Pumpkins reunited?

News has it that Billy Corgan and Smashing Pumpkins/Zwan drummer Jimmy Chamberlin are, in the tradition of Jake & Elwood Blues, "getting the band back together". What the band consists of is anyone's guess. I would have thought at least James Iha would have signed up, but no-one close to the band seems to be giving out any info. As Billy put it in a recent Myspace post, "The surprise I have in store for you all will be announced soon enough....hold on to your horses. After all, good things surely comes (sic) to those who wait....Don't you just love the suspense?" Cryptic enough?

James Iha, Jimmy Chamberlin, D'arcy Wretzky,
and Billy Corgan - somewhere, sometime last decade.

"My services are there for Billy whenever he needs them," said Melissa Auf der Maur, former bassist for Hole and honorary Pumpkin after original bassist D'arcy Wretzky left in 2000. She recently told MTV, "I love the Pumpkins, and to play those songs again would be nothing but fun for me. It was a big part of my life. The coolest thing would be if D'Arcy was around, but I don't know where she's at and I don't think they do either. But I feel very comfortable being second best."

Melissa Auf der Maur, James Iha, Jimmy Chamberlin, and Billy Corgan
sign CDs at Tower Records in Chicago, early 2000

A spokesperson for Azoff Management confirmed Thursday (February 2) that Corgan and Chamberlin have signed on with the firm as Smashing Pumpkins, and that the two are writing new music. Corgan and Chamberlin are said to be recording(!) a new Pumpkins album, and planning a tour later this year. For those of you who can't wait, here's a live archive from 1988-2000.

Now we just need Paul McCartney & Ringo Starr to get back together as "The Beatles".

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For the record, Melissa met the Great Pumpkin back in the early 1990s when he was playing a gig in her native Montreal. A friend of hers threw a bottle at the stage and it hit Billy, so she went backstage to apologize, and he wound up introducing her to Courtney Love.

In my humble opinion, and I am going to get in big trouble for saying this, not only is Melissa hotter than D'arcy, she is also a better musician and added more to the Pumpkins than her predecessor. So I hope the new line-up includes the lovely Melissa, and D'arcy can stay on her horse farm in Michigan.

Oh, as a totally shameless plug here, check out Melissa's STORE and BLOG!