billy corgan I mike byrne I jeff schroeder I nicole fiorentino I jimmy chamberlin I james iha I d'arcy wretzky
pre-gish I gish I siamese dream I pisces iscariot I mellon collie and the infinite sadness I starchildren I the aeroplane flies high I adore I machina (i & ii) I zeitgeist I post-zeitgeist I teargarden by kaleidyscope
Q&A with Beaverton local Mike Byrne, Smashing Pumpkins drummer
Q. What’s the recording process like for this new project you’re working on?
A. It’s sort of just on a case-by-case basis. We don’t necessarily use the same methods to record everything. It’s really varied and we’re kind of figuring it out as we go for a lot of the stuff. For the most part, we go to a studio in Chicago and we start with basically the rough draft that we’ve been working on through the tour or have had since last summer and then, from there, it’s just a process of laying everything down and seeing what fits and what doesn’t. It’s a long, complex process.
The real, true internal story of the Smashing Pumpkins is actually a little bit like Cinderella [laughs]. I know it sounds a little strange, but I would write these really successful songs and their reaction to them was, “Meh,” and then they would complain about their flights or something like that. Because I sort of pseudo-managed the band, I dealt with all the band’s affairs: scheduling, contracts. They dealt with none of that stuff; I dealt with everything.
I read that you recently fainted onstage in Tampa. Are you okay?
Oh yeah, I’m fine. Just a bit bruised up. It’s happened before, where I just… over sing. I just faint. If you see the video, I fall down and when I wake up five seconds later, I get up and finish the song. The last time it happened was in 2008. I’ve done like 1,700 shows, so it’s not a normal occurrence, that’s for sure.
Two hours before the Smashing Pumpkins kicked off their world tour last Tuesday at Cleveland’s House of Blues, Billy Corgan sat down with Rolling Stone to discuss the group’s new tunes and why fans’ pleas for an original-lineup reunion will never be answered. On this trek, Corgan is debuting songs and the group’s two newest members: bassist Nicole Fiorentino and drummer Mike Byrne, a 20 year old whose last gig was working at McDonalds. “I knew that when me and Jimmy [Chamberlain] parted there was going to be this extra pressure on me,” Corgan says of losing the band’s other last original member. “People think I don’t have the right to do this and I have to prove that there is a reason I’m doing this.”
Click to be directed to the new interview concerning The Smashing Pumpkins’ future plans (part 1 of 2)
Billy discusses how Nirvana’s fame impacted the band shortly after the release of Gish
Tune in to Hardcore Sports Radio - SIRIUS Channel 98 tonight at 11:05pm EST for “Right After Wrestling”, hosted by Arda Ocal.
Tonight, “Right After Wrestling” welcomes Billy Corgan of The Smashing Pumpkins to the show as a special guest!
You can listen on SIRIUS Radio Channel 98, or listen online - www.hardcoresportsradio.com
A rather lengthy interview by Ultimate Guitar with Billy Corgan has been released today.
Highlights from the interview:
