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A Newsletter From The Smashing Pumpkins to Their Fans - 1993-03-??

http://bystarlight.org/interviews/smashing-pumpkins-newsletter-1993/
(lookup on archive.org)

PAGE 1
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Hello to all our dearies:

welcome to our newsletter. it has no title (I think Pumpkin Press) and we hope to release it every season. so this here is the spring edition. thank you to everyone that has written, your letters give us great hope that there are people out there who understand what it is we do.

we are still in marietta, ga. as i write this attempting to put the finishing touches our new album _siamese dream_. yes yes believe it or not there is going to be a new album forthcoming. the release date is set for july 1st, so start bugging your local record store for a copy around that time. the album will have 13 or 14 songs on it, and the best way i can describe it (sonically speaking) is it is a big departure from gish. it is very guitar heavy. some songs have 20+ different guitars on them. the songs are very diverse, i know — Big Surprise, and the titles to some of these songs are luna, cherub-rock, rocket, disarm, spaceboy, silverfuck, soma, and a bunch of others i can't remember right now. it is a pretty long album (about 70 minutes). we hope you can make it through the whole thing. we are also going to release some of the b-sides we have recorded, and the newsletter will keep you abreast of when those things are available here in the u.s. or overseas in the u.k. i think there are about 9 or 10 b-sides recorded over the last couple of years, plus demos and live stuff. way too much i must say.

if you are still reading this, it is nice to finally have the chance to write. we have been so busy these last couple of years. there have been so many great shows and a whole lot of bad ones too (sorry if you saw one
of those) and we've been lucky to meet so many wonderful people. we really like to meet and talk to as many people as we can. unfortunately, some people do not understand the difference between privacy and unfriendliness, but that is because they don't understand that we all need a little space sometimes. i won't lie and say playing in this particular band is easy, our standards are very high, and know that if you come to see us play, we are going to go to the greatest lengths to to make it a very memorable show for everyone involved. we have always tried to distance ourselves from bands that act as if _you_ owe them a favor, or bands that gladly take your money for the records you buy, but do not allow you the chance to see them play live. music has become so much a game of manipulation that people forget that there actually is someone in iowa buying their record. and don't be fooled by all this talk of "alternative" and "independent". it is all bullshit. music is music and money is money, so the moment you take money to make music, you are no longer alternative or independent. people in bands want to believe that they are the rebels of our culture. if they truly were rebellious, they would never have the patience to make records and play live shows. music can be the most wonderful thing in the world, it personally has inspired me to make great changes in my life and my way of thinking, but it is only music. remember that those who "make it" are not above you in any way. don't give credence to anyone person's opinion than your very own, including my own and certainly don't give more credence
to one person's opinion because he or she has sold more records than another. many people have asked me how far i want the band to go. and i always say as far and to as many people as it can because that means people are doing the thing that means the most to us, and that is listening to the music.

so soon we will be playing in a town near you. sometime around july we will be playing selected midwestern cities before the album comes out. as soon as we know about those shows we will send you a postcard letting you know where and when. we will tour the whole u.s. in august or septmeber. so hope to see you there. if you feel we should come and play closer to you, write and let us know.

be happy and stay well.

Billy Corgan, March 1993

PAGE 2
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Greetings my fellow rockstar Pumpkin admirers!

My name is Laura Ann and I am the person who deals with the fan mail. Some of you already know me because I have written to many of the fans. The band gets a lot of mail and with the release of the new album (which totally rocks, by the way) I predict that I will be smothered in letters of admiration and curiosity. The band members can't always write everyone personally (obviously because of the grueling schedules that they have between recording and touring) but, all letters are read by a real person (usually myself) and many are forwarded to the band. Many of you have asked the same questions and I've put a little compilation of questions that were asked in the mail and had the band answer them for you:

Q: "Whose dog is Bugg Superstar?" -Josh – Boystown, NE
A: "Well, Josh, Bugg Superstar is James' dog and is energetic, young husky/lab/weimaraner(?) who is 4 years old and enjoys swimming jumping and barking.

Q: "I was wondering why the I am One single on Hut was not released domestically in the u.s.?" -Matt Redman – North Hills, CA
A: "We didn't think there would be any interest in it here. Plus we'd released it in the u.s. (an early version) in 1989.

Q: "I've been told that the Smashing Pumpkins sold a self-released tape at one of their shows in Champaign, IL Sept 1989. Are these tapes still available?" -Alan Heyd – State College, PA
A: "True, not for sale anymore."

Q: "You guys (and girl) have been a tremendous influence on my guitar playing and song writing. What I would like to know is what kind of effects you use (Billy and James) and what kinds of tunings you use other than standard E,A,D,G,B,E?" -Jason Neal – N Hollywood, CA
A: "D down tuning, tune low E to D ar a to G. As far as effects Electro Harmonix Bigg Muffs, Maestro Phasers and a lot of rack gear!"

Q: "When did the Smashing Pumpkins get started?" -Johan Bermans – Belgium
A: "Spring of '88."

Q: "Has Virgin been fucking with the recording of your new album?" -David Goodman, Cornell U.
A: "No, we're left alone for the most part."

Q: "Where did you grow up? What different kinds of cultures were you exposed to while growing up?" -Josh Griffith – Vancouver, WA
A: "WASP culture. Try to express individual thought."

Q: "Where did you find the Chainsaw Kittens?" -Mike Lacey – San Diego, CA
A: "In a hole."

Q: "D'arcy, is your hair really that white?" -Tyson Chihaya – New Wilmington, PA
A: "No. Don't let your eyes deceive you. The white effect you see is a trick we do with mirrors…it's actually a black afro."

Q: "Who sings backup on Bury Me?" -Aron Abell – Union, KY
A: "James sings back ups on bury me." Butch Vig recalls that bizarre recording session. "James had just eaten
5 twinkies, 2 packs of M&M's and a glass of Mountain Dew when called upon to sing he entered the recording booth and began speaking in tongues, and that's what we got on tape." -hiyah-hayah-unchun-unchun!

Q: "How would you categorize your music?" -Brett Thompson, Mayfield, MA
A: "People always want to pin us down as rock, alternative, metal, pop, country, we just play whatever we want and do not concern ourselves with a category or box."

Q: "Billy, I heard you were in a Christian rock band in high school. Is this true?" -Amy – Addison, IL
A: "No, actually I was in a death/satanic band..at least we pretended to be evil, but all we really were was bad."

Q: "Can you explain how you compose?" -Jerome Lancha – France
A: "Darts & Dice, Luck & Lice. Honestly, whatever melodies come to mind are harmonized out on guitar or bass, and then we think of some fucked up rhythm, I make noises & then turn them into words way later."

Q: "Do you have any sheet music available?" -Jack Jachino – Savanah, IL
A: "Not that I know of. We play lots of weird chords, secret chords we ripped off from music machine records."

Q: "Do you have a lyric sheet for Gish?" -Christie Derrick – Lexington, SC (and 90% of the people who wrote us).
A: "No, there is no lyric sheet for Gish. Someday we are thinking about a contest to give away a hand-bound and written copy of the lyrics for someone to treasure, keep and exploit."



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