Welcome guest! Please login or create an account.
Jul 23, 2008
Posted By
JimmyChamberlin
As the tour winds down I would just like to say what a pleasure and an honor it was to play for so many of you. I try to never forget that my job is a sacred privilege. Music, the thing that binds you to me and all of us to the Universe is my light.
Let me also say that this band, The Smashing Pumpkins, will continue to write, record, release, and perform AS LONG AS WE ARE ABLE!
Some of you may have read bits of an interview that was done in confidence by yours truly in which I say that the Pumpkins probably won't record cd's anymore. What I meant by this is this: Although we may not use the "album" or "full length cd" as a format anymore, WE WILL WRITE AND RECORD MUSIC UNTIL WE ARE DEAD!!!!!!!! WE ARE NOT GOING AWAY!!!!!!!!
I could go on about how I was stolen from, violated, lied to by some ignoble journalist, but what's the point?
I choose light.
Love Jimmy.
[ 88 comments ]
Posted By
BillyCorgan
I emerge from my seemingly eternal self-imposed silence to bring good news! The collective We is happy to announce that We have just finished a new acoustic e.p. entitled 'American Gothic' that features 4 new songs:
- The Rose March
- Again, Again, Again (the crux)
- POX
- Sunkissed
Even better is the news that these songs will be available on i-tunes starting January 2nd...the collective We looks forward to you hearing these new songs afresh and us playing them to you anew on the upcoming European and Australian tours...
Since the holidays are upon us, the collective I would like to take this opportunity to give gratitude where it is due, and that is to those that are not hypnotized, or so numbed by darkness that they cannot hear the chime in my words...I wish you a warm holiday and a brilliant New Year to come, and may you get all you deserve! (again) From my heart to yours, sincerely, I hope you feel the love that we have for all of you, even for those of you who are lost and seeking, bruised and still keeping...i hope these words find you as well...
The new day has finally come as we turn the corner on the end of one energy that no longer serves us and begin to embrace the new dawn that will...and no, I am not speaking about the band or the music business...what is past is passed, and we all wear the black arm bands in honor of, but life happily, as it should, marches on...hopefully to a good beat...
Thanks to New Orleans for showing Us the meaning of hope...and thanks to the old guard for showing the same dull move, you know the one that never works? Art band that said old guard wishes they were in so bad that they wish importance upon it? Check! No matter what you crutches all dream up, Led Zep is still a 100 times better! Go Zep! Go Team! Rock on! Long Live the Mighty SP!
And...
Thank YOU for showing up! And yes, I mean YOU :)
lovingness, happiness, BC
[ 160 comments ]
Posted By
JimmyChamberlin
First I'd like to thank everyone for their prayers and energy. It was well received and I'm feeling much better. The tour was a rock rampage and now we are back in the studio recording some songs for a possible release worldwide.
Look for these around the first of the year. Busy Bees !
I wish all a Happy Holiday and a productive 08!
Love Jimmy
[ 51 comments ]
Posted By
JeffSchroeder
Things are very quiet right now and we're all enjoying a bit of rest before we head back to Europe early next year. There really isn't much to report, so I'd just to say thank you to everyone who has come out and supported us over the last 7 or 8 months. There are so many great memories swimming in my head right now that I know it will take me years before I can sort through them all. To have been given the opportunity to grow both as a musician and as a person is something that I will cherish and value for a long time.
To return Coltrane for second: Even if I practice 24-hours a day for the rest of my life I will never come close to being to able to play like Coltrane, Davis, Malmsteen, or Van Halen. However, I don't find that discouraging at all. Besides notes, phrasing, technique, or anything else you might glean from these players, what I try to take away from them is their complete devotion and dedication to their instruments and to their music. I've barely been home a week and I'm already looking forward to playing with the band again.
See you in Europe,
Jeff
[ 30 comments ]
Posted By
LisaHarriton
Hello friends!
Thank you all for the warm birthday wishes. Some of you even shouted them out in the middle of the show last night! How sweet! To celebrate my b-day and the end of the American tour, we had a big sushi dinner at Nobu. It was great to have some quality time together before the big break.Speaking of which, we will be home for almost 2 & 1/2 months. Seeing as I haven't been home for more than 5 days at a time since April, there will definitely be an adjustment period. However, I think we are all ripe for some rest and replenishment.
At last night's Dallas show, it really struck me how much we have all grown since April. Musically, we have taken lots of chances, turned arrangements inside out, memorized 70 songs or so. I have had a ball and I look forward to making more music together in 2008!
Here are some pics from the Orpheum Theatre shows in Boston. . .
The spaceship has landed!
Heavy Metal Machine!
My father took this pic when he came to see us in Boston.
Jimmy rockin' Red Rocks, Colorado
Good times at the airport |
Doug, the crazy man behind the cart, is our tour manager. He is obsessed with baseball and his diet consists of crispy creme donuts and oreo cookies (don't forget the milk). The stuffed animal, Mr. Barkley, was not injured in the filming of this event.
Meeting of the minds
Keep it rockin!
Lisa
[ 30 comments ]
Posted By
GingerReyes
Life is good.
That's what I'm feeling right now as I sit in the Austin airport writing this blog. I feel really blessed to be able to play in this band and be able to play music most every night. Yesterday's show was great. The weather was amazing and the sound was good. It was a great crowd, too. Everyone in the band also seemed to be in great spirits. Austin is a great town with great people. It's no wonder Explosions in the Sky are from Austin.
Me and Munaf from Explosions in the Sky taking an artsy photo
Me and Esteban with Explosions in the Sky
Well, besides Austin, I've had a great time in seeing friends in Boston, Philly, Nashville, Atlanta and of course Vegas. It's fun to be able to visit friends that are scattered throughout the country that I normally wouldn't be able to visit if I weren't on tour. It has been a bit of a rock/friend visiting tour for me, which is great. As this leg of the tour comes to an end, I am happy about how tight we've gotten as a band and of all that we've accomplished this year. I am also excited to go home for the holidays and to be with friends.
Life is good.
Some more recent photos.
On a roadtrip to our show in Columbia, SC
Mall of America A street corner band in New Orleans
Me in front of Cafe Du Monde
Home of Chickoree coffee and beignets, mmmm
[ 23 comments ]
Posted By
JimmyChamberlin
From Jimmy:
I'm feeling much better. I would like to say thanks to everyone for their letters, prayers and patience and to apologize to those who are going to miss the shows. Hopefully we can make it up to you somehow.
JC
Ginger kicks back waiting for her jet
Adam, our chef surfing for recipes!
Jeff Schroeder reading Plato
Also, Billy being the patriotic American that he is, was searched at the airport!Here's my ticket for my flight today...i got searched because I am a threat to all...
Luckily the entire band made it and is now safe in Atlanta.
[ 20 comments ]
Posted By
TheSmashingPumpkins
If you were paying attention in the last 24 hours, then you know that The Smashing Pumpkins had a welcome blast from the past in Austin last night. None other than dear friend Jimmy Flemion of The Frogs joined us on stage at the Backyard for the 2nd encore.After the experience, Jimmy Flemion himself had a message he would like to share:
To my dear friends Billy and Jimmy, my heartfelt thanks for last night. I am honored to play with suchexceptional musicians. Your devotion to music has inspired many. Best of luck on the rest of the tour.
Love, Jimmy
Billy Corgan had something to say about the experience himself:
There are few people in the world as talented at Jimmy Flemion. It was great to see the fans embrace him on our stage and end what was a great show with a Frogs all-time classic. Jimmy tore the house down!
Flemion joined Billy Corgan and Jimmy Flemion to play The Frogs' own "I Only Play For Money" and The Beatles' "Taxman" before ending the show with "Disarm" by the Pumpkins themselves.
For more information on the Frogs check out the following links.
www.thefrogsarchive.com | www.myspace.com/thefrogs
Photos courtesy of SP.com member Iolite
[ 16 comments ]
Posted By
BillyCorgan
There was a moment in time once where I would welcome any opportunity to speak my piece, my heart, if only to rip it from my breast and toss it to your table bloodied and torn, declaring wildly 'look, how gloriously it beats to it's own drum! Even I can't control it's passions and delusions and murmurs'Â…but these days words iz cheap, and any 'ol chump can throw 'em round like dartsÂ…(a blab has become a blob has become a blog)Â…and just like the sci-fi movie from the 50's "The Blob", no one can figure out how to kill it or simply outrun itÂ…we all just stand here transfixed, gaping at the lack of consciousness of something so unwilling to negotiate, it's only obvious intention seems to be a desire to absorb all in it's pathÂ…so with that, with what's left in my mind, I sacrifice these words to the gaping maw of The VoidÂ…
I love my countryÂ…I love it so much, I'll say it twiceÂ…I LOVE this country!!...today i am in Columbus, Ohio, and everything about Columbus has everything to do with what I love about America: the collisions of architectures idealistic and functionally gaudyÂ…the lone characters who climb out of treetops and caves and still retain their sense of homeÂ…everywhere that I look here I am reminded of other battles and beliefs that now seem forgotten, yet their symbols still blow their horns in silent reverie because that's all they know how to doÂ…like children waiting for a dad to come home who won't ever come home because he has run off to Trinidad with his secretaryÂ…(Uncle Sam has moved down to his timeshare!) But I want him to know I still love him so, and his once glorious chargeÂ…that commission is what my uncles died for, and what haunted my grandfather so that he drank himself to death, that feeling of hope and coldness that is AmericaÂ…Walt Disney knew enough to dress it up fancy in sentimentalism to try to keep it warm, but even he tried to outrun it and tackle the coming urban blight with what his EPCOT Center was supposed to beÂ…high technology as a new kind of centering religionÂ…Disney devotee's are still comfortable with his pirate ships, but many forget he also realized that we also need a safe harbor to enjoy our cozy memories fromÂ…and unfortunately he too died before he could complete that vision of a 'City of Tomorrow'...so no safe harbors hereÂ…
So from this snow globe that I shake up for you I'll try to beam out what goes on back in hereÂ…having started this particular journey of The Good Ship Pumpkin way back in November of 2005, I've now had maybe 2 months off total since thenÂ…I am not complaining because I love the work, but I am pretty exhausted day after dayÂ…however it is the Spirit of the good fans who travel so far to give us that love really lifts me back upÂ…with much help from GodÂ…so my Spirit is strong, and I am happy to report that the band is playing beautifully presently, and as a unit is fully committed to not wasting your time with vague intentionsÂ…I am also happy to report that we have been able to, over the course of the last 5-6 months, address all the eras of the group quite faithfully, so that there now feels like there is a harmonious balance between Zeitgeist and the previous musical periodsÂ…nothing feels like it is being sacrificed against a new wholeÂ…of course, some songs don't apply to this, but this has more to do with their inconsistency against the energies of the times we are in than in the foundational energies of ZeitgeistÂ…it makes me very happy we have been able to accomplish this in so short of a timeÂ…
Sometimes after shows I like to stop and talk to fans, to hear what they are feeling and what they want, and maybe even see what they needÂ…in Detroit a few nights ago, a fan kept yelling at me 'Billy, more Siamese Dream, more Siamese Dream!'Â…of course I asked him my favourite question, 'why' and he said, 'because it's the best!'Â…what I think he really meant is 'it's my favourite album and I came here hoping to hear you play more of those songs'Â…to his credit, he was young and probably didn't get the chance to see 'ol SP on that tour back in 93-94Â…so I respect thatÂ…(in fact, I respect all fans opinions, even when I may disagree strongly with them, which I often do)Â…I respect that he may have come in the hope to hear us play his favourite songs, and triumphantly be the band he wants us to beÂ…but as I said the other night to the same audience in Detroit that this young man was in, 'this is not a reunion tour'Â…
The question I ask is when does the past begin to dictate our future?Â…if one was to listen to Siamese Dream from a particular perspective, you might hear me at age 25 or so struggling with how to escape my past! How ironic that that same struggle should now become part of my current struggle for autonomyÂ…the current SP is designed to live on happily, strongly, proudly, and boldlyÂ…there is no other way that I can see to water the flowers properlyÂ…we choose life, and the love of the moment for the song we choose to singÂ…
I believe God talks to me at each and every moment of my life, the only problem being that I don't listenÂ…God does not want any of us to be unhappy, or to mourn for that which has no meaningÂ…thanks to digital media, many of us can and will be remembered in perpetuity by an unseen future, but they probably won't bother to watchÂ…my guess is our images and sounds will seem as archaic to them as images and sounds from the beginnings of the 20th century sound to us nowÂ…so fighting for the preservation of values that don't matter now and will matter even less down the road seems a sad waste of energyÂ…I am happy to be a warrior of light and universal logic if I am fighting for the good in usÂ…sentimentalism in and of itself is a form of deathÂ…sentimentalism in the context of preserving that which meant something to our ancestors and therefore is encoded secretly in our dna is something I am raptuous aboutÂ…if God is love is truth, than you are that to meÂ…SP stands at the center of my musical truth, and mirrors how god stands for me in the center of all truthÂ…I would hope we can faithfully copy that paradigm, and always stay focused on what really mattersÂ…we may not always be what you want, but we do have what you need!
B C
[ 241 comments ]
Posted By
JimmyChamberlin
On a more current tip, we played Red Rocks last night and by all accounts it was a great show. The fans showed up in force and a good time was had by all. We are finding that the younger audiences really respond well to the new material and the kind of stretching out we do on songs like, SuperChrist and Heavy Metal Machine. This is very encouraging to us as it tells us that the things we are attracted to as artists are relevant to listeners as well. The time is fast approaching when real music will be played by real people for real people like you to listen to!
Speaking of artists, I have been listening to a lot of music these days. Namely John Coltrane, Thelonious Monk, Tony Williams Lifetime, Lee Morgan, Mulgrew Miller, Deep Purple, Rainbow, Captain Beyond, as well as watching tons of old Jazz videos. Anything I can get my hands on that isn't strapped to some sort of conventionalism. I've been studying the life and career of Coltrane. I've been trying to insert his dedication to music and truth into my own life. It's certainly not easy but well worth it as it not only makes me a better musician. It makes me a better husband, father, friend, etc. Being on tour you find yourself with a lot of time to kill and I feel that the best use of that time is practicing and studying music. Like Coltrane I have found that when I have my music straight, the rest of my life follows easily.
But it's not all work work work for JC. A man has to spend some time "off grid" once in a while. I've been going out here and there and having some fun. I got to throw out the first pitch at an Arizona Diamondbacks game last week. Talk about nerve-racking! I was more nervous than I have ever been before a show. I got NO practice and just had to walk out to the mound and throw a strike. Now I played baseball my whole childhood and into high school, but never in a major league stadium! So out I marched to the mound (all the way to the rubber, 60' 6"!), and heaved one home. The whole time I'm thinking, "Don't bounce it in or that's what you'll be remembered for, not music!" All went well. I didn't choke and I was able to hold my head high as we watched the D'Backs lose to San Francisco.
GO CUBS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I also have had the recent honor of being on the cover of Modern Drummer. Ever since I was a little drummer I have thought of MD as the pent ultimate achievement. I use to look at my heroes on that magazine and think that someday, if I practice hard enough..................
So check it out. It's a good rant on the state of affairs and has some good Zeitgeist stories as well as some beautiful photos of yours truly taken by the illustrious Kristin Burns. It's the third cover for me but it's always exciting. Remember that anything is attainable. The whole of your life's dreams are alive in your heart waiting for you to set them free.
Love, Jimmy
Some Photos to go along with this blog:
Some cats in Greece!
Me in Greece
a not so friendly protest outside of my hotel......................... In Greece!
Cat in Istanbul!
A Peregrine Falcon visits one of my bird feeders!
J.S. pre-show warm up!
Chemtrails over Southern California
The Spaceship lands at Red Rocks!!!!!
What JC does for fun!!!!!!!!!!!!
And more fun!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Ciao!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
[ 54 comments ]