Smashing Pumpkins Drummer Auditions To Be Held Next Week

Auditions will be held Friday, April 10 in Los Angeles for drummers who are looking to play with the Smashing Pumpkins. All interested parties should send their background info, photos and performance web links via email only to: [e-mail].

Smashing Pumpkins mainman Billy Corgan recently entered the studio with audio engineer Kerry Brown to lay down pre-production demos of some of his new material. "It's going well and I'm very happy and in a great mood," Billy said. "I'm not sad (about drummer Jimmy Chamberlin's recent departure), actually excited to be working on new SP!" He added that "the songs sound like spring!"

There are five demos in total that Billy is currently working on and he anticipates the official recording process to begin sometime in May.

Corgan told the Chicago Tribune last year that the Pumpkins would not release any more standard albums following the disappointing response to the group's 2007 comeback CD, "Zeitgeist". But Corgan added that more Pumpkins music would continue to be released in some fashion.

The singer and guitarist also revealed plans to scale down the Pumpkins' touring plans, following several shows last fall in which Corgan and audience members were hostile to each other over the lack of well-known material in the set.

Corgan recently wrote a letter to Congress in support of the proposed merger between Ticketmaster and Live Nation, although he did not mention in his letter that Ticketmaster CEO Irving Azoff manages the Pumpkins.

Thanks for the report to Blabbermouth.net.

Comments

[SuicidalFreak]

Man, the Smashing Pumpkins aren't the same without Jimmy, James and D'arcy.

[flambe chicken]

if only i were a sufficiently competent drummer...

[Pure_Morning]

For any drummer out there, this is a big oppurtunity to take advantage of, regardless if SP is going down the shitter.

[Jet_Black88]

If it were east coast, I'd contemplate telling my drummer. Just to see how well he does.

[whoa_backoff]

following several shows last fall in which Corgan and audience members were hostile to each other over the lack of well-known material in the set.

Does anyone know which shows and what happened ?

[randymeeks81]

the smashing pumpkins aren't the smashing pumpkins anymore. it's the billy corgan solo project where he stands on stage and says "i used to write the songs you love (that i won't play), and now i'm writing new songs for you to love. you don't love the new songs? you don't even like the new songs? HOW DARE YOU?!?!?"

[somewhatdamaged]

i hate you billy. If I'm right, isn't there an 's' in the name smashing pumpkinS? Thus, you are the only one left and all of your old band mates hate you as well as a good chunk of what was once your fan base. Release your bull**** under your name and stop tainting the pumpkins name.

[godberry]

whoa_backoff wrote:

following several shows last fall in which Corgan and audience members were hostile to each other over the lack of well-known material in the set.

Does anyone know which shows and what happened ?

i can't remember which shows. they were 2 american shows. anyways, i think billy chose not to play any of sp's hits and the crowd got angry. furthermore, they weren't playing very well. billy provoked the crowd by taunting them and saying some nasty stuff. he even invited this audience member to come up on stage and express his opinion. then he made fun of the guy for wanting his money back. i've seen the video before. i'm sure you can find it on youtube.

[Jamie_W]

To be honest, I don't wanna hear the 'hits' at a live gig. Screw hearing 'Today' for the 100th time, I want to hear the kinda set they have been playing on the If All Goes Wrong DVD.

As for the Pumpkins continuing, like with GnR, in the end I don't care what the band name is as long as the music is good, and if Billy gives us some more stuff like 99 Floors, Gossamer, etc then that's cool.

I would also like to say Jimmy is my fave drummer of all time.

[Pricey85]

I saw them at Manchester about a year ago and their was zero atmosphere until they played the classics and he was acting like a tool! To echo other people - Its just not the same anymore and personally he is crapping all over my long old love for the pumpkins. the Smashing pumpkin should leave it.....

[Swank]

No matter what is going on in the SP life, Billy Corgan is a GENIUS, not in vain he is one of my heores, and I trust him, he wont fail us! as long as he lives good music is granted!

[ZeppelinruleZ]

They should have never gotten "back together". Fcuk you Billy!

[B. Joe]

SuicidalFreak wrote:

Man, the Smashing Pumpkins aren't the same without Jimmy, James and D'arcy.

Jimmy is a very good drummer... but James and D'arcy were just puppets.

[redhotsexmagic]

it really isnt smashing pumpkins at all then..might as well call it zwan at this point

[Jet_Black88]

B. Joe wrote:

SuicidalFreak wrote:

Man, the Smashing Pumpkins aren't the same without Jimmy, James and D'arcy.

Jimmy is a very good drummer... but James and D'arcy were just puppets.

Soma is my favorite pumpkins song, and that's co-written by James. I am One, and Take me Down are also examples of songs Iha either wrote or co-wrote that stand alongside the best the pumpkins have to offer.

I really like a few of their newer songs, like G.L.O.W. and SuperChrist and Song for a Son, but Corgan's lost some of his touch, even when it comes to writing lyrics. FOL, from the superbowl commercial, has the lyrics "Come on and feel our love". G.L.O.W., the guitar hero exclusive song, repeats the lyrics "Come on, come on, come on, can you feel it?", and then there's the song, "(Come on) Let's Go" off of Zeitgeist....Anyone notice a pattern here?

Billy needs some inspiration. His riffs are good, but his words don't speak to anyone anymore.

[RUSTDOGG666]

I can't play drums, I play bass and guitar, but I wouldn't want to join this band anyways. They're only releasing new songs as singles in some form. I'd want to join a band that actually makes albums. After all thats what bands do Billy is make albums. when your done making albums your done with the band. geez.

[lbra73]

what a mess

[flame_mc]

Change the name once for all. They're no longer the smashing pumpkins.

[MacDizzy]

For all you saying you don't know how to play the drums, it' pretty questionable if Jimmy knew how to either. Jimmy could barely keep a beat and probably doesn't even remember recording half the tracks from the early days. With that all being said, he still contributed the most outside of Billy to the Pumpkins sound and I liked his style. I pretty much gave up on this band when Jimmy left.

[Jet_Black88]

MacDizzy, you must be deaf or something. Jimmy Chamberlin is an excellent drummer, and one of the best modern drummers.

If you doubt this, listen to "SuperChrist". It's basically one long drum solo. I don't think it quite shows off how good he is, but it'll be sufficient to prove that he can do much more than keep a beat.

[Ninjamonkey767]

redhotsexmagic wrote:

it really isnt smashing pumpkins at all then..might as well call it zwan at this point

Zwan had more pumpkins than they do now :haha

In all honesty, I couldn't care less whet the band name is. SP has always been a mentality to Corgan. He could have released Zwan or TheFutureEmbrace as SP records, but he released them under different names because they were different mentalities, from different areas.

[Ninjamonkey767]

MacDizzy wrote:

For all you saying you don't know how to play the drums, it' pretty questionable if Jimmy knew how to either.

Wow. Stupid much? He is one of the top drummers of our time. "Drumming", "Keeping a beat", I dont care what you call it. Whatever he does on "Silverf*ck" and "Thru the eyes of Ruby" is excellent.

[ModestMelon]

Ninjamonkey767 wrote:

Wow. Stupid much? He is one of the top drummers of our time. "Drumming", "Keeping a beat", I dont care what you call it. Whatever he does on "Silverf*ck" and "Thru the eyes of Ruby" is excellent.

also, much as I'm not overly fond of the song the drumming on United States is, as far as I can tell, flawless...

[Shyne]

welcome to the Billy Corgan show... featuring three other people.

Checked.

[vv-A7X-vv]

my friend from Detroit is trying out! would be so kool if he gets in. he is madd good @ drummin

[drewkilljoy]

ModestMelon wrote:

Ninjamonkey767 wrote:

Wow. Stupid much? He is one of the top drummers of our time. "Drumming", "Keeping a beat", I dont care what you call it. Whatever he does on "Silverf*ck" and "Thru the eyes of Ruby" is excellent.

also, much as I'm not overly fond of the song the drumming on United States is, as far as I can tell, flawless...

Quoted for the truth. Don't like that song, but the drumming is impeccably amazing.

[DanBLON00]

ok, without jimmy, it's just basicly billy gonig solo again, why can't they all just get along and get the original band back together, with james, d'arcy, and jimmy?

[BassFishin]

DanBLON00 wrote:

ok, without jimmy, it's just basicly billy gonig solo again, why can't they all just get along and get the original band back together, with james, d'arcy, and jimmy?

because that would be too awesome.

[Spartan070sarge]

Come on Billy, please just hang it up. I am a huge fan of you and the Smashing Pumpkins, but it's just not the same without James, D'arcy and Jimmy.

You could go solo, or start a new band. Hell, you could even use the same people you have now, just under a different name.

-my open letter to Billy Corgan which I won't be sending.

[lbra73]

DanBLON00 wrote:

ok, without jimmy, it's just basicly billy gonig solo again, why can't they all just get along and get the original band back together, with james, d'arcy, and jimmy?

Billy refuses to play the greatest hits during concerts anyway so its all pointless.

[David_Bowie=GOD]

Without Jimmy, hes just the smashing pumpkin.

I don't hate him for continuing the band, he has every right, I don't think it will be as good without jimmy though. His drumming was a big part of the pumpkins sound, but who knows? Maybe Billy will find a new great drummer. Either way, I hope the new music turns out good. I also hope that next time he tours that he plays something off of Gish.

[Lion_Slicer]

Chamberlin is too good, he was a lot of why the Pumpkins kicked so much ass. Billy Corgan could never find a better SP drummer, it would be best to give up now.

[Covet]

Jamie_W wrote:

To be honest, I don't wanna hear the 'hits' at a live gig. Screw hearing 'Today' for the 100th time, I want to hear the kinda set they have been playing on the If All Goes Wrong DVD.

As for the Pumpkins continuing, like with GnR, in the end I don't care what the band name is as long as the music is good, and if Billy gives us some more stuff like 99 Floors, Gossamer, etc then that's cool.

I would also like to say Jimmy is my fave drummer of all time.

+1

[MoreNoise]

lbra73 wrote:

Billy refuses to play the greatest hits during concerts anyway so its all pointless.

Not sure about that, I saw them recently and they still played Zero, Tonight, 1979, Cherub Rock, Bullet With Butterfly Wings and Drown alongside new songs.

Anyway, it's a shame Jimmy left but I'm always keen to hear new Pumpkins songs. Besides, how many great bands last 20 years or more without a lineup change?

[MacDizzy]

Jet_Black88 wrote:

MacDizzy, you must be deaf or something. Jimmy Chamberlin is an excellent drummer, and one of the best modern drummers.

If you doubt this, listen to "SuperChrist". It's basically one long drum solo. I don't think it quite shows off how good he is, but it'll be sufficient to prove that he can do much more than keep a beat.

Did you even read everything I wrote? I never even said he was bad. I thought it was common knowledge among people that liked the pumpkins that he rarely used a click track when recording. It may come off sounding sloppy at times, but that's his style and I like it. Poorly worded? Maybe, but I still enjoy his work.

[Alice2Mudgarden]

Corgan's on a sinking ship and he's a horrible captain. Calling it "Smashing Pumpkins" is just an example of his exaggerated ego. Jimmy was the last one sticking by him and now he's gone. Corgan just calls it "SP" for the publicity. He can't call it a Billy Corgan solo, it'll get no hype. I mean, look at his last solo- tanked.

[shadow__666]

He should do a tour with Axl Rose and the Axl Rose Band...sorry, Guns N Roses. After all, it's the same basic concept - two egomaniacal wankers who think they're God's gift to music.

Billy, seriously, either give up or suck in your ego and give James and D'Arcy the call. You already pissed off Jimmy enough, and he was the one Pumpkin who was loyal enough to you to ignore your oversized ego and come back.

[NightEmbers]

Pure_Morning wrote:

For any drummer out there, this is a big oppurtunity to take advantage of, regardless if SP is going down the shitter.

+1 Id much rather see someone from the crowd step up and join the ranks rather then let an already famous drummer take the spot... come on UG lift up an underground drummer to the big time

[Arrived+Dparted]

The Pumpkins' last album is and always will be Machina. Corgan should just go away.

RIP Pumpkins.

[DouglasDisaster]

JC gone again? That's too bad.

[fitterhappier34]

MoreNoise wrote:
Besides, how many great bands last 20 years or more without a lineup change?

Radiohead!

[CaptnWar]

This band died when my buddy saw them like 10 years ago. Billy got pissed at the audience for wanting to hear old songs.

[GoToSleep]

Billy needs to go solo, end of. Please.

[Dead Cats]

The hostilities occured at the DC show at Constitution Hall. A guy justly called Billy out and asked for Iha. Billy got pissed. Billy was actually pretty funny in a depressing way. He kept insisting that they had an album coming out called "You Can't Stop the Music"

[Shinsen88]

Jimmy left now? Bummer. I saw the Pumpkins a few months ago with Billy and Jimmy as the only two remaining members and they were awesome. But without Jimmy... I dunno...

[verona_bassist]

uhm...does anyone know WHY chamberlin decided to leave SP? i mean..i havent heard anything about it since jimmy left...
as for the whole NEW smashing pumpkins line up...
i dunno, i mean...regardless of what he's done...Corgan is still pretty creative...he made most of Melloncollie, didnt he? true, he recorded with Chamberlin...but im bettin Billy still has some ideas up his sleeve

[StratDune]

Jimmy is one of the finest drummers of our time. Few people can replace him in full potential.

And it's not like the other replacements in SP are doing fine. The new bassist sucks. At least bring back Melissa. She was better than D'Arcy IMO.

[IamGod 666]

Is there a reason hes not doing this in chicago?

[megaluisdeth]

Too bad I'm a bass player

[recliner33]

I say the only way that they should still be called the pumpkins without jimmy, is if they replaced him with a drum machine. Think about it, before jimmy joined the band they used a drum machine. This will bring us one step closer to the original lineup!!!

[4STRINGBOY]

not the same without jimmy..

[Stone Agean]

megaluisdeth :
Too bad I'm a bass player

lol'd.

[Markhimself]

Why are they using a picture of powder?

[WheredMyRockGo?]

jimmy chamberlain is a highly underrated drummer. The guy keeps those songs amped up. billy corgan stopped doing drugs like 10 years ago and consequently stopped making good music.

[swaxq123]

i was too young to remember the majority of their albums being released being only 18 now. But they're my top played band.

Whether I'd see em now Jimmy has left... debatable. Hearing billy singing all those old tunes would be great but i think he's gotta realise that's what people are looking for. A reunion rather than a restart. Sure throw the new stuff in too... Zeitgeist is a good album imo. But i'm looking to hear thru the eyes of ruby and soma too..

[toyboxmonster]

When is he going to give up the 'smashing pumpkins' joke and name it for what it is: billy corgan.

[Izzy_Bryce]

megaluisdeth wrote:

Too bad I'm a bass player

perhaps this information should have been released on "ultimate-drummer" or somethin cuz unfortunately i dont play drums either and not many drummers even read up on this unless theyre huge music fans. maybe so, but not even my drummer for my band (my brother) has his own user name on here.

[FireBirdKing]

Shyne wrote:

welcome to the Billy Corgan show... featuring three other people.

lol +1

[llama_guitarist]

Ninjamonkey767 wrote:

redhotsexmagic wrote:

it really isnt smashing pumpkins at all then..might as well call it zwan at this point

Zwan had more pumpkins than they do now :haha

In all honesty, I couldn't care less whet the band name is. SP has always been a mentality to Corgan. He could have released Zwan or TheFutureEmbrace as SP records, but he released them under different names because they were different mentalities, from different areas.

This is true. A lot of people hated Zwan because they just expected another SP record....but he named it differently so there wouldn't be those expectations.

SP fans are never gonna be happy, no matter what. Billy's tried many different ways to make music and make his fans happy, but they never are. Fuck that, I'd be pissed off if I was Billy too.

It is a shame that Jimmy left, though. He posted why he did on their website though. There's no bad blood, no drama, none of that. Good for them, they may yet collaborate in the future, it seems like.

[somewhatdamaged]

any moron can hit the drums as long as they can keep a rhythm. drummers are a dime a dozen and i can have a drum machine do more than a 50 year old using his drum sticks in hopes he doesn't break his wrist when he hits too hard... Still though, sad to see Jimmy go. Cherub Rock and silverf*ck were the sh*t. Billy, you aren't popular anymore, get the f*ck over it

[somewhatdamaged]

(with the exception of dave grohl's drum work on QOTSA's songs for the deaf; especially in the title song)[sorry for the double post]

[tom1thomas1]

spam that email address.... the bloke on the radio station i listened to even said to do that when he read this out on music news. dont like smashing pumpkins anyway

[str84ever]

MacDizzy wrote:

For all you saying you don't know how to play the drums, it' pretty questionable if Jimmy knew how to either. Jimmy could barely keep a beat and probably doesn't even remember recording half the tracks from the early days. With that all being said, he still contributed the most outside of Billy to the Pumpkins sound and I liked his style. I pretty much gave up on this band when Jimmy left.

you shitting me... he was originally a jazz drummer.

[FMfan]

I didn't know that Irving Azoff manages SP- that's cool! Hope JC likes his new gig he added a great chemistry to their band.

[SP_Princess]

I've been scanning youtube for audition videos. There is sucha wide variety. Found this guy, and he's deffinitely worth checking out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MppRHXBB8Jw