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Returning Pumpkin
Jimmy Chamberlin begins life again
BY JEFF MILLER

Ten years ago, as the drummer for the Smashing Pumpkins, Jimmy Chamberlin was rocking arenas and playing to thousands of fans at huge festivals. His band headlined the monstrous Lollapalooza ’94 tour, appearing after Green Day and the Beastie Boys, and in early ’95, they began recording what rock history has rightly dubbed their best album, the sprawling, double-disc Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness (Virgin).

Passive Pumpkins fans don’t remember the cymbal trills that propelled "Porcelina of the Vast Oceans," and they probably didn’t pay much attention to the pounding that Chamberlin gave his skins on "Bullet with Butterfly Wings." But that’s what he thinks about when he talks about the Pumpkins. "I always kept an eye toward the future when I was working with those guys," he explains over the phone from his home near Temecula, California. "I always wanted the drumming to be very exemplary in that band." Unfortunately, to the mainstream, Chamberlin’s lasting contribution to the Pumpkins is the drug problem that got him kicked out of the band following the Mellon Collie era, though he came back for the underwhelming Machina/The Machines of God (Virgin).

But Chamberlin, who comes to the Paradise this Tuesday, doesn’t harbor hard feelings about his rift with Pumpkins frontman Billy Corgan. "To be completely candid, if he had done the same thing to me, I probably would have reacted the same way he did. There wasn’t really any bitterness to begin with." That explains how Corgan ended up contributing a vocal to "Loki Cat," the best track on the debut by the Jimmy Chamberlin Complex, Life Begins Again (Sanctuary). Chamberlin says he’s not shooting for any kind of stardom with this one, and indeed, Life Begins Again is a musician’s record. The opener, the lush, frantic instrumental "Streetcrawler," showcases Chamberlin’s drumming trademark, cymbal fills against a throbbing, tumultuous bass-drum beat. On "Loki Cat," Corgan sings "I gaze into the sun" while a guitar softly picks a spacy electric lead and Chamberlin drives the tom-toms, which roll and roil throughout.

The songs are all written by Chamberlin and Billy Mohler, an LA multi-instrumentalist, though Chamberlin wrote the lyrics, the first time he’s done so. That meant bringing lyrics to Corgan. "He and I had worked so closely together, and it was kind of a role-reversal thing. He was instrumental in helping me get over those humps and eliminate the fear — going with your heart and not being afraid to say what you mean. I got a lot out of our collaboration as a lyricist. It certainly gave me a deeper appreciation for what he does."

Corgan’s song wasn’t actually supposed to have lyrics — "Originally, he was supposed to play guitar on some of the songs." But when he first heard the record, Corgan jumped on "Loki Cat," asking Chamberlin whether he could sing on it. "I said, ‘The song’s an instrumental, I really like it as an instrumental’ — basically because I was done writing lyrics at that point." But Corgan talked him into it. "Writing lyrics for Corgan was a bit like writing a drum solo for Buddy Rich. It’s a little daunting."

The rest of Life Begins Again finds Chamberlin walking the line between nimble jazz and frantic prog-rock, occasionally stepping into the Pumpkins’ sweeping territory, as on the Mohler-sung "Newerwaves." The band are preparing for life on the road, and Chamberlin does not discount the possibility of expanding some of the songs on stage, a long-time tradition for the Pumpkins, who often ended their shows with 20-minute-plus run-throughs of "Silverfuck." He also does not discount the possibility of a Pumpkins reunion. "I miss playing those songs. Those songs are super-close to my heart. Will we get together and play those songs again? Probably. I can’t see not doing that. But I’m not ready to go out and exploit them for some dollars."

Some artists just say that, then go and sell their songs to car companies. But Chamberlin seems to have a hold on where his career stands. "This guy in England goes, ‘Aren’t you afraid that people are going to say "Oh, man, another drummer’s solo record" and roll their eyes?’ I’ll tell you — if you want to take all the drummers’ solo records and line them up against all the bad lead-singer records — I’ll bet you any day that I’ll win." I wouldn’t take that bet.

Jimmy Chamberlin appears this Tuesday, January 18, at the Paradise Rock Club, 967 Commonwealth Avenue in Boston; call (617) 228-6000.


Issue Date: January 14 - 20, 2005
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