SMASHING PUMPKINS
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SMASHING PUMPKINS

IT ALL BEGAN IN THE LATE 1980'S WHEN BILLY CORGAN MET JAMES IHA VIA A MUTUAL FRIEND. THEY BEGAN PLAYING TOGETHER, AND SOON GOT A BAND TOGETHER. BILLY ON BASS AND SINGING AND JAMES ON GUITAR.
THE TWO PERFORMED A FEW SMALL VENUES WITH A DRUM MACHINE, UNTIL BILLY MET D'ARCY.
BILLY AND D'ARCY MET OUTSIDE A CLUB IN CHICAGO AFTER A BAND HAD BEEN PLAYING. D'ARCY WAS HAVING A CONVERSATION WITH SOMEONE ELSE ABOUT HOW GOOD THE BAND INSIDE HAD PLAYED, BILLY OVERHEARD AND DISAGREED. THE TWO GOT INTO AN ARGUMENT ABOUT IT. DURING THIS ARGUMENT D'ARCY LET IT SLIP THAT SHE PLAYED BASS, AND IMMEDIATELY BILLY STOPPED THE ARGUMENT AND ASKED HER TO COME AND PLAY FOR THEM
THE THREE BEGAN PRACTISING TOGETHER, AND DEVELOPED A GOOD SOUND, BUT THEY WERE STILL MISSING A DRUMMER AND PLAYED THEIR EARLY GIGS WITH A DRUM MACHINE.
THE BAND WERE OFFERED A FAIRLY LARGE GIG IN CHICAGO AS LONG AS THEY GOT A DRUMMER TO PLAY INSTEAD OF A MACHINE.
THEY DID SO, IN CAME JIMMY CHAMBERLIN, HE LOOKED NOTHING LIKE WHAT THE BAND WANTED, BUT HE PLAYED BRILLIANTLY, AND SO WAS ACCEPTED.
THE BAND WAS SOON ASKED TO OPEN A GIG FOR JANE'S ADDICTION.
THE GIG WAS SUPERB AND THE BAND SOON GOT A RECORD COMPANY AND AN ALBUM TOGETHER.
IN 1991 GISH WAS RELEASED AND SOON SOLD A MILLION COPIES WORLDWIDE. IT BECAME ONE OF THE BEST ALBUMS OF THE YEAR, WHICH IS GOOD BECAUSE IT WAS ALSO THE YEAR WHEN THE LEGENDARY NEVERMIND WAS RELEASED.
THE BAND EMBARKED ON A TOUR. IT WAS NOT PARTICULARLY WONDERFUL FOR THE BAND, AS D'ARCY AND JAMES' RELATIONSHIP HAD ENDED AND THE TWO WERE ARGUING A LOT. ADDED TO THAT WAS BILLY'S SELF-DOUBT, HE WAS BECOMING DEPRESSED AND THOUGHT EVERYTHING HE WAS DOING WAS WRONG.
THE BAND STILL PLAYED ON THE TOUR WELL, AND WERE CONSTANTLY IMPROVING ALONG THE WAY.
TWO YEARS OF CONSTANT TOURING LATER, THE BAND DECIDE TO SETTLE DOWN TO WORK AGAIN.
BILLY HAD FINALLY GOTTEN OVER HIS DEPRESSION AND RELEASED HIS ANGER THROUGH HIS SONGS. A LOT OF THE SONGS ON SIAMESE DREAM POINT TO BILLY'S DEPRESSION AND HOW HE WAS ABUSED AS A CHILD. THERE WAS STILL TENSION BETWEEN JAMES AND D'ARCY AT THIS POINT, SO THE MAJORITY OF GUITAR PARTS ON THE ALBUM WERE PLAYED BY BILLY HIMSELF.
THE ALBUM WAS A HUGE SUCCESS AROUND THE WORLD, IT HELPED BILLY THROUGH DEPRESSION AND WRITER'S BLOCK AND SOLD MILLIONS AROUND THE WORLD.
THE BAND TOURED AGAIN, SUCCESSFULLY TO SOLD OUT SHOWS ACCROSS THE WORLD.
IN 1993 BILLY MARRIED HIS LONGTERM GIRLFRIEND CHRIS, AND THANKED HER ON SIAMESE DREAM, BUT THE COUPLE AS A MARRIAGE DIDN'T LAST LONG, THEY SPLIT UP, AND IN 1996 THEY DIVORCED AND BILLY DECLARED THAT HE WANTED THE MARRIAGE TO BE WIPED CLEAN AND TO HAVE NEVER HAPPENED.
ANYWAY, BACK TO THE BAND.
IN 1995 THE BAND BEGAN RECORDING ONCE MORE. THIS TIME FOR MELLON COLLIE AND THE INFINITE SADNESS. THE BAND RECORDED WAY TOO MANY SONGS FOR THE ALBUM AND DECIDED TO CREATE A DOUBLE CD. EVERYONE TOLD BILLY THAT HE COULDN'T DO THAT AND IT WAS BEING BIG HEADED, THEY TOLD HIM THE BAND WASN'T ESTABLISHED ENOUGH YET, BUT THEY WENT AHEAD AND RELEASED THE ALBUM AND IT WAS A HUGE SUCCESS. EVEN BIGGER THAN SIAMESE DREAM.
YEAH, YEAH, YOU KNOW WHAT'S COMING NEXT, THEY TOURED. OF COURSE THIS TOUR WAS DIFFERENT. IT INVOLVED THE DEATH OF A KEYBOARD PLAYER AND THE EXIT OF JIMMY. ONE NIGHT IN NEW YORK, THE BAND WERE VERY SUCCESSFUL, ONE OF THE MOST SUCCESSFUL AROUND. THEN AFTER A GIG, JIMMMY CHAMBERLIN, AND TOURING KEYBOARDIST JOHN MELVOIN DECIDED TO GET HIGH. A PARTICULARLY LETHAL STRAIN OF HEROIN WAS AROUND IN NEW YORK, THE TWO GOT SOME, WENT BACK TO THEIR HOTEL ROOM, AND TOOK IT. JIMMY WAS ARRESTED THE NEXT MORNING, AND THROWN FROM THE BAND, HE HAD BEEN WARNED BEFORE THAT IF YOU MESS WITH DRUGS, THEN YOU'RE OUT. JOHN MELVOIN WAS FOUND DEAD, AND A FEW YEARS LATER HIS WIFE SUED THE BAND.
THE REST OF THE MELLON COLLIE TOUR WAS FILLED IN BY A FEW DRUMMERS.
THE NEXT ALBUM WAS A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT ALBUM THAN THE BAND HAD DONE BEFORE, AFTER BILLY HAD TOLD PEOPLE THAT "ROCK WAS DEAD", HE HAD TO BACK IT UP. THE NEXT ALBUM WAS VERY DIFFICULT TO MAKE, THE BAND USED SEVERAL DRUMMERS, WROTE TOO MANY SONGS, AND HAD MANY PROBLEMS WITH PRODUCERS AND RECORDING.
THE ALBUM LOOKED TO BE ANOTHER DOUBLE ALBUM, BUT IDEAS WERE QUASHED QUICKLY. THE BAND RECORDED A FEW SONGS AT ONE PLACE, THEN BILLY DECIDED THAT THE SONGS WEREN'T GOOD ENOUGH AND THE QUALITY WAS CRAP, SO THEY LEFT AND MOVED TO ANOTHER STUDIO AND PRODUCER. WHAT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE A SHORT PROJECT, TURNED INTO A LONGER AND LONGER ONE, BUT FINALLY AFTER GOING INTO THE STUDIO IN 1997, THE BAND EMERGED WITH ADORE IN 1998.
BILLY THOUGHT THE FANS WOULD LOVE THE ALBUM, BUT SALES FLOPPED. NO-ONE LIKED THE SUDDEN CHANGE OF THE BAND AND WANTED THE OLD PUMPKINS STUFF BACK, NEVERTHELESS, THE BAND TOURED.
DURING THIS TOUR D'ARCY LEFT. SHE HAD HAD MANY PROBLEMS, AND DURING THE TOUR SHE JUST SAID SHE WAS LEAVING, AND SHE DID. HER REPLACEMENT WAS MELISSA AUF DER MAUR FROM HOLE.
THE TOUR HAD MANY DRUMMERS, AS DID THE ALBUM, BUT EVENTUALLY JIMMY CAME BACK!!!
THE SHOW WENT ON AND AGAIN THE BAND ENTERED TO RECORD MACHINA, THEN TOURED, THEN WENT BACK TO RECORD MACHINA II AS A FINAL FUCK YOU TO THE RECORD COMPANY.
MACHINA II WAS MADE AND GIVEN TO SEVERAL PEOPLE TO DISTRIBUTE OVER THE INTERENET.
THAT WAS IT. THE END OF THE SMASHING PUMPKINS, UNTIL NOVEMBER 2001 WHEN THE GREATEST HITS ALBUM - ROTTEN APPLES - WAS RELEASED.
OF COURSE THE BAND MEMBERS EACH HAVE THEIR OWN THINGS NOW.
BILLY AND JIMMY ARE IN ZWAN
MELISSA AND JAMES ARE IN THEIR OWN BAND
JAMES ALSO HAS SEVERAL SOLO PROJECTS
MELISSA ALSO HAS A PHOTOGRAPHY BOOK TO APPEAR
D'ARCY HAS KEPT A LOW PROFILE SINCE LEAVING
AND BILLY HAS ALSO DONE SOME SOLO STUFF, INCLUDING DUETS WITH MARIANNE FAITHFUL AND TOURING AMERICA WITH NEW ORDER.
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