Smashing Pumpkins Gets New 19-Year-Old Drummer
By Seraphina L.
Mike Byrne is the new Smashing Pumpkins drummer. After all the former members of the band decided to leave last year, it’s now this 19-year old kid and Billy Corgan.
However, according to Corgan, he’s not just some kid:
“We counted over 1,000 submissions, and what made Mike stand out was he just seemed to have that X-factor that all the great drummers have, a stunning blend of power, speed, and grace. I’m excited to work with him moving forward– he truly deserves this opportunity. I believe in my heart he will push me to be a better musician.”
The singer and guitarist was once the leader of one of the most influential and popular bands in the 90′s, so we suppose we can take his word for it. However, we’re curious as to see how this youngin’ takes everything in as a member of a band who is trying to re-live their glory days… with only two members.
Byrne has always been a huge fan of the Smashing Pumpkins, but as we mentioned, he earned his spot next to Corgan. The audition process was what Byrne described as fun: “We didn’t actually play songs at the audition. We just kind of jammed for about 15 minutes and then talked about Fugazi for the other 15 or so minutes.”
Corgan may see something in the young fan but we can’t help but think about a few statements the new drummer had to make:
“It was a really good time in my life to hear the Pumpkins music when I was 13. It just connected with me and it was sort of a window into something really different and eclectic. The band was a little bit more willing to take risks than a lot of the stuff I had been listening to. That was exciting and fresh to me. And then delving into a lot of it just definitely resonated on a creative level with me.”
In case you missed that, Bryne was 13 in 2003. That was the first time he heard the Smashing Pumpkins. We’re glad to hear that he was at least listening to Smashing Pumpkins instead of Fall Out Boy or All-American Rejects, but maybe he’ll finally hear about Nirvana at 20?
Jokes aside: How do you think this will play out?
Wednesday, August 19, 2009 9:16AM
Corgan's ego needs scaling down. I have nothing against the new drummer; he's a young, apparently talented individual and can't really hold his age against him.
Wednesday, August 19, 2009 7:16AM
You know some call it ego — and he has plenty of that — but I think at the core of it Corgan has a vision and a drive that is just bigger than the setbacks that are put in his path. Maybe less people like his new approach to the band, but he likes it (and so do I).
Wednesday, December 9, 2009 1:52PM
[...] Corgan hasn’t been in the news since he recruited a 19-year-old drummer but with the upcoming release of Smashing Pumpkins‘ new album, Teargarden by Kaleidyscope, [...]