Billy Corgan, the founder and frontman of Smashing Pumpkins, said in a recent interview that the band’s fate will rely in the success of the near future. Keep reading to learn more about Corgan’s comments.
Corgan did an interview with The Chicago Tribune in which he said, “”When this [new album] process is over, I’m either going to bail on this ship for good, like ‘I’m done,’ or I’m going to have a new ship to sail on.”
The lead vocalist was referring to the band’s two upcoming albums and the idea that the response to those records will decide the future of Smashing Pumpkins. It has been seven years since the group got back together after they went on hiatus in 2000.
“To go back under the Smashing Pumpkins name engendered a lot of people expecting us to be nothing more than a reunion band, playing its greatest hits, and with a fan base not particularly keen to listen to the new music,” he said. “What I try to tell people that get caught up in the reunion kind of concepts — like where are the original members and stuff like this — the band was founded on an idea that it must be progressive and it must always be moving forward.”
In addition, Corgan admitted that getting fans to listen to the new music from the band has been tough: “How do you say, ‘I still matter’? How do you say, ‘How does one of my contemporaries get treated like a contemporary artist, and how do I get treated like I’m supposed to play ‘Siamese Dream’ for the rest of my life?’ At some point you’ve got to fight this fight or go away.”
Monuments for an Elegy, the first of the two new albums, is expected for release in early 2015, while the second, Day For Night, will follow later that year. Monuments for an Elegy will also feature Mötley Crüe’s Tommy Lee on drums.
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