Billy Corgan explains why he kept Smashing Pumpkins' name

Billy Corgan has taken to his band’s website to explain his decision to retain The Smashing Pumpkins name, despite him being the only original member left in the band.

“The idea of identity is a strange one to tackle,” he writes. “For many years, I treated the idea of the band named The Smashing Pumpkins as an existential concept that existed away from my being and body. It was sort of 'over there', if you will. Jimmy leaving in 1996 made me deal quite heavily with the concept of loyalty to the 2 members who were left (James and D'arcy) as our relationships at that time were quickly drifting apart. And so on, and so forth, thru the different people coming and going. In the center of any of it has been for me, speaking personally, my music. Yes, MY music. The music that came out of this being and body. I've called the umbrella the songs came out under different names but to me I guess there really wasn't a whole lot of difference. As they say, a song is a song.”

Corgan goes on to say he has “never been happier” in the band:

“I've never been happier about being in SP, or a part of SP, than I am now. The music I am making sounds like The Smashing Pumpkins. It doesn't sound like solo work, I can assure you of that. …Its been a long journey to get back to where I started. There have been many sad days along the road, but honestly, these are really happy days.

I will never say to you what people say to me all the time, which is that 'I am the band'. I am not 'the band', I am just the leader of the band. I only want people around me who respect me and my music. I think that is a healthy thing to want, and is consistent with the ideas of holistic living. What would you say about me if I worked with people who didn't care about me or my music? Isn't that a form of selling out? Love always from one of my 701 personalities, BC!”


--By our New York staff.
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