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Billy Corgan Reconciles With Ex-Smashing Pumpkins Bassist D’arcy Wretzky, Addresses Reunion Rumors

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - APRIL 04: Billy Corgan of The Smashing Pumpkins performs in concert at The Beacon Theatre on April 4, 2016 in New York City. (Photo by Noam Galai/Getty Images)

At the top of the year, the answer to the question of whether the Smashing Pumpkins’ classic lineup would ever reunite was a hard no. Today, it’s a cautious maybe. Famously mercurial frontman Billy Corgan just revealed in a Facebook Live video that he’s reconciled with bassist D’arcy Wretzky, who he kicked out of the band back in 1999. The two haven’t spoken since the split.

“We’re back in contact again, the band,” Corgan said in the video, according to a transcript by Alternative Nation. “I’ve been in communication with D’arcy for the first time in 16 or 17 years, it’s awesome to have my friend back. So we’re all in communication, which as I said not too long ago, my primary interest in the old band was us having good relationships again.”

Corgan made sure to do some hype control when addressing the possibility of a reunion: “So of course when you get to the point where you’re in communication, and the relationships are good again, and it’s a good vibe, you yourself, and people around you who know what’s going on, start saying: ‘Is the band going to get back together?’ We’re not at that point, and I think that’s a good thing. We’re not rushing to something, we have to repair some things between us, and see what’s out there for us, if those opportunities are even there.

“We’re not interested, nor have we ever been interested, in just going out to play because there’s a big stack of money there. Of course the business is part of what goes on, but the band was never about that, and if the band should ever be again in that form, in some iteration, obviously because there’s other people involved, because it would be about the music.”

Corgan has been rebuilding relationships with his old bandmates over the past year. Former Pumpkin guitarist James Iha joined the Pumpkins’ current lineup (which includes original drummer Jimmy Chamberlin) onstage for a couple of shows this past spring. In May, Corgan wished Wretzky a happy birthday in a Facebook thank-you note. Watch Corgan’s ten-minute Facebook video below.