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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 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 sold 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. 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. Corgan released his first solo album,
The Future Embrace, in 2005, and on the day it came out, he took out
a full-page ad in the Chicago Tribune to announce that the Smashing
Pumpkins were reuniting. He hadn't informed any of his past
bandmates, and only Chamberlin went along. Zeitgeist, a heavier
album than any past Pumpkins album, was released in 2007. ~ Stephen
Thomas Erlewine & Greg Prato, All Music Guide
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