Likes: 
Faceplams: nice pick in Billy's Instagram...
Throbbing Member
nice pick in Billy's Instagram...
Active Member
It's so awesome to see the three of them hanging out in a studio! Just missing one person. Do you think Darcy will still be part of the reunion? Her absence here (and her secluded and hermitic lifestyle of the past 17 years) worries me a bit.Originally Posted by dvdglss
Throbbing Member
As much as we all want her there... thats a real long time not to be playing music etc.... i dunno if shed be down for the demands of it all...
Active Member
Yeah... here's hoping that she's been spending a lot of time practicing in the past year...
Administrator
Would be nice to see exactly what pics you've been discussing?
I checked https://www.instagram.com/smashingpumpkins/ and https://www.instagram.com/ogilala/ and there's nothing of interest...
Cubby NIИtastic
Unintelligible Whispering
I've had a giant grin on my face all day today.
Don't think it's out if the question she'd rejoin. I mean, she toured for one and a half decades, you don't just lose all of that, and most SP basslines aren't particulary tricky anyway.
Still grinning
Active Member
Yeah, she wasn't usually writing the songs, just performing. Plus, from the sound of it, Billy usually recorded the bass parts on the albums himself, too. As long as she's standing onstage playing when the tour happens, I'll be happy!I've had a giant grin on my face all day today.
Don't think it's out if the question she'd rejoin. I mean, she toured for one and a half decades, you don't just lose all of that, and most SP basslines aren't particulary tricky anyway.
Still grinning
Active Member
The only time that the sight of 3 men in a room together got me erect.
Active Member
Looks like there might be a fourth person behind JC. (that looks like a face, right??) Wonder who that is...
Active Member
That's definitely a person...
Unintelligible Whispering
I don't know who that is behind Jimmy, but Jeff's also present in the studio; he also posted a picture of a Marshall amp, mentioned being in California, and you can see the same yellow bass behind it that was in Corgan's guitar rack.
So it looks like this is shaping up to be a five-piece arrangement. At the very least it seems like there'll be two guitarists; I'm fairly convinced now they're reworking a bunch of unreleased Zwan songs.
Active Member
What makes you think Zwan has anything to do with this? Personally, I think they should just leave the Zwan stuff in the past and focus on making a new SP album the best it can possibly be. Jeff and James had nothing to do with Zwan anyway.
Active Member
I wonder if it's the bassist they had on tour with them for the Manson co-tour. Wasn't he younger and the son of some famous musician? Or could just be a friend of the band. I hope this has nothing to do with Zwan, please lord no.
Unintelligible Whispering
1 - A month or two ago, Billy mentioned taking a bunch of 'Dust and Ruin' tracks dated 2001-2003 off the shelf for rearrangement. Zwan period.
2 - When he began having second thoughts about the Zwan box a year and a half ago, he mentioned maybe reworking some unreleased stuff with Jimmy. Probably the start of this.
3 - A lot of the rock material was written for three guitars - Billy, Sweeny and Pajo
I'd advise not to judge Zwan by the MSOTS album. That was a concentrated overproduced dose of happy hippy-trippy bullshit which was a colossal disappointment after two years of amazing shows with tracks worthy of the SP name (Check out the Glass house bootleg) that were all left by the wayside. If they want to dig up some of that stuff I'm all for it; I've sometimes wondered if BC left a lot of it in the lurch because it felt too much like SP (See: 'The Empty Sea').
Last edited by Shadaloo; 01-18-2018 at 05:21 PM. Reason: typos
Active Member
That was Peter Hook's son right?
Active Member
Fair enough. And yes, I am judging by that album. I bought it when it was new and was disappointed in most of it, but it did have a decent song or two. I have heard from others besides you that some of their other songs were good, but my feelings on the only songs they released didn't give me any motivation to seek out the supposed good songs. Still, I maintain that if Billy, Jimmy, and James are going to be working together, their time is better spent on SP — the better band that people actually care about. Unless they need to shake off the cobwebs because they're rusty, then by all means, use Zwan as a way to get back into the swing of things before recording new those new SP tunes!
Active Member
Yeah, I believe that's the one. He toured with Billy, JC, and Jeff for the Manson tour. He was a bassist. It worked. But I do hope D'arcy comes back. I wouldn't mind Jeff as a third guitarist, think that could work on the heavy songs.
Active Member
Regardless of whatever name they release work under, I want it to feel genuine. The biggest issue with a lot of post-Machina work is that it often feels like Billy trying to sound a certain way because he thinks it’s what’s wanted or expected rather than being what sounds sincere. Hopefully he does some vocals that shy away from the style he’s been delivering everything in studio in for the last few albums, let Jimmy drum his arms off and make a mess of guitars between he, James and Jeff and I’ll give anything they do a shot.
Also, it’s great to see James doing so well lately. Between touring with APC so much and working with Billy and Jimmy again, the guy has been in more demand than I think he’s been all decade. It’s refreshing. If everybody’s getting along then no matter what they end up making it’s nice to see these people who have had so much back and forth over the years all together again.
Stubby Member
I'd kill to hear a re-arranged version of The Empty Sea by the guys in that photo.
And if D'Arcy isn't in the mix, that really wouldn't affect the outcome much
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Active Member
Yeah, I hate to say it and I don't intend to be mean or discredit her too much, but she's the least essential member of the band, really.
Unintelligible Whispering
It's true that she's not technically proficient, but she always operated best as Billy's critic and he valued her for that:
The pecking order on influence to the songs usually falls in this order: Billy, Jimmy, James, D’arcy…although D’arcy contributes very little in the arranging department, she is the person I watch most while we work, because like a child, she is incapable of hiding or masking any displeasure, and it shows readily on her face…James general interest is directly proportionate to whether or not a song is “his”, and following that, whether or not he personally likes a particular tune…he is fully capable of offering a brilliant suggestion at any given moment, and then turning right around and looking completely bored as if there were a million places he would rather be than here…Jimmy stands as the auteur of our power, so great is his unconscious understanding of how to lift the songs to the highest heights…his suggestions tend to be more emotional as opposed to musical…he readily reads my mind, and I read his, and much of our work is eye to eye, soul to soul, and goes on mostly unseen by the other two…my role is one of floor leader and cheerleader, as most of the songs are mine…we have a general rule, which is: ‘your song, your call’…this means that whomever is the writer on a particular song has final call on any decision, including a veto on what other members might play part wise…if a song is a co-write, then both people share this vote/veto…songs like “soma” and “mayonnaise” are true musical collaborations, as I sort thru the issues, making sure the other writer (in this case James) is in full agreement on all aspects of the song, and it’s execution…
I tend to think that the lack of her input and position as a voice of reason is one of the reasons the Teargarden by Kaleidyscope era happened and you got stuff like Billy singing with the Mormon tabernacle choir or with a bunch of pro wrestlers standing around awkwardly.
I do hope that even if she's not present for whatever they're cooking up, they've got her in Skype calls for advice.
Active Member
Yes, I agree. I was going to add that Darcy's input wasn't always just on the musical side of things, but also the emotional side or guiding and steering Billy away from poor ideas/decisions. I do really hope that she is present and included in the reunion. It just won't feel complete without her.It's true that she's not technically proficient, but she always operated best as Billy's critic and he valued her for that:
The pecking order on influence to the songs usually falls in this order: Billy, Jimmy, James, D’arcy…although D’arcy contributes very little in the arranging department, she is the person I watch most while we work, because like a child, she is incapable of hiding or masking any displeasure, and it shows readily on her face…James general interest is directly proportionate to whether or not a song is “his”, and following that, whether or not he personally likes a particular tune…he is fully capable of offering a brilliant suggestion at any given moment, and then turning right around and looking completely bored as if there were a million places he would rather be than here…Jimmy stands as the auteur of our power, so great is his unconscious understanding of how to lift the songs to the highest heights…his suggestions tend to be more emotional as opposed to musical…he readily reads my mind, and I read his, and much of our work is eye to eye, soul to soul, and goes on mostly unseen by the other two…my role is one of floor leader and cheerleader, as most of the songs are mine…we have a general rule, which is: ‘your song, your call’…this means that whomever is the writer on a particular song has final call on any decision, including a veto on what other members might play part wise…if a song is a co-write, then both people share this vote/veto…songs like “soma” and “mayonnaise” are true musical collaborations, as I sort thru the issues, making sure the other writer (in this case James) is in full agreement on all aspects of the song, and it’s execution…
I tend to think that the lack of her input and position as a voice of reason is one of the reasons the Teargarden by Kaleidyscope era happened and you got stuff like Billy singing with the Mormon tabernacle choir or with a bunch of pro wrestlers standing around awkwardly.
I do hope that even if she's not present for whatever they're cooking up, they've got her in Skype calls for advice.
Last edited by sonic_discord; 01-18-2018 at 07:58 PM.
Active Member
We could have used some D'Arcy in the studio when Billy busted out Run2Me
Unintelligible Whispering
Stubby Member
Well that didn't take long the post has been taken down. Weird.
Unintelligible Whispering
She apparently contacted the site and asked them to take the story down. Now there are claims someone hacked her phone / FB account. She 'was supposed to' rejoin SP. Linda Strawberry says to wait for Billy to make a statement.
Let's just wait and see what happens.
Active Member
What did the story say before it got taken down?
RA-MEN ROPPAI
D’arcy Wretzky Will Not Be Part of Impending Smashing Pumpkins Reunion or Tour
Ex-Pumpkins Bassist: "I only found out yesterday the band has decided to go with a different bass player"
By blastecho on January 21, 2018
-----------------------------------------
On Sunday (January 21), ex-Smashing Pumpkins bassist D’arcy Wretzky confirmed both the impending Smashing Pumpkins reunion, and that she will not be a part of a reunion and/or tour, set to begin this summer.
Speaking exclusively to BlastEcho via text, Wretzky wrote, “My apologies to all of the Smashing Pumpkins fans out there who are excited about this oncoming reunion tour of the original members of the band. I know this is a huge disappointment for me, as well, but it’s not going to happen [with me].”
She added, “I only just found about yesterday that the band has decided to go with a different bass player.”
According to Wretzky, the band is planning to launch a summer tour featuring frontman Billy Corgan, original guitarist James Iha, original drummer Jimmy Chamberlain and, now a to-be-determined bassist, beginning in July.
At this time, Wretzky declined to provide additional details, but please stay tuned.
Active Member
Apparently D'arcy told them to take that article down and that her phone was hacked. Linda Strawberry, who is close with Billy, said to ignore that article and wait for an announcement from Billy himself. So I have no clue what the hell is going on.
If this is true, that is a shame cuz I heard that she was practicing bass and getting back into things and seemed she wanted to be involved. So did Billy screw her over? Is the band doing damage control over this?
Last edited by neorev; 01-22-2018 at 01:29 AM.
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