The Hello Kitty Kat issue
Smashing Pumpkins e-zine
vol. 1, March 1995
the Hello Kitty Kat issue
Welcome to issue #1. this is kind of an experiment for me. I was kinda bored one day and thought about creating a homepage. there are a couple of problems with that - (1) there are already 5, soon to be six, and more importantly, (2) I have no idea how to. so my mind started to wander, and I came up with this. it'll come out whenever I have enough time and information to justify an issue. PLEASE send ANY (and I mean anything, no matter how dull or useless it is) news, info, interviews, comments, etc. to me! (allisonbai@aol.com or baird321@halcyon.com) I need all the info I can get! also, if you think that this is totally stupid and you don't want to get it again, let me know and I won't send it to you in the future. thanks.
Double Door shows and new album
As y'all probably know, on February 20, 21, 27, and 28, the pumpkins played 4 shows at Chicago's fairly tiny Double Door. The purpose of these shows was to give a preview of the new album while also supporting 3 local charities.
The ad from the Reader said:
The Smahing Pumpkins are proud to present four shows of the intimate kind at the Double Door on February 20, 21, 27, and 28. These shows will feature new songs only, so if you come please expect the unexpected--i.e. acoustic songs, long-winded jams, teary overtures, blown lyrics, and out-of-tune sentimentality. Many would argue these are features at the core of our normal concerts... That being said we hope you'll join us in putting some nails in the coffins of the past and welcoming in a terrifying future. $5. Tickets on sale Saturday, February 18, at Double Door, 1572 N. Milwaukee.
The line will begin to form at 10 a.m.--please do not arrive before that. You must be 21 or older and bring a valid I.D. to purchase tickets. All proceeds benefit The Clear Brook Center, Western Dupage Special Recreation Association, and Chicago House.
For those of us unfortunate enough to have missed them (and those really lucky people who did get in), here is a list of all the new song titles that I know of:
Stumbling, Lily, Love (same as the old demo song?), Towers of Rabble, Meladori Magpie, Take Me Down, God, Zero, Here is No Why (not sure if this is correct), Cupid, Fuck You, Porcelina, Galapagos, Speed, Jellybelly, By Starlight, Muzzle, Bullet With Butterfly Wings, Rove, Disconnect, The Shallow Ocean, Thirty-Three, Silly, Ugly, Superqueen, and Set The Rate To Jerry. of course, these are just the working titles. the new album is going to be produced by Flood, whose previous production jobs include such non-pumpkinesque bands as Nine Inch Nails, Depeche Mode, U2, and the new PJ Harvey album. it will be interesting to say the least. it is due out in October, but you never know with the pumpkins, nothing is final. the recording, which started the week of Feb. 27, will be done in Chicago. Soundworks is my guess for the studio, since Kerry Brown owns it, but I have also heard they will record at their secret practice space. well, in case you missed it, here is a transcription of an interview on Fox News (Chicago):
AMY: How about those Pumpkins? Spin voted the Chicago band 'artist of the year' for '94. 'Till this Monday there last gig was headlining Lollapalooza. There just about to record their fourth major album and last week I visited them at their secret practice space in Chicago where we talked about life after Lollapalooza.
(Cut to live clip at practice space. Bass and drum w/Billy singing, "God knows I'm helpless to speak on my own behalf.")
JIMMY: We got straight back to work. I mean we didn't take more than three weeks to a month off and then we've been in here everyday since then writing songs .
AMY: OK, for the new album which is rumored to be a two disc set...
BILLY: Rumored to be, yeah.
AMY: Yeah. When is it going to come out?
BILLY: We hope it will be out in October.
AMY: Wow, that's a long time. What's....
BILLY: No, no, not in Pumpkin time.
(Cut to live clip from Double Door. Billy singing 'I wonder if she wants to see me.')
AMY: Speaking of Pumpkin time, the band enjoyed a little Monday night at the first of four shows at Chicago's Double Door nightclub. There just warming up to record the next album next week.
(Billy on stage with Ovation Custom Legend 6-string, 'You can scream all you want for the old favorites, but were not going to play any.' Followed by a large roar from the crowd.)
AMY: Hey, no one seemed to mind. The new ones sound great and the band seems to have matured nicely.
(Live at Double Door in background with Eric playing cello on stage.)
AMY: Is it as much fun as when you started, honestly?
DARCY: More......Much more.
AMY: What makes it better?
DARCY (laughing): I don't have to waitress anymore on the side.
AMY: Well, OK, except for Mr. Sarcasm here.
JAMES: Um, no comment.
(Live in practice space, Billy singing 'God knows I know I'm helpless' with massive trade mark Pumpkins distortion in background.)
AMY (TO BILLY): Are you still moody as everyone said you were?
BILLY: Um, well chemicals have fixed all that now and, um, I don't know. I'm probably not the best judge of my behavior. I have my reasons not to be, like, want to be perceived that way.
AMY: Well, of course, maybe I should ask you guys. Is he as moody as he used to be or is he moody?
(silence from the other three)
DARCY: No comment. No comment. (laughter from all)
AMY: Does it....
BILLY: They're afraid to say. No I have...
DARCY: No defiantly not. Therapy is a good thing.
BILLY: Hey, is this interview going to be over soon or what?
AMY: We're almost done. God, he's moody!
(Cherub Rock video in background)
AMY: With no doubt, the Pumpkins have come a long way since they were known as a break through band on what was called the new Chicago scene.
(Live clip from Metro 8-13-93)
BILLY: Were, like the Blue Oyster Cult now of the Chicago scene.
AMY: But, is there a Chicago scene still do you think?
BILLY: Oh, I think there is a lot more accredible good up and coming bands you know then there were five years ago. And I think that is a residue of the effect that people start to realize that 'wow, this really can happen here' and there are places to play and people will come out to see the shows. I'm glad that were a part at least of that Chicago had.
(live at Double Door in background)
BILLY: I have this like fantasy that when it comes time to do the big tour, I want to do a Chicago tour.
AMY: That would be really cool.
BILLY: It would be obviously us, Urge Overkill, Veruca Salt, Cheap Trick...
AMY: Oh, Cheap Trick.
BILLY: Yes, so I think that would be really awesome, like, and we would call it the 'Chicago Rocks Tour.'
when I get my tape of the (unfortunately, very short) interview on MTV from my friend, I will make an attempt to transcribe it for a future issue. assuming there is a future issue : ) here are a few Double Door reviews stolen from alt.music.smash-pumpkins
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From: rsncrntz@merle.acns.nwu.edu (Matt Hamby)
Subject: Chicago Show 2/21
Date: 22 Feb 1995 07:21:05 GMT
I just got back from the SP concert tonight. Wow.
Here is the basic rundown:
My friend and I got there around 4:15pm (doors were to open at 7pm, show at 8:30). No one was there. We went to a restaurant down the street, came back around 5 and there still wasn't anyone there. So we were the first in line...the only ones in line. Other people started showing up around 5:40pm.
At around 6:45, we saw Billy drive by in a big, black Mercedes Benz. He had some girl in the passenger seat (she looked pretty young and tiny) and some old guy in the backseat.
We get into the club a little after 7, check our coats and take our place right in front of the stage. I was standing about 3 feet from Billy and D'arcy :). Anyway, SP took the stage around 9...well, Billy took the stage with a stool and an acoustic guitar. He thanked everyone for coming and said that there would only be new stuff played. He played about 5 or 6 acoustic songs (some titles were: Thirty-Three (he said he wrote this 'after I got back from Lollapalooza, an event which almost killed me'), The Tower of Rabble (he said he wrote it two weeks ago), To Forgive, Stumbling, that is all I can remember now).
After this, the rest of the band came on stage for the big surprise...James now has the longest hair in the band. Both Jimmy and D'arcy were sporting close-cropped haircuts (D'arcy's was shorter than Billy's). Some of the songs they played were: Fuck You, Zero, Silly (I think this was the title), a couple others I will remember later...he didn't say many of the titles. After the set was over, the band took a 5 min break and then came out with the encore. The songs played for the encore were (in order):
Blew Away!! (James rocked the house!)
Frail and Bedazzled (wow)
Skylight (or Skybright..didn't quite catch it..it was new)
Pissant (incredible sound...electrifying)
Hello Kitty Kat (great song to end the show on!)
All in all, it was 27 songs (22 in the normal set, 5 in the encore) and a total of two hours. Billy had to read from lyric sheets for many of the songs. During a quiet moment I was able to yell out 'When's the album coming out?' Billy replied with '1997...I promise'. I got the feeling he was kidding...I hope he was. Later in the show, he said that they would be going in the studio next week. They had a total of around 40 songs (half of which he said were bad...yeah right). He said the next release will definitely be a double CD with 24-30 songs. The songs were split between slow ones and fast/hard ones pretty evenly. Every song was incredible, and Billy sounded really good on vocals. During Frail and Bedazzled I was able to see/hear clearly that he was saying 'Frail and bedazzled from all the glare'.
The show was absolutely amazing...the songs, the intimacy of being 3 feet from the band, the sound quality...
--------------------
From: drmm@tezcat.com (Daniel Drumm)
Subject: Monday's DD Show!!!
Date: 22 Feb 1995 17:16:12 GMT
I went to the show monday!!!! I am still wired silly. Billy came out a played two acoustic numbers by himself, and then played a couple more with the the orchestral bass player they had for lalapolooza. Then the rest of the band came out for the rest of the show-->20+ new songs!!
Even though none of us knew the lyrics, we were all enthralled by the new songs. The new album should be fantastic. Billy mentioned on stage that they were going to start recording next week. He hinted that it may be a double album if he could convince the rest of the band. Billy's interaction with the crowd of about 400 was great. He thanked us numerous times for coming (although i think they deserved the thank you). He said that he still hadn't learned all of the lyrics and had some written on sheets in front of him. Still, other than a few mis starts, you could have sworn that they had been playing these songs for years.
The show lasted a little over two hours, and picked up momentum all the way. The show was capped with a guest duet with the lead singer of the frogs (whose name escapes me at this moment). Those who have tickets for the remaining shows should thank the stars above. It might not match the electricity of the first night, but I don't think that there are many shows this year that will.
----------------
I am totally jealous of all who attended. lucky bastards.
well, like it or not, here is my little editorial for this issue. today's topic: THE SINGLE SCAM
am I the only person who has a problem with releasing different b-sides on different single formats (cd, cassette, 7", 10", 12", etc.)? don't get me wrong, I love all their b-sides. it just gets so expensive. why do they do this, you ask? fans, desiring to get all of the different b-sides, go out and buy 3 or 4 different single formats. the multiple sales of the same single boosts their chart position in the UK, where charts are based exclusively on sales. higher chart position = more airplay and publicity, and eventually increased popularity. SP certainly aren't the first band to do this, but it is a horrible trend. fans end up spending $25-30 to get 4 or 5 b-sides that should all be on *one* EP for $13. I guess it isn't so expensive if you live in the UK, but imports, if you can find them at all, are pretty darn expensive. where I live, vinyl is hard to come by, especially major-label import stuff. at least with SP, you know that you are getting value for your money, which is a lot more than I can say for some other bands doing this.
the other book most of you probably know about the biography of the band by Nick Wise by now. recently, while in Seattle, I came across another book. this one is written by Jim Stapleton, and is part of Carlton Books' CD books series & the book is the same size and shape as a cd jewel box. it looks a lot like those Volume compilation cd/book sets (you know, the ones with the fish on the front), only this one doesn't come with a cd. in my opinion, it's much much better than the Nick Wise book. it has some of the same quotes and pictures, but this book has quite a bit of stuff that your average obsessed pumpkinhead (such as myself) didn't know. here are some excerpts:
"the simplest way that I can understand therapy is that we're born a certain way, we're taught to be something different, and we spend our whole lives trying to unravel it."Billy, 1993
"I no longer feel the need to torch my soul in public, because I don't think it's really worth it."Billy, 1994
"I don't really like the effect that MTV has had on our audience. when we play on our own, we're used to an audience who goes to shows and takes the music that they listen to seriously. Now the audience is much younger and not as loyal and I think it's kind of scary."D'Arcy, 1992
"I want our music to come across like someone is whispering into your ear and going right inside your brain."Billy, 1992
"I was kind of a cosmic child. As a little kid, I remember wondering about God and the universe....I can remember being about seven years old and drawing crosses on the sand and weird shit like that. I'd be playing baseball and then sit there drawing stars and crosses and moons. That's always been in me - I don't know why."Billy
well, that concludes this issue. please write to me if you hear ANY pumpkins news (I'm just about as bad as PBS, always asking for your support...at least I don't show Bob Ross). please pass this around to any pumpkinheads you know, manipulate it as you please.. if demand warrants, I will post this to the mailing list and alt.music.smash-pumpkins in the future (or maybe even this issue if I'm not feeling lazy).
long live SP
Allison
"My love is weakness, my love is oh so wrong
my love is sadness, my love is oh so strong"
allisonbai@aol.com
baird321@halcyon.com
here are some *major* corrections to the song title list from an inside source (who I am not allowed to identify).
Stumbeline {not stumbeling}, Lily, Towers of rabble, Meladori Magpie, Take me down, Tonight Tonight, god, zero, Here is no why, Cupid de locke, Fuck you, Love, Porcelina of the vast seas, Speed, Galapogos, Bullet {with butterfly wings}, Jellybelly, The off for encores, By Starlight, Frail and Bedazzled Never let me down (Depeche mode) off again then, Blew away, Muzzle, Pissant, ending with a Foghat cover.....
The 27th James starting the show........
Take me down, Country girl, Meladori Magpie, (james and Billy accoustic), Stumbeline, (billy accoustic) ugly, (billy accoustic) Tonight Tonight, Fuck you, Love, Porcelina, Speed, Cupid, Galapogos, God, Here is no why, Muzzle, Bullet, Zero, Set the ray {to jerry}, Jellybelly, off encore, Lily, Frail and Bedazzled, By starlight, off 2nd encore, Pissant, Blew away, Never let me down, Hello Kitty Kat........
Those are the last two night's, also there are a few other corrections to be made these songs do not exist, Rove, Disconnect, Shallow Ocean, Silly, and Superqueen.......
also some general notes: {they're} recording a portion of the album at {their} rehersal space not at Soundworks (witch Kerry is no longer a partner in) witch has nothing to do with why {the band is not} not recording there ( they are in the process of building a new studio ). and finally the orchastral Bass player is a CELLO player whose name is Eric Remschneider, who played on Siamese Dream and toured with us on Lollapalooza...
that's all folks. my additional comments are in { }. just wanted to clear up those innacuracies. I didn't fix the thing about Eric in the review because I wanted to leave it intact - some people get picky about being misquoted, even if it is done with the best of intentions.
Allison
allisonbai@aol.com
baird321@halcyon.com
