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1994 The success of their second album, Siamese Dream, continued to amaze critics and fans. However, there were those who did not support the Pumpkins and would publicly bash the band. A few English critics, the Chicago band Pavement, and a reviewer at the Chicago Sun Times were among this group. Pavement's Stephen Malkmus had said "I like some songs by Smashing Pumpkins. It's their ideology that I despise." Pavement had begun a rumor that the Pumpkins had removed them from Lollapalooza in '94, which was false. The band had another great year with touring and releases. They headlined Lollapalooza that year, an episode that Billy described as "some of the best experiences and some of the worst." They also released two more singles. An out of print "Rocket" was issued and included the b-side "Never Let Me Down Again". A box set comprising of the four singles on 7" from Siamese Dream, called "Siamese Singles" was released in '94. The Pumpkins also issued a CD full of b-sides and rarities to appease all the Pumpkinheads until the next album was due out. Billy told Guitar School that the band had recorded a Johnny Winter tribute song for the next album, called "Tribute to Johnny". The song did appear as a b-side two years later. January The band began a short Big Day Out Festival tour in Australia with the first known date on the 23rd. The tour continued with dates in the United States. Billy did another interview for Creem magazine's January/February issue. He admitted that after the Pumpkins, he would like to make a solo record, with an electronic style because he was "sick of guitar." Billy also revealed plans for an official release of a live recording with "a really limited edition, with a plain sleeve and a lousy sound quality." An album of all b-sides was also possible, he had said, since the demands of tour would not make studio time possible. Both plans did occur and were released later in the year. The official bootleg, became a live video entitled "Vieuphoria". The video featured live tracks and interview snippets. The album of b-sides was called Pisces Iscariot and released in October.
Jimmy revealed much information regarding his talent and ability. Jimmy had began lessons at nine with Charlie Adams, then lessons from Charlie's protégé, and finally lessons from Hugh Wilson. He also discussed his previous musical experiences, aside from jazz. Jimmy had first played in a garage band called The Warrior Band. The group consisted of twenty-something musicians. Jimmy also pointed out that at sixteen, he had a girlfriend who was twenty-three. After graduating from high school, Jimmy had attended Northern Illinois University for about a year. Next, Jimmy played in a wedding band, and then he played in a polka band while doing a radio show. Later on, he got involved in a band called Razor's Edge. Finally before joining the Pumpkins, he played with J.P. and The Cats. Gish had sold nearly 650,000 copies now. March
The Recording Industry Association of America announced on the 14th that Gish had sold 500,000 copies, or had went gold. The third single from Siamese Dream, "Disarm" was released on the 22nd on Hut Records. There are two versions of the release. One version has the word "smile" on it and contains "Soothe" and "Blew Away", a song written and sung by guitarist James Iha. The song is based on "fake country." The other version has the word "heart" and contains "Dancing in the Moonlight". Billy felt that "Disarm" was the most amazing song on the new album. He felt that the song was so unique, honest, and open. He felt the song was "about my childhood and how I turned into an asshole." The song had "three different versions." The Pumpkins played the first public performance of the song "Bullet With Butterfly Wings" on the 25th, at Palmer Auditorium in Davenport, IA. April Siamese Dream went double platinum. Rolling Stone Magazine printed a very personal look at the band in the issue on the 21st. They announced that they are to be featured in this years' Lollapalooza concert. Other bands on the bill included Nirvana, The Beastie Boys (who preceded the Pumpkins on stage), Breeders, L7, A Tribe Called Quest, George Clinton, and the Boredoms.
However, the band was not the first choice of the promoters. According to the San Francisco Chronicle, many more well-known acts such as Neil Young and Bruce Springsteen were asked to play the headlining show, but all refused. The Pumpkins were a last resort. May The Pumpkins were not granting any interviews to the media at this point. June Billy's side project, Starchildren, made their third appearance on the 18th. The concert was the opening night at the Double Door club. The group featured Billy, James and Jimmy from the Pumpkins as well as Mark Rew from Catherine and Mary Magdaline. Starchildren performed a set of covers, early versions and MCIS-era songs, as well as jamming. Starchildren released Songs About Girls/Delusions of Candor with the song "Delusions of Candor" on TVT Records on 7". The release has Catherine on one side and Starchildren on the other. July
The first date of the tour began in Las Vegas, Nevada at Sam Boyd Stadium on the 7th. Billy revealed plans for a possible double recording for the Pumpkins' next outing in Musician magazine. August The Pumpkins gave a portion of their allotted stage time to Courtney Love on the 1st, in Philadelphia, who played a short solo set of "MissWorld" and "Doll Parts" beforehand. This was because Love had asked Billy if she could do two or three appearances to not give people the false impression that she was "out of her mind." Lollapalooza had initially resisted the idea, but then told Love that she could play if one of the bands on the bill would sacrifice their set time. The Pumpkins obliged. Love had traveled with the Pumpkins a few times and she and Billy became close friends in the aftermath of her husband Kurt's death. The Boredoms, a band from Japan that used aggressive vocal punctuation, accompanied the Pumpkins during "Silvefuck" at North Kingstown, RI on the 3rd. The band gave their stage time to Love once again on the 5th in Randall's Island in New York. However, the Pumpkins were not well received. The audience began shouting, "fuck you" to the band and they responded by playing a rare song, "Dancing in the Moonlight".
The Pumpkins were once again not well received and the band responded by playing "a bunch of songs you don't know" at the Mt. View show on the 28th. The set included the rarely played "Plume" and "Daydream" as well as a ten-minute jam entitled "Concerto in C Minor". James screamed the lyrics of "Fantastic Voyage" from Coolio and the song also featured the snippet "Die" from the "Zero" b-side, "Pastachio Medley". Spetember Billy revealed more plans for the forthcoming two-CD set in Guitar Player and Sin. He told them he was completing forty songs, twenty-four to appear on the double discs that he had hoped to begin recording early next year after Lollapalooza. Work on the double CD would begin only days after the tour ended. In addition, Billy said that it would be acoustic, electric, instrumental, orchestral pieces, and many other styles. He reasons that each CD will be about fifty minutes with one CD hard electric music and the other CD with soft acoustic tunes. The LA Times announced that the Pumpkins will release "Pisces Iscariot", a collection of rare or previously unreleased material in October. The sold out show at Cal-State in Carson, CA on the 5th marked the final show of the Lollapalooza tour.
Spin Magazine named the Pumpkins "Artist of the Year". October
Gish was re-released on the 4th. The album was slightly remastered and released under Virgin Records with an accompanying re-release on Hut Records. The re-release was not highly publicized and is hardly noticeable. The Pumpkins now began a well-deserved break from their exhaustive touring schedule and relaxed and rested for a while. Billy later acknowledged that Lollapalooza was a very tiring experience and that the band felt very stressed and pressured. The Pumpkins took an astounding three weeks off from recording. Billy began work on the songs for the next album immediately after the tour ended. They took three days off and then he began composing lyrics and music for the songs and rehearsing started. The first song written after the long tour was "Thirty-Three", a song that later ended up on Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness. Billy would work six days a week, for four to five hours a day. Much of the songs were written while recording, and not before. The band would later head into the recording studio in February of '95. NovemberThe Recording Industry Association of America announced on the 23rd that Pisces Isacriot had sold 1,000,000 copies, or had went platinum. Home - The Early Years -
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Jimmy also did a very intimate interview for Modern Drummer.
Jimmy stated that he had used a click on the track "Mayonaise" from Siamese
Dream. Jimmy also said that the song was probably the most difficult, but the easiest
for drums. He admitted that he had done at least fifteen tracks for the song.
James told Sassy Magazine how he became the owner of his dog,
Bugg. In '91, James' roommate had been given the dog as a present. He was soon disowned
because of the responsibilities needed to care for the pet. In pity, James took ownership.
He fed and walked the dog and soon respected "the beast" and enjoyed the
relationship with him.
The Pumpkins played an hour-long set at the famous Fillmore
Auditorium in San Francisco, CA that marked the reopening of the venue which had been
closed for twenty-seven years. Billy had said "We only have one rule: we don't take
requests. We're not a bar band."
The Pumpkins headlined Lollapalooza '94 since Nirvana pulled out
of the lineup. The Pumpkins would have been the support band that preceded it on stage;
however, Kurt Cobain's suicide in April eliminated this situation. The band was given a
financial offer they could not pass up.
The show in Dallas on the 21st began the first of three surprise
sets in which the Pumpkins played on the second stage at the Lollapalooza tour. The second
stage is usually reserved for up-and-coming bands making the performance completely
unexpected. The band's slated set did occur later in the evening following the second
stage performance. This sort of behavior occurred two more instances; on the 25th in San
Diego and on the 27th at Mt. View, CA.
The Pumpkins performed "Disarm" for the 1994 MTV Video
Music Awards in New York City on the 8th. Billy also gave a presentation of a Video
Vanguard award to Tom Petty (Petty's daughter is a fan of the Pumpkins). Apparently, Bruce
Springsteen had approached Billy and mentioned that he was a fan of the band.
Pisces Iscariot, an album of rare and previously
unreleased material was released on the 4th on Virgin Records. The album featured a
Fleetwood Mac cover of "Landslide" and an Animals cover of "Girl Named
Sandoz". It was originally intended for release to appease fans for more new
material. However, it seemed to represent an "evolution of the band" as one
magazine stated accurately.
Also released on the 4th, was a rare promo called Earphoria,
an audio companion to the home video Vieuphoria. The promo was heavily bootlegged.
