Biography
In the 1990s, The Smashing Pumpkins, which played in the genre of alternative rock and postgange, was considered the most commercially successful group: selling three of their albums exceeded 20 million copies. Domestic inconsideration, drug use and alcohol, a sharp drop in popularity led to a decay. But The Smashing Pumpkins is Phoenix, who was lucky enough to rebel from the ashes. Now the musicians are actively touring and write down albums.The history of creation and composition
After the collapse of the gothic rock band Marked singer and guitarist Billy Korgan returned from St. Petersberg, Florida, in Native Chicago, Illinois. He settled in a music store, where a long free minute was developed the concept of a new team under the code name The Smashing Pumpkins.
Embed from getty imagesOnce, Korgan met the guitarist James them. The guys agreed on the basis of love for Cure and New Order and began to write songs. For the first time, the duet presented his work on July 9, 1988. Corgan played bass, Iha - on the guitar, and the bit gave the drum machine.
Embed from getty imagesAfter the speech, Billy met with D'Arcy Recki, who also knew how to play the bass guitar. Since the young man saw himself rather in the role of a vocalist than the musician, then invited the Riski to join The Smashing Pumpkins.
Embed from getty imagesOne of the best concert sites in Chicago was considered Metro cabaret. His owner agreed to give the Smashing Pumpkins to speak if the drum will replace a real drummer. So in the group was the former jazzman Jimmy Chamberlin. In full force, Rockers first spoke on October 5, 1988.
Music
The history of the creation of The Smashing Pumpkins has developed slowly: only in 1990 the first single "I am One" came out. And a year later, the release of the debut album "GISH", which Rolling Stone magazine in 2019 put on the 32nd place in the list of the greatest plates in grunge style.The budget of the record was $ 20 thousand, and this money did not manage to make a music breakthrough. Nevertheless, 2 months after the release of The Smashing Pumpkins, they signed a contract with Virgin Records - the most prestigious record company of those times. The producers sent rockers on tour, in which we were lucky to perform on the same stage with Red Hot Chili Peppers and Guns N 'Roses.
It turned out to be a difficult period of The Smashing Pumpkins: IHA and RECA experienced a painful gap, Chamberlin fell on drugs, and Corgan fell into deep depression, because the next, the second, the album did not want to write in any way. But here the grunge legend of Nirvana and Pearl Jam, and The Smashing Pumpkins, even in a broken state moved to popularity, broke into the American scene.
Embed from getty imagesAt the end of 1992, the group went to Marietta, Georgia to record the second album. The guys were climbing so far from the native city partly because they did not want to be distracted by friends, but mainly - to break the communications of Chakerlin with drug dealers.
Material for "Siamese Dream" sounded excellently, but the depression of Corgan tightened. He even thought about suicide. From the stupidness of his music - a man almost lived in the studio, working at 16 o'clock a day. The famous songs The Smashing Pumpkins "Today" and "Mayonaise" were born at the peak of stressful state. Chamberlin, meanwhile, managed to find new dots for the purchase of drugs.
The record "Siamese Dream" took 4 months and $ 250 thousand, the release took place in July 1993. The record debuted at the 10th place in Billboard 200 and was separated by 4 million copies in the United States, more than 6 million in the world. Listeners loved The Smashing Pumpkins, and their colleagues on the craft. For example, the former frontman of the Hüsker Dü group Bob Muld called the grunge monkey group. The song "Cherub Rock" from the second album is just devoted to the hostility of Corgan and "Indi-World".
Interesting fact: For a quarter of 1995, Corgan united texts and arrangement for 56 songs, this is a giant material layer. A significant part was based on the album "MELLON COLLIE AND THE INFINITE SADNESS" (1995), which lasts more than 2 hours and consists of 28 songs. Tracks are conceptually intertwined with each other, symbolizing life and death.
The release was preceded by singles "Bullet with Butterfly Wings" and "Tonight, Tonight". In many ways, thanks to their success, the album debuted at 1st place in Billboard 200. Already in 1996, the record became diamond - sales exceeded 10 million copies. A year later, "MELLON COLLIE AND THE INFINITE SADNES" was nominated at Grammy 7 times, including the best album and recording of the year (for the song "1979"). The award got into the category "Best Hard-Code" for the track "Bullet with Butterfly Wings".
Rockers went to the world tour. The public went crazy at the concerts of The Smashing Pumpkins: During the speech in Dublin, the crowd crushed the 17-year-old fan of Bernadett O'Brien to death.
And in July 1996, the tour keyboard player Jonathan Melvoyina and Chamberlin found in the room of the hotel unconscious. Smalloin died from an overdose of heroin, and Chamberlin was arrested for storing drugs. A few days later, The Smashing Pumpkins gave an interview in which the dismissal of Chamberlin.
The following album "Adore" (1998) was recorded after the death of Mother Corgan and its divorce, so the material turned out to be greasy than usual. The sound of the group changed (they left grunge into electronics) and their philosophy. So, in support of ADORE, The Smashing Pumpkins staged a 17-day tour in North America and all funds from the sale of tickets were sent to charity. Total musicians donated more than $ 2.8 million.
"Adore" awarded a variety of awards, including the "most stylish clip" from VH1 Fashion Awards for the song "Ava Adore". The video was shot in one double, which for that time was considered a unique technique.
In "Machina / The Machines of God" (2000) the group returned to traditional rock sound. The album debuted at the 3rd place in Billboard and became gold. Music critic Jim Drochatis describes this record as the most stylish career The Smashing Pumpkins.
On May 23, 2000, Billy Korgan announced the end of The Smashing Pumpkins on the air of Radio Kroq-Fm. The reason for the decay was not directly called, but it is clear that it was about the problems with health, and about personnel inconsistencies. The final concert of rockers took place on December 2 at Metro, the same Chicago club, where the SMASHING Pumpkins path began. The show lasted 4.5 hours and included 35 songs.
In June 2005, Corgan through the Chicago Tribune and Chicago Sun-Times newspapers announced the smashing pumpkins reunion:
"For a year now I kept the secret. But now I want you to know among the first: I decided to update and revive The Smashing Pumpkins. I want my group to come back, my songs and my dreams returned. "Korgan and Chamberlin joined the reunited group, and at the concert in May 2007, new participants were presented: Guitarist Jeff Schroeder, Bass Gitarist Jinger Reyes and Keyboard Lesu Harriton.
Embed from getty imagesDebut from the moment of decay the album "Zeitgeist" came out in the same month. He burst into the 2nd line at Billboard and in the first week there was a circulation of 145 thousand copies. The SMAshing Pumpkins fans of The Smashing Pumpkins meanwhile were divided into two camps: Some joined the reunion without any "but", others grieved about the lost composition, specifically about James them.
The album "Teargarden by Kaleidyscope" was supposed to consist of 44 songs dedicated to Tarot cards. Music was released for free over the Internet. As a result, TearGarden by Kaleidyscope includes tracks with Oceania (2011) and "Monuments to An Elegy" (2014), as well as individual singles. In August 2018, Korgan in "Instagram" announced that the project was abandoned. The light saw 34 songs, 10 less conceived.
March 26, 2016, on his birthday, Guitarist James Iha joined the stage to The Smashing Pumpkins for the first time in 16 years. In July, rumors appeared about the reunification of the initial composition: Korgan, Ih, Chamberlin and Riski. The bass guitarist did not return the requests of Corgan to join him on stage, and in January 2018 a vocalist posted a photo of himself, Iha and Chamblin in the recording studio.
In September 2018, the Smashing Pumpkins discography was replenished with the 10th album "Shiny and Oh SO Bright, Vol. 1 / LP: NO PAST. No Future. No Sun.. The record debuted at 54th place in Billboard 200, which makes it the worst release since the "Gish".
The SMashing Pumpkins now
In 2019, The Smashing Pumpkins tied their biography with Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds - Nael Gallahher's project, ex-participating in the Oasis group.
Embed from getty imagesOn stage, another team - AFI will join the scene. The tour of the tour covers Italy, Austria, the United Kingdom, France, Portugal, the USA and Canada.
Discography
- 1991 - "Gish"
- 1993 - "Siamese Dream"
- 1995 - "MELLON COLLIE AND THE INFINITE SADNES"
- 1998 - "Adore"
- 2000 - "Machina / The Machines of God"
- 2000 - "Machina II / The Friends & Enemyes of Modern Music"
- 2007 - "Zeitgeist"
- 2009-2014 - "TearGarden by Kaleidyscope"
- 2012 - "Oceania"
- 2014 - "Monuments to An Elegy"
- 2018 - "Shiny and Oh SO Bright, Vol. 1 / LP: NO PAST. No Future. No Sun. "
Clips
- 1991 - "Siva"
- 1992 - "I Am One"
- 1993 - "Cherub Rock"
- 1994 - "Rocket"
- 1995 - "Bullet with Butterfly Wings"
- 1996 - "1979"
- 1997 - "The End Is The Beginning Is The End"
- 1998 - "Ava Adore"
- 2000 - "The Everlasting Gaze"
- 2007 - "Tarantula"
- 2008 - "SuperChrist"
- 2011 - "Owata"
- 2015 - "BEING BEIGE"
- 2018 - "Solara"