ZWAN GONE!

ZWAN have split.

Former Smashing Pumpkins frontman Billy Corgan confirmed this morning (September 15) that he had disbanded the outfit – which featured former Pumpkins drummer Jimmy Chamberlain.

He told US radio station WGN-Ch 9: "My heart was in Smashing Pumpkins. 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."

He continued: "Our attitude with 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."

Corgan formed Zwan after disbanding the Pumpkins in 2000. They released one album, ‘Mary, Star Of The Sea’, which went down well with both critics and fans. Corgan is now expected to work on solo material.

• Billy Corgan Pulls The Plug On Zwan - Chart Attack
• Zwan Call It Quits - Rolling Stone
• Billy Corgan Pulls The Plug On Zwan - Chart Attack
• Corgan Pulls Plug On Zwan - Billboard
• ZWAN SONG! - DotMusic.com

Corgan Unveils The Poet Inside

Former Smashing Pumpkins frontman and current Zwan leader Billy Corgan will present a multimedia poetry performance Sept. 17 in his Chicago hometown, opening the Poetry Center of Chicago's 31st Annual Reading Series at the Art Institute of Chicago's Rubloff Auditorium.

The performance, expected to incorporate elements of singing, reading and playing music, will also serve as a promotional preview of Corgan's forthcoming poetry book. Tickets are available through Ticketweb; for more information, visit the Poetry Center's official Web site.

Corgan's band Zwan has been inactive since abruptly canceling its entire summer European tour due to "family matters." Bassist Paz Lenchantin left the group last month to join David Pajo's Papa M project.

The band's Reprise debut, "Mary, Star of the Sea," debuted at No. 3 on The Billboard 200 and has sold 267,000 copies in the U.S., according to Nielsen SoundScan.