The Smashing Pumpkins
Later that year, Corgan began a new recording series with a rotating lineup of musicians entitled Teargarden by Kaleidyscope, which encompassed stand-alone singles, EP releases, and two full albums that also fell under the project's scope—Oceania in 2012 and Monuments to an Elegy in 2014.[8][9] After the show, Cabaret Metro owner Joe Shanahan agreed to book the band on the condition that they replace the drum machine with a live drummer.During the tour, Iha and Wretzky went through a messy breakup, Chamberlin became addicted to narcotics and alcohol, and Corgan entered a deep depression,[14] writing some songs for the upcoming album in the parking garage where he lived at the time.[15] With the breakthrough of alternative rock into the American mainstream due to the popularity of grunge bands such as Nirvana and Pearl Jam, the Smashing Pumpkins were poised for major commercial success."[23] Former Hüsker Dü frontman Bob Mould called them "the grunge Monkees",[4] and fellow Chicago musician/producer Steve Albini wrote a scathing letter in response to an article praising the band, derisively comparing them to REO Speedwagon ("by, of and for the mainstream") and concluding their ultimate insignificance.For Christmas 1994 Corgan gave ten copies of an informally self-released five-CD box set, Mashed Potatoes, to close friends of the band.[46] The band suffered a personal tragedy on the night of July 11, 1996, when touring keyboardist Jonathan Melvoin and Chamberlin overdosed on heroin in a hotel room in New York City.Released in early 1997, the song "Eye", which appeared on the soundtrack to David Lynch's Lost Highway, relied almost exclusively on electronic instruments and signaled a drastic shift from the Pumpkins' previous musical styles.Recorded following the death of Corgan's mother and his divorce, 1998's Adore represented a significant change of style from the Pumpkins' previous guitar-based rock, veering into electronica.The record, cut with assistance from drum machines and studio drummers including Matt Walker, was infused with a darker aesthetic than much of the band's earlier work.Although Adore received favorable reviews and was nominated for Best Alternative Performance at the Grammy Awards, the album had only sold about 830,000 copies in the United States by the end of the year.[57][58] Former Hole bassist Melissa Auf der Maur was recruited for the "Sacred and Profane" tour in support of the album and appeared in the videos accompanying its release."[63] On May 23, 2000, in a live radio interview on KROQ-FM (Los Angeles), Billy Corgan announced the band's decision to break up at the end of that year following additional touring and recording.[59] The group's final album before the break-up, Machina II/The Friends & Enemies of Modern Music, was released in September 2000 in a limited pressing on vinyl with permission and instructions for free redistribution on the Internet by fans."[70] On February 17, 2004, Corgan posted a message on his personal blog calling Wretzky a "mean-spirited drug addict" and blaming Iha for the breakup of the Smashing Pumpkins.The following month Corgan confirmed on the band's website that 19-year-old Spirits in the Sky drummer Mike Byrne had replaced Chamberlin and that the pair was working on new Pumpkins recordings.[111] On February 25, 2016, Corgan posted a video from a Los Angeles studio on the band's Facebook account, giving an update on the writing process for the new songs for the upcoming album to be released after the In Plainsong tour.[113] On his birthday on March 26, 2016, original guitarist James Iha joined Billy Corgan, Jimmy Chamberlin, and Jeff Schroeder on stage unannounced at the Ace Hotel in downtown Los Angeles.[125] Corgan released a statement denying the claims, stating "Ms. Wretzky has repeatedly been invited out to play with the group, participate in demo sessions, or at the very least, meet face-to-face, and in each and every instance she always deferred".[144] In late 2020, Corgan announced that the band had begun work on a double album to serve as a sequel to the overarching story of Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness and Machina: The Machines of God.[146] On February 22, 2022, the band announced on social media the Rock Invasion 2 Tour, which had previously been set to take place in spring 2020, postponed to fall 2020, and subsequently canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.The newly announced incarnation of the tour had entirely new locations spanning eleven US cities accompanying the band's spring festival appearances, and four performances in Mexico, their first since 2013.[153] In between the band's time in Mexico and Australia, they announced on March 28, 2023, that they would bring The World Is A Vampire to the United States and Canada as a summer tour across amphitheaters, indoor theaters, and one arena."[160] In June 2024, Corgan stated that the band had been spending the last 2 years working on a guitar-driven new studio album, partially in response to the negative reception of the emphasis of synthesizers on the Atum releases."[4] Melissa Auf der Maur commented upon news of the group's reunion, "Everyone knows Billy doesn't need too many people to make a Pumpkins record, other than Jimmy [Chamberlin]—who he has on board."[182] This use of multilayered sounds was inspired by Corgan's love of 1970s popular artists and bands such as David Bowie, Cheap Trick, Queen, Boston, and the Electric Light Orchestra,[181] as well as shoegaze, a British alternative rock style of the late 1980s and early 1990s that relied on swirling layers of guitar noise for effect.Mellon Collie coproducer Alan Moulder was originally hired to mix Siamese Dream because Corgan was a fan of his work producing shoegaze bands such as My Bloody Valentine, Ride, and Slowdive.Hüsker Dü's seminal album Zen Arcade demonstrated to the band how they could place gentler material against more aggressive fare,[4] and Corgan made such shifts in dynamics central to the pursuit of his grand musical ambitions."[185] This emphasis on atmosphere carried through to Adore (described as "arcane night music" in prerelease promotion)[186] and the Machina albums (concept records that tell the story of a fictional rock band)."[4] Still, some artists and bands have been influenced by the Pumpkins, such as Nelly Furtado,[194] Marilyn Manson,[195] Deftones,[196] Evanescence,[197] Third Eye Blind,[198] Mark Hoppus of Blink-182,[199] Tegan and Sara,[200] Fall Out Boy,[201] Rivers Cuomo,[202] M83,[203] Panic!
Jimmy ChamberlinBilly CorganJames IhaChicagoAlternative rockThe Smashing Pumpkins discographyCarolineConstantinopleVirginRepriseWarner Bros.Sub PopNapalmSumerianD'arcy WretzkyMelissa Auf der MaurMike ByrneNicole FiorentinoJeff Schroederseveral line-up changesgothic rockheavy metalgrungepsychedelic rockprogressive rockshoegazedream popelectronicaSiamese DreamMellon Collie and the Infinite SadnessBillboard 200DiamondRecording Industry Association of AmericaMachinaMachina IIZeitgeistTeargarden by KaleidyscopeOceaniaMonuments to an ElegyAghori Mhori MeiSt. Petersburg, Floridapaisleydrum machinethe CureNew OrderDan Reed NetworkCabaret MetroI Am OneTristessaCaroline RecordsButch VigSmart StudiosMadisonpsychedeliaJane's AddictionRhinocerosmodern rockLull EPVirgin RecordsRed Hot Chili PeppersGuns N' RosesNirvanaPearl JamMarietta, Georgiacareeristsindependent musicIndie rockPavement'sStephen MalkmusHüsker DüBob MouldMonkeesSteve AlbiniREO SpeedwagonFred ArmisenTrenchmouthCherub RockB-sidesPisces IscariotVieuphoriaAlan MoulderThe WallGeneration X1997 Grammy AwardBest Hard Rock PerformanceBullet with Butterfly WingsTonight, TonightCheap TrickThirty-ThreeThe Aeroplane Flies HighNassau ColiseumThe SimpsonsHomerpaloozaPoint TheatremoshingJonathan MelvoinMatt WalkerDennis FlemionDavid LynchLost HighwayThe End Is the Beginning Is the EndsoundtrackBatman & Robin1998 GrammyDodger StadiumLos Angelesthe BeatlesMachina/The Machines of GodSharon Osbourne ManagementJim DeRogatisteen popKROQ-FMMachina II/The Friends & Enemies of Modern MusicConstantinople RecordsLive at Cabaret Metro 10-5-88UntitledRotten ApplesJudas OGreatest Hits Video CollectionEarphoriasupergroupMary Star of the SeaGet ReadyBlinking with FistsTheFutureEmbracejazz fusion