Jeff Schroeder: “It’s not supposed to be like this.” 3:18 pm // Tuesday, November 8, 2011
Posted by susan in interview, jeff schroeder.trackback
KoreAm, a “monthly magazine that covers and analyzes the news, culture, entertainment, sports, politics and people of Korean America,” has released a new interview with Smashing Pumpkins guitarist Jeff Schroeder (who is of Korean descent). In the interview, which took place just before the Pumpkins’ 2011 live debut in Los Angeles, Schroeder discusses the Pumpkins’ upcoming album and the band’s current interpersonal dynamic, among other topics.
On his relationship with Billy Corgan:
“When I first joined the band, it was really awkward. I understood it was definitely going to be more of a professional thing. A true friendship [with Billy] grew over years. Going through things like Jimmy leaving and playing hundreds of shows together and going through the ups and downs of being in a band. And through the consistency of being there for each other, we’ve actually developed a very true and real friendship.”
On Oceania as a “make-or-break” album for the band:
“Not that we won’t play as a band anymore if the record isn’t a hit. We just have to re-evaluate how we function. Because maybe we won’t do it full-time anymore. The pressure has been on us to make really high-quality music to put us in a position to thrive at the level we want to. That’s more what we meant, not that we’re going to break up if this doesn’t do well.”
Schroeder also mentions he needs to finish his dissertation within the next year. Good luck in the trenches, Jeff! ;)
Nice interview with “The Shredder.” Don’t think the James bashing was necessary.
seems like an interesting guy – and he adds a lot to the band. it’d be interesting to know what guitar parts he comes up with in the newer songs.
It’s KoreAm not KoreanAm.
Sincerely,
butthurt KoreAm editor
oh yeah…
Photo credit: Jeff Liu
–bKe
@susan Oh no you HipDidn’t
That’s a weird article.
Right on- good article, I liked it
james who?
@patj825 Agreed. Let Jeff stand on his own merits, not as some “better than James” gimmick. Other than that, good article.
ok so if i read this correctly if oceania is a flop then the pumpkins may become a part time band and that would likely mean one tbk track per year.?o
^lol. Would hate to see what part time means for TbK….
Really interesting/fun article though. Glad to hear all’s well in Pumpkin Land. Also excitted for a less heavy album…I’m thinking Adore, with a little more badassity…
@Johnny I doubt a comparison with Adore would stand, judging from what we’ve heard so far. The Siamese Dreams comparison seems more likely. Compared to Mellon Collie and even Gish, Siamese comes off almost a bit mellow. Production-wise at least.
@Is he one, I mean maybe more in terms of vibe? I know that Quasar and Panopticon both have a lot of Gish elements (eg. cool guitar interlude in Quasar) and I hear a little Rocket in Panopticon. But My Love is Winter, Oceania, and Pale Horse all have a dark, heartbroken vibe that I tend to assossiate with the Adore period (though not strictly with the album itself, but also the live versions, demos, outtakes, etc.), and Jeff and Billy’s comments about sad but spiritual reinforce that for me. But I definatly agree, hink a lot of different studio treatments could take these songs in a lot of different directions.
Call it wishful thinking, I freaking love Adore :P
You are right though, Siamese has that, dare I say…dreamy quality? :P
@Johnny I understand what you mean. I would also love a mix between Adore and Gish/SD
[...] while bandleader Billy Corgan writes works on his memoirs. (Guitarist Jeff Schroeder is presumably furiously trying to finish his dissertation.) I’d thought I’d try to compile some videos and articles you may have missed in the [...]