Smashing Pumpkins Guitarist Has 'A True Friendship' with Billy Corgan

Smashing Pumpkins Guitarist Has ‘A True Friendship’ with Billy Corgan

2011-11-11

Story by Cat Badra

Smashing Pumpkins lean heavy on new tracks for current tour

Head to a Smashing Pumpkins show this year, and chances are, you’ll be met with a set list that includes the band’s lesser-known hits, from “Muzzle” to “Window Paine” to “Lightning Strikes.” A recent fall gig at the Fillmore in Detroit brought only two Pumpkins chart-toppers: “Cherub Rock” and “Bullet with Butterfly Wings.”

Ask guitarist Jeff Schroeder, and he’ll tell you the Smashing Pumpkins have no interest in reliving their alternative rock past. “We’re not going to be a ’90s retro nostalgia band,” Schroeder told I Am Koream. “We have no desire to do that. We’ve been offered tours with other ’90s bands. We just honestly feel like it’s the kiss of death. Once you’ve done that, you’ve accepted that your moment in the present is over, and all you can do is recreate people’s past fantasies.”

Schroeder insists that rumors of talented frontman Billy Corgan being a bit of a diva are false and that the band get along swimmingly. “I think people are shocked,” Jeff said. “I think they expect Billy to be sitting there telling everybody what to do and how to do it, and we’re sitting there actually joking around and getting along after months of being in the same building for 12 hours a day. I think people are tripped out a little by it. ‘It’s not supposed to be like this. You’re supposed to hate each other.’”

While Schroeder’s first impression of joining the Pumpkins was purely professional, that’s changed. “… A true friendship [with Billy] grew over years. Going through things like Jimmy leaving and playing hundreds of shows together and going through the ups and downs of being in a band. And through the consistency of being there for each other, we’ve actually developed a very true and real friendship.”

The Smashing Pumpkins reissue 1991’s Gish and 1993’s Siamese Dream on Nov. 29. Both feature re-mastering by Bob Ludwig and feature songs from the original albums, plus a second CD of rare and never-before-released material. Deluxe editions stuff in DVDs of concerts filmed at Chicago’s Metro from August 1990 and August 1993.

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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.

1 Comment

magic
12 Nov 2011, 11:44 pm

awesome!

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