Billy Corgan is planning to launch a new record label that will release new material from ’70s L.A. punk band the Germs, plus more obscure, eclectic acts like the Electric Prunes, Fancy Space People and Strawberry Alarm Clock, among others.
LA Weekly‘s Off the Record blog noted that Corgan will team up with frequent collaborator Kerry “Studio Dog” Brown to steer the as-yet-unnamed record label.
Billy 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, there has been tons buzz going on for them musician. The news that sets Corgan apart from other album releases is that each track is ridiculously long, the band is releasing one song at a time. The first song, “A Song for a Son” was recently released and it’s one of 44 songs for this “album.” Eventually the album will be split into four different EPs each with 11 songs.
“A Song for a Son” is currently available at Smashing Pumpkin’s official website, but the chatter doesn’t stop there. Corgan recently stopped by the MTV Newsroom to talk about why each song is so massive and how awesome Dave Navarro’s abs are. More after the jump!
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.”
Unlike Bruce Springsteen, music stars Eddie Van Halen, Seal and Billy Corgan are in favor of the merger between Ticket Master and Live Nation. It might come as a surprise, but the artists actually sent letters to Congress expressing their support of the deal, and their belief that the merger can help the artist-to-fan relationship.
It all makes since though, because each of the artists is managed or co-managed by Ticketmaster CEO Irving Azoff and his company Front Line Management, making their fervent support much less credible. Of course, the connection isn’t mentioned in any of the letters, instead writing about their careers and the future of the music industry. Billy Corgan says in his letter:
Smashing Pumpkins frontman Billy Corgan has testified before the U.S. Congress in support of a new legislation, called the Performance Rights Act, which would make radio stations pay royalties to musicians in the same way that internet and satellite radio companies already pay.
Traditionally, radio stations don’t pay musicians or labels, compensating them instead with the added public exposure conferred by airing their songs. But now, with music sales plummeting, and radio’s promotional value dropping as well, Congress is considering the new bill presented by Corgan’s musicFIRST Coalition. Corgan defends a musician’s right to livelihood, affirming that: Continue Reading
Smashing Pumpkins has a new song “F.O.L.” available online for download, and all that is required is an e-mail address. The track was used on an advertisement for car manufacturer Hyundai, during the Super Bowl, and immediately became available for download here.
The Smashing Pumpkins also had a song used in the trailer for the upcoming movie “The Watchmen”. A fan-made video of the song is featured on the Smashing Pumpkins official web site, you can check it out after the cut: Continue Reading
Billy Corgan has promised that the world will not see another Smashing Pumpkins album (and we know how Billy likes to keep those promises). In an interview with the Chicago Tribune, Corgan said there was “no point” in the band releasing new albums because people wouldn’t buy them. Corgan attributes the lack of record sales not to his own bad attitude and even worse shows but instead to the internet music industry where users ” drag over the two singles, and skip over the rest.” In response the Pumpkins say they will only release singles from this point forward.
Check out a portion of the interview after the break:
To say reviews of the Smashing Pumpkins latest tour have been bad would be an understatement. I caught their tour a few month ago, and I have to say I was pretty unimpressed and disappointed with the show, to a point I don’t think I’ll be going to any shows in the future (and I was a HUGE Pumpkins fan back in the day).
Their tour stopped off in NYC this past weekend and another fan had a similar concert experience as my own. Rather than keep it to himself however this fan somehow got on stage with the band and told Corgan exactly what he thought of his poor performance the night before.
I have bad news for people still hoping for a proper Smashing Pumpkins reunion. In a recent post on Smashing Pumpkins’ website, Billy Corgan said the four original band members will never reunite.
The subject came up in a recent blog post where Corgan was discussing the 20th anniversary tour the current lineup has embarked upon. He said that the “door was open” for original members James Iha and D’arcy Wretzky to return when Smashing Pumpkins was originally brought back to life a few years ago, but they had no desire to even discuss returning.
