Billy Corgan and Lars Ulrich talk Kurt Cobain, Smashing Pumpkins reunion drama

[Photo by: Olivia Bee]

Billy Corgan talked to Lars Ulrich about the Smashing Pumpkins reunion drama, Kurt Cobain and his Chicago roots.

Check snippets of the conversation below!

Read more: Billy Corgan talks creative process, being more dangerous than ever

Corgan discussed ex-bassist D'arcy Wretzky during the Metallica drummer's Beats 1 show, “It's Electric,” reports Rolling Stone.

According to the magazine, Corgan said he and Wretzky haven't met in 19 years.

“I spent two years before all that repairing my relationship and every time I tried to get into a room with her—so, I still haven't been in a room with her in 19 years,” he explained. “It was a telephone thing and you're trying to say, 'This can happen, this can happen, what do you think?' Always very pleasant, great, awesome, and only when it became obvious that it wasn't the way she wanted it to be, it turned into this other thing that was reminiscent of the past.”

Rolling Stone reports the musician didn't elaborate on the controversy, saying “It's been cast so into a tabloid thing that you're basically feeding back into the machine.”

“When the three of us come together, this magical thing happens that's bigger than me, and I have no problem admitting to that,” he continued. “And if that's not your guiding principle, then it is a shit reality show. And we don't want the shit reality show.”

If you haven't been following the Smashing Pumpkins reunion drama, here's what happened: 

In January, Corgan seemingly confirmed the news that the band are recording a reunion album, explaining that he's in the studio with Rick Rubin. Soon after, Corgan took to Instagram to say that the band will be refining the lyrics for eight new SP songs. The band also announced their “Shiny And Oh So Bright” tour last week, their first tour in nearly 20 years, featuring founding members Corgan, Jimmy Chamberlin and Iha. However, former bassist Wretzky will not be part of the tour or the record, with a never-ending back-and-forth between the band and Wretzky happening over the past couple months.

The interview was not all about the drama, though.

Corgan also revealed Smashing Pumpkins have finished tracking eight songs for their upcoming releases. He and Ulrich then discussed working with producer Rick Rubin and the band's recording process.

You can hear a clip of  the interview below:

Corgan and Ulrich also discussed how growing up in Chicago made Smashing Pumpkins hard workers, which separated them from other artists at the time. 

According to the Smashing Pumpkins' frontman, he was called out by Courtney Love because of this mentality. However, he adds, Kurt Cobain was also ambitious like that.

“They wanted to believe that Kurt Cobain would roll out of bed, take some drugs and write a classic,” he says. “How many nights do you think there were—long before Nirvana—that he sat in a basement trying to figure out why does this chord go with this chord? Listen to Nirvana's early demos.”

Here's Corgan talking about Chicago and Kurt Cobain:

Check out the full list of cities and dates for the “Shiny And Oh So Bright” tour below.

Dates:
07/12 – Glendale, AZ @ Gila River Arena
07/14 – Oklahoma City, OK @ Chesapeake Energy Arena
07/16 – Austin, TX @ Frank Erwin Center
07/17 – Houston, TX @ Toyota Center
07/18 – Dallas, TX @ American Airlines Center
07/20 – Nashville, TN @ Bridgestone Arena
07/21 – Louisville, KY @ KFC Yum! Center
07/22 – Atlanta, GA @ Infinite Energy Aerna
07/24 – Miami, FL @ American Airlines Arena
07/25 – Tampa, FL @ Amalie Arena
07/27 – Baltimore, MD @ Royal Farms Arena
07/28 – Philadelphia, PA @ Wells Fargo Center
07/29 – Uncasville, CT @ Mohegan Sun Arena
07/31 – Boston, MA @ TD Garden
08/01 – New York City, NY @ Madison Square Garden
08/04 – Pittsburgh, PA @ PPG Paints Arena
08/05 – Detroit, MI @ Little Caesars Arena
08/07 – Montreal, QC @ Centre Bell
08/08 – Toronto, ON @ Air Canada Centre
08/11 – Columbus, OH @ Schottenstein Center
08/13 – Chicago, IL @ United Center
08/16 – Kansas City, MO @ Sprint Center
08/17 – Indianapolis, IN @ Bankers Life Fieldhouse
08/19 – St. Paul, MN @ Xcel Energy Center
08/20 – Omaha, NE @ CenturyLink Center
08/21 – Sioux Falls, SD @ Denny Sanford Premier Center
08/24 – Seattle, WA @ Key Arena
08/25 – Portland, OR @ Moda Center
08/27 – Oakland, CA @ Oracle Arena
08/28 – Sacramento, CA @ Golden 1 Center
08/30 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Forum
09/01 – San Diego, CA @ Viejas Arena
09/02 – Las Vegas, NV @ T-Mobile Arena
09/04 – Salt Lake City, UT @ Vivint Smart Home Arena
09/05 – Denver, CO @ Pepsi Center
09/07 – Boise, ID @ Ford Idaho Center

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