The Smashing Pumpkins are still a few months out from kicking off their "reunion" tour — a trek that will not feature original bassist D'Arcy Wretzky. While both Wretzky and bandleader Billy Corgan had much to say about reunion plans earlier in the year, the latter has now revealed why the band "feel very comfortable" with the decision to exclude her.
Speaking to Metallica's Lars Ulrich on Beats 1, Corgan said that he had tried to get together with Wretzky for two years (while adding he hadn't seen her in 19), in addition to having a "very pleasant" phone conversations with her.
"And only when it became obvious that it wasn't the way she wanted it to be, it turned into this thing that turned very reminiscent of the past," Corgan said.
Expanding on that, Corgan said the following:
If you're really not passionate about what you do and you're not passionate about providing that passion to fans by extension and saying, "Look we really love what we do and we want to share this with you." If that relationship is not at the heart of what you do, then what are you doing? The thing that keeps you on the rudder is the music and the fact that somehow when the three of us come together, this magical thing happens that's bigger than me, and I have no problem admitting to that. And if that's not your guiding principle, then it's a shitty reality show. And we don't want the shitty reality show, we really don't. We'd rather just stay on the music, and if we can do that, great.
In an interview in February, Wretzky said that invites to have her rejoin the group were "a complete lie," adding that "he's never invited me to anything."
"It took me a long time to not care, and not hate him," she continued. "Now I don't hate him, I'm back to where I was at the beginning. I laugh at his antics, and I'm going to go about my own life, but I don't feel sorry for him. I do think he needs to get an MRI, though."
The band's North American tour kicks off in Arizona this July. You can find a complete itinerary here.
Delve into Smashing Pumpkins' early years with the deluxe reissues of Gish, Siamese Dream, Pisces Iscariot and Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness, available via MusicVaultz.
Speaking to Metallica's Lars Ulrich on Beats 1, Corgan said that he had tried to get together with Wretzky for two years (while adding he hadn't seen her in 19), in addition to having a "very pleasant" phone conversations with her.
"And only when it became obvious that it wasn't the way she wanted it to be, it turned into this thing that turned very reminiscent of the past," Corgan said.
Expanding on that, Corgan said the following:
If you're really not passionate about what you do and you're not passionate about providing that passion to fans by extension and saying, "Look we really love what we do and we want to share this with you." If that relationship is not at the heart of what you do, then what are you doing? The thing that keeps you on the rudder is the music and the fact that somehow when the three of us come together, this magical thing happens that's bigger than me, and I have no problem admitting to that. And if that's not your guiding principle, then it's a shitty reality show. And we don't want the shitty reality show, we really don't. We'd rather just stay on the music, and if we can do that, great.
In an interview in February, Wretzky said that invites to have her rejoin the group were "a complete lie," adding that "he's never invited me to anything."
"It took me a long time to not care, and not hate him," she continued. "Now I don't hate him, I'm back to where I was at the beginning. I laugh at his antics, and I'm going to go about my own life, but I don't feel sorry for him. I do think he needs to get an MRI, though."
The band's North American tour kicks off in Arizona this July. You can find a complete itinerary here.
Delve into Smashing Pumpkins' early years with the deluxe reissues of Gish, Siamese Dream, Pisces Iscariot and Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness, available via MusicVaultz.
