Smashing Pumpkins frontman Billy Corgan has gifted fans with great news today, confirming that the original lineup of the band are recording in the studio together- alongside none other than Rick Rubin.
Rumours of a reunion had been around for a while, since Corgan posted a photo of himself in a studio with both James Iha and Jimmy Chamberlin on his Instagram page, hinting at the good times the former bandmates had shared in the past.
Now, Corgan has taken to Instagram once again, with a lengthy and emotional post, featuring an image of himself when he was a lot younger; the picture shows him with a full head of hair, so is likely to be from around the time of the release of the band’s seminal Siamese Dream. You can check out the full post below, but what’s notable is the photo’s caption, which reads:
A post shared by WilliamPatrickCorgan (@williampcorgan) on
“I’ve had a crazy life. Good crazy, but crazy nonetheless. For example. I saw this picture of myself the other day. Besides having a generally good idea of when it was taken (1993 or 1994) I don’t remember actually taking the photo, nor do I remember countless others like it between the years 1991-2004. Now, perhaps that says something about my inability or desire to remember, but I’d argue it’s an unfortunate result of the blur of those years.
“Which leads me to this time, or this moment, where like so many, I share a window (curated as it is) into my crazy life. As an example, we are currently in the studio with Rick Rubin. But unless I show you a picture of Rick sitting Buddha-like at a mixing desk, you probably wouldn’t know that. Or when I, in a very naive way, post a shot with a needle in my arm and ramble on about making peace with God and time left on dear ‘ol Earth, it sent some signal to friends and associates alike that I was sick or wanted other’s sympathy. (As fact, it was an IV full of vitamins and homeopathy to assist in getting over this vicious flu).
“So yes, was sick, and no, not serious in any way nor would I share such info here because this window I’d prefer to be one where you see the sunlight streaming through. The only addendum to that is when I saw how others were reacting to their perception of my misguided and poorly worded message, I chose not to react in kind; in essence I let the shadows cast be whatever you-they-them want to believe.
“Because we live now in a world where perception often outweighs reality, and that’s fine. So to that, here’s a new pic I just took of me with my sandy-brown, curly hair flowing in the studio breeze. Lots of love, WPC.”
Notable by her absence was original bassist D’Arcy Wretzky, who has revealed that she won’t partaking in this prospective reunion, apologising to fans when speaking to BlastEcho, saying “My apologies to all of the Smashing Pumpkins fans out there who are excited about this oncoming reunion tour of the original members of the band.
“I know this is a huge disappointment for me, as well, but it’s not going to happen [with me].” Wretzky added that she had “only just found [out] yesterday that the band has decided to go with a different bass player.”
