I was there

Brad CA, US

Critical music during that era- never heard anything like it. The lyrics, dynamics, the drone, the volume- all made it amazing.

Staring at the Ceiling

Helena Handbasket Cape Town, ZA

13 years old. Lying on the floor in the dark, eyes closed. My first listen to Gish. Everything felt so uniquely and dramatically raw.

Still, to this day, 30 years later, I still feel that “all that you suffer is all that you are” and I am so glad I found the Pumpkins at such a young age. 

Gish Rocks!

Dan Manchester, GB

I was given Gish as a 17th birthday present.  It really blew me away and made me want to join a band.  It was like Guns and Roses but at the next level.  It really got me through some difficult times at school.  Thanks so much SP!

Dorm room

David Mismi, US

I clearly remember my buddy Chris and i playing Gish for the first time in my dorm room during my first term at Cornell… instantly entranced… as a drummer, I was instantly blown away by Jimmys smoothness and fills…and the sonic dynamics drew me in… 

6 months later seeing them in a small club back home in Miami Beach Art Deco district was the icing on the cake!  

Thanks for the memories! 

Discovery and thank you

Kara Tsukerman Atlanta, GA, US

I wasn’t planning to participate in this because I don’t have any distinct Gish memories. I became a fan in 1995. However, I listened to Gish and celebrated in my own way all day today and I was brought back to 1995. After buying MCIS at 12 and it completely changing my young (and future) life, I couldn’t wait for more SP. I quickly acquired Gish, Lull, and SD in a matter of weeks and started listening to all at the same time. I only remember hearing Gish and not understanding how it was a first album. I recognized it as a magical piece of art and I remember being shocked at how good it was and how much I loved it. I will turn 38 next week and do not have any words to express how much Gish means to me, along with every other album through Cyr. Thank you for being the music of my life. Being your fan has been such an honor. 

Subway Poster

Bryan Portland, US

I once owned a 5′ subway poster of the Gish album cover which adorned the walls throughout my college days – I fucking loved that poster and my parents through it out with the rest of my college shit when they moved – wish I had a pic!  

Vesuvius and Moonlight

Lisa West Chicago, Illinois, US

I had insomnia, and took to to the streets after midnight in my Camaro, the passenger’s seat overflowing with cassettes and joints rolled in my purse. One night I was past DeKalb after 1 A.M. and heard ‘I Am One’ for the first time on WXRT. I grew impatient for the DJ to name the band and the song, for I’ve never heard such explosive frustration layered with longing passion and electricity. My mind and my heart simultaneously exploded when hearing the opening drum beat which was shortly followed by an alluring bass line. Next came the guitars that artfully weaved together and played off of each other like two cobras swaying to a Pungi. From start to finish, the intensity of the song didn’t cease but when it finished, I was left with my heart pounding and with sweat on my forehead wanting to hear more.  As I kept driving several thoughts were colliding in my head-First, I needed to fire up a joint, second I needed to go to the record store in the morning to get a copy of ‘Gish’ (the first of three copies that I wore out), third I knew that Smashing Pumpkins were going to be famous, and fourth I knew that my life would never be the same again.    

Opening act

Tim Redway , US

Saw the video for Siva premier on 120 min, bought the album that week and loved every song, then my bro and I went to see you and Pearl Jam open for the chili peppers at the palladium in Warwick RI. We dropped acid and we’re in the pit and billy starts talking about caterpillars and the cauliflower king plays windowpane and blows my mind! Was one of the best shows I ever seen!

SONIC!!

Derek Loud Johannesburg, ZA

The Gish tour. Its 30 years since the album release and I remember a friend recommended the band. It was such a great debut album and we played it constantly. I was with my two friends when we got some tickets to see them in 1991 in Manchester. We went for a drink at the bar next door and Billy was being interviewed for the local press. We introduced ourselves, had a chat and took some photos. Billy was very cool and friendly. The gig was amazing… sonic bliss. It was a small venue in Manchester and you knew the band was going to be something. Every song was amazing and the gig rocked. One of the best live bands at the time, it still is one of my favorite gigs from my youth. I’m still friends with two people I went with, in fact we all went for a few drinks last night to celebrate. Sonic gig! really sonic!

Missed opportunity

Bradley Memphis, US

I was a DJ at my college radio station when Gish was released. We played every song on the album. I had free tickets to see them at 328 Performance Hall in Nashville on that tour and I didn’t go because I was hung over from the night before. Smh.

Experience

Greta Macedonio Benevento, IT

My first time I listened this album it was an “Experience” itself… A transcendental travel through sound, emotions and pictures in my mind. Every time I listen to it’s always a Spiritual Moment

Listening Party

Tony Lee Columbia, SC, US

300?! There’s no way, but I’ll try to edit…ruthlessly. House party in the summer of 1991…my room…Gish left on repeat as an escape from the chaos. Told a friend to check out this CD I just got. “Crush,” “Suffer,” and “Snail” set him up for the mind-blowing “Tristessa.” He STILL talks about the impact of that listening experience. THANK YOU

Gish & My Musical Soulmates

Jennifer Orellana Miami, FL, US

“When I think of Gish, I can’t listen to the album without pure gratitude. I feel it’s such a beautiful & fun debut album. The songs from Gish lifted some of the “heaviness” of my adolescence.  When I first discovered it, I couldn’t get enough. I remember playing it in my car, in the shower, in my bedroom… falling so deeply in love with the guitars, the drums, lyrics & the whole album. It helped me daydream, it helped me escape & it brought me joy . I’m geeking out for the Gish 30 celebration but for me it’s the 30 years of Pumpkins. It’s getting through alive in spite of all the heartbreak, depression, questionable choices… and beating cancer. I jam to Gish celebrating “I’m still here!” My husband and I have been through so much since we were kids & were still in love with each other & with SP music. We have a beautiful family (4 kids!)  & I know my life wouldn’t be what it is today if it weren’t for this band’s 30 years of beautiful music. WPC / The Smashing Pumpkins, my musical soulmates, have saved me so many times.” – Jennifer Orellana

Just my luck

Erik Banck Gothenburg , SE

When me and my friends first heard Tonight we all bought MCAIS and became huge fans! But since we didn’t had a lot of money we had to buy one album each to cover the whole catalogue. I had to buy Gish and was disappointed at first but the songs, the straightforward sound an JC’s drums really got to me. Today I love the album! To me Gish is like Siamese Dreams little brother – not quite as complex, broad and deep (obvious in a way since it came out before SD and the band hadn’t grown to their full potential yet). In the same way Gish is faster and has more energy. My favorite songs are tristessa, siva and I am one. I really love how the Gish songs where played during MCAIS tour – extra riffs and extended parts (especially siva). Absolutely awesome! 

Gish (and Siamese Dream) live on my 18th Birthday in Miami

Larry Monteleone Boca Raton, Florida, US

My favorite Gish memory is on my 18th birthday (August 5th, 1992).  The band played live at Washington Square in Miami Beach.  2 years before Siamese Dream, they opened the show with Disarm (and played a lot from SD that we never heard before).  Best show I ever saw in my life.  Thank you!  I do not own the youtube video provided.

“Planned a show, trees and balloons..” A three hour rock marathon at The Forum

Marissa Niles, US

My very best memory of a Gish song by SP was during the Shiny and Oh So Bright Tour, August 2018. My sister and I flew out to California to see them at the Forum, after seeing SP perform in Chicago, we decided one show wasn’t enough, this was such a special tour and had to experience it again! When SP began performing Rhinoceros, with the visual backdrop behind them showing a timeline series of video clips throughout their musical journey, it was then I became so overwhelmed with excitement knowing at that moment what we were about to experience, a performance of a lifetime! No other concert or performance will ever come close to those nights of the Shiny tour! It was pure magic, memories I’ll cherish for a lifetime and hold on to forever! Now when I hear Rhinoceros I’m brought back to those fantastic nights during the Shiny tour, and relive that magical feeling all over again. 💜

Air Drum Success

David Finneran Toronto, Ontario, CA

I used to drum the entire album on my lap going to the school on the subway. I still remember the day when I nailed the exact moment the band comes in on Rhinoceros, and I went on to drum the rest of then song perfectly. It was a great day. 

The train ride home

douglas white Grayslake, IL, US

I was a freshman at UIC in 1993 and my roommate at the time had turned me on to the Smashing Pumpkins.  Prior to that fall, I had never heard of them.  SD had recently been released and I dove in.  I had asked if TSP had any other music.  Much to my surprise there was not only Gish but a slew of b-sides as well.  I dubbed his Gish CD onto side A of a 90 minute cassette tape and had a the b-sides on side B.  I would listen to that tape on every train ride to and from home on the weekends, staring out the window creating music videos in my head, all the while studying this style of guitar that was foreign to me as a “metal” guy.  Gish is a “desert island” album for me.

Gishful Gratitude

Zoey Columbus, OH, US

Gish will always seem surreal to me. I was instantly bespelled by this otherworldly gratitude and warmth when I stumbled over it. I listened to it daily in nature on repeat and never felt alone. I still always smile at the sky when I hear it. 

Music for the memories

Rubi High Gig Harbor, WA , US

I’ve always been super into rock/ alt rock but there are very few albums I can listen to all the way through over and over and feel like im hearing them for the very first time. I remember the first time I listened to Gish all the way through. My best friend and I were chilling in my 89’ Vanagon when we were 16 and I had JUST put in a radio that let you use an aux cord. The vibe was right and we had the best time painting, listening and talking about life. She’s sadly not here anymore but everytime I listen to Gish it feels like im listening to it for the very first time with her and the memories that flood in when I listen will forever be with me. 

Tried booking Billy and the band by calling his mom

James Currie Riverside, IL, US

I was just out of high school and starting college when I heard Gish. Our local college radio station played a track off of it. Then a buddy had a cassette and played it for me in the car. I soon finally tracked down my own copy of the CD and was hooked. It was one of the albums that changed my vision of what music was. Until that point, I was mainly stuck in heavy metal and classic rock mode. I played it loud and proud all the time in my 1984 Camaro with booming speakers in the back seat.

It was at that time in my life when music would become my being.  One of the things I did was putting together local concerts and festivals. After listening to that album for a week straight, I decided I wanted to know more about this band, Smashing Pumpkins and how could I get them to play in our town. In those days the internet and google searches didn’t exist, so I had to scour magazines, college radio, the album inserts and ultimately the phone book as I found out the leader of the band was Billy Corgan and he lived in the Chicago area. I couldn’t believe it. A local band?! I found his parents home phone number in the white pages. His family home in the burbs. I waited on calling the number for a long time before finally doing it. When I did, I reached his mother. I introduced myself and told her I really loved his band and wanted to see if I could get him to play our fest. She laughed and said she would share my info. Not being shocked, I never heard back. But, I that album is still one of my top 10 records of all time. To this date, I have worked covering Billy Corgan and his bands throughout the years as I became a rock photographer. Everywhere from his coffee shop up north to arena shows at United Center to Smashing Pumpkins final show in 99 at the Metro. At each of these live performances, I look forward to hearing a track from this record with baited breath.

1991: Smashing Pumpkins, Pearl Jam & The Red Hot Chili Peppers at Roseland (NYC)

Jonathan Wagner Great Neck, NY, US

I heard that amazing riff and the amazing different changes over the course of an incredible song in “Bury Me” on college radio one night in 1991 and I was HOOKED on the Pumpkins. who have been my all-time favorite band ever since! A few months later, in the Fall of 1991, I went to a Red Hot Chili Peppers concert at Roseland in New York City. I remember telling people that although the Chili Peppers were great, one day in the near future and beyond that, the two opening acts (who I was really there to see that night) would far supersede the Chili Peppers in greatness and popularity. Few believed me then but they quickly did thereafter and certainly do now. Those two open acts were… Smashing Pumpkins and Pearl Jam. Ah, the days of seeing incredible bands like that up close near the stage for the probably $20 or $30 I paid back then – unlike the hundreds of dollars spent to be nowhere near the stage for bands of that quality today. That was a special time back then. 

p.s. I know I am in the minority on this, and I think even Billy probably would be against me on this, but as much as I LOVE Siamese Dream and the rest to come, up to Cyr now, I still, 30 years later, think “Bury Me,” “Siva,” “I Am One,” especially, but the entire Gish album is some of the Pumpkins’ best work of all time.

Buried In Love

Barbara Chicago, IL, US

When I first heard “Bury Me” as a high school senior in 1993
something indescribable resonated with my entire being. After listening to Gish,
I knew that I needed to live in the city where this magic was created and I
finally had a path out of my chaotic self-destruction. Without Gish, I would
not have found peace and joy. I doubt I would even be alive.

Delicate, youthful, and passionate

Spencer Apex, NC, US

Listening to Gish from start to end is always a visceral experience for me. It transports me to my teens. The song Crush never ceases to make me close my eyes, rock back and forth, and cry, as personal memories come back.  Finding the cd in the store was a wonder as well, for I met new friends as I browsed the cd section. My memories connected to this album are precious.

Learning escapism

Arnaud Witomski Grenoble, FR

25 years later after discovering it, I still can feel instantly the same mood I was into when listening to Gish. I studied hard for long years to obtain my PhD and as I was absorbed by physics and maths, I couldn’t refrain from daydreaming all along these intense intellectual working periods. I wanted to succeed in the exams and at the same time I wanted to plug my guitar and learn how to play these subtle riffs, how to recreate these absorbing ambiances. Gish sounds have influenced my way to reflect and imagine : it was the soundtrack of a mental journey where symbols and scientific concepts echoed the magical spirituality of this album. The alternance of heavy textures and smooth comforting songs perfectly described the way I felt as a young adult : full of rage and sensitivity with little clarity on how to express that apart from music. This album showed me a way to concile aspects of my personnality that I couldn’t think I could connect. It helped me to accept the multifaced dimensions that we all are made of and that we have to deal with in life in general. The succession of the ten tracks rythmed like a quest, finding paths, opening doors, running fast and confident, celebrating the uncertainties and miracles of emotions. In my bedroom I would listen to Gish over and over but then for periods letting the album rest in order to preserve this fresh perception of the instant. Like the power of scents that you recall so deeply and stay unique in your mind because you carefuly don’t expose to them permanently. Gish is a gem that will keep radiating forever, it will always be precious to me.

Gish moved my entire life

Terry Zürich, CH

In 2007 I was moving from the UK to Switzerland… A 2 day road trip with my whole life packed in the car. Gish was one of the 3 CDs  I had on loop keeping me sane and moving forward. 14 years later I’m still here, thanks to Gish