Audition to Join the Smashing Pumpkins!
News
The Smashing Pumpkins' Billy Corgan
Another day, another lineup change with the Smashing Pumpkins -- but this time YOU could end up joining the ranks of the alt-rock band!
Billy Corgan announced today that bassist Ginger Pooley -- who replaced Melissa Auf der Maur when the Pumpkins "reunited" in 2007 -- has left the band to "to raise her new baby with her husband." So, The Bald One is launching a search for a new bassist the same way he found 20-year-old drummer Mike Byrne, who replaced founding drummer Jimmy Chamberlin when he left last year: by holding open auditions.
And the low-end isn't the only open spot in the Pumpkins' lineup. Corgan is also searching for a keyboardist who "can play in the prog-rock style of [Deep Purple's] Jon Lord and [Yes'] Rick Wakeman," an approach used by Corgan on the three new songs -- "A Song for a Son," "Widow Wake My Mind," and "A Stitch in Time" -- from SP's 44-track album, Teargarden by Kaleidyscope.
"We were lucky enough to find drummer Mike Byrne through an open audition process," Corgan said in a statement. "So why not open the doors again to anyone who might be interested for the bass or keyboard position. As you can see from our past and present, age, race, or a person's background is not an issue. Everyone is truly welcome to audition."
Until a new bassist is found, Mark Tulin of the Electric Prunes -- who joined Corgan and Dave Navarro's nine-piece ensemble Spirits In the Sky -- will fill in on a soon-to-be-announced world tour.
To audition, bassists and keyboardists should send their background info (including age, a resume of any bands/recorded work), photos, and performance web links via email to pumpkinsbass@gmail.com or pumpkinskeys@gmail.com. Only musicians with video clips can be considered. Final date for submission is March 31.
6 Comments
Click here to comment- Posted By idlehands237
03.10.10 10:50 PM
no thanks..I dont want to be in a smashing pumpkins cover band.
- Posted By Anonymous
03.09.10 7:02 PM
Anyone who finds this sad or being desperate for attention is more jaded and cynical than Billy. The Smashing Pumpkins aren't going to be a hugely popular band ever again. Plus, with Billy's history with the Pumpkins and Zwan, there probably aren't a lot of established artists who would still want to play with him. This seems like a fine enough idea for possibly finding some talented people who could use the exposure. Jimmy was a great drummer, but everything else was always Billy (or mostly Billy, and he definitely wrote the damn songs). Since he found a Jimmy style drummer all he's looking for are people to play what he tells them to play, anyway.
- Posted By Brady Hooch
03.09.10 4:44 PM
I'm standing here in a pair of tube socks. Get me a camera and some kind of music thingy- gimme dem 4 stringers
I got these socks on-
05.10.10 9:22 AM
SP was a legendary band and it won't ever come back....