The Smashing Pumpkins

Smashing Pumpkins were an alternative rock band of the 1990s and early 21st century.

The band was formed in 1988 by Billy Corgan and James Iha, two aspiring musicians from Chicago, Illinois. After spending a number of months together Corgan and Iha recruited bass player D'Arcy Wretzky. Though they played their first gig with a drum machine, jazz drummer Jimmy Chamberlin joined after a local club owner booked the Pumpkins provided they threw out the drum machine and recruited a human drummer instead.

Gish (named after silent movie actress Lillian Gish) was a minor success, but the band's real commercial and critical breakthrough came in 1993, with the release of Siamese Dream. It was a huge success, and sold over four million copies in the United States alone. The follow up album was even bigger. A double album, running for over two hours, 1995's Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness sold over twelve million copies worldwide. The band's fortunes changed significantly on July 12, 1996, when tour keyboard player Jonathan Melvoin died of a heroin overdose in New York City, and Chamberlin was arrested for drug possession. Chamberlin was subsequently fired.

Though the band continued to record and tour, their profile had taken a significant downturn. 1998's Adore album was an audacious change of style (incorporating electronica and cutting back on guitar solos), yet was received mixed reactions from fans and critics alike. The return of a rehabilitated Jimmy Chamberlin for 2000's Machina/The Machines of God signaled a return to a more familiar Pumpkins sound, but failed to widely connect in the new age of a teen pop star-oriented music market.

The band's lineup changed again at this point - bass player D'Arcy Wretzky departed during the recording of Machina/The Machines of God and was replaced by Melissa Auf der Maur, formerly of alternative rock band Hole. Billy Corgan announced the band's decision to disband at the end of 2000 following additional touring and recording. The Smashing Pumpkins' final album, Machina II/Friends and Enemies of Modern Music, was distributed on the internet by fans for its release in September 2000. The Smashing Pumpkins' final commercial recording was a single, Untitled.

The Smashing Pumpkins won many awards during their careers (including two Grammy awards), went on several major tours, appeared on a few movie soundtracks and released an incredible number of songs in a fairly short time. After thirteen years together, on December 2, 2000 they played their final concert in the same Metro club which effectively started their career twelve years previously.

Discography

Gish (1991)
Lull (1991)
Siamese Dream (1993)
Pisces Iscariot (1994)
Earphoria (1994) (rereleased 2002)
Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness (1995)
The Aeroplane Flies High (1996)
Adore (1998)
Machina/The Machines of God (2000)
Machina II/Friends and Enemies of Modern Music (2000)
Rotten Apples (Greatest Hits) (2001)

Reference

Information partly taken from http://www.spfc.org/