on april 24 of this year, the smashing pumpkins were honored at the make a wish foundation of northern illinois annual charity wish ball with a fountain of hope award. the honor was in recognition for a charity concert in chicago, il. last summer that raised 500,000 dollars for the make a wish foundation, their largest single donation ever, and helped to raise local and national awareness of the foundations efforts to grant a special wish to terminally ill children. because the pumpkins were in los angeles playing, they were unable to accept the award in person so they asked their longtime friend joe shanahan, owner of the cabaret metro (where the pumpkins played their first concert) to accept for them. joe spoke for the band and read a statement by billy corgan:

"please let me express to you our gratitude for this honor….we take great pride in being citizens of the world, but as many know we are chicagoans in our heart of hearts…..choosing make a wish as the benefactor to our concert last summer was an easy choice because they embody the compassion that we wished all people could have towards each other…I know I am paraphrasing someone when I say that the mark of a great people is how they take care of their weakest…ironically the use of the word weak when it comes to the little angels that are the focus of make a wish are probably some of our strongest…nothing is more heartbreaking than the obstacles faced by these children, but that is exactly why they need our love and full support…so let me take this moment to thank you make a wish for the work that you all do, it is truly god’s work….we are so sorry that we cannot be there to accept this honor from you personally….but we are on tour wreaking havoc on our culture, hopefully some change for the better….so allow me to leave you with one final thought….love does not always have to be quiet and graceful, it can be boisterous and loud and even rude, to shout above the din to be heard sometimes…if only to bring a little peace….thank you"

additional fountain of hope awards were also presented to: sammy sosa of the chicago cubs, give kids the world, dr. ammar hayani, dr. karen hayani

Q-Prime Sues Hole

Q- Prime Management has filed a lawsuit against Hole, following the group's departure from the firm in March (allstar, March 26).

The suit was apparently filed in Manhattan on Friday (April 16), but the court could not be reached at press time on Tuesday (April 20) night to determine the details or amount. Q- Prime had no comment at press time.

Q- Prime also recently lost two other high-profile clients: the Smashing Pumpkins left late last year and Madonna parted ways with the firm in April (allstar, April 1). Expect more details shortly.

Pumpkins Appear Ready To Rock Again For New LP

The Smashing Pumpkins' next album will mark a return to the hard-rocking, guitar-driven sound that made them multiplatinum stars in the early '90s, according to bandmembers' comments and judging by the new material they've played live.

The move would be a distinct change in direction from the atmospheric, electronic feel of their 1998 album Adore, a relative sales disappointment for the band. Before that album, the group had released its most successful effort to date, Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness.

Recent live previews of a dozen songs from their as-yet-untitled new album due in September show that the quartet has cranked things up to a harsh din again with such new songs as "Wound" and "Stand Inside Your Love." And the band, so far, seems pleased with the decision to do so.

"I don't want to say any more, other than it's good and we're getting along and it rocks," Pumpkins guitarist James Iha said recently when asked about the new album.

- the band has almost 40 new songs, and the album (which will be a single album) has been pared down to about 24…they're shooting for a late september release…

- billy has recorded music for a new movie called STIGMATA starring patricia arquette and gabriel byrne….the soundtrack, to be released on virgin records, will have 35-40 minutes of instrumental score music composed for the movie by billy and mike garson with contributions from bon harris… the album is set to come out sometime in june, and will also feature a stigmata theme/love song written by billy and mike g…. a singer for the song has yet to be determined…

- jimmy chamberlain is now OFFICIALLY back with the smashing pumpkins…contrary to published reports, leaks by virgin records and so-called "inner circle friends" that jimmy was "back" before he was…if you want information from the source…

Smashing Pumpkins Debut New Songs With Jimmy Chamberlin In Tow

Hunched over his drum kit, the Smashing Pumpkins' Jimmy Chamberlin rarely looked up during the band's gig marking his return. Although "Welcome Back" signs peppered the 1,000-capacity St. Andrew's Hall in Detroit on Saturday (April 10), the Pumpkins took an innocuous approach to the event -- until the encore. Then all hell broke loose.
"What are you all screaming about? I know what it is. Jimmy's back. We saw a lot of signs saying 'Welcome back,' and we thank you," bassist D'arcy Wretzky told the crowd after the second encore. Chamberlin then took the mike and thanked everyone for their support. "Thank you, everybody. It's good to be back. Detroit Rock City!"

Reunited Smashing Pumpkins Showcase New Songs

Drummer Jimmy Chamberlin, back in band after three years, appears to fit right in.

CINCINNATI -- With the exception of a few shared smiles and head nods Monday night, Smashing Pumpkins leader Billy Corgan barely acknowledged that prodigal drummer Jimmy Chamberlin was back in the...

Smashing Pumpkins Building A Mystery

Chamberlin is apparently back, but Corgan and his bandmates prefer to let word trickle out.

(Editor's Note: The "Sunday Morning" essay does not reflect the views of SonicNet Inc. or its affiliated companies.)

Editor-in-Chief Michael Goldberg writes:

What a rollercoaster ride it has been for drummer Jimmy Chamberlin.

After drumming his way to stardom as the big beat behind the Smashing Pumpkins' Gish, Siamese Dream and the multimillion-selling Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness -- which featured the hit "Jellybelly" (RealAudio excerpt) -- he was booted from the band in the summer of 1996.

Chamberlin had a heroin habit that was interfering with his ability to function in the band. And his bandmates, after giving him numerous chances, felt they had no choice but to send him home.

Now he finds himself back in the band, informed sources told SonicNet Music News. Neither Chamberlin nor the other Pumpkins are talking at the moment, so I can only assume that he's now clean. I don't think the others -- Pumpkins leader and singer/guitarist Billy Corgan, guitarist James Iha and bassist D'Arcy -- would tolerate his return under any other circumstances.

If all went as planned, Chamberlin made his public return to the Pumpkins drumkit Saturday night, at a club date in Detroit. But I'm writing this before that gig is to take place, and none of the bandmembers or their representatives will confirm that Jimmy is back. So until Saturday night, there is no way to know for sure.

Why all the mystery? And Chamberlin's return is just one of the things the group isn't talking about.

The fact that they were planning a club tour was kept top secret, and when the news finally broke, it seemed to just slip out. No press conference. No band interviews. I don't believe there was even an official press release.

When a SonicNet Music News reporter asked James Iha about Chamberlin and the album the group has been working on, the guitarist was as noncommittal as possible. "It's going good, whatever we got going," Iha said with a laugh. "... I don't really know what else to say other than it's good and we're getting along and it rocks."

Nothing about whether Chamberlin was back. Or why he was back. Or the club tour. Or anything else Pumpkins-related.

You'd think the Pumpkins would want to talk about all of this. But then again, Corgan is a smart, sly dog. Maybe as Queens of the Stone Age guitarist Josh Homme (that group is opening for the Pumpkins on their club tour) believes, it's about "the mystery thing."

"The mystery thing?"

Rock 'n' roll thrives on buzz. It thrives on unannounced club dates. On stars sitting in with other bands. It thrives on mystery.

"The mystery thing is one of my favorite parts of music," Homme said. "It was a big part of [Homme's former band] Kyuss, it's a big part of the Queens and why not have it be a big part of the Pumpkins?"

For decades Bruce Springsteen wouldn't appear on TV. I always believed that was because the Boss, in concert, was way, way larger than life. To see him on that tiny box -- to have his wall of sound contained by TV speakers -- would have been counter to everything he was about. You could lose the mystery thing.

Some in the biz believe that MTV, where you can see rock stars 24 hours a day, seven days a week, has not only demystified the rock star, but has contributed to artist burnout. You know, you see that video day after day after day and pretty soon you're sick of Men At Work or Flock of Seagulls -- both bands that were huge for fewer than Warhol's proverbial 15 minutes.

So maybe Corgan figures keeping quiet is the surest way to get some street buzz. Don't talk about it, just do it.

Let's bring back the pulse of the band, let's do what we haven't done since we made it -- a club tour. Don't announce it. Just put the tickets on sale and do the shows. Then let the kids tell their friends about these amazing Pumpkins club gigs.

The mystery thing.

Replaced Smashing Pumpkins Drummer Speaks

"To bring Jimmy back in, hell, that's family," says Aronoff, who spent many years in John Mellencamp's band and whose latest sessions were for Garth Brooks, Melissa Etheridge, Lynyrd Skynyrd and Eddie Money, among others. "You can't replace a founding member of a band; you can physically replace them, but it's not the same."

Original Drummer Said To Be Back With Smashing Pumpkins

Jimmy Chamberlin expected to return as band plans to unveil new material on club tour.

Senior Writer Gil Kaufman reports:

Drummer Jimmy Chamberlin, whom the Smashing Pumpkins fired in 1996, will be back with the band for a two-week club tour that begins Saturday in Detroit, according to sources familiar with the group's plans.

Queens of the Stone Age singer/guitarist Josh Homme, whose band will open for the Pumpkins, said the group's leader, Billy Corgan, told him -- when Corgan invited the hard-rock band to open the tour two months ago -- "Dude, Jimmy's back in the band."

Cheap Trick Gets Help From Smashing Pumpkins And Amazon.com For Live Album

Cheap Trick will soon unveil its new live album, with a little help from the Smashing Pumpkins and Amazon.com.

The band will buck convention and release "Music For Hangovers" on their own Cheap Trick Unlimited record label on April 20 exclusively to Amazon.com. The Internet retailer will have the exclusive rights to the album for 60 days before it is expected to hit more conventional retail outlets on June 15.

The live set is culled from four shows that the band staged last April and May at Chicago's Metro. Those gigs saw the band joined by Chicago hometown heroes Billy Corgan and D'arcy Wretzky on tracks that will turn up on "Music For Hangovers" (with Corgan joining in for "Mandocello" and D'arcy helping out on "If You Want My Love"). The collection will include other Cheap Trick nuggets like "Oh Claire," "Surrender," "Hot Love," "I Can't Take It," "I Want You To Want Me," "Taxman, Mr. Thief," "Oh Caroline," "How Are You?," "Dream Police," "So Good To See You," "The Ballad Of TV Violence" and "Gonna Raise Hell."

Corgan will also turn up as the author of the album's liner notes, in which he writes, "It is in moments like those that you believe in rock'n'roll."

The band will mark the Internet release of the album with a private show at New York's CBGB's on April 20, and will stage another private gig on June 15 at Los Angeles' Palace to celebrate the album's arrival in stores.

The band also hopes to eventually release VHS and DVD versions of "Music For Hangovers."