Corgan also used a Marshall JPM-1 preamp into an Alesis compressor with a Mesa Boogie head. The 1984 Marshall 100 watt JCM800 head with the EL-34 tubes swapped for KT88s, (the “Soul” head) matched with the Marshall 4x12 cab (the “Mars” cab) was the dominant amplifier sound on the Pumpkins’ first three albums, Gish, Siamese Dream, and Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness. Billy's AmpsĪfter Jimmy Chamberlin replaced the drum machine, Corgan replaced his Roland Jazz Chorus with a used Marshall JCM800 head and a Marshall 4x12 slant cab, which he found in a newspaper ad back in the days before Reverb. “The sound of the combo of the Bat Strat, the Big Muff, and Soul head with Mars cabinet is still unmistakable,” Corgan said. Since reviving the band name in 2005, Corgan has toured and recorded with a rotating lineup of musicians.īilly Corgan’s signature sound, as most listeners will recognize it, boils down to a simple formula: Marshall JCM800 head, a 4x12 Marshall cab, an Electro Harmonix V4 Op-Amp Big Muff Pi and a Fender Stratocaster. The band’s first run (minus an album without Chamberlin and Wretsky’s departure in 1999) ended where it began, with a farewell performance in Chicago, at Cabaret Metro in 2000. They were soon joined by bassist D’Arcy Wretzky and then drummer Jimmy Chamberlin. This has much to do with the gear they’ve used.īilly Corgan and guitarist James Iha first started playing music together in 1988 with a drum machine. Smashing Pumpkins founder, mastermind, and only constant member, Billy Corgan once described the sound of his band - then at the height of their commercial and visionary powers - as “psychedelic music by a heavy metal band from the 1920s.” While the nod to the ‘20s had more to do with the band’s penchant for art nouveau typefaces and the anachronistic aesthetic of the Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness artwork - rococo grandeur meets absinthe-induced collage art - the psychedelic metal band sound, with occasional forays into thematic prog rock, electronic music and goth-tinged dream pop, has consistently defined the Chicago band through their many incarnations. I was trying to say a lot of things I couldn’t really say in kind of intangible, unspeakable ways, so I was capable of doing that with the music, but I don’t think I was capable of doing it with words.Photo by Karl Walter / Staff / Getty Images In a weird kind of way, Gish is almost like an instrumental album-it just happens to have singing on it, but the music overpowers the band in a lot of places. It’s not a political album, it’s a personal album. The album is about pain and spiritual ascension.
Lead singer, writer, and guitarist, Billy Corgan described the album as personal: It’s also worth mentioning that the album quckly hit the #1 spot on the CMJ charts, which tracks the popularity and rotation among college radio stations.īutch Vig called this album a “Godsend,” Stating that he “had found a comrade-in-arms” in Corgan. A big year for Butch Vig, who shares producing credits on both albums.Īlthough Gish only peaked at 195 on the Billboard 200, it became a cult classic that impacted the music industry in a huge way and paved a path for the alternative rock scene in the 1990s. The Smashing Pumpkins released their debut album on under the indie label, Caroline Records, about three months before Nirvana released their iconic album, Nevermind.
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