The Interview that shocked Rock Culture "The Smashing Pumpkins are breaking up" - Music

This is the Whole Interview in which billy corgan told the world on KROQ that the Smashing Pumpkins were breaking up:
Tami: It is 106.7 KROQ, K-R-O-Q. I am still Tami Heide and joining us here in the KROQ studios is Billy Corgan of the Smashing Pumpkins. How are you Billy?
Billy: Fine, thank you Tami.

Tami: Nice to see you once again

Billy: Nice to see you, too. Sorry I'm late.

Tami: Um, I'm sure you have a good excuse

Billy: Actually, I don't. We got lost

Tami: Oh, no way, you've been here so many times... I don't believe that for a second. Last time we saw you was a cold rainy day, you were playing outside the Virgin Megastore. Today it's a cold day (laughter)... what's up with that?

Billy: It's the weather, it's the black cloud that hangs over our band.

Tami: Is it? It's like the character from Peanuts. So, um...You're playing tonight - a sold out show,

Billy: Yes.

Tami: Universal Amphitheater

Billy: Very excited...

Tami: Um...we're very excited to see you. I've been reading all the postings on your new website, smashingpumpkins.com. And there seems to be all these little cryptic clues and things...

Billy: Right

Tami: ...going on...

Billy: Right, well this, you know, the album is sort of a concept album, so I think as time goes by people are figuring out more and more of the story. Um... but I fell like I'm still leading them by the nose a little bit, but...

Tami: Yeah, I think you really are. I think people are clueless, because I was reading some of the postings, and uh... 'cause there was this news about, uh Darcy,

Billy: Right

Tami: ...getting uh, you know, uh the charges the charges against her dropped and people are saying, 'Oh she's re-joining the band. She's gonna play keyboards. And Melissa's gonna stay on' and the bla, and then it deteriorated into 'Melissa versus Darcy'.

Billy: Right. I can deny that rumor. That's not going to happen.

Tami: It's not gonna happen?

Billy: No

Tami: No. It's all Mickey Rourke and plastic surgery and we can't quite figure out what's going on with that. But I guess she's pursuing an acting career is what we hear.

Billy: Yes.

Tami: Okay. So everything...

Billy: That's all I know.

Tami: That's all you know, too? You just read the... what?...the tabloids?

Billy: Um, I get the uh, 'Alternative Inquirer'

Tami: (laughter) Okay. I don't know where you subscribe to that but... Um, so the Sacred and Profane tour...

Billy: Yes.

Tami: It's what, about halfway through?

Billy: Um, no. We have maybe 4 more dates in America.

Tami: Okay.

Billy: And then um, so um, and then we're gonna go to Japan, Europe, and then after that, we don't know what we're gonna do.

Tami: Okay, so the website kept alluding to some big announcement or something...

Billy: Right. Um, it's true I am here to finally announce that the band is going to break-up at the end of this year.

Tami: Why?

Billy: That's a very good question. Um, we felt that before the start of this album that we had sort of come to the end of our, sort of, road - emotionally, spiritually, musically. So we wanted to make one more album, together. That was the intention of getting Jimmy back in the band was to make one more album and sort of end on a good note - you know, between each other, more importantly than the public part of it.

Tami: So making the album together, and also that included Darcy 'cause she was involved?...

Billy: Yeah

Tami: ...in this album?

Billy: Absolutely.

Tami: Right

Billy: Um, unfortunately that situation didn't work out um, the way we'd hoped but, we still got to be together and make music again together and um... you know, we didn't, we didn't sort of, want to tell people when the album came out that the, this was the band's last album 'cause we didn't want it to become all about that. But the rumors have dogged us to the point where it's almost becoming, sort of it's like a cl..., speaking of a cloud, it sort of hangs over everything, so I think the time has come to let people know that this is the end, and...

Tami: We can't figure out your obtuse messages, your postings...

Billy: Well, they'll make more sense now.

Tami: Okay so now all the clues come together. I can't believe that you're breaking up with us though, right before the prom and everything, I mean...

Billy: We're not breaking-up today, we're breaking-up soon.

Tami: Okay, so...

Billy: But I, I sort of wanted to sort of give people a little 'heads up' before we do these last shows in America because they quite possibly could be our last shows. We, we would like to do a tour at the end as sort of a, a 'see you later, farewell, sayonara' tour, but, um, you know the way things are right now, you know, it's really hard to say. It's not...there's nothing wrong inside the band, but the way, the way the culture is and stuff, it's really hard to, you know, uh, keep trying to fight the good fight against the, the 'Britneys' and the, of the world...

Tami: Yeah, you were the guys that were supposed to save Rock.

Billy: Yeah, we did a bad job (Tami's laughter). We did a very bad job.

Tami: Well, I don't know...

Billy: Yeah I'm still, I'm still excited. I still believe that there's still um you know, things left to go. We're gonna make another video for, um, um our next sort of 'video song' uh, which is gonna be 'try' and um, you know, we have some other things, uh, to do, we still want to do some more recordings and th..., there's things we want to do. But it's sort of reached that point where, um, you know, it's so much in the air, all the time and I get asked 45 times a day, 'is it true? is it true?', so... And it's hard for me, I'm, I'm a pretty honest person, it's hard for me to not tell people the truth, you know, it's time to tell the truth, and let the truth be known I guess.

Tami: Alright, well listen, um, since you just dropped this big bomb, here on KROQ...

Billy: Actually, I blame you...

Tami: (laughter) Why is it my fault? Why you wanna hate me?

Billy: Cause, cause you, the last time I spoke to you, you said, 'You guys should go back to that 'Gish' thing'

Tami: Did I say that? No I don't think I said that at all.

Billy: That's, that's always the thing I hate the most.

Tami: No, I don't, in fact I, actually the last time I talked to you it was right before Thanksgiving and you kind of told me that that was the plan.

Billy: Right, and I swore you to secrecy, too.

Tami: Yes you did, yes you did. And it was hard to keep that secret.

Billy: But see, this is perfect now...

Tami: I didn't believe you. I sort of went in to a state of denial.

Billy: Oh, okay, but see this is good because you can confirm that, that we were going to break up before this album came out.

Tami: Yes

Billy: You're my sort of, 'secret witness'

Tami: Wow. I feel proud, honored and kind of scared at that. (Billy laughs) That's a big responsibility. I don't know if I'm up to the task.

Billy: No, you were fine.

Tami: Okay, I know that we have some, uh, tickets to give away to tonight's sold out show. I know that we have a couple more songs to play, and I don't know if you want to take any phone calls, but why don't we play another song from the Pumpkins and uh, let Billy talk into the Jed The Fish Show, what the hell.

Billy: Yeah, he doesn't deserve to talk anyway (Tami laughs), he's talked enough.

Tami: Well, you know, (laughing) whatever...

Billy: I'll wrestle him when he comes in.

Tami: I don't know what to say to that.

('Stand Inside Your Love' begins)

Tami: So, 1-800-520-1067, is the phone number here at KROQ if you have some questions here for Billy. If you want to cry, we have tissues.

Billy: No tears

Tami: Alright

('Stand Inside Your Love' plays, ends)

Tami: Hey, it's 1-0-6.7 KROQ, K-R-O-Q. Billy Corgan is our guest from the Smashing Pumpkins and he just... I had a bad dream a couple minutes ago that you just told me that the band is breaking up (Billy laughs).

Billy: It's not true.

Tami: It's not true?

Billy: No, it is true.

Tami: It is true?

Billy: Yeah.

Tami: You're confusing me, I'm blonde that's not fair (Billy laughs) No, so uh, you finally told the truth basically is the uh....

Billy: Yeah we've sort of, you know, we thought about telling people right when the album was gonna come out, but then we thought then that it would just be all about that and not about the music and not about the album. So, now that the album's been out, it's, you know, it's fine.

Tami: It's cool?

Billy: Yeah

Tami: Okay. Um, hmm....alright, um, you wanna talk to some people?

Billy: Sure, sure.

Tami: 'Cause people have some, uh questions here at KROQ.

Sign Guestbook

View Guestbook

PsikoTherapy@aol.com

Visitors: 00793

Page Updated Sun May 28, 2000 10:57pm EDT