BILLY CORGAN Discusses SMASHING PUMPKINS Reunion

Billy Corgan spoke to Jim Derogatis of the Chicago Sun-Times about his decision to announce the reunion of the SMASHING PUMPKINS, one of the biggest bands of the alternative-rock era, and the most successful group Chicago has ever produced.

Corgan announced the reunion on Tuesday via full-page advertisements in both the Sun-Times and the Chicago Tribune. The estimated combined cost of both ads is about $37,000.

"For a year now I have walked around with a secret," Corgan wrote in the ad. "Now I want you to be among the first to know that I have made plans to renew and revive the SMASHING PUMPKINS. I want my band back, and my songs and my dreams. In this desire I feel I have come home again."

But exactly what Corgan meant by that is unclear, and he declined to elaborate.

"The door is clearly open," the star said when asked if he will perform again with the best-known lineup of drummer Jimmy Chamberlin, guitarist James Iha and bassist D'Arcy Wretzky. "What I've done is I've set the intention. It's going to happen."

Does that mean that Corgan has spoken with his former bandmates?

"I don't want to talk about the specifics," he said. "I'm just going to take the CIA route of 'mum's the word.' The door is open. Here's the thing: I am ready to go back to the work of the band."

Of his former bandmates, Corgan remains closest to Chamberlin, who performed with the singer and songwriter in the post-PUMPKINS band ZWAN, and who appears on some tracks on Corgan's new solo album, "The Future Embrace".

Sources said some of Corgan's closest advisers questioned the wisdom of announcing the reunion in the midst of launching his solo career, which he said will be ongoing even as the SMASHING PUMPKINS return. Corgan performs two sold-out solo shows July 5-6 at the Vic Theatre, and he hosted a listening party and CD-signing session for "The Future Embrace" Tuesday night at the Adler Planetarium.

"If I [announced the reunion] before, which would obviously promote the record, it would only be about that, and it would only overshadow the record," Corgan said when asked about the timing of his announcement. "To me, this is the perfect spot: It's the summer solstice, the full moon — the drama is there."

Ever the contrarian, Corgan promised that the SMASHING PUMPKINS won't follow the model of other successful alt-rock reunions, including the PIXIES.

"For anybody who gets this sort of rosy picture of a PIXIES-esque reunion, it ain't gonna be like that," the bandleader said. "I am literally going to pick up the thread of what it meant to be in that band, which is to light things on fire and break things in half."

Read more at SunTimes.com.