Zwan split

honru

Ex-Pumpkin Corgan says Zwan is history

Billy Corgan's second act — Zwan — is over. The band has broken up, the former Smashing Pumpkins singer-guitarist announced this morning.
"A couple of people asked me, 'Why didn't you tell anybody?' I'm sort of out of the period of my life when I run around trying to generate news," Corgan said during an interview on WGN-Ch. 9's Morning News.
"My heart was in Smashing Pumpkins," and the new band just couldn't generate the same magic and feeling of family, Corgan said. "I really enjoyed my experience with Zwan, but at the end of the day, without that sense of deeper family loyalty, it just becomes like anything else."
"Our attitude in the Pumpkins was, it was a do or die proposition, and that got us through all the hard times we went through, particularly with the Pumpkins where we had two members with serious drug problems," he said."Without that sense of family, rock 'n' roll isn't worth the trouble."
Corgan begins the third act in his career 6:30 p.m. Wednesday with his first public reading of poetry at the Poetry Center in the Rubloff Auditorium of the Art Institute, 111 S. Michigan Ave., Chicago.
"My first dream as a kid was to be a writer. Music came later," Corgan said.
"I'm 36 years old. I'm ready for a solo career. I feel really good about what I've done."

The singer-guitarist founded the Pumpkins in 1987, and with James Iha, D'Arcy Wretzky and Jimmy Chamberlin enjoyed commercial success as one of the biggest rock bands ever to come out of Chicago, with a 13-year run and 25 million album sales. After the Pumpkins broke up, Corgan and Chamberlin formed Zwan. The new band played clubs for a year before releasing its first CD, "Mary Star of the Sea," last January.

Source: nynewsday.com, September 15, 2003, 10:48 AM EDT


Wow, I was expecting this. While I agree with what Billy has said, it still sucks, I was really looking foward to seeing how Zwan would progress through future albums. And I wanted to see them live dammit (was planning to see them at the Witnness Festival). Zwan was a pretty cool collection of musicians. I'll miss them, but I'll just follow the bald man wherever he goes and appreciate his motives...

...so solo Billy, sounds interesting, will he play Pumpkins and Zwan songs at his live shows? That would be cool. Speaking of the Pumpkins, a reunion seems all the more possible...

Mossy Monk

that didn't last long did it

Sauron

I am also disapointted about not seeing billy + jimmy combination live....would've gone to witness had they not cancelled. at a drum clinic.. jimmy apparently revealed that billy "doesn't want to rule out" a reunion tour. (fingers crossed) I wasn't really expecting them to last long...it didn't seem all that natural

Mewzel

gotta say, im really nothing but pleased. didnt like zwan at all, it was like the pumpkins on prozac and just didnt work. i found them to be rather boring and tediuos and a waste of a talent such as billy corgan's

magpie

Ha! What a twat that man Corgan is.

I expect to hear news that the left side of his body has split from the right in the near future....

mr_angry

Pity Paz left A Perfect Circle. The new album is deadly! Thank God for that...