Conventional wisdom would have it that Billy Corgan should be reassembling the classic lineup of The Smashing Pumpkins - James Iha, D'Arcy and Jimmy Chamberlin, along with himself - for a de rigueur 20th anniversary take-the-money-and-run tour.
As it turns out, that's the furthest thing from Corgan's mind. Rather than revisit the past, the Pumpkins mainman is putting together a new version of the band (Smashing Pumpkins Mark III?), which includes the recent hiring of 19-year-old Mike Byrne on drums (he replaces Chamberlin, who tendered his resignation last spring).
Doing the unexpected also extends to the mammoth album project Corgan is involved in, a planned 44-song set to be called Teargarden By Kaleidyscope.
Corgan is intent on releasing Teargarden one track at a time, as free downloads, starting in late October. "No strings attached, no e-mail address need be given, no fees, nothing, totally free," he says. "A 44-song free-for-all!"
The monolithic album will also be available physically: the format will be 11 EPs with four tracks each.
Corgan, who is working with Byrne, producer and drummer Kerry Brown and Mark Tulin on bass (the latter two haven't been specified as 'official' Smashing Pumpkins yet), sat down the other day with MusicRadar to give us an update on how everything is progressing.
"Currently we are up to 54 songs, which is overwhelming because I write them so fast I don't always remember what we did when we listen back" Billy Corgan
How would would say Mike Byrne is challenging you? Is it a kick in the pants to have somebody so young playing with you?
"Mike was coming in after a lot of the songs were already written, so at this point his role is being reactive to what was already there, which he is very naturally gifted at. He is a really good groove drummer and that alone is making me see different points to emphasize in my arrangements."
What kind of writing and demoing process are you following? To write and record 44 songs in a short period of time is a massive undertaking. Are some songs the result of jams? Do you have a backlog of material?
"Currently we are up to 54 songs, which is overwhelming because I write them so fast I don't always remember what we did when we listen back.
"I was mostly writing with the support of Kerry Brown on drums and Mark Tulin on bass. We would work together to create a strong frame of reference that would only hint at what the song 'could' be, and once found we'd move on to the next."
Of the new songs you've written, what's your favorite and why? Musically, what's it like? Can you describe the feeling you have when you play this song?
