Billy Corgan has revealed that he regrets splitting Smashing Pumpkins in 2000.
Smashing Pumpkins emerged from Chicago with a sound that blended the emerging grunge scene with British electro pop. Mixing electronica with rock, the band’s brooding sound made them one of the most popular rock acts in America during the 90s.
Drifting into more experimental realms, the band quit in 2000 following the online only release of ‘Machina II: The Friends & Enemies of Modern Music’. Reforming soon after, Billy Corgan has now revealed that he believes it was a mistake to break up Smashing Pumpkins.
“Breaking up the band was a mistake because I think it broke trust with the audience,” Corgan told Spinner.
“You had an audience that was very invested in that idea – whether they were invested in the people or the idea or the songs, I don’t know. Like a relationship that you break off from and then try to pick back up, it’s never quite the same.”
Billy Corgan claimed that while the line up had changed Smashing Pumpkins can still be “as good” as their early 90s peak. “It doesn’t mean it can’t be as good, but it has to be different,” he stated.
“That beautiful original feeling got lost in the interim of being away. If we had said, ‘We just went away for seven years’, it would have been similar, but somehow breaking up, there’s a violence to it.”
Smashing Pumpkins are currently completing their ambitious new album ‘Teargarden By Kaleidyscope’ – amounting to some 44 tracks the record will be released online one song at a time.
