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Jimmy Chamberlin

Wikipedia article | SkySaw

Jimmy Chamberlin was born on June 10 1964 in Joliet, Illinois. His brother was a jazz drummer, as was his father. Jimmy also took up drumming, and before playing in the Smashing Pumpkins, he played in several jazz bands, such as JP and the Cats, and Eddie Karosa's Polka Party. Billy hired him to play with the Smashing Pumpkins in 1988 when the band opened for Jane's Addiction. Jimmy had never really listened to rock, but was really impressed by the intensity of Billy's music. He was hired permanently.

Then in July of 1996 in New York City, he and touring keyboardist Jonathan Melvoin overdosed on heroin. Jonathan died, and Jimmy was arrested for possession of heroin. Billy, James, and D'arcy promptly booted Chamberlin from the band, as he had been battling a continual drug problem.

Chamberlin entered drug rehab. When he finished, he joined the Last Hard Men, who recorded a cover of Alice Cooper's "School's Out" for the Scream soundtrack. The Last Hard Men consists of Kelley Deal, Sebastien Bach, and Jimmy Flemion.

Then, in February of 1999, Billy and Jimmy met for lunch. The two resolved their differences and put their past behind them. Jimmy Chamberlin was rehired as drummer for the Smashing Pumpkins, and subsequently played on the Arising! Tour, "Machina: the Machines of God", and the tour in support of that album.

After the Pumpkins split in 2000, Jimmy joined Billy's new band, Zwan. Zwan, however, was short-lived, and broke up after only a single album, despite Billy having written a large amount of material. In 2005, while Billy was doing his own solo album, Jimmy put out an album with his fusion band The Jimmy Chamberlin Complex.

In 2007, when The Smashing Pumpkins re-formed, Jimmy was on board once again, and stuck with the band for their first new album, Zeitgeist, and supporting tours. On March 20, 2009, Jimmy once again left the Pumpkins, stating in a blog entry, "I can no longer commit all of my energy into something that I don’t fully possess."

After his departure from the Pumpkins, Jimmy formed a new band, initially called This, but later renamed to Skysaw when another band already called This was discovered. Their first and only album was released in June 2011. Since then, Jimmy has done drum workshops, recorded and played with saxophonist Frank Catalano, and in 2013 became CEO of LiveOne Inc, a digital/streaming entertainment company.



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