's plastic surgery pin-up boy,
Mickey Rourke. The newish duo have been spotted around Los Angeles holding hands and window shopping on Melrose Ave. D'Arcy's
pals say that the former 9½ Weeks' star has got the actress-cum-musician (who turns 32 on May 1) hooked on plastic surgery too.
She's had her beautiful heart-shaped face altered in ways that were totally unnecessary…
article courtesy of Tower Records
| 5.2.2000: Billy a Starfucker? |
The Nine Inch Nails video for "Starfuckers, Inc." that nothing Records has been trying to keep hush-hush for the past month debuted on MTV on Tuesday (May 2) featuring all the goodies that we told you about (allstar, April 24) and then some.
The clip, which credits Robert Hales (former Art Director for Raygun magazine) as director at the front of the clip and then Marilyn Manson at the end of the clip, entails singer Trent Reznor going on a date to a carnival with a person, who isn't revealed until the end of the clip. The person, of course, is his former best friend and protégé-turned-rival and back-full-circle to partner-in-crime, Marilyn Manson.
The video opens with a view of a road similar to the opening of the movie Lost Highway, which features a soundtrack produced by Reznor. In the video, Reznor is first shown in the back of a limousine with tubes in his nose and wearing blue eye makeup like a mask (and also similar to how Manson's done his shadow many times in the past), with Manson disguised in a blonde wig. They show a poster of Pamela Anderson Lee and Donna D'Errico on their way to the carnival and paparazzi outside of the limo.
During the carnival, Reznor trys his hand at the game where you throw a baseball at a plate and try to smash the plate. On the plates in the video are the faces of Marilyn Manson, Limp Bizkit's Fred Durst, Kiss' Gene Simmons, R.E.M.'s Michael Stipe, and Mariah Carey. He also throws balls at busts of people -- one of which is of Smashing Pumpkins' Billy Corgan (wearing a Zero shirt), and another is of Reznor himself.
But, the biggest diss of all is the part with an obese Courtney Love look-alike wearing a tiara, holding an Oscar, and sporting tape on her nose (to signify a nose job) sitting in a dunking booth with the word "waste" printed on it. Shortly after, Reznor is seen throwing CDs into a toilet, including Manson's Mechanical Animals.
This is nothing Records' second shot with "Starfuckers, Inc.," as the track was the first song from The Fragile released to radio last year. They edited the song so it says "Starsuckers" and changed the name as well to ensure radio and video airplay.
article courtesy of Allstar news
| 5.1.2000: Billy Corgan leads the Smashing Pumpkins to new heights |
HEAVIER than a load of Allen Bloom books but more powerful than a Con Ed system surge, the Smashing Pumpkins were simply smashing at their Hammerstein Ballroom concert Tuesday night. It was a defining performance in which Pumpkin head Billy Corgan and his band made it clear that they no longer think of themselves as indie-rock antiheroes: They're now genuine rock stars.
No disrespect intended - stardom suits Corgan and company. Tuesday's concert was very accessible and aimed at pleasing the fans. The two-hour program had a great light show, basic staging and was packed with a career-spanning selection of songs.
Those tunes included nearly three-quarters of the excellent "Machina" album, some past hits and even a well-picked oldie cover of David Essex's "Rock On."
Between the band's poor last outing ("Adore") and the new "Machina" disc, the Smashing Pumpkins have realized that the last vestiges of real rock 'n' roll are on heavy metal's stairway to hell.
The band didn't hesitate to incorporate the best of the genre with their sound. The result at the Hammerstein concert was volume, velocity and chest-pounding power - all laced into every song.
Yet what made this better then a typical headbanger's ball was that each piece sounded different, despite continuity within the music.
Take the tune "The Everlasting Gaze." It was rendered early in the show with speedy urgency and a soaring sensibility - as if it were a petition to a deaf god. Later, the same Pumpkins unfolded the extended reverb ballad "Glass and the Ghost Children," which had a slowed-down but still forceful tempo.
"Glass" was one of the evening's best songs. As Corgan creaked creepy lyrics such as "She counted the spiders as they crawled up inside her," the band delivered the music with fluid resistance, as if they were trying to run in hip-high water.
It was a terrific effect that demonstrated the musical growth and evolution the Smashing Pumpkins have undergone over the last three years.
Part of that success belongs to Jimmy Chamberlin. Reports say he was allowed back into the band after his expulsion (for drugs and his involvement in the overdose death of a band side man) because he went through rehab and cleaned up his act.
Perhaps, but the real reason he's back is that he is the best drummer in rock 'n' roll. During this concert he was outstanding as he subtly directed the music.
Since the release of "Machina," blond bassist D'Arcy Wretzky left the band to "pursue an acting career" and was replaced by Melissa Auf der Maur, formerly of Hole. Like D'Arcy, Melissa offers her bass lines in dense rumbles that snuggle nicely between Corgan's and James Iha's guitar work.
As well as she played, she rarely wandered from her station at stage right. It was unfortunate that, whether by her own decision or the band's, she offered no demonstration of her ability as a backup singer, a role that she excelled in with Hole.
The evening's oddest moment came during the final seconds of the concert. Corgan was doing a spoken-word piece with the band backing him when he repeatedly, angrily asked, "What the f - - - is going on?"
Though posed as a universal question, this confused the audience.
Some might call Corgan's approach a pretentious finale, but despite how strange it may have seemed, his question was also thought-provoking.
Ultimately, it must have worked - as the crowd descended the stairs from the balcony and spilled out on the street, many fans reiterated Corgan's query.
article courtesy of Siva
| 4.30.2000: Rock's Corgan finds himself torn between 2 worlds |
Billy Corgan is deep into an exhaustive analysis of what's wrong with rock, and why his band, the Smashing Pumpkins, is so perpetually misunderstood. He has railed against the radio gods and served up the predictable screed against the anti-Pumpkins "bias" of other industry gatekeepers. But as he gears up for the big summation, his tone softens.
He lapses into flashback: "Imagine standing in a club in 1988, watching Dinosaur Jr and saying, 'If we could one day just be that.' To us that was amazing, that was our dream. Then you do that, and it keeps going, and suddenly you're on MTV every 20 minutes. Boom, there you are. Cover of Rolling Stone. . . . I don't care what anybody says about 'alternative' integrity, you get swayed by the whole ride. And then it sinks in: This is not really what I wanted."
As survivors of the alt-rock boom, Corgan and the three other Pumpkins - who will play the sold-out Electric Factory tomorrow night in an attempt to build buzz by playing relatively small venues - are walking a difficult line. They came up at a time when being an alternative to faceless corporate rock was the coolest thing. But as their ideas took hold, they became the mainstream and were rewarded with lavish contracts, and saddled with equally large expectations.
Now, Corgan says he's torn between two worlds - the small pool of devoted fans who constitute the indie-rock audience and the fake-smiles posturing of MTV rock.
"I feel like we're playing to the same audience we were in the late '80s, which is a very hard-core group of kids," the singer-songwriter-guitarist says in a quiet, considered speaking voice that's miles away from his onstage yowl. "They're paying a lot of attention, even though the media isn't speaking to them and MTV is ignoring them. Our integrity is making that connection. And at the same time, the band is asked to be, expected to be, this big commercial band. Do you turn your back on the one audience that's with you already to chase that brass ring?"
The Pumpkins, whose most recent effort, Machina/the Machines of God, had a big opening eight weeks ago but now resides at 93 on Billboard's 200, are not alone. Many of the other premiere acts of alt-rock - Nine Inch Nails, the Foo Fighters - have discovered that their claim on a large audience is not as solid as they once thought. The explanations for this slippage are everywhere: Rock in general has declined, teen acts rule the media mix, and modern-rock radio is increasingly the province of such rock/hip-hop hybrids as Korn and Limp Bizkit.
"Once we finish this cycle, I don't want anything to do with the mainstream world," Corgan, 33, hisses on the phone from a Dayton, Ohio, hotel. "It's a complete celebration of fakery. I think we can be more effective by operating on a lower level, not trying to reach the big audience every time."
The first change the Great Pumpkin anticipates: No more albums.
"The idea of the album is over. In the current culture, singles and flashy success are 10 times more celebrated. The promise of a Pet Sounds or Sgt. Pepper is no longer available. I think it's important to try to do things that change the temperature the way albums used to, but when you look at the signals the marketplace is sending, maybe the time for that particular vehicle is up. We're going back to the mentality of the '30s and '40s, when . . . people focused on key performances, and it was not about letting people see everything you've got."
He envisions releasing four lower-key EPs a year, then collecting the best of that material on an EP-sized release, and having "that be our commercial representation." Corgan believes the approach will engender growth: "That way you can make strong choices with what you know will be singles, and pick your spots. Rather than explaining your experiments to the mainstream all the time."
That doesn't mean Corgan will restrict the angsty alt-metal band's overall output. Quite the opposite: "I've reached the opinion that the editing process is inconsequential. Basically the band should put out, in some form, everything it touches. Even amongst the crap there's still something to be heard. That's why I buy bootlegs, or Picasso's sketchbooks. . . . As an artist, I don't want to censor myself. . . . When you get caught up in 'what do they want, what do they expect?' you can guess yourself into the ground."
He points to the band's recent output as an illustration.
After its 1995 commercial breakthrough Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness, Corgan began exploring more orchestral ideas. Some of those turned up on 1998's thickly layered Adore, an overly long and exceedingly ambitious collection that took a critical drubbing. But Corgan didn't entirely back down when he started writing for the new collection: Machina blends crafty string writing and keyboard textures into the guitar maelstrom generated by Corgan and James Iha. More aggressive rhythmically than Adore, it represents further expansion, and refinement, of the band's sonic approach - there are traces of the trance fusion Mahavishnu Orchestra in the shredded guitar lines of "The Sacred and Profane," and an Eno-like lushness defines "Stand Inside Your Love."
Corgan says those refinements went unnoticed, and the story became about the band going back to more conventional rock.
"I knew that the first question was going to be, 'So, what was your intention for returning to rock?' Which told me that these people were not even paying attention to what was in the music. Our intention? How about: To rock?"
In the past, such slights would have riled the obstreperous Corgan, who says reaction to his singing voice runs the gamut from "God gave you the voice of angels" to "your voice drives me out of my skull."
But these days, as he conceptualizes a creative environment away from the spotlight, he's less pushy about getting his props. There are even signs in the music that he's lightened up: After a particularly devastating, twisting-and-turning guitar solo on the current single "I of the Mourning," Corgan's first words are tongue-in-cheek: "I blew the dust off my guitars."
Some might say he's actually acquired a mellow, sanguine attitude.
"Like anything, the value of what we do will be sort of worked out over time. The production things may take a while for people to get. I think I've been undervalued as a pop writer - "Stand Inside Your Love" is a great song whether it gets on the radio or not. I think people forget that we're not just making records for this generation. There are plenty to come. . . . What's important to us right now is that the band is stronger than ever. Jimmy [Chamberlin, the band's original drummer, who went through a two-year heroin detox after the overdose death of supporting keyboardist Jonathan Melvoin in 1996] is back and healthy, and he and Melissa [Auf Der Maur, the former Hole bassist who joined the Pumpkins this year] are playing great together."
And yet, for all that maturity, Corgan is still capable of making enemies in a messily public fashion. Asked about the public spat with short-tenured manager Sharon Osbourne, which erupted in January, Corgan acknowledges it was not a genius maneuver. She quit, and in an accompanying statement said: "I must resign today due to medical reasons. Billy Corgan was making me sick!" He responded with a lawsuit alleging breach of contract. She characterized the suit as "a routine accounting matter."
"That whole weirdness certainly has had a negative impact on the band," Corgan says. "The hypothetical question of the moment is: What would people think of the band if I'd never said anything? If I'd been straight-up nicey-nicey in interviews? I think the perception of the band would have been higher. The press would have been kinder."
In the next breath, he swears he has no regrets. "When I got into this, I decided to play it full-on. I was going to make full-on music and be a full-on honest person. I mean, can you imagine Iggy Pop wondering whether he should say something? I didn't get into rock and roll to play by somebody's rules."
article courtesy of Siva
| 4.28.2000: Guitarist Iha looks back at career highlights with Smashing Pumpkins |
(U-WIRE) KENT, Ohio -- James Iha, guitarist for the Smashing Pumpkins, had been looking forward to the concert at Kent State, but it was also another step in his career with the band.
"The only thing I know about Kent is the Crosby, Stills and Nash song," Iha said. "But I think it will be pretty cool. I think Kent has an interesting history."
Iha's own history with the band started when he joined 11 years ago. He said the biggest highlight of his tenure was staying together and the freedom.
"We get to make music and put out records," Iha said. "I'm not at work from 9 to 5, doing something I'm not interested in. It's a hard schedule, but in the time we have off I don't have to answer to anything. I'm kind of used to it, it's what I do."
Iha said, even though he did not write on the most recent album, he has written on others. He said his inspiration can be almost anything that starts him playing. He starts with chord progressions then adds lyrics later. He said the current album, "MACHINA: The machines of god," wasn't meant to be a different style, as some reviewers had commented. "It was just the songs we wrote and the best collection," Iha said. "It wasn't a decision to make a different album, it was just the way it came out."
Iha said the current album took eight months to record. He said he enjoys playing the songs, but the touring can make them somewhat repetitive.
"There's a repetition to playing five nights a week. It's not that we get sick of it, but we add songs and take some out to keep it fresh," he said. "A lot depends on the audience."
Iha also remembers his first live concert with the Pumpkins. "I was scared and nervous," he said. "It was one of those 'putting yourself on the line' things. There's no way to see it, there's lights, sounds, and you're either good, bad or whatever."
Finally, Iha shed little light on the origin of the band's name. "It's one of those names you just come up with," he said.
article courtesy of Siva
| 4.8.2000: D'arcy and James Fraud case |
Dana Giacchetto, 37, once the hottest financial guru to young Hollywood, was scheduled to appear in Manhattan Federal Court today to face securities fraud charges that could net him 10 years in prison.
The Prada-suit-wearing fund manager allegedly took up to $20 million from accounts without telling clients such as actors Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, Ben Stiller and Toby Maguire, actresses Courteney Cox Arquette and Lauren Holly, artist David Salle and disgraced Wall Street tycoon Ivan Boesky's daughter, Marianne.
The one-time rock musician also took nearly $5 million from the accounts of the rock band Phish and smaller amounts from Fred Schneider of the B-52's, Smashing Pumpkins' guitarist James Iha and bass player D'Arcy Wretzky-Brown, according to documents filed by the Securities and Exchange Commission.
article courtesy of Mostnewyork.com
| 4.5.2000: Foo Fighters, Smashing Pumpkins Join Our Lady Peace's Summersault Tour |
Foo Fighters and the Smashing Pumpkins are set to join Our Lady Peace for this year's Summersault tour in August, as announced by Our Lady Peace on Tuesday (April 4).
No dates have been set, but the tour is expected to hit venues from Vancouver, British Columbia to Halifax, Nova Scotia. More bands are expected to be announced shortly.
The first Summersault festival was held in 1998 and featured such artists as Garbage, Crystal Method, Sloan, Hayden, Esthero, and I Mother Earth as well as festival organizers Our Lady Peace. Summersault 2000 marks the first time the festival will tour Canada. The band conceived of the festival as a chance to play with bands they like, and had always hoped to turn the festival into a Canada-wide tour.
The band promises that details of the tour, which is being presented by Our Lady Peace with House of Blues Canada, will be posted to its website as soon as they become available.
article courtesy of CDnow
| 4.3.2000: Pumpkins: Beatles redux, and more |
(CNN) -- While today's "alternative" rockers were growing up on '70s punk and '80s new wave, a young Billy Corgan was rocking out to classic stadium-oriented and album rock -- Black Sabbath, Cheap Trick and Pink Floyd.
After the failure of Marked, his fledgling goth-metal band, Corgan in 1988 formed Smashing Pumpkins. Corgan, the band's writer/singer, recruited D'Arcy Wretsky on bass, James Iha on guitar and Jimmy Chamberlin on drums.
As Corgan told CNN WorldBeat correspondent Serena Yang, "The band is basically modeled upon what we call like a Beatles ideal, which is that the band is about being the band and the music is the band's personality and interests."
Critics praised the group's 1991 debut, "Gish," for infusing provocative lyrics into the loudness of classic rock while maintaining the punk sensibility of D.I.Y (do it yourself).
The band's successive albums, "Siamese Dream," "Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness," "Adore" and now, "MACHINA/ the machines of God," have collected more commercial and critical success. More important, each progressive album has pushed the Smashing Pumpkins to explore new musical terrain.
"It's my role as an artist to basically destroy the obvious and recreate the obvious, to put it back together into a form that maybe you wouldn't have considered," Corgan says. "I'm not into making things unimaginable."
article courtesy of CNN online
| 4.1.2000: Auf der Maur Climbs Out of Hole With Pumpkins' Help |
Having left her wicked stepsister and turned into a Pumpkin , Melissa Auf der Maur continues to write her version of the rock and roll fairy tale. A seemingly contrary mix of the ethereal and the resolutely grounded, Auf der Maur recently jumped from Courtney Love's Hole to play bass in Billy Corgan's revamped rock opera.
During a recent appearance at the Spectrum, a 1,200-capacity club in her hometown of Montreal, Auf der Maur was given an extended ovation. Before the show, she sat down to discuss her situation — leaving a band with an emotionally volatile history of drug overdoses, personnel changes, and controversy for one with a history of drug overdoses, personnel changes, and emotional volatility.
No longer Courtney's sane foil, she is the stable "stepchild" to three siblings: the hyperactive attention-getter (Corgan), the imploded shy boy (James Iha), and the prodigal son (drummer Jimmy Chamberlin, back after his '96 exile for relapsing into heroin use and for being present when sideman keyboardist Jonathan Melvoin fatally overdosed).
read the rest of the article here
| 3.20.2000: Same Drummer...Different Beat |
LOS ANGELES (CNN) -- The Smashing Pumpkins faithful no doubt will demonstrate their allegiance again to the band, packing concert halls and amphitheaters to see "The Sacred and Profane" tour. The United States junket -- promoting the Pumpkins' latest release "MACHINA/ the machines of God" -- is scheduled to launch April 8 in Kansas City, Missouri.
The latest album represents a change for the group. "Adore" (1998), the band's previous album, failed to live up to expectations commercially and critically, selling about 3 million copies worldwide.
Lead singer Billy Corgan says the band resisted pressure to replicate its earlier success with an album comparable to "Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness," released in 1995. Members made a conscious effort to ignore outside expectations, he says.
"I think that kind of completely removed the pressure," he says. "We just did what we would do in a vacuum."
And band members happily admit "MACHINA" won't suit everyone's taste. "As I like to say, if everybody likes what you're doing, you're doing something wrong," Corgan says.
Another defining difference between "MACHINA" and "Adore" is the return of drummer Jimmy Chamberlin, whose heroin addiction forced the band to fire him in 1996. Clean now, Chamberlin was dismissed following the drug-overdose death of keyboardist Jonathan Melvoin.
Faithful fans stand in line for a special in-store promotional concert in Los Angeles
Band members are proud to have overcome intense personal and professional turmoil.
"I don't mean this in any sort of trite way," Corgan says. "but the music has really been the thing that has healed us over and over again. It is the thing that has held us together and taught us about each other."
Fans also can learn from the band's struggles, he adds.
"What has gone on in my childhood, and the personal problems that we've had in the band, have given a lot of people hope," Corgan says. "(It shows) if you keep your nose pointed straight you can actually get somewhere -- to a happy place."
article courtesy of CNN online
| 3.17.2000: Happy Birthday to Billy and Melisa |
Happy Birthday to Billy and Melisa who both celebrated their birthdays on St. Patrick's Day. On the 17th, Billy turned 33 while Melisa aged a mere 28.
Many of you joined together with Project 33 to try to give Billy a birthday gift by getting the
song Thirty-Three played on Total Request Live on MTV in his honor. Unfortunately, if you saw the show, we just got edged out in 11th place
because our little siblings and too many other people voted once again for N'Sync. It doesn't matter though, becaue Project 33 got a
mention for its efforts. Thanks to everyone who voted.
| 3.10.2000: The Smashing Pumpkins Can't Oust Santana |
Despite a slew of competition from icons of rock old and new, Santana managed to maintain his stronghold on the Billboard album chart, The Billboard 200, for the week ending March 5, 2000. The closest anyone came to toppling Santana's Supernatural was the comeback album from Bone Thugs-N-Harmony, Btnhresurrection, which debuted at No. 2 but was still outsold by over 150,000 copies.
From there, the top 25 was loaded with notable debuts. The Smashing Pumpkins' latest, MACHINA/the machines of God, debuted close behind Bone Thugs at No. 3; Beanie Sigel's Truth landed at No. 5; Steely Dan's first album of new material in 20 years, Two Against Nature, at No. 6; AC/DC's latest, Stiff Upper Lip, fell in at No. 7; the Bloodhound Gang's Hooray For Boobies came in at No. 19; and Oasis's fourth studio effort, Standing on the Shoulder of Giants, just made the cut at No. 24.
Other notable debuts include Jennifer Knapp's Lay It Down at No. 77; the Chieftains' Water From the Well at No. 127; and the Rollins Band's Get Some Go Again at No. 180.
article courtesy of CDnow
| 3.10.2000: Smashing Pumpkins Announce Initial Tour Dates |
Following their brief tour of record stores, the Smashing Pumpkins have announced the initial dates for their upcoming U.S. tour, dubbed The Sacred and Profane.
The Pumpkins will hit Kansas City, Kan. on April 8 and stick around theaters and ballrooms in the Midwest for the first 10 dates of the tour, even stopping in Axl Rose's hometown of West Lafayette, Ind. No opening band had been decided for the tour at press time, and additional dates are expected to be announced shortly.
The Pumpkins are touring in support of the week-old MACHINA/the machines of God, which debuted at No. 3 on this week's Billboard album chart, The Billboard 200.
Here are the initial Smashing Pumpkins tour dates:
April 8, Kansas City, Kan., Memorial Auditorium
April 10, St. Louis, American Theater
April 12, Minneapolis, Northrop Auditorium
April 13, Milwaukee, Eagles Ballroom
April 15-16, Chicago, Aragon Ballroom
April 18, West Lafayette, Ind., Elliot Hall of Music
April 21, Dayton, Ohio, Hara Arena
April 23, Cleveland, Kent State Gymnasium
May 8, Orlando, Fla., Hard Rock Live
article courtesy of CDnow
| 3.3.2000: Billy Corgan speaks of Painless Machina sessions |
After weathering the lineup rumblings that brought bassist Melissa Auf Der Maur into the fold and put drummer Jimmy Chamberlin back behind the kit, the Smashing Pumpkins returned to stores this week with its fifth studio album, "Machina/The Machines Of God."
Original bassist D'Arcy Wretzky left the Pumpkins in September after completing work on "Machina," and was replaced a few months later by Auf Der Maur, who split from Hole in October and made her live debut with the Pumpkins in December (see "Smashing Pumpkins To Unveil Auf Der Maur At Hometown Shows" ).
As for Chamberlin, he returned to the Pumpkins in early 1999 to work on "Machina" after being bounced from the band in 1996 for his involvement in the fatal overdose of touring keyboardist Jonathan Melvoin (see "Jimmy Chamberlin Back With Smashing Pumpkins" ).
Despite the state of flux that seemed to surround the Smashing Pumpkins last year, frontman Billy Corgan said that the new music on "Machina" was anything but arduous or demanding to work on.
"This record was a lot of fun to do," Corgan said in a recent interview, "and the writing was incredibly easy. We spent most of the time trying to take the songs as far as they could be taken down a particular avenue.
"So if it was gonna be proto cyber metal, we tried to make it very proto and very cyber. If it was acoustic, then we tried to not fall into the [typical] ballad-y kind of aspects. That's where we spent most of our time. The songs were probably written in about a day." [RealVideo]
"Machina/The Machines Of God" also marks the return of the band's guitar-zeitgeist driven sound that featured so prominently on 1993's "Siamese Dream" and 1995's "Mellon Collie And The Infinite Sadness."
The Pumpkins opted to turn down the volume for 1998's elegiac "Adore," and Corgan was quick to note that in the interim, the band didn't spawn the kinds of imitators that other early '90s groups, such as Pearl Jam, did.
"Well, I also don't think that we're the type of band that people look at and say, 'I want to grow up to be just like that.'" Corgan said. "I mean, we're like a train wreck. We're the greatest train wreck in the world, but the gloriousness in what we do is in the soulful penetration part.
"It's not about copping a pose, or it's not about being cooler than thou. It's never been about that." [RealVideo]
The Smashing Pumpkins are presently on a promotional in-store tour that rolls into Minneapolis and Los Angeles over the weekend. The band's publicists indicate that more dates will be added to the outing, which is currently scheduled through a March 7 appearance in Seattle.
On March 9, the Smashing Pumpkins will be in MTV's Times Square Studios for "@MTV Week." During the group's special, which will air at 4:30 p.m. (ET), the Pumpkins will perform live and premiere the interactive video to "The Crying Tree Of Mercury," a clip directed by Corgan.
article courtesy of MTV.com
| 2.23.2000: Smashing Pumpkins Sue Sharon Osbourne |
The Smashing Pumpkins filed a $150,000 lawsuit in Los Angeles Superior Court on Tuesday (Feb. 22), accusing ex-manager Sharon Osbourne of refusing to return an advance made to her by the band for that amount after she abruptly quit in January.
The lawsuit reads, in part, "Osbourne was selected last fall by the Smashing Pumpkins to hold a position of deep trust and confidence which she blithely disavowed (less than four months later), abandoning her charges at a critically vulnerable time and place. The time was within a month prior to the release of the group's new album (the result of ten months of intensive creative energy by the group) and within the first few days of a three-week European promotional tour. For an experienced manager, this timing portrays a vindictive attempt to damage the group both emotionally and professionally."
The lawsuit also alleges Osbourne induced Nick Cua, tour accountant and acting tour manager, to quit as well, leaving the band high and dry in the midst of their European tour (the suit alleges Cua left a hotel in the middle of the night without notice). "While still obliged to travel and perform at European venues, the group scrambled to replace immediately the critical tour manager and tour accountant positions," the suit reads.
Osbourne was given an advance of $150,000 in October 1999 when she took on managerial duties for the band. The suit claims Osbourne refuses to return said monies, which the band claims are recoupable based on Osbourne's sudden resignation and subsequent events. "Rather than admit that she has simply taken money which is not hers, Osbourne has conjured absurd expenses as a claimed 'offset' against misappropriated funds," the suit continues. "Only a court can return Osbourne to her senses and force her to understand that one can't simply take other people's money."
The Pumpkins are suing for at least $150,000 plus damages for breach of contract, breach of implied in fact contract, fraud, breach of fiduciary duty, conversion, and accounting.
Osbourne's office had "no comment" at this time.
article courtesy of CDnow
| 2.18.2000: New tour dates announced |
The Smashing Pumpkins have released seven new dates for their ongoing Resume the Pose in-store autograph tour, a band spokesperson said.
In Portland, Maine, where the group will appear Tuesday (Feb. 22), they will receive the key to the city
from Mayor Nicholas Mavodones. "[The key] opens up all kinds of opportunities," Liz Darling,
Portland's director of marketing, said. "You can open your beer bottle with it." The new dates
are:
noon Saturday at Manifest Disc in Charlotte, N.C.
noon Sunday, at Plan 9 in Richmond, Va.
6 p.m. Tuesday, at Bull Moose in Portland, Maine
6 p.m. Wednesday, at Transworld in Albany, N.Y. (with in-store performance)
6 p.m. Feb. 24, at Tower Records in Ann Arbor, Mich.
6 p.m. Feb. 26, at Exclusive in Milwaukee
and 5 p.m. Feb. 27, at Record Service in Champaign, Illinois
article courtesy of sonicnet
| 2.16.2000: Ex-Smashing Pumpkin D'Arcy Sent To Drug School |
Former Smashing Pumpkin D'Arcy Wretzky was ordered to attend a drug education program by a Cook Country Criminal Court judge on Monday (Feb. 14), according to Patti Simone, spokesperson for the Illinois State Attorney's Office.
Wretzky will have two months to complete the program, which includes four Saturdays' worth of drug education training and is the standard punishment for first-time, non violent drug offenders. The bassist's successful completion of the program will erase the charges of possesion of a controlled substance against her.
Wretzy was arrested in Chicago on Jan. 25, where she was found in possession of 1/10 of a gram of rock cocaine (a.k.a. crack).
article courtesy of CDnow
| 2.14.2000: Touring machines |
The Smashing Pumpkins camp has been mum about former compatriot D'Arcy Wretkzy's recent alleged misadventures (the bassist was busted for possession of crack in Chicago); they've been too busy winging their way through a blitzkrieg tour of record stores and small clubs. The band, whose MACHINA/the machines of God will hit stores on Feb. 29, has been charming fans with frontman Billy Corgan's more accessible, home-spun image at the autograph sessions.
The band just released ten more dates on the thirty-five-day swing. This latest batch will include one full performance in Miami at 3:00 p.m. But despite their grueling schedule, the Pumpkins do know how to take care of themselves. On their rider for the backstage hospitality services, the band demanded a humidifier, one quart of fresh-squeezed orange juice (not Tropicana!), lemon, ginger, assorted teas, a bottle of Bayer coated aspirin, a bottle of Advil, a bottle of multi-vitamins, a bottle of Echinacea, a small bottle of calcium with zinc, and two rolls of film. But just to show you that they aren't staunch health nuts, they also requested an assortment of chocolate candy bars that must include Kit Kats and Snickers. What, no brown M&Ms?
The next announced dates of the Smashing Pumpkins' promo tour are as follows:
2/12: Dallas, Tower Records
2/12: Dallas, Deep Ellum Live
2/13: Houston, Soundwaves
2/13: Austin, Waterloo Records
2/14: Birmingham, Ala., Magic Platter
2/16: Miami, Fla., Specs Music
2/16: Orlando, Fla., Virgin Megastore
2/18: Atlanta, Spin Street Records
2/19: Charlotte, N.C., Manifest Discs and Tapes
2/20: Richmond, Va., Plan 9 Music
article courtesy of Rolling Stone online
| 2.11.2000: Rare pumpkins videos online |
In addition to Machina/ the Machines of God being online already, many have noticed a few rare videos appearing on ftp sites on the internet.
The two newest additions are a rare 19+ minute adore documentary that leads you through the recording process of Adore with many unreleased
songs and interviews. I do not know where it originated from but the quality is high and so is the size (just under 200 megs), but it is worth the download time.
The second find is the Everlasting Gaze video. A bunch of sites are now carrying the video first seen on MTV's 120 minutes.
The video is good quality (with the MTV's "spankin' new" still in the corner and runs under 40 megs.
All of you with fast connections, try to find these gems. I reccomend oth.net as a
search engine for this media.
| 2.10.2000: Machina promos at United States/Canadian retaillers |
The Smashing Pumpkins will be releasing "Stand Inside Your Love" as their first CD single from Machina/the machines of God. The CD will be released through Hut Recordings in the UK on February 21st, 2000. No US release is planned.
The single will be available on CD and cassette. Both formats contain the previously unreleased track "Speed Kills".
Further to our message about the "Stand Inside Your Love" single to be released in the UK:
The single will be released in other select countries around the world on February 21st as well. Unfortunately, we don't have listing of countries, but we've heard word that Germany and Australia will be amongst them. However, as we already stated, a North American release is not planned.
The video for "The Everlasting Gaze", the first radio single released off of "Machina/the machines of God", has been placed into rotation on music video stations across North America.
The Smashing Pumpkins have created two EP (extended play) CDs which are being given away free!
A seven track EP is being given out free with pre-orders for "Machina/the machines of God" at select in-store performances across North America. The track listing is as follows:
The Everlasting Gaze (from "Machina/the machines of God")
I Am One
Disarm
Starla
Bullet With Butterfly Wings
Medellia Of The Gray Skies
Waiting (previously unreleased)
A five track EP will be given out as a bonus when you purchase "Machina/the machines of God" at Best Buy in the US, and at HMV in Canada and other select countries. This CD has the following track listing:
Hope (previously unreleased)
Blissed and Gone (previously unreleased)
Apathy's Last Kiss
Mayonaise (demo version)
Eye
Please contact your local Best Buy or HMV location for details in your area.
information courtesy of the SPIFC
| 2.10.2000: D'arcy's Valentine's Day Court Date |
D'Arcy Wretzky, former Smashing Pumpkins bassist, was arrested in the early morning hours of Jan. 25 on the west side of Chicago after she allegedly purchased three bags of crack cocaine. According to police, undercover officers observed Wretzky and a male companion enter a building on West Grand Avenue and then shortly afterwards return to their car. The driver, identified as Tony Young, then drove off, without his headlights on, and proceeded to make two illegal U-turns before police stopped the car.
When searched, the police found drugs in Young's pocket. The driver insisted they were not his, claiming that Wretzky "handed me some rocks to hold." Upon questioning, she admitted giving him the three plastic bags.
Wretzky is scheduled to appear in Chicago Court Branch 57 on Feb. 14.
Since her departure from the Pumpkins last September, Wretzky has been living in Los Angeles and pursuing an acting career. She recently returned to the Windy City, to attend to the birth of one of her bull mastiffs, according to a spokesperson, but a rep for Wretzky did not return calls when queried about the arrest.
In July of 1996, Pumpkins' drummer Jimmy Chamberlain was ousted from the band because of his drug problems in the wake of touring keyboardist Jonathan Melvoin's fatal heroin overdose. A clean and sober Chamberlain rejoined the band last year after undergoing rehab.
article courtesy of Rolling Stone online
| 2.8.2000: "Stand Inside Your Love" is the first UK single |
The Smashing Pumpkins will be releasing "Stand Inside Your Love" as their
first CD single from Machina/the machines of God. The CD will be released
through Hut Recordings in the UK on February 21st, 2000. No US release is
planned.
The single will be available on CD and cassette. Both formats contain the
previously unreleased track "Speed Kills".
article courtesy of Smashing Pumpkins Internet Fan Club
| 1.31.2000: Smashing Pumpkins To Storm U.S. With Secret Tourfont> |
A year after they mounted a back-to-basics club tour, the Smashing Pumpkins will roll out another guerrilla tour, beginning Monday in Lawrence, Kan.
"We're going to do surprise shows," frontman Billy Corgan said on Saturday, before the band's rehearsal for its performance on Sunday night's post–Super Bowl edition of the ABC-TV talk show "Politically Incorrect." "We're doing this promo thing all over the U.S., doing in-stores and surprise club gigs from now ... up until the middle of March," Corgan said.
The first of the in-store appearances and unannounced club shows is scheduled for 6 p.m. Monday, at Kief's record store in Lawrence, Kan., band publicist Annie Ohayon said.
The Pumpkins then will hit a to-be-determined setting in Denver on Wednesday, Ohayon said. They'll play at the Tom Tom Music store in Salt Lake City on Thursday; the Record Exchange in Boise, Idaho, on Friday; and Music Millennium in Portland, Ore., on Saturday. All appearances begin at 6 p.m.
Corgan and Ohayon did not reveal any more specifics.
"We're going to do mostly in-stores, but nobody knows where we're going to pop up and play," he said. The Pumpkins ended a European tour in mid-January, cut short after Corgan was said to be suffering from a throat condition.
After the blitz of in-stores and club shows, the group will mount a larger U.S. tour beginning in April, Corgan said.
The 35-date barnstorming tour will coincide with the band's release of its fifth studio album, MACHINA/the machines of God (Feb. 29), a raucous, 15-song return to the band's signature mix of new-wave ballads and hard-rocking tunes.
The album was recorded in the Smashing Pumpkins' hometown of Chicago, prior to the September departure of founding bandmember bassist D'Arcy Wretzky. The disc mixes the guitar-driven fury of the first single, The Everlasting Gaze, with tracks that bear the more downbeat, electronic influence of the group's poorly received 1997 effort, Adore.
The album also marks the return of drummer Jimmy Chamberlin, whose muscular, rapid-fire style can be heard on such tracks as the Black Sabbath-like rocker "Heavy Metal Machine" and on "Sunshowers," with its New Order–esque new-wave pop sound.
Chamberlin rejoined the group last year after being fired in July 1996 due to his role in the heroin-related death of touring keyboardist Jonathan Melvoin; Chamberlin was arrested for heroin possession in connection with Melvoin's death. The drummer pleaded guilty and was ordered to complete a drug-rehabilitation program.
Corgan said he was excited to take the group's new lineup on the road, especially in light of the recent addition of his longtime friend and former Hole bassist, Melissa Auf Der Maur.
"We're f---ing rocking [with Melissa in the band]," the bald bandleader said enthusiastically. The group, which also includes guitarist James Iha, debuted the new lineup in December with a pair of concerts at its old hometown haunt, the Metro club. The shows included such songs as "Cherub Rock" and "Ava Adore".
articel @ sonicnet
| 1.30.2000: Machina confirmed to be released on February 29, 2000. |
The Smashing Pumpkins official website smashingpumpkins.com
now states that the album will be released on the 29th of February rather than the rumored 8th. The information can
be found under the pumpkinsradio.com heading.
information @ smashingpumpkins.com
| 1.26.2000: Smashing Pumpkins To Perform On "Politically Incorrect" |
The Smashing Pumpkins will celebrate the global phenomenon known as Super Bowl Sunday by performing live on ABC's "Politically Incorrect With Bill Maher" following the game on January 30.
Billy Corgan's ailing throat permitting (see "Smashing Pumpkins Cancel European Dates Due To Illness"), the band plans to travel to Los Angeles and play a pair of songs, "The Everlasting Gaze" and "Stand Inside Your Love," for the hour-long, post-Super Bowl episode.next album, "Machina/The Machines Of God," is due in stores on February 29.
article courtesy of www.mtv.com
| 1.20.2000: Smashing Pumpkins will not break up |
This information came from Jerome Conin of The Smashing Pumpkins Francophone site. And was posted on Siva
Yesterday i went to the Paris show, and i had the luck to go to the backstage with a "guest pass". I was representating the Francophone SP community (50 members). Once there there were Filter so i personnaly asked them about that rumour and here what Richard said : "well that s bullshit i never said that, he (a blond guy) may have said that but that s bullshit, don t worry."
Richard was really disappointed by the performance he did earlier that day on the Nulle Part Ailleur TV show, i m felt sorry for him, he s really nice.
I have so many other news, i can t beleive it : Jimmy told us that they ve rerecorded Adore with him on drums and that it sounds much better, they have 4 or 5 different version of every songs, they wanted to do something with them but they are gonna keep them. He said : like that Salsa version of Pistol Pete : and he played with his mouths the cymbals and knock his right foot on the ground. It sounded so great, he played for me and 5 other people from our community.
Billy told us that the Adore video should have been out but the director took the wrong direction so they gave up, he said that "i may wake up one day when i ll be old and fix it myself " eheh : )
He predicted that the Brussels show should be short : "my voice is terrible tomorow is gonna be tough" he explained to us how he need a shot to get his voice back "i had to use that a lot on MCIS, and i could sing 2hours and 30 minutes".
He also said that Speed Kills would be released soon as a B-side and Dross "should" be released later on.
article courtesy of Siva
| 1.17.2000: Smashing Pumpkins to disband? |
dotmusic can exclusively reveal that Smashing Pumpkins leader Billy Corgan intends to split the band following the promotion of their forthcoming album.
'MACHINA/The Machines Of God' is set to be the last studio album by the multi-platinum act when it is released in late February.
Speaking to dotmusic, fellow Chicago rockers, and close friends of the Pumpkins, Filter revealed that it is only a matter time before Billy calls it a day.
"Billy expressed to me that this is it - this is the last time he will go out as the Pumpkins - and he wants to conquer the world, do it one last time and go out with a big boom" says Filter guitarist Geno Lenardo.
Filter singer and one time Nine Inch Nails guitarist Richard Patrick also explained to us the reasons behind D'arcy quitting the group:
"She really, really wanted a break from the whole music industry. She's tired of how competitive it is. She's just like 'hey, I want to be an actress'. She is a very competitive person but she's just tired of the music industry. She's really over it. She just wants to do something new and she should. She should be happy."
Sharon Osbourne sensationally resigned as manager of the Smashing Pumpkins last week 'due to medical reasons'. It seems someone in the band was making her feel sick.
"Billy is a very heavy handed… he knows what he wants. Most genius' or successful men know what they want. It's his way or the highway. You either get it or you don't. He goes through personal assistants like they are underwear. I could see him being pretty authoritative" adds Patrick.
"We know her and we know Ozzy. She is a sweetheart. She embodies what I think makes a great manager. She would take a bullet for the bands she wants to work with".
As a friend of both Corgan and Osbourne, Patrick assures us it isn't a major issue between the two parties, "I'm sure it's not a personal issue but I think it's probably that they couldn't click".
article courtesy of dotmusic.com
| 1.16.2000: ALL of Machina on the Internet! |
FTP sites today started spreading the soon to be released Pumpkins album Machina/ the Machines of God.
All of the songs are online and searchable. For a good FTP search engine try http://www.oth.net
| 1.15.2000: Over half of Machina leaked onto the Internet |
As of January 14th now online you can find various clips and full mp3s of the new Machina tracks.
Right now the tracks that are full cd-ripped mp3s are The Imploding Voice, The Everlasting Gaze, Sacred + Profane, Stand Inside Your Love, Wound, I of the Mourning, and Heavy Metal Machine. Raindrops and Sunshowers is another song you can find the full mp3 of from a radio sourced broadcast.
Just today Sacred + Profane and Heavy Metal Machine surfaced on a Xoom.Com account though it was terminated by the free homepage company around 6pm today. Oddly it seems that pumpkins fans will get to hear the entire album before the album is even released, unlike Adore where only 3 radio broadcasted mp3s surfaced into the mainstream before its release. As always Siva will not be hosting any real audios or mp3s of these songs before the
article courtesy of Siva
| 1.11.2000:Sharon Osbourne Sickened by Head Pumpkin |
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Being the wife of Ozzy Osbourne is apparently easier than managing the Smashing Pumpkins, as Sharon Osbourne has just found out.
The English native announced in a statement late Tuesday that she has resigned as manager of the Chicago-based rock group after only three months in the job, because of problems with band leader Billy Corgan.
``It was with great pride and enthusiasm that I took on management of the Pumpkins back in October, but unfortunately I must resign today due to medical reasons -- Billy Corgan was making me sick!!!''
Osbourne added she was ``saddened'' that she would no longer be working with Corgan's ``great and talented'' bandmates, guitarist James Iha, new bass player Melissa Auf Der Maur and drummer Jimmy Chamberlin. ``I wish them much love,'' she said.
The announcement was news to a spokeswoman at the Pumpkins' Virgin Records America label, and she declined comment. Osbourne's spokeswoman, Lisa Vega, was unable to elaborate on the statement.
The Smashing Pumpkins split from the New York-based management powerhouse QPrime in late 1998. In announcing that she had signed the band, Osbourne told the Los Angeles Times in October: ``Billy talked to every manager in the industry, I think, and he liked me best. And I can't blame him.''
The Smashing Pumpkins are scheduled to begin a world tour in Europe this month, ahead of the Feb. 29 release of their fifth album, ``MACHINA/the machines of God.''
Osbourne, the estranged daughter of music impresario Don Arden, has overseen her hard-living husband's career since his Black Sabbath days in the 1970s.
full article here
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