Billy Corgan Says the Smashing Pumpkins Could Go On Without Him

2012-07-21

Story by Cat Badra

Smashing Pumpkins main man Billy Corgan says the band might someday forge ahead without him

The names Billy Corgan and the Smashing Pumpkins are synonymous at this point, but the Pumpkins frontman says they may come a time when the band goes on without him. Speaking with the Daily Beast, Corgan explained that not only does he go back and forth as for whether to keep making music under the “Smashing Pumpkins” moniker, but he’s prepared for the possibility of the group continuing on with a different lineup.

“…If it had broken up in 2000 and never come back, the name would be pretty shiny right now. But when I tapped back into it, all those old grudges came back to haunt,” he said.

“…But it’s not a fight mentality. I believe in the rightness of it, and I believe I have a right to it. By taking on the negative charge of ‘you can’t do that’” there’s a transformational aspect that’s possible if you’re willing to accept the truth in it. So when people say, ‘You shouldn’t be touring under the name,’ I say, ‘That’s a really good point.’ I get it.”

Corgan added that the moniker of the band “means more than who’s in it,” which is where he snuck in the bit about the band going on without him. “I have to be there. But maybe there comes a point like KISS where KISS is going to continue on without Gene [Simmons] and Paul [Stanley],” he said. “Maybe there’ll come a point in Smashing Pumpkins history where this band will continue on without me. I’ll just write songs.”

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Cat Badra

Meet the expert - Cat Badra is a music writer for Audio Ink Radio and a range of other music, sports and lifestyle publications. She's a graduate of Michigan State University with a master's degree in theater and speech. Contact her at cat@audioinkradio.com.