Biography by Stephen Thomas Erlewine & Greg
Prato
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 2007Content provided All Music Guide. Copyright 2008
All Media Guide, LLC.
