Percussion by committee? Chamberlin replacement(s) sought 4:07 am // Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Posted by jjb in band, billy corgan, news.trackback
In Billy Corgan’s invitation for “talented musicians to join him” there is an appeal to historical facts that may have influenced Corgan’s decision to take his search public:
When Jimmy [Chamberlin] originally auditioned for The Smashing Pumpkins, he was playing in a locally touring jazz band that was playing weddings and street fairs. It just goes to show that you never know where the next big talent will come from.
The talent and commitment to replace Chamberlin may not be found in any one person:
The Smashing Pumpkins are taking submissions for recording and touring drummers. There may be multiple positions open for this call for entries.
Applicants to become “part of a massive creative and progressive musical project with a rich 20-year history” are asked to submit a résumé, headshot, and audio and video samples. Can the resulting mound of material be well processed in the ten days leading up to the scheduled April 10 auditions in Los Angeles, or will those auditions (which of course may not be the only ones) proceed largely on some other basis?
sigh.
Yikes.
Jimmy Chamberlin is irreplaceable.
feels kinda surreal, but you know, if i lived in the states and if was a genius drummer without anything else to do, i’d be really excited right now.
Maybe it’ll be like the Adore-era live shows, with 2 or 3 drummers. I mean, that’s what it would take to equal Jimmy. Unless Neal Peart doesn’t feel like being in Rush anymore.
I think this is at least partly a matter of Corgan attempting to redefine what “The Smashing Pumpkins” is. Evidently he’s been trying to do that since the band reformed, which, I think, is what the Tarantula video was about. The last tour with a larger stage presence ties into that as well. The Smashing Pumpkins are whomever happens to be on stage at the time, and even prior to Chamberlin’s exit, included a pretty long list of people.
I don’t think it’s an ideal for Corgan–he’s said in the past his one regret about the Pumpkins was his inability to maintain a consistent line-up. But it’s the reality of the situation, and probably has been for quite a while, now.
[...] may “fill in on an interim basis.” Corgan says he will launch a fresh round of auditions to find more help: We were lucky enough to find drummer Mike Byrne through an open audition [...]