Smashing Pumpkins FAQ v4.70 Welcome to the Smashing Pumpkins Frequently Asked Questions file! Changes/updates from the previous release are marked by a '*'. Please read this entire FAQ before posting on the newsgroup or Listessa. It contains an extremely large amount of information compiled over several years, and reading it will save a lot of time covering basic info. :-) If you're new to the internet or simply haven't read them yet, *PLEASE* read the articles in the newsgroup "news.announce.newusers". They contain a LOT of helpful information about Netiquette, how newsgroups work, finding appropriate places to post, how to create meaningful messages, where to find tons of info, and much more. -Every- net user should read and be familiar with these. If you have any additions for the FAQ, please e-mail me at faq@spfc.org. Thanks. To be sent the full version of the FAQ via e-mail, send a blank message to faq-me@spfc.org. -= Table of Contents=- 0. Legal Disclaimer 1. General 1.1 Who are these Smashing Pumpkins? 1.2 General newsgroup/list info 1.3 Getting on and off Listessa 1.4 General netiquette 1.4a Flamewars and crossposting 1.4b Posting pictures/sounds (binaries) in Discussion Groups 1.5 Appropriate Subject lines 1.6 Acronyms, abbreviations, and common definitions* 1.6a "Singles" - radio vs CDS/7" etc. 1.7 "ObSP" - obligatory on-topicness 1.8 Things NOT to ask or bring up/threads which go nowhere 1.9 Validity of information 2. Songs/Albums 2.1 Short discography 2.2 Finding lyrics* 2.3 Guitar/bass tablature* 2.3a Piano scores 2.4 Cover songs 2.5 Unreleased Songs 2.5a 'Mashed Potatoes' box set 2.6 Where to find given songs 2.7 Short guide to radio songs 2.8 Songs sung by other members* 2.9 "Secret" messages/sounds* 2.10 Song/album meanings 2.11 Vieuphoria/Earphoria - extra/unreleased songs 2.12 Differences between releases 2.12a Gish - original/remastered 2.12b Siamese Dream - clean/explicit version, import 2.12c Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness - 3LP 2.12d Ava Adore - 7" single 2.12e Earphoria - promo/bootleg 2.12f Import/domestic singles 2.12g Vinyl - variant B-sides 2.13 Common/recurring lyrics 2.14 Photos/Cover art 2.15 mp3s 3. Band Info 3.1 Origin of name 3.2 First appearance 3.3 Short Bios 3.4 Recording Sessions 3.5 Is Billy left-handed or right-handed? 3.6 Equipment* 3.6a Special Effects 3.6b E-Bow 3.7 Personal info for the prying fan 3.8 Silly rumors (Small Wonder, Sea Monkeys, etc.) 3.9 SP Fan Club 3.10 Contacting the band 4. Merchandise 4.1 Pricing/finding rarities 4.2 Books 4.3 T-Shirts 4.4 Videos 4.5 "Bootlegs" 4.6 Trading 4.7 Tape Trees 5. News/Info/Net Resources 5.1 Brief history/landmark events 5.2 Double Door info 5.3 The keyboard/drummer events 5.4 Tour Info* 5.5 IRC Info 5.6 Web links for cool stuff* 6. Miscellaneous/Semi-Related 6.1 '666' Bootleg video 6.2 Starchildren 6.3 Catherine 6.4 The Frogs 6.5 Scratchie Records 6.7 Cabal (...) / Junta (...) 7. Conclusion 7.1 Acknowledgments 7.2 Disclaimer 0. Legal Disclaimer The Smashing Pumpkins FAQ is copyright (c) 1999 by Mike Hamilton. It is freely distributable online through Usenet, email, and ftp. It may not be used for commercial purposes, nor may any charge be imposed for its distribution. Mass distribution or otherwise non-personal use prohibited without consent. If you wish to use part of this in an article or publication, please CONTACT me first, or at least include my name as a reference for where you found the info - it does take work to compile and maintain this information, and I'd like to be credited as such if you decide to use it. :-) Offers for translations are welcome. Links to the main URL are welcome, but I'd prefer that copies not be kept on other sites, so that the most current version is always the one available. Please just link to the main URL, http://www.spfc.org/faq.txt Overall, though, give credit where it's due. Thanks. 1. General 1.1 Who are these Smashing Pumpkins? The Smashing Pumpkins are perhaps one of the most successful "alternative" bands of today. Chances are, if you've ever watched MTV or listened to the radio more than once or twice, you've either seen one of their videos or heard one of their songs. The band consists of Billy Corgan on lead vocals & guitar, James Iha on guitar, and D'Arcy on bass. The touring drummer was Kenny for the 'Adore' tour was Kenny Aronoff, formerly of John Mellencamp fame, who joined them during the spring of 1998. The band recently has re-hired drummer Jimmy Chamberlin, who was fired in July of 1996 after a drug overdose that also claimed the life of Jonathan Melvoin. See section 5.2 for more details. The Pumpkins have won many awards, gone on several major tours, appeared on several movie soundtracks, and released a rather large number of songs in a fairly short time. Keep on reading for tons of info! 1.2 General newsgroup/list info The Smashing Pumpkins newsgroup, alt.music.smash-pumpkins, and the mailing list, Listessa, are primarily places to discuss the Smashing Pumpkins. However, not every post/message will be. Topics range from lyrical discussions to new song info, personal SP stories, and even more general social interaction. Try to stay as much on-topic as possible, and if a thread develops that you aren't interested in, ignore it- it will die out eventually. Complaining about certain threads usually just makes matters worse by prolonging them and generating meta-threads. 1.3 Getting on and off Listessa First, make sure the list is operational. You can do this by checking the Official Listessa/SPIFC Web Site at http://www.spifc.org/spifc/ and checking to see if there's a smiley face or a sad face. Click on the face for more info and special instructions. To subscribe to Listessa, send a message to listproc@cc.umanitoba.ca with the following message body: subscribe smashing-pumpkins (your name) Insert your name (omit parentheses) and disregard the subject line. If all goes well, you will soon get a welcome message, which will include the Listessa FAQ, also available at http://www.spfic.org/spifc/ READ THIS! It contains the rules & guidelines of the list, as well as other special instructions. To post a message to the list, simply reply to any of its messages, or start a new message addressed to: smashing-pumpkins@cc.umanitoba.ca Please quote only what is necessary, not entire digests. :-) Here's how to unsubscribe, straight from the Listessa FAQ: To unsubscribe from the SP mailing list, send a letter to listproc@cc.umanitoba.ca (*NOT* smashing-pumpkins@cc.umanitoba.ca ) with the following, and *ONLY* the following, in the body of the letter: unsub smashing-pumpkins Do *NOT* include your e-mail address, a signature file, the name of your pet hamster, or any other information in the letter. Please note: after you unsubscribe, you will receive a letter saying 'Thanks for being with us.' You may still receive a few letters from the list after this. Do not be alarmed, this is normal. If, a day later, you are still getting letters, and you are sure you have followed the instructions correctly, feel free to write Karl_Daher@mbnet.mb.ca for help. Karl logs in one or two times a day to maintain the list. Do NOT post a message to the list asking how to get off, or to be taken off. It's very annoying, and will not work. For more info, check the Listessa web site or send a message with the body "help" to listproc@cc.umanitoba.ca 1.4 General netiquette First off, read news.announce.newusers, taking special note at the posts dealing with Usenet and Netiquette. If you have general questions after reading these, check in news.newusers.questions. Rules that apply everywhere: Do not post "Make Money Fast" or any of its variants. Yes, it really is illegal (even though some copies say it's not, and even give a legal code to refer to), and it's just plain annoying. Also, do not post advertisements unless they're clearly on-topic and posted ONCE. See "Advertising on Usenet: How To Do It, How Not To Do It" in, once again, news.announce.newusers Overall, keep in mind that many people read and post, and that people have different opinions. Don't start yelling at someone simply because they don't agree with you or have the same tastes & opinions. Avoid bashing new fans. Unless you've been attached to Billy's hip since birth, there's someone out there that's known about them longer than you have, too. Everyone has to start somewhere. A nice, polite reference to the FAQ and appropriate web sites would suffice. :-) Also, please READ the messages before writing. If there's been a recent announcement, someone's probably already posted it. Check the thread to see how many replies there are before simply putting up another copy of the same info- it'll save your time as well as ensuring that others won't have to read it more than once. Threaded newsreaders are definitely a plus here. :-) 1.4a Flamewars and crossposting On Usenet, be sure to check the "Newsgroups:" line if something seems unusually strange or off-topic. Things like "What is the best alternative band of the 90s?" (usually in caps) are giveaways, and are simply posted to many newsgroups (cross-posted) to start people arguing. Many people demand to know why a post about another band is in "their" newsgroup without realizing that it's in the other as well. If you reply to a cross-post, remove the other newsgroups from the "Newsgroups:" line, so that it doesn't go to every other group. Flamewars erupt often, and there's little that can be done about it. The best thing you can possibly do is ignore it. Some people just say something extremely rude and then leave immediately, so they won't even see your reply. Others will just TRY to get you pissed off at them and generate angry replies. If you must reply, do it over email. If it continues to bother you and won't go away, killfile that thread, or just don't read it. Just don't feed the fire. Likewise, don't start flames, as they're obviously not on-topic. Sure, you can yell "BUSH SUCKS!" and get a lot of people to agree with you, but some people won't. Besides that, it's alt.music.smash-pumpkins, not alt.flame.bush (or Manson, or Spice Girls, or Hanson, etc.). If someone casually mentions liking a band that you don't, explain why if you must, but don't simply yell "They fucking suck!" and leave it at that. Such pointless arguments go nowhere. 1.4b Posting pictures/sounds (binaries) in Discussion Groups This is a huge breach of netiquette. DO NOT, under any circumstances post any form of binary file (that includes pictures, sounds, or any other such files) into Discussion Groups such as alt.music.smash-pumpkins A binary group for the such things has been created for that purpose. The name is alt.binaries.smash-pumpkins. Post the picture there, then post to alt.music.smash-pumpkins referring people to the binary group. 1.5 Appropriate Subject lines Use appropriate subject lines whenever starting a new thread. It's much easier to decide whether you want to read "Wanted: Siamese Singles box set" than "Re: Smashing Pumpkins Digest #342". Be specific. Also, the use of certain indicators can be quite helpful. Josh Sherman suggested the use of "Tan:" to precede any subject that doesn't directly deal with SP (a tangent thread), so those who don't wish to read such messages can easily identify and skip over them. Other helpful headers are as follows: FS: For Sale (for Listessa, use the marketplace- details in the List FAQ) Lyr: New lyrics Req: Request for info, tab, lyrics, etc. (please check the FAQ and web sites first, as there is a LOT already out there that's just waiting to be found and looked up- it's not hard to find) Tab: Tablature Q: Question WTB: Wanted To Buy (indicates that you want something) Other pre-subject headers can be helpful, such as "Announcement:" or "New Site:". Just be specific in indicating what the message is about. Do NOT use misleading subject lines just to get people to read your post, though- messages with subjects like "Free surprise concert at Metro this weekend!" or "Billy dies in car accident" that start out with "Now that I got you to read this..." usually don't get read much further and usually just tend to piss people off. 1.6 Acronyms, abbreviations, and common definitions* Common SP-related/song acronyms: ------------------------ AA - Ava Adore (Adore song/single) amsp - alt.music.smash-pumpkins, the newsgroup BC - Billy Corgan BwBW - Bullet with Butterfly Wings (MCIS song/single) CR - Cherub Rock (SD song/single) DD - Double Door, a bar in Chicago (see 5.2) ITAOS - In the Arms of Sleep (MCIS song) MCIS - Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness (3rd studio album, 2CD/3LP) ng - newsgroup OIAW - Once In A While (B-side for Ava Adore single) PI - Pisces Iscariot (B-sides compilation from 10/94) PM - Pastichio Medley (23-minute conglomeration of 70 song snippets, found on Zero EP) SD - Siamese Dream (2nd studio album, breakthrough release) SP - Smashing Pumpkins (need I say more?) SPAA - Smashing Pumpkins Audio Archive (former mp3 site) SPFC - Smashing Pumpkins Fan Collaborative (http://www.spfc.org) SPIFC - Smashing Pumpkins Internet Fan Club (http://www.spifc.org/spifc/) SPLRA - Smashing Pumpkins Live Recording Association (http://www.starla.org/splra/ - tracks and arranges the recording of upcoming concerts, organize tape trees - see 4.7) STRTJ - Set the Ray to Jerry (1979 B-side) TAFH - The Aeroplane Flies High (box set of MCIS CD singles) TODAPP - Tale of Dusty and Pistol Pete (song from 'Adore') TEITBITE - The End is the Beginning is the End (song from Batman and Robin soundtrack) TBITEITB - The Beginning is the End is the Beginning (its counterpart) TOASE - Tales of a Scorched Earth (MCIS song) TT - Tonight, Tonight (MCIS song, single) TTEOR - Thru the Eyes of Ruby (MCIS song) WBFTT - Where Boys Fear to Tread (MCIS song) XYU - not an acronym, as many ask about, but a homonym for "Ex, why you?" Answered by the man himself. YAIGT - You're All I've Got Tonight (Cars cover in TAFH box set) Other common general acronyms: ------------------------------ AFAIK - As Far As I Know aka - Also Known As CD - Compact Disc CDS - CD single (i.e. BwBW) FS - For Sale (helpful in subject line) FT - For Trade (helpful in subject line) FWIW - For What It's Worth HTH - Hope This Helps (usually said sarcastically) IMHO - In My (Humble|Honest) Opinion LOL - Laughing Out Loud NP: - Now Playing (used at ends of messages to indicate what poster was listening to at the time of posting) ROFL - Rolling On the Floor, Laughing (also ROFLMAO, adding "My Ass Off") RTFM - Read The Fine Manual (although 'Fine' is often replaced by another word of the user's choice) :-) UCE - Unsolicited Commercial Email (aka email spam) WTB - Wanted To Buy (helpful in subject line) WTT - Wanted To Trade (helpful in subject line) YHBT. HAND. - You Have Been Trolled(+). Have A Nice Day. (+see below for definition) Most other abbreviations are songs. If it's not immediately recognizable, just think & you should be able to figure it out. Common definitions: ------------------- :-) - a smiley face (tilt your head to the left), used to denote humor and/or sarcasm (variants: :P" :( >:( ;) etc.) B-side - a song found on a single that isn't the title track (i.e. "The Last Song"). Named from the days of vinyl, when 45s had a popular song on one side (the A-side) and another, perhaps unreleased song on the other (the B-side). Third songs on vinyl are thus referred to as C-sides Bootleg - an unofficial recording, referring either to someone's personal tape or DAT recording of a live show, or a bootleg company's CD pressing of such a recording, or of unreleased studio demos (see 4.5) EP - stands for "Extended Play", as opposed to an LP (Long Play). Generally shorter than a full release (LP), but usually longer than a single. Example: Lull EP, Peel Sessions, Zero EP Flame - a message that harshly ridicules someone else or their opinion through the use of personal attack rather than reason & logic. Usually feature lots of capital letters, exclamation marks, obscene and derogatory remarks, and misspelled words. :-) Killfile- a feature of good newsreaders (AOL and Netscape News not included) that allows users to specify names, subject lines, or other patterns (even entire domains) which they don't want to read. Upon reading news, these patterns are automatically "killed", and the reader never has to see those messages. Useful for ignoring/avoiding heavy crossposts, lame threads, or messages from anyone you simply don't want to read from. :-) - the sound of someone being added to a killfile (i.e. if someone plonks you, they've added you to their killfile, which means they'll never see another message from your email address again) .sig - short for signature, a small file automatically appended to the end of all outgoing messages and/or posts. Generally includes name, email address, URL, and/or a clever quote, etc. Netiquette standards allow for 4 lines- anything longer is usually frowned upon, and large ASCII art is almost always complained about. Keep in mind that it's something people are going to see every time you write, then keep it accordingly short and sweet. :-) Thread - a group of messages with the same subject or subject line. Good newsreaders will group these together so they're read in order of replies. Troll - a post specifically designed to generate as many replies as possible (usually in the form of a blatant flame, obviously incorrect information, or (missed) sarcasm). Most likely named after a fishing technique yelling - using all capital letters (usually considered rude and annoying) Also known as shouting, screaming, etc. 1.6a Most people seem to forget that there is a difference between a radio's and a record store's definition of the word "single". A radio station will call anything that's been released for radio play "the new single," regardless of whether you can go to your local music store and buy a copy. Many more songs are released to the radios for airplay than are pressed on CDSs. If you're lucky, have connections, or find a cool store, you might be able to buy a radio promo, but it's usually one track only. Release dates are also different- radio stations are usually allowed to play a song several weeks before it is available for purchase on CDS format (if it ever is). Example: on 9/29/95, radios started playing BwBW, "the new single from SP." On 10/24, you could go to the store and buy BwBW on CDS, with "...Said Sadly" as a B-Side (see 1.5). The next year, Muzzle was on the radio quite often, and was still called "the new single" even though it was never pressed and sold as a CDS. So, if you see a release date, or wonder why the record store doesn't have "the new single" they've been playing on the radio, keep this difference in mind. :-) 1.7 Since most people prefer to read messages that are on-topic, off-topic messages should at least include a little bit of on-topic material. The "ObSP" is short for "Obligatory SP", and is usually a short, on-topic blurb used to make an otherwise off-topic message at least -somewhat- relevant to most readers. 1.8 Things NOT to ask or bring up/threads which go nowhere The following questions should not be asked: -What's that Depeche Mode cover? Where can I get it? -How do I get on/off the mailing list? -When are they touring in my city? -When's the new album/single? -What is a true fan? Above questions have been asked to the point of extreme annoyance, and as the answers are all in well-known locations, they shouldn't need to be asked. Release dates are on most well-updated web sites, as well as easily found by reading through the newsgroup before asking it yet again. The Smashing Pumpkins Collection can tell you about the DM cover. The Listessa FAQ clearly states how to get on/off the list. And all tour info can be found via Josh Provost's SPLRA site. And there is no definition for a true fan. Billy hit it right on the money when he said (and I'm paraphrasing here), "A true fan is someone that will give the band's next record a chance. Not just one listen, but a few, just to make sure they really don't like it". (For the true quote, track down the 1998 Rockline interview with the band). Those URLS are: Smashing Pumpkins Collection Listessa SPLRA The following information has also been brought up countless times, and should be regarded as common knowledge: -"Tristessa" means "sadness" in Spanish, French, Italian, Latin, etc. (actual spellings may vary slightly), and was the title of a book by Jack Kerouac. -"Soma" was a drug in the book _Brave New World_, greek for "body", a legendary place where people sleep for a billion years, various religious entities, and about a million other things. We've heard it before. Many many many times before... :P" -If you hold up the back of the PI CD to the light, you can see Billy through the white thingy on the back. According to someone who worked with the band, BC said this was a complete accident. -The same trick works for the liner with the fish pan & the necklace- looking at both sides through the light looks like an eyeball. Ooooh. Wow. -Any thread relating a song's meaning to drugs, Kurt Cobain, Marylin Manson... etc. Usually those threads just start flame wars, so they're best avoided. -Threads bashing other bands. Two words: counter-productive. Such threads accomplish nothing but flame wars. -Threads about moshing. Opinions will vary, but are unlikely to change as a result of an argument. -"Selling Out". People have their own definitions thereof, ranging anywhere from simply signing a record contract to changing their own art or image purely to make money. Sure, Billy said they sold out. Who cares? Has the integrity of their music changed? No. Check out the text from the back of the SP Heart shirt (section 4.7, #3), or see Tool's song "Hooker with a Penis" on the Toolshed at http://toolshed.down.net/lyrics/hooker.html -Silly rumors. See 3.8. 1.9 Validity of information Don't believe everything you read. Especially if it involves secret concerts, reported band members deaths, or super-special releases. Take special care on April's Day (the 1st), as even reliable sources of info are known to pull the occasional prank. If something is true, it should have a reliable source or reference. "I heard on the radio" does NOT count, as radios often go by rumors, and some people just say that to spread rumors. If CD Europe says they have a special box set for $150 with super secret, rare, unreleased tracks on it, save your money. If someone announces a release date for something, check to see if it's real/correct before demanding to know why your local store/station doesn't have it yet. And if someone says their brother saw on MTV that Billy died, don't believe it for a second. When something IS reliable, it will come from a real source. Press releases are released by Associated Press and/or SP's publicist- but keep in mind that these can be faked as well (check to see who posted it). Web zines such as ATN are usually accurate (this can be found at http://www.addict.com/html/lofi/MNOTW/. MTV News and magazine interviews are -usually- accurate, although anything the band says should often be taken with a grain of salt (i.e. not completely seriously). Anything regarding the death, overdose, suicide, etc. of any band member, no matter how official it looks (yes, these have been faked before), should NOT be believed until you see it on MTV News every hour, you hear it on every radio station, and you see HUNDREDS of posts about it on the list and newsgroup. See 5.3. 2. Songs/Albums 2.1 Short discography Gish (1991) - single for "I Am One", 'Lull' EP for "Rhinoceros" Peel Sessions (1992) - Siva (different version), Girl Named Sandoz, Smiley Siamese Dream (1993) - singles for "Cherub Rock", "Today", "Disarm" and "Rocket" Pisces Iscariot (1994) - B-sides from previous singles, some unreleased Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness (1995) - singles for "Bullet with Butterfly Wings", "1979", "Zero", "Tonight, Tonight", and "Thirty-Three" The Aeroplane Flies High (1996) - all MCIS singles & B-sides, plus 5 covers Adore (1998) - includes singles "Ava Adore", "Perfect". Several soundtracks & compilation CDs also have unique tracks. For more info, check out the complete discography, maintained by Dave Asselin at: http://www.xero.com/sp/spdiscog.txt OR, the visually-stimulating discography by Steve Hemming at http://www.smashing-pumpkins.net/discography/disco.html 2.2 Finding lyrics* There are several very thorough sites for lyrics. Here are a few: http://www.smashing-pumpkins.net http://blamo.simplenet.com/sp/ http://www.spfc.org/songs-releases/song.html 2.3 Guitar/bass tablature* Guitar tablature can be found at various SP web sites. The sites with the most tablature I'm aware of are Pumpkin Soup and Obscured: http://www.starla.org/pumpkinsoup http://home.san.rr.com/obscured/index.htm More guitar tablature can be found at OLGA (the OnLine Guitar Archive) and its mirrors: http://www.olga.net/ 2.3a Piano scores Piano scores of songs like "Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness", "Thru The Eyes of Ruby", "Farewell & Goodnight", "For Martha", and "Once In A While" can be found at: http://www.geocities.com/SunsetStrip/Backstage/5295/tab.html http://www.spfc.org/music/scores.html 2.4 Cover songs Songs that have been covered by SP and which appear on official releases are as follows: Song Title: Original Artist: Where Found: Clones (We're All) Alice Cooper TAFH box set Dancing in the Moonlight Thin Lizzy Disarm single (Heart) Destination Unknown Missing Person TAFH box set Dreamin' Blondie TAFH box set Girl Named Sandoz The Animals Peel Sessions, PI Jackie Blue Ozark Mtn Daredevils K-Tel compilation Landslide Fleetwood Mac PI, Disarm (Heart) My Blue Heaven Whiting/Donaldson 33 single, TAFH box set Never Let Me Down Again Depeche Mode Rocket single A Night Like This The Cure TAFH box set Rudolph the Red-Nosed (traditional) Kevin & Bean comp. tape Reindeer Sad Peter Pan Vic Chestnutt Sweet Relief II comp. Terrapin Syd Barrett I Am One 10" vinyl You're All I've Got The Cars TAFH box set Tonight Transmission [Joy Division], Boys Don't Cry [The Cure], Godzilla [Blue Oyster Cult], Out of Focus [Blue Cheer], and a bit of Sunshine of Your Love [Cream] can be found on CD bootlegs, as well as Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. Performances of "Auf Wiedersehen", "Baby Loves to Rock" and "If You Want My Love" with Cheap Trick are also available on the numerous CD boots from 10/23/95, the pre-MCIS release concert. When the band opened for KISS on Halloween 1998, they were dressed as the Beatles, and opened their set with a cover of the Beatles' "Money, (That's What I Want)". 2.5 Unreleased Songs Recent songs that have not been released, and perhaps never will be, include Let Me Give the World to You, Blissed & Gone [aka "17", aka "Need"...], Methusela, Speed, Towers of Rabble, and Wishing You Were. Live versions of these songs can usually be found, so check around, you'll probably find what you want. 2.5a 'Mashed Potatoes' box set During the past year, the 'Mashed Potatoes' box set has been one of the discussed topics on the newsgroup. The 'Mashed Potatoes' box set is a set of CDs that Billy gave to a select group of people in 1994 (or there-about), and is said to contain live and unreleased songs from 1990 to 1992 or so. Very little, other than what is mentioned here, is actually known about the set, regardless of what you may hear. So, in short, asking about the box set will probably just get you killfiled or flamed, both of which you probably don't want. Many of the songs are already in circulation, usually as filler on tapes or on old live compilations. Recently, seventeen songs from the 'Mashed Potatoes' set was encoded and posted on a website for a few hours. These seventeen songs are now in wide circulation. The songs that were posted were as follows: Kill Your Parents (Onstage Banter), 365 (Live 1990), Cinder (Live 1991), There it Goes (Demo 1988), Vanilla (Demo 1989), Morning Jam (Live 1990), Moleasskiss (Studio Outtake 1992), Over You (Live 1990), Translucent (Demo 1990), I'll Never Change (Live 1990), Mayonaise (Studio Outtake 1993), Jesus is the Sun (Demo 1990), Fat Man Blues (Demo 1989), Lie I Lie (Live 1989), Wave Song (Demo 1991), Stray Cat Blues (Live 1990), Under Your Spell (Demo 1988), Luna (Demo 1991). Please don't email me, asking for information on the set, as I have no information other than what is here. Thank you. 2.6 Where to find given songs Check the bootlists at either Jackboot (http://www.starla.org/jackboot/) or spfc (http://www.spfc.org/songs-releases/boot.html), and they'll tell you every CD-boot release you can find something on, except where there are no recordings of the song. 2.7 Short guide to radio songs The following is a short guide to songs you're likely to hear on the radio, so if you don't know a song by name, this should help you out: 1979 - played semi-often. Drum loop with live drums, clean guitars. "Shakedown, 1979..." Found on MCIS & single. Ava Adore - heavy, distorted drum loop (electronic-style drums). "You'll always be my whore". Played heavily before and after release of 'Adore'. Bullet with Butterfly Wings - played often in 95-6. Distorted. "Despite all my rage, I am still just a rat in a cage." Found on MCIS & single. Cherub Rock - played often during SD era. Opens with drum roll. "Let me out, let me out..." Found on Siamese Dream & single. Destination Unknown - very synthy Missing Persons cover found in TAFH. Disarm - played often a few years ago, still played occasionally. Acoustic guitar, timpani, cello and bells. "Disarm you with a smile..." "I used to be a little boy" etc. Found on Siamese Dream & single. Drown - played occasionally. Long, spacey. "No matter where you are, I can still hear you when you drown..." Unedited version includes a long feedback solo at the end. Found on Singles soundtrack. The End Is The Beginning Is The End - song from Batman and Robin soundtrack, released for radio play. Heavy distorted guitars, some synth, electronic drums. Eye - played occaisionally. Drum kit, synth. "Turn to the gates of Heaven, to myself be damned..." Found on Lost Highway soundtrack. Frail & Bedazzled - used to be played often, still airs occasionally. Heavy I/IV guitar riff, one verse drops to vocals-only. Found on PI. Landslide - solo acoustic Fleetwood Mac cover. "And I saw my reflection in a snow covered hill..." Found on Pisces Iscariot & Disarm Heart single. Muzzle - played semi-often. Distorted guitars, fairly heavy. Drums cut out & enter loudly back in several times. Starts off "I fear that I am ordinary just like everyone." Found on MCIS (-no- CDS single). Never Let Me Down Again - played occasionally. Clean guitar, mellow cover of Depeche Mode song: "I'm taking a ride with my best friend" etc. Found on Rocket CDS or 7" (hard to find). Perfect - second single from 'Adore'. Light, poppy song. "Perfect, I promise we'll be perfect...". Played often. Video is the "continuation" of the 1979 video. Rocket - played often during SD era. Layered distorted guitars. "I shall be free..." Found on Siamese dream & single. Thirty-Three - played semi-often. Acoustic guitar & piano, no drums. "And you - can make it last, forever you." Found on MCIS & single. Today - played often during SD era. Alternating clean/distorted. "To-day is the greatest..." etc. Found on Siamese Dream & single. Tonight, Tonight - played semi-often. Strings, clean guitar. Found on MCIS & single. You're All I've Got Tonight - Cars cover. Verses are mostly drums. Found in TAFH box set. Zero - played semi-often. Distortion/harmonics. Found on MCIS & single. 2.8 Songs sung by other members* Billy doesn't sing -every- song... Those featuring James on lead vocals are (these do not include James' solo album "Let It Come Down", 1998) : Believe, The Bells, Blew Away, The Boy, Farewell & Goodnight (1st verse, w/ Billy), A Night Like This, ...Said Sadly (w/ guest Nina Gordon of Veruca Salt), Take Me Down, and Terrapin. Of course, he's also sung a few songs live (Boys Don't Cry, Country Girl, I Feel You, Kooks, Germans in Leather Pants etc.) D'Arcy sings on Daydream (Gish), Dreamin' (TAFH box set), and in the second verse of Farewell and Goodnight (MCIS), as well as backup on many other songs. She's also featured in Catherine's "Four Leaf Clover" and "Punch Me Out", and on a few Fulflej songs. Jimmy Chamberlin, the band's former drummer, sings along with D'Arcy in the second verse of Farewell and Goodnight James Iha released his first solo album in February of 1998, titled "Let It Come Down". 2.9 Sometimes you can hear weird noises that probably shouldn't be there, or people talking in the studio. Sometimes they're obvious, sometimes you have to strain to hear them with headphones on. NOTE: This isn't meant to be a complete listing of every time you hear a strange noise, but it's a list of the most interesting and notable noises & extra words you can find. Bodies words spoken in background of second "Love is suicide" chorus- destroy / despise / distrust / disobey / destroy / distrust / disloyal / disarm / destroy / despise / dissect / deny / destroy / despise / distrust Bury Me song opens with James saying something (most plausible ideas are "Boys, let's do it" and "Poised like an angel") Cherry studio talk at beginning: "Listen- wanna just start it?" "Ready, Flood?" "Yeah." "1, 2, 3, 4..." Dancing in the Moonlight Billy talks at the end about choking in the middle of the song Daydream click of bow hitting cello at 1:10.5, jingly noises around 1:20-21 Galapogos incomprehensible muttering from 3:16-27 Glynis opens with synthesized "Hello", allegedly from a Red Red Meat song Hello Kitty Kat ends with Billy saying "Song's over" Honey Spider I Billy laughs at end & says "Aha! That's everything..." La Dolly Vita strange, cartoonish "Ooh!" noise at 3:33; cuckoo at 3:44 Marquis in Spades studio talk at beginning: "Rolling..." "I was just on another planet for a sec." "Run it back, Mole" (amp on) "Fucker." Quiet strange, very quiet (ha ha) voices at the end of the song. Try it with headphones. Silverfuck ends with BC saying "Alright, this take, don't give a fuck" & playing a few notes Siva (Peel Session) at 4:09, D'Arcy says she stepped on something; BC counts to 4 for re- entry Soma ends with TV evangelist clip: "and you need to resist the devil so that he will flee" Soothe "you can hear the 7am buses slithering by" at 2:18-21 (PI liner notes) Spaceboy ends with TV talk show clip: "Now it's, uh, kind of strange, and, uh, kinda hard for me to talk about, but I thought maybe you could help- um, when we start getting physical, rather than having intercourse, he ends up just masturbating himself, and I end up feeling very alienated and unsatisfied, and it's really come between us-". Some versions include the clip as the beginning of the Silverfuck track. Starla "listen for the police car go by" at 5:27-30 (PI liner notes) Transformer starts with 4 drum clicks & Billy saying "Hit it" Where Boys Fear to Tread DOOM explosion mentioned in liner notes: 1:20, 1:55, 2:29, 3:01, 3:44 2.10 Song/album meanings Discussing the meaning of songs is sometimes an interesting topic, but the band seem to shy away from explaining them outright. On 120 Minutes, November '91, Billy and D'Arcy said the following: BC: Um, my songs are really personal... and... you, it's like I'd have to tell everyone the story that goes behind every song, and I just... it's kinda- it seems silly to me that I'd have to say "Well one day I was walking down the street, see, and..." [shrug] it doesn't- it wouldn't make any difference. I- and I don't- I mean, that's one of my problems with the video medium, is- is having to attach symbolism and specifics to songs because I think in some ways it's the ambiguousness of things that makes people find something in their own... life. D: I sometimes think that... people get more out of a song (BC nods) if they don't know exactly what it's about- you can, you can listen more to the music, and that's mostly what we're about is music & emotions come from that. BC: Freedom. Freedom of thought. I mean, we're not here to preach or tell you what to think, you know, if- D: We're here to say 'think for yourself,' you know... 2.11 Vieuphoria/Earphoria - extra/unreleased songs Vieuphoria contains several songs unavailable elsewhere, which are as follows: Bugg Superstar - techno song playing while James talks about his dog (repeats "Bugg, Superstar..."). Pulseczar - distorted guitar chords, no drums, weird visual effects. Starts with "I hear you calling from the sky" Sinfony - 53 second EBow-driven guitar piece at beginning of tape Why Am I So Tired? - instrumental played over ending credits Note that the long jam at the end of Silverfuck also appears as a riff called "Jackboot" in Pastichio Medley, but is not usually considered a completed song. 2.12 Differences between releases Most releases have several versions available. Special versions, usually imports from central Europe or Japan, sometimes contain extra tracks not found on the other releases. Check it out before buying to avoid having to buy several versions of the same single to get all the songs. :-) For more details, consult either discography: Visual: http://www.smashing-pumpkins.net/discography/disco.html Text: http://www.xero.com/sp/spdiscog.txt 2.12a Gish - original/remastered The original release of Gish was on Caroline Records, has the cover image on the CD, and was released in 1991. The rerelease was on Virgin, has no picture on the CD (just the writing), and was "remastered." It's hard to tell by listening, although the bass was supposedly brought out a bit... 2.12b Siamese Dream - clean/explicit version, import Certain versions of Siamese Dream have the titles listed on the back, while others don't. This is the "clean version", assumed to be produced for large chain stores, due to the title "silverfuck". Aside from the back cover, there is no difference. There are also differences in the inserts- after the initial pressing, someone decided to save money by taking all the photographs, which were on their own page in the first pressing, and combining them all onto 2 pages, turning the booklet into a foldout, and rendering the handwritten lyrics quite small and difficult to read. Canadian editions of Siamese Dream are ALL the full insert - with pages for every song. The repressing included an address for fan club info and lyrics- unbeknownst to the 'fan club' person (read 'mail reader') for some time- resulting in many returned letters, until every- thing was finally explained... The Japanese import version contains a bonus track, labelled "Hikari Express". This is simply "Pissant", which can be found on Pisces Iscariot. 2.12c Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness - 3LP Mellon Collie was released on vinyl in March of 1996. This came out on 3 12" vinyls. Here is an explanation of the availability of this, as found in the text discography: "The 3LP version of MCIS was originally solicited in February of 1996 as a limited-to-5000, numbered edition. When it was finally released in April, it was allegedly limited to 15,000. Since that time, numbers above 18,000 have been confirmed, leaving open the question of how many copies were actually pressed." More recently, Mark Andrew Hamilton has reported that Virgin Records has re-issued the set, and has it listed as "In-stock" in their catalogues. More will be posted here as it comes available. 2.12d Ava Adore - 7 The UK Ava Adore 7" was supposed to be limited to 5000 copies. But, as with the Mellon Collie 3-LP, many more (up to 3000 more, I think) appeared. 2.12e Earphoria - promo/bootleg The promo for Vieuphoria, entitled "Earphoria", exists as a promo (rare) and as various bootlegged/copied versions. The promo CD is light blue with pink SP-hearts, and includes a picture of James and Bugg on the back of the liner. The bootlegged versions are usually cheap copies- image quality on the liner is obviously inferior, some versions are missing the picture of James & Bugg, and some of the CDs are simply black hearts on blank CDs. Some versions also mess up the tracks by combining French Movie Theme and Pissant onto one track, and splitting Silverfuck into two tracks. The biggest apparent difference, though, is price- the promo will usually cost significantly more, if you can find it anywhere. Also note that there's a bootleg CD entitled "Billy Don't Be a Hero" that is, essentially, a copy of Earphoria. 2.12f Import/domestic singles Differences in singles are quite common- generally US and UK singles are limited to two or three B-sides, for chart/ratings purposes- including more songs would change their status from 'single' to 'EP', which would mean they couldn't be counted in certain charts. Usually, where different versions of a single exist, the US version will simply omit certain B- sides, UK releases will be split into two parts, and Japanese or central European releases (Germany, Holland, etc.) will include all tracks. CD singles for I Am One, Cherub Rock, Rocket, Bullet with Butterfly Wings, and Zero either exist only in one form (from one country), or have the same number of tracks on each release (except that the box set release of BwBW also includes 5 cover songs). Disarm is in two parts from the UK, labelled "Heart" and "Smile". Tonight, Tonight, Thirty-Three, and Perfect, as well as having 2-part UK singles, also have a US counterpart with omitted B-sides. 1979, Tonight, Tonight, and Perfect have central-Europe releases with all B-sides included. 1979 and Perfect also have US releases with omitted B-sides. Today and Tonight, Tonight also have Japanese import versions: Today features Hello Kitty Kat, Obscured, French Movie Theme, and Apathy's Last Kiss (only otherwise available on the Today 7"). Tonight, Tonight has the same tracks as the central-Europe release (i.e. all 6 B-sides). For detailed information on singles and the different versions, consult either discography. 2.12g Vinyl - variant B-sides The B-sides (and C-sides, where they exist) of vinyl releases often differ from those of cassette and CD/CDS releases. Following is a list of songs that can only be found on vinyl (excluding unofficial/bootleg releases): Daughter - Reflex magazine 7" flexi-disc (good luck) Bullet Train to Osaka - I Am One 10" Honey Spider I - Tristessa 12" Honey Spider II - Pisces Iscariot bonus 7" Infinite Sadness - MCIS triple vinyl (3x12") My Dahlia - Light Into Dark compilation 12" Not Worth Asking - I Am One 7", Pisces Iscariot bonus 7" Purr Snickety - Cherub Rock 7" (also in Siamese Singles box set) Siamese Dream - Disarm 7" (also in Siamese Singles box set) Sun - Light Into Dark compilation 12" Terrapin [Syd Barrett] - I Am One 10" The original 7" version of I Am One can be found on the Absolute Middle of Nowhere #17 compilation CD, and the Today 7" b-side "Apathy's Last Kiss" can be found on the Japanese Today import CDS. 2.13 Common/recurring lyrics Billy has been known to use a few words or phrases several times, so to keep people from constantly re-'discovering' them :-) Here's a list: june: 1979, Bye June, Mayonaise, Rhinoceros, Tales of a Scorched Earth, Where Boys Fear to Tread my one and only: By Starlight, Lily, XYU, Zero On Q101 radio (Chicago), 10/95, someone actually asked about this- the reply was that he simply did that to see if people would notice. A more likely explanation is simply that he likes those words, and/or they rhyme well... 2.14 Photos/Cover art Since some people wonder where all those pictures come from in all the releases, here's a brief synopsis: SD insert - random pictures found by the graphic artist, not related to the band (same goes for Cherub Rock cover) Today cover - D'Arcy's sisters Pisces Iscariot cover (CD) - of continuous debate. Some say it's James, Courtney Love said it's her with a cherry in her mouth, Billy said it's his now-ex wife, Chris, although he may have been referring to the necklace picture on the inside liner Bullet with Butterfly Wings insert - from an advertisement in the 1800s for some sort of youth potion called, "Brittle's Blood Bitters". Zero insert - a Giorgio Armani model (NOT Yelena Yemchuk, the photographer) Thirty-Three - cover painting=Rasputin, insert=Lenin Adore cover - Amy Wesson Adore insert- the pictures on the inside of the CD liner were taken while the band was on tour in Poland during the Mellon Collie tour, it is assumed Ava Adore cover - Amy Wesson also. Perfect single covers - unknown (so far) 2.15 mp3s Recently, this has been one of the most commonly asked questions. "What are mp3s?" mp3s are a type of sound file that combines high sound quality with relatively low (compared to .wav files) file size. The average 4 minute song in mp3 format is approximately 4 to 5 megabytes in size, or about 1 megabyte for every minute of high quality sound. The same song in wav format is about 50 megabytes, even at the same sampling rate. "I want some!" "Hey, this is great!", you must be thinking. "These should be everywhere! Free mp3s for everyone!". 'Fraid not, kiddos. While there have been large archives in the past (Smashing Pumpkins Audio Archive had over 600 at it's peak), they cost a lot to maintain, as large amounts of filespace are needed to host these songs. The RIAA also has a problem with these mp3 sites because they feel that with easy access to such high quality songs for free, people will stop buying CDs. Many mp3 sites are shut down for this reason. "Can I set up a site?" Since the downfall of the indisputable King of mp3 sites in November of 1997 (the Smashing Pumkpins Audio Archive), many FTP sites and various internet sites have tried to take its place, but most have been unable to keep up with the demand for live (and occasionally, studio album) mp3s, and have shut down within a month or two, whether it be due to lack of server space, or the RIAA shutting them down. If you watch the newsgroups, (alt.music.smash-pumpkins or alt.binaries.smash-pumpkins), new mp3 sites will pop up, then quite often disappear. Keep your eyes open, as a permanent site may one day be revived. However, in the meantime, there are alternatives. RealAudio is a very cheap alternative, albeit quite a quality difference. For more information on RealAudio, visit the website at Real.com Smashing Pumpkins RealAudio songs are available at the Smashing Pumpkins Collection The SPLRA sometimes posts recent concerts in mp3 or RealAudio for download, so check their website too. 3. Band Info 3.1 Origin of name Most answers to this question are only semi-serious, as they've heard it way too often. The March '93 fan club newsletter gave the following story: "Gene Simmons came to us in a dream and said: 'Joe Strummer is a pumpkin, drunken and smashed.'" On Vieuphoria, they simply said "It's a joke." However, the most serious answer comes from an interview with D'Arcy by the Washington Post (11/19/93): "The name of the band is a stupid name, a dumb bad joke and a bad idea, OK?" she says. "Billy named the band before there even was a band. He was like, 'I'm gonna have a band and it's gonna be called this.' 'Smashing' is not a verb, it's an adjective. It's not like we like to smash pumpkins or anything. And we are not amused by pumpkin jokes anymore." So, there you have it. "Smashing" is an adjective, not a verb (think British here if you're still having trouble). :-) 3.2 First appearance Billy and James first appeared in a Polish bar called Track in 1988. Their first radio broadcast was on WNUR in Evanston that year. (Info from the March '93 fan club newsletter). The first gig as a complete band was on 07.09.88 (July 9, 1988) at Chicago 21. This show did not include Jimmy, as he had not yet been hired. It consisted of James, D'arcy, and of course, Billy. 3.3 Short Bios Since everyone MUST know their birthdays, here they are: Billy Corgan: March 17, 1967 D'Arcy: May 1, 1968 James Iha: March 26, 1968 Jimmy Chamberlin: June 10, 1964 For people obsessed with looking through old high school yearbooks: Billy went to Glenbard North in Carol Stream, IL, James went to Elk Grove Village HS, IL, and D'Arcy went to L.C. Mohr in South Haven, MI. 3.4 Recording Sessions As you may have heard, most of the recording for Siamese Dream was done by Billy (drums excluded). His reasoning: "I was obsessed to meet a standard that was beyond our capability. I was more concerned about technical efficiency than heart." The MCIS sessions were "a joy, compared to the tense Siamese Dream recording," and all members worked collectively. For information pertaining to when and where particular songs and albums were recorded, consult the Recording Sessions, by Jesse Miller (only the mirrors could be located at time of release): Netphoria: http://www.netphoria.org/recording/recording.html SP Collection: http://www.smashing-pumpkins.net/recording.html 3.5 Is Billy left-handed or right-handed? Billy is left-handed. He writes with his left hand. However, he plays the guitar as if he was right-handed. This is because he felt that it was silly to have his weak hand doing the tough fret-work. Another reason is that when Billy and his father went to buy a guitar, Billy asked which was more common. He went with a right-handed guitar. 3.6 Equipment* I'm not an equipment expert (I don't even have an electric guitar), so I can't provide detailed lists of everything you'll need to perfectly imitate that pumpkin sound. The SP Guitar and Amp Settings Archive has lots of great info on the subject, as does the SPFC. The intro articles at the beginning of the tablature books for SD, MCIS and Adore are also of interest. 3.6a Special Effects One of the cool effects I -can- explain is the 'reverse echo' used on the "bang bang" part of Silverfuck, as well as other songs. The track is recorded, then flipped backwards, and echo/reverb is added. It's then flipped back to forwards, so the effect is that of echoing -into- the note. Pretty cool, eh? :-) This is also heavily used by the Cure (see "End" from Wish). 3.6b E-Bow An EBow (electronic/electromagnetic bow) is a small, hand-held magnetic device that causes guitar strings to vibrate continuously, resulting in a long, sustained tone. These are used most notably on Sinfony, Soma, & Drown. James uses EBows a lot live, on songs like Shame, & Porcelina. There's even a web site for EBows. 3.7 Personal info for the prying fan I'm not about to invade their privacy, but here's what they (apparently) don't mind letting us know via press, etc.: D'Arcy was involved with James for a while in the early days of the band. She is now married to Kerry Brown, drummer of Catherine. Billy is separated from former wife Chris, and is dating photographer/ director Yelena Yemchuk. 3.8 Silly rumors (Small Wonder, Sea Monkeys, etc.) Every once in a while, someone will resurrect a really stupid rumor (see "Troll" under 1.5). No, Billy was not in the TV show "Small Wonder" (the character of Jamie Lawson was played by Jerry Supiran, if you must know), and who cares if Marilyn Manson supposedly had him snort Sea Monkeys (Manson even admitted later that that was a joke)? Such rumors aren't even worth bringing up (so please don't). 3.9 SP Fan Club The "fan club" started when the Siamese Dream liner notes included the words "smashing pumpkins fan club information" next to their PO box address (which was different on both releases of Gish). Since then, there have been a few newsletters & t-shirt order forms, but the one person running it (Laura Ann) is a bit more enthusiastic than the rest of the band, who hasn't been giving her stuff to send out. For now, Laura serves mainly to read their mail, attempt to answer basic questions, and sell T-shirts. Until further notice, however, it may be wise to hold off on "joining," since the $3 "membership" fee isn't really going anywhere. But if you don't mind sending money to someone to send off to an accountant somewhere or if you just feel like sending mail, the address is: SPFC, PO Box 578010, Chicago, IL 60657. 3.10 Contacting the band Send all meaningful mail to the address listed above. Try to hold back on short, meaningless messages like "You rule!", as they've already gotten tons of those already. Do NOT send mail to (or visit) their homes, and do not ask for their home addresses. Have some respect for their privacy. As for email, there's no such address. If the band had a publicly- available email address, it would be instantly flooded, requiring a large staff to read it all. If any members were to have email addresses, they would be for personal/business reasons, so keep that in mind before asking for them. 4. Merchandise 4.1 Pricing/finding rarities Since prices vary from area to area, and everything changes over time, I can't give any pricing info here. If something sounds too expensive, ask why. If you doubt the numbers they're giving you, check around. Steve Hemming has a semi-accurate price guide for most releases at the http://www.smashing-pumpkins.net/prices/index.html Finding items is also quite difficult at times, but recently, a site has appeared which lists stores where such rarities might be found. Also, suggested by Dave Asselin, check out the http://www.krause.com/goldmine/ m agazine, which includes tons of trader info, or visit their web site at 4.2 Books There are several books available on SP. Here's the info: Title: Smashing Pumpkins Author: Nick Wise Pub: Omnibus Press/Book Sales Ltd. ISBN: 0-7119-4166-1 Notes: 48 pages, color photos on each page. Price: ~$12 Title: Smashing Pumpkins Author: Jim Stapleton Pub: Carlton Books/Music Book Services ISBN: 1-85868-068-9 Notes: 120 pages, same size as a CD Price: ~$10 Title: Smashing Pumpkins - A Tear-Out Photo Book Author: none Pub: Oliver Books ISBN: 1-870049-92-6 Notes: 20 full-page photos, text on opposite sides Price: ~$12 Title: Smashing Pumpkins - Siamese Dream Author: Aaron Stang Pub: CPP Belwin, Inc. ISBN: 0-89898-825-X Notes: Guitar tablature book, with intro and comments on each song by BC. Price: $20 Title: Smashing Pumpkins - Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness Author: Andy Aledort & Hemme Luttjeboer Pub: Warner Bros. ISBN: 1-57623-339-1 Notes: Guitar tablature book, includes 'Guitar Geek USA' articles written by BC for Guitar World Price: $30 Title: Smashing Pumpkins - Adore Author: Andy Aledort Pub: Warner Bros. ISBN: 0-7692-6396-8 Notes: Guitar tablature book, with complete solos and piano scores. Full-page pics of each members (like the cd). Price: $30 4.3 T-Shirts NOTE: If you have any official tour shirts that are not listed here, please send a description to faq@spfc.org. :-) Thanks. Here's a text-based description of the t-shirts, roughly in order of appearance: 1. Devil shirt - Black with red/purple devil and gold glitter. Back says "Mission To Mars". 2. Angel shirt - White with blue/silver angel & globe. Back says "Altitude Not Attitude". 3. Gish picture shirt - White with b/w picture from inside Gish liner, with white "Smashing Pumpkins" and "gish" text from the cover. 4. SP Heart shirt - White with red/black SP heart logo. One version has city scene on back, with SD song titles as neon signs, other version has the following text: this is a smashing pumpkins t-shirt. rather than ask me why i'm wearing this ask yourself why am i reading this? the message is there is no message. one million souls tossing down their hard earned lettuce for a piece of the hot rock indie alternative pie. i've sold out. how about you? everybody's doing it even if they say they're not. don't ask me cause i don't know. rock saves. it's the next big thing. have you heard the next big thing? i'm part of the revolution. it's all coming down soon. hope you're there. 5. Disarm Smile shirt - White with red/black "Smile" picture on front, 1993-4 tour dates on back. 6. Siamese Dream cover shirt - White with SD promo poster (2 girls, one with a popsicle). Back has either tour dates for Midwest tour, or for entire fall tour. 7. Star shirt - Black with red star & "smashing pumpkins" written in white in the SD font. Back says "just say maybe". 8. Clown shirt 1 - Red with green clown in blue oval, 'smashing pumpkins' written around inside of oval. 9. Clown shirt 2 - Black with white/yellow clown, red stars, etc. Back has partial songlist in yellow & green. 10. Spaceboy shirt - Purple, with orange cartoon astronaut. Back has part of Starla lyrics. 11. MCIS shirt - Navy blue, MCIS cover image on front, back cover on back. Tie-dyed version also available. 12. Blue SP Heart shirt - Navy blue with white SP heart logo outline. 13. Liner pic shirt - Black with picture of rabbits & rats smoking, white skull on back. 14. Discs shirt - MCIS CD images on front (pink/blue circles), tour dates on back. 15. ZERO shirt - Black with silver "ZERO" and star, small silver SP heart on left sleeve. Short or long-sleeved. 16. "Leave Me Alone" shirt - White with sketched smiley faces in a spiral with red bar codes on their foreheads. Back says "Leave Me Alone" in red 1979 font 17. Black SP Heart shirt - Black with silver SP heart logo. Back says "Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness" and includes a tracklist. 18. Vegas Logo shirt - Black with "Smashing Pumpkins" written in a neon-like cursive, orange with yellow outline & dots. Background has silver stars and a planet. 19. "World is a Vampire" shirt - Black with large silver frowning face with fangs & horns, says "the world is a vampire" in MCIS liner font. Back says "The Smashing Pumpkins Infinite Sadness Tour" in the Mellon Collie font. 20. Baby Doll shirt - White with red SP heart logo. One size "Grrrl" shirt. 21. Thermal heart shirt - Black long-sleeve thermal-textured shirt with silver & white embroidered SP heart logo 22. 'Adore' cover shirt - cover of 'Adore' on front, back has tour dates from 1998 tour, and words, "The Smashing Pumpkins World Tour". 23. 'Adore' shirt #2 - trio of black & white pictures of individual band members, with "The Smashing Pumpkins" printed in silver in center. Back has picture of D'arcy in see-through shirt, from 'Adore' booklet. Older shirts are going to be somewhat difficult to track down, but they can be found. 4.4 Videos There are videos out for the following songs: Siva; Rhinoceros; Cherub Rock; Disarm; Today; Rocket; Bullet with Butterfly Wings; 1979; Zero; Tonight, Tonight; Thirty-Three; The End is the Beginning is the End; Ava Adore; and Perfect. Of course, MTV plays the most recent ones the most often (they're usually put into heavy rotation when they're first released), but occasionally you can catch one of the older ones late at night. Brief descriptions of the videos: Siva - band playing in a room, candles, flowers, weird makeup, etc. Rhinoceros - band sitting & playing different instruments in a room, D'Arc y bouncing a ball, reverse footage, ornate fountains, & shots of the members outside Cherub Rock - band playing outside in the dark by some trees, weird color effects, lighting diagrams, etc. Disarm - black & white, closeups of members playing, aerial shots of buildings, etc. Today - Billy drives through a desert in an ice cream truck, picks up James (wearing a dress), stops at a gas station & finds other 2 members, they paint the truck all funky & then drive off, leaving Billy Rocket - a few kids build a rocket out of junk, blast off from their back yard, and land on another planet to find SP as an elderly band Bullet - band plays on a stage in the middle of a dry dirt field full of dirty workers. Billy has on the infamous Zero shirt & silver pants 1979 - shows a bunch of kids driving around, going to a party (at which SP is playing), wreaking havoc, and ransacking a convenience store Zero - dark colors, strange-looking people in odd makeup, closeups of band, etc. Rarely played Tonight Tonight - made to look like an old movie (flickery lights, etc.) includes recreation of George Melies' 1902 film "A Trip to the Moon", one of the first films to use special effects Thirty-Three - various shots done in stop-motion style, creating a jerky effect. Includes Billy by sunset and painting, and trio in suits TEITBITE - space-age costumes & props, members floating around, with shots from Batman and Robin in the background. Ava Adore - band is dressed up in Gothic costumes (Billy with long gown, heavy red eye make-up and white face...). Camera follows them through different rooms. Perfect - a so-called sequel to the 1979 video. A girl gets pregnant, some guy tapes a Pumpkin show (very cool), the tape falls off his car when driving, then he gets in an accident. For much more detailed descriptions of the videos, consult Marci's FWQ (Frequently Wondered Questions) file, found at: http://www.geocities.com/SunsetStrip/6633/FWQ.html 4.5 A bootleg can refer to one of two things: 1) an audience recording, traded around by fellow fans, or 2) a CD manufactured by a company not connected to the band, containing live or unreleased studio tracks. In both cases, the band makes no profit from these, while in the latter case, someone else -does-. CD boots, usually listed as "imports", generally run for $20-30, and can be somewhat difficult to track down (i.e. you won't find them at any large chain stores). Tapes recorded by fans are most often traded for other tapes, although some traders sell their tapes for cost. For more info, check out the FAQ for alt.music.bootlegs. 4.6 Trading The best way to trade is to have your list available on the web, and then to post to the list or newsgroup with the URL. It's usually not good to post a huge list to Listessa, although the newsgroup will do fine if you don't have web space. After that, just wait for people to email you with trade offers, as there isn't much else you can do. Posting your list every day or week is -not- a good idea, and will usually just turn people away or get you killfiled. There is also a large trading area set up on the http://www.smashing-pumpkins.net/ site. 4.7 Tape Trees Recently, the Smashing Pumpkins Live Recording Association (SPLRA) has either set up, or sponsored a number of "tape trees". This began with the Bridge School Benefit concert in October 1997. The show was taped, and the master was donated to the SPLRA for a tape tree. For those of you who don't know what a "tape tree" is, it's essentially like a family tree. The seed (someone with a good quality, master or 1st generation tape) posts to the newsgroup and Listessa, looking for people to sign up as "branches" and "leaves". Once the allotted time for sign-up to the tree has expired, the branches send one blank tape and a few dollars for postage to the seed. The seed then dubs the tapes for the branches and returns them. The branches each do the same for their leaves, which they have been assigned. For a better description, go to http://www.tapetrading.com/treehouse/ For more information on the goodness that is the SPLRA, go to: http://www.starla.org/splra/ 5. News/Info/Net Resources 5.1 Brief history/landmark events 1988/89- band forms, plays around Chicago, releases demo tapes 1990- I Am One 7", Tristessa 7" and 12" released 1991- Gish & Lull released; tour with Red Hot Chili Peppers & Pearl Jam 1992- "Singles" soundtrack; Reading Festival 1993- Siamese Dream released, selling millions; major tour 1994- band headlines Lollapalooza; Pisces Iscariot released 1995- Double Door concerts; another Reading Festival appearance; MCIS released, outselling SD 1996- American Music Awards; Simpsons "Hullabalooza" appearance; major tour; keyboardist dies, drummer fired (see 5.3); band wins 7 MTV Video Music Awards; Ransom & Lost Highway soundtracks; TAFH box set released 1997- Batman & Robin soundtrack; European festival concerts 1998- Adore released (June 2). Short promo tour follows. For a more detailed chronology, check out the one at spfc.org: http://www.spfc.org/band/chronology.html 5.2 Double Door info In February of 1995, the Pumpkins played 4 shows (21, 22, 27, and 28) at the Double Door bar in Chicago. The tickets cost $5 each, all of which went to charity. The sets consisted entirely from new material from the then-upcoming album MCIS, and it's b-sides, and a few older b-sides played as encores. A few songs played have not been released, like "Speed" (from Pastichio Medley, from the Zero single), and "Towers of Rabble". While security was extremely tight, someone was able to record the 21st and 27th shows, although the quality is quite poor at times. A second recording of the 21st show, but a few songs are cut. 5.3 The keyboard/drummer events In the summer of '95, the Chicago Reader ran an ad by the Pumpkins, seeking a touring keyboardist. 5-minute tape auditions (with a "please, no pumpkins songs" condition) were to be turned in by July 14th. On August 18, Entertainment Weekly ran the following: "...aspiring Pumpkins needn't wait by the phone. Two months later, a refrigerator box full of cassettes graces Chicago's Soundworks studios, and there's not a listening station in sight. 'We've been too busy to deal with them,' says Iha. 'I don't want to listen to a bunch of wack keyboard players. It sounds like a nightmare to me.'" The position was filled by Jonathan Melvoin, who played keyboards and acted as a second drummer for Silverfuck. He also appeared with SP on the American Music Awards. On July 12, 1996, Jonathan was found dead from a heroin overdose. He and drummer Jimmy Chamberlin had shot up the previous night, and Jimmy awoke to find Jonathan dead. Jimmy was charged with misdemeanor heroin possession, and the rest of the band were taken in for questioning, and later released. All tour dates through July 27th were postponed. A few days later, the band released a statement saying that Jimmy would no longer be the band's drummer. Private/closed auditions were held a while later to find a replacement drummer for the remainder of the tour. Matt Walker, former touring drummer for Filter, took over. While auditioning for Filter, he reportedly dropped a drumstick and finished with one- he was hired immediately. Dennis Flemion, founding member and drummer/keyboardist of The Frogs, was chosen to be the replacement keyboardist. A press release was issued on August 8th. The band played a surprise warmup show at the Metro on August 23rd with the two new touring members, and resumed the MCIS tour after that. During the recording of Adore, SP used several drummers, including Joey Waronker (Beck), Matt Walker (MCIS tour, Cupcake), and Matt Cameron (Soundgarden). Drum machine programming was done by Bon Harris of Nitzer Ebb. For the recent Adore tour, the band hired a decent-sized backup band that consists of drummer Kenny Aronoff, keyboardist Mike Garson, and percussionists Stephen Hodges and Dan Morris. As is mentioned in section 1.2, the Pumpkins and their fans welcomed Jimmy Chamberlin back into the band, with their first performance together as a full band taking place in Detroit on April 10, 1999. A short club tour followed, ending at the Roxy in Los Angeles on April 24. 5.4 Tour Info* Tour dates are kept current at several websites: The Smashing Pumpkins Live Recording Association: http://www.starla.org/splra/ The Smashing Pumpkins Internet Fan Club: http://www.spifc.org/spifc/ The Smashing Pumpkins Fan Collaborative: http://www.spfc.org/ Occasional special concerts (ie: Billy solo at Chicago's Metro club) are still slowly coming out of the woodwork and will be put up on the above-mentioned sites when they become available. 5.5 IRC Info There are several IRC channels for pumpkin-heads: #smashing_pumpkins on Undernet, EFnet, and IRCnet, #smashing_pumpkins and #pumpkins on EFnet, and #smashing-pumpkins on DALnet. #smashing_pumpkins on oz.org is also a popular place for Aussie SP fans. To use IRC, you must have a client program. For more info, check out the mIRC homepage at http://www.mirc.com/. 5.6 Web links for cool stuff* Since there are hundreds of web sites devoted to SP, it may be difficult, at first, to find what you're looking for. Here are the best sites I'm aware of for specific features: Tour info - http://www.starla.org/splra/ Tour History - http://www.spfc.org/tours/index.html Trading - http://www.smashing-pumpkins.net/ Links - http://www.starla.org/ Listessa - http://www.spifc.org/spifc/ Discography (visual) - http://www.smashing-pumpkins.net/ Discography (text info) - http://www.xero.com - http://www.spfc.org/songs-releases/discog.html Bootlist - http://www.mbnet.mb.ca/~daher/boot.html (text version) - http://www.starla.org/jackboot/ (HTML version) - http://www.spfc.org/songs-releases/boot.html Recording Sessions - http://www.smashing-pumpkins.net/recording/index.html - http://www.netphoria.org/recording/recording.html Tab - http://www.starla.org/pumpkinsoup/ - http://home.san.rr.com/obscured/index.htm - http://www.spfc.org/cgi-bin/spfc/music/index.html General - http://www.smashing-pumpkins.net/ - http://www.netphoria.org/ - http://www.spfc.org/ Official sites - http://www.thesmashingpumpkins.com/ - http://www.jamesiha.com/ - http://www.virginrecords.com/xspx/ If you're creating a new site, keep in mind that simply copying someone else's site is NOT a good idea, as you will likely get a lot of complaints. Try to come up with something novel and original, and remember that content is more important than how many "hits" you get. Do -not- post your URL 10 times a day to the newsgroup. Announcing it only once upon creation, or after a time of extreme upgrade/change, and including the URL in your .sig is the best way to go. If it's good, people will visit it. If not, perhaps it could use some improvement. :-) 6. Miscellaneous/Semi-Related 6.1 '666' Bootleg video A completely new FAQ has been created for this subject. Please consult that FAQ for information pertaining to the subject of the 666 bootleg. 666 FAQ: http://www.ualberta.ca/~michaelh/666FAQ.html 6.2 Starchildren The Starchildren is a side-project band consisting of Billy and various other people. There have also been "secret" pumpkin shows under the name. Starchildren have released a split 7" with Catherine (Delusions of Candor/ Flight of the Eagle, b/w Songs About Girls), and covered "Isolation" for the Joy Division tribute album, "Means to an End." Rotating members of Starchildren have included James, Jimmy, and D'Arcy, Bob English, and Mark Rew, Neil Jendon, Cliff Fox, and Kerry Brown of Catherine. Starchildren has not made an appearance as of late. 6.3 Catherine Catherine is, unfortunately, usually thought of as "D'Arcy's husband's band." However, despite poor marketing from TVT, they're definitely a cool band to check out. The band consists of Mark Rew (guitar/vocals), Fever (guitar), Gus (percussion/keyboards), Keith Brown (bass), and Kerry Brown (drums). Former members include Neil Jendon, Jerome Brown, and Cliff Fox. Catherine's releases are: the split 7" with Starchildren (Songs About Girls/Delusions of Candor - TVT 4612-7); the Sparkle/Charmed (for Taylor) 7" on Limited Potential (LimP 011); an EP "Sleepy" (March Records MAR 005, reissued TVT 4610); Songs About Girls/It's No Lie 7" on Rough Trade (45rev35); and albums "Sorry" (TVT 4620-2) and "Hot Saki & Bedtime Stories" (TVT 9020-2). There's also a track "End of Something" on the Absolute Middle of Nowhere #17 compilation. Videos are available for It's No Lie, Songs About Girls, Saint, and Four-Leaf Clover. Earlier releases are very guitar-heavy (3 guitars), and the final songs on Sleepy and Sorry feature extended feedback jams similar to "Drown"- the latest release is more poppy. Billy Corgan co-produced the 2 7" releases and Sleepy EP. D'Arcy sings on "Four-Leaf Clover" and "Punch Me Out" from "Hot Saki & Bedtime Stories", on which James Iha & Jimmy Chamberlin are also credited for "additional equipment". "Blew Away" (Disarm (smile) single, Pisces Iscariot) features Kerry Brown on drums. Kerry is also a co-owner of Scratchie Records, and has helped record and produce a number of SP songs. For more info, join the Catherine mailing list (send "subscribe catherine" to majordomo@jade-v.com), and/or check out the following web sites: The Catherine Page (includes a FAQ) Catherine The Catherine Collection Catherine.org 6.4 The Frogs The Frogs are a Milwaukee-based band that Billy is both a fan of and close friends with. Consisting of brothers Jimmy and Dennis Flemion and bassist Damian Strigens, The Frogs can best be described as satirical. Though largely underground, The Frogs have developed a sort of cult following, and their live show is simply unforgettable. The Frogs have opened for the Pumpkins and Pearl Jam, and played second stage at Lollapalooza in 1994, with Billy coming out on a few occasions. Dennis was chosen as the replacement keyboardist for the Pumpkins' MCIS tour, and appeared with them from August '96 on. Jimmy took a roadie job with the tour, and came out on stage in his green-sequined, winged costume to play along for 1979 and choose audience members to dance on stage. The Frogs have released 2 albums ("It's Only Right And Natural", Homestead [HMS169-2], and "My Daughter the Broad", Matador [ole 155-2]), several 7" singles ("Now You Know You're Black", "Here Comes Santa's Pussy", and a split 7" with Wesley Willis), a cover of Pearl Jam's "rearviewmirror" (found on PJ's "Immortality" CDS), and an EP "Starjob" on Scratchie Records [314 534 838-2], produced by Billy Corgan. The Pumpkins' home video, Vieuphoria, includes a brief "Meet the Frogs" segment, including bits of live shows, and featuring excerpts of "Homos" and "I Only Play 4 Money" (found on "It's Only Right And Natural" and "Starjob", respectively). For more info, check out one of the two Frogs web sites at: http://www.northcoast.com/~alora/frogs http://www.thefuton.com/frogs/ (includes text discography, Real Audio, Real Video, and pictures.) 6.5 Scratchie Records Scratchie Records is a label co-owned by James Iha & D'Arcy, as well as Jeremy Freeman, Kerry Brown, and others. The label puts out cool music & does really cool stuff for its customers & fans. :-) Check their web site out at http://www.scratchie.com/. The label occaisionally posts to the newsgroup, announcing Scratchie-related news, so watch for these announcements. 6.7 Cabal (...) / Junta (...) Although scarcely mentioned nowadays, the Cabal (there is no Cabal) and Junta (there is a Junta, I know, they suck) were two "secret organizations" that were brought up occasionally a while back. Their mention provided amusement for some, annoyance to others, and is included here purely for nostalgia. :-) 7. Conclusion 7.1 Acknowledgments This work could not have been made possible without the generous contributions (info and otherwise) from the following people: ERIC AGNEW. Adam Bellinger; Adam Cutler; Adam Newman; Allison Baird; Andrew Miller; Ankh Raid; Badfish; Brian McCall; Brandon; BuGG; Chris Carman; Christine Henry; Damian Strigens, and Dennis & Jimmy Flemion; Dave Asselin; Davin Mehrbani; Emmy Bristow; Eric Heutchy; Henry Bent; Jamie Halle; Jason Petrait; Jason Ting; Jenn Miller; Jeremy Adams; Jeremy Freeman; Jesse Miller; Josh Sherman; Joshua Provost; Karl Daher; Kim Wisniewski; Kristen Kapica; Laura Ann (SPFC); Looselucy9; Marci; Mark Gillis; Mark Andrew Hamilton; all the Matts and Mikes; Matthius Rheaume; Nikki Christoff; Onica; Phil Herring; Pissant; Roger Janssen; Saira Hussain; Scott Carpenter; Scott Spencer; Steve Hamel; Steve Hemming; Tariq Hussain; Tom Jackson; Wristy; all the other people who've sent in info, plugged the FAQ; everyone who's taken the time to create a cool, info-packed web site; and, of course, the band, for their inspiration & all that awesome music. :-) 7.2 Disclaimer Anything that you think should be included in this FAQ should be mailed to me (Mike Hamilton) at faq@spfc.org. Please keep in mind that I'm a full-time University student, and I do have a social life, so I don't always e-mail you back immediately. Be patient. Thanks. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-