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biography
Of all the
major alternative rock bands of the early '90s, the Smashing
Pumpkins were the group least influenced by traditional underground
rock. Lead guitarist/songwriter Billy Corgan fashioned an amalgam of
progressive rock, heavy metal, goth rock, psychedelia, and dream
pop, creating a layered, powerful sound driven by swirling,
distorted guitars. Corgan was wise enough to exploit his
angst-ridden lyrics, yet he never shied away from rock star
posturing, even if he did cloak it in allegedly ironic gestures. In
fact, the Smashing Pumpkins became the model for alternative rock
success -- Nirvana was too destructive and Pearl Jam shunned
success. The Pumpkins, on the other hand, knew how to play the game,
signing to a major-subsidized indie for underground credibility and
moving to the major in time to make the group a multi-platinum act.
And when the group did achieve mass success with 1993's Siamese
Dream, they went a long way to legitimize heavy metal and
orchestrated prog rock, helping move alternative rock even closer to
'70s AOR, especially in the eyes of radio programmers and mainstream
audiences. Unlike many of their contemporaries, the Pumpkins were
able to withstand many internal problems and keep selling records,
emerging as the longest-lasting and most successful alternative band
of the early '90s.
The son of a jazz guitarist, Billy Corgan grew up in a Chicago
suburb, leaving home at the age of 19 to move to Florida with his
fledgling goth metal band, the Marked. After the band failed down
South, he returned to Chicago around 1988, where he began working at
a used-record store. At the shop he met James Iha (guitar), a
graphic arts student at Loyola University, and the two began
collaborating, performing and recording songs with a drum machine.
Corgan met D'Arcy Wretzky at a club show; after arguing about the
merits of the Dan Reed Network, the two became friends and she
joined the group as a bassist. Soon, the band, who named themselves
the Smashing Pumpkins, had gained a dedicated local following,
including the head of a local club who booked them to open for
Jane's Addiction. Before the pivotal concert, the band hired Jimmy
Chamberlin, a former jazz musician, as their full-time drummer.
In 1990, the Smashing Pumpkins released their debut single, "I Am
One," on the local Chicago label Limited Potential. The single
quickly sold out, and in December, the band released "Tristessa" on
Sub Pop. By this point, the Smashing Pumpkins had become the subject
of a hot bidding war, and the group latched on to a clever way to
move to a major label without losing indie credibility. They signed
to Virgin Records, yet it was decided that the group's debut would
be released on the Virgin subsidiary Caroline, then the band would
move to the majors. The strategy worked; Gish, a majestic mix of
Black Sabbath and dream pop produced by Butch Vig, became a huge
college and modern rock hit upon its spring 1991 release. While it
earned a large audience, many indie rock fans began to snipe at the
Smashing Pumpkins, accusing them of being careerists. Such criticism
did the band no harm and they embarked on an extensive supporting
tour for Gish, which lasted over a year and included opening slots
for Red Hot Chili Peppers and Pearl Jam. During the Gish tour,
tensions between bandmembers began to escalate, as Iha and D'Arcy,
who had been lovers, went through a messy breakup, Chamberlin became
addicted to drugs and alcohol, and Corgan entered a heavy
depression. These tensions hadn't been resolved by the time the
group entered the studio with Vig to record their second album.
Toward the beginning of the sessions, the Pumpkins were given
significant exposure through the inclusion of "Drown" on the Singles
soundtrack in the summer of 1992. As the sessions progressed, Corgan
relieved himself of his depression by working heavily -- not only
did he write a surplus of songs, he played nearly all of the guitars
and bass on each recording, which meant that its release was delayed
several times. The resulting album, Siamese Dream, was an immaculate
production owing much to Queen, yet it was embraced by critics upon
its July 1993 release. Siamese Dream became a blockbuster, debuting
at number ten on the charts and establishing the group as stars.
"Cherub Rock," the first single, was a modern rock hit, yet it was
"Today" and the acoustic "Disarm" that sent the album into the
stratosphere, as well as the group's relentless touring. The
Smashing Pumpkins became the headliners of Lollapalooza 1994, and
following the tour's completion, the band went back into the studio
to record a new album that Corgan had already claimed would be a
double-disc set. To tide fans over until the new album, the Pumpkins
released the B-sides and rarities album Pisces Iscariot in October
of 1994.
Working with producers Flood and Alan Moulder, the Smashing Pumpkins
recorded as a full band for their third album, which turned out to
be, as Corgan predicted, a double-disc set called Mellon Collie and
the Infinite Sadness. Although many observers were skeptical about
whether a double-disc set, especially one so ridiculously named,
would be a commercial success, Mellon Collie became an even bigger
hit than Siamese Dream, debuting at number one on the charts. On the
strength of the singles "Bullet With Butterfly Wings," "1979,"
"Zero," and "Tonight, Tonight," it would sell over four million
copies in the U.S., eventually being certified platinum over eight
times (each disc in the set counted separately toward
certification). The Pumpkins had graduated to stadium shows for the
Mellon Collie tour, and the band was at the peak of their popularity
when things began to go wrong again. On July 12, prior to two shows
at Madison Square Garden, the group's touring keyboardist, Jonathan
Melvoin, died from a heroin overdose; he was with Jimmy Chamberlin,
who survived his overdose. In the wake of the tragedy, the remaining
Pumpkins fired Chamberlin and spent two months on hiatus as they
recovered and searched for a new drummer. Early in August, they
announced that Filter member Matt Walker would be their touring
drummer, and Dennis Flemion, a member of the Frogs, would be their
touring keyboardist for the remainder of the year. They returned to
the stage at the end of August and spent the next five months on
tour. During this time, Corgan contributed some music to Ron
Howard's Ransom.
Early in 1997, once the Pumpkins left the road, Iha and D'Arcy
launched Scratchie Records, a subsidiary of Mercury Records. In the
spring, the Smashing Pumpkins recorded two songs for the soundtrack
for Batman & Robin. Iha's solo debut, Let It Come Down, appeared in
early 1998; Adore, the new Smashing Pumpkins LP, followed a few
months later to disappointing sales and reviews. Chamberlin returned
to the group and D'Arcy exited prior to the early-2000 release of
MACHINA: The Machines of God. Several months later, Corgan announced
his intentions to dissolve the band before the year was out. With
former Hole bassist Melissa Auf Der Maur replacing D'Arcy, the band
launched their farewell tour in 2000. Fans of the band received one
last treat when Corgan and company worked feverishly to finish off
tracks that were left over from the MACHINA sessions. Surprisingly,
Virgin Records balked at the idea of releasing the 25-track set so
close in time to their previous album, so the band put the entire
album (going by the official title of Machina II: The Friends and
Enemies of Modern Music) on the Internet for fans to download for
free. On December 2 of the same year, the Pumpkins played a mammoth
final show at Chicago's Metro (also the venue at which the group
played their first show back in 1988), before officially calling it
quits. But the former members of the band didn't wait long before
carrying on with other projects -- Corgan spent the summer of 2001
playing guitar with New Order on select concert dates, and later in
the year, unveiled his new band, Zwan, including Chamberlin on drums
(as well as former Chavez guitarist Matt Sweeney and bassist
Skullfisher). The other two former Pumpkins, Iha and Auf Der Maur,
began putting together an alt-rock supergroup dubbed the Virgins,
which may include such big names as Ryan Adams, former-Lemonhead
Evan Dando, and former-D Generation leader Jesse Malin. The same
year, a pair of postmortem Pumpkins collections were issued for the
holiday season -- a double-disc collection and a DVD both called
Greatest Hits. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine & Greg Prato, All Music
Guide
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