| April
25, 2003: Zwan Announces Additional Tour Dates |
(4/23/03, 5 p.m. ET)
-- Zwan has announced additional dates to its current U.S. tour.
Among the dates added to the group's itinerary is a hometown show
at the Aragon in Chicago on May 6. The Billy Corgan-led act is
currently out on the road in support of its debut album Mary Star
Of The Sea.
The second track off Mary Star Of The Sea, called
"Lyric," debuted at Number 43 on Radio And Records
Alternative Airplay chart for the week ending April 18.
Zwan tour dates (subject to change):
April 24 -
Portland, OR - Roseland Theatre
April 25 -
Vancouver, BC - Queen Elizabeth Theatre
April 26 - Seattle,
WA - Paramount
April 28 - Salt
Lake City, UT - Salt Air
April 29 - Denver,
CO - Fillmore
May 1 - Iowa City,
IA - University Of Iowa
May 3 - Cincinnati,
OH - Bogart's
May 4 - Atlanta, GA
- Midtown Music Festival
May 6 - Chicago, IL
- The Aragon
Source: Yahoo! Launch |
| April
25, 2003: Lyric CD Single |
| Release date: May
5th.
 Tracklisting
:
1. Lyric
2. Consumed (live from the Hideout)
3. Tonight I'll be staying here with you [Bob Dylan]
Source: www.billy-corgan.net
|
| April
12, 2003: Zwan on SNL tonight |
| Zwan is going to be
the band on Saturday Night Live tonight on NBC. |
| April
12, 2003: Former Pumpkins singer lightens up with Zwan |
Did someone give
Billy Corgan a spoonful of sugar to make the bad medicine go down?
Never one to mince emotions in his lyrics, Corgan's latest
obsession with new band Zwan is love, love, love, which he
conveyed at a pleasant 90-minute show at Pompano Beach
Amphitheater on Wednesday night. It was quite the change from the
seemingly morose, dour (''I'm a zero!'' he proudly sang a decade
ago) leader of the Smashing Pumpkins.
There's more Stevie Nicks and Springsteen in Corgan's writing, as
in the show's opener Endless Summer, which rolled nicely into the
more confident, rocking Ride A Black Swan.
''Remove my spirit from darkness,'' he sings on the latter, almost
asking for Holy Water to quench his thoughts from 1994.
Jesus, I resembled the opening lyrics of the Patti Smith Group's
Gloria. Brash and direct, with Corgan finger-tapping on the
fretboard a la Edward Van Halen, songs like these stirred the
lackluster crowd more than many of the mid-tempo numbers on Zwan's
debut Mary, Star of the Sea.
Bassist Paz Lenchantin (A Perfect Circle) augmented the softer
songs with violin, while guitarist David Pajo (Slint) moved over
to keyboards. A nice touch, but Zwan seemed to lose momentum while
pulling these switches, as in Desire.
Drummer Jimmy Chamberlain, a Pumpkins carry-over, again showed
mettle with a solid backbeat, his drumming antics having simmered
since joining Zwan.
During the second encore, a surprise considering the few audience
calls for Zwan to return, Corgan brought his dad, Billy Sr., to
the stage for Stevie Ray Vaughan's classic The Sky Is Crying.
Father and son traded smiles, and solos on Flying V guitars, with
Papa riling up the crowd, singing in a bluesy drawl and wearing a
long black leather jacket.
The nicest moment came just four songs into the set when Zwan
launched into The Beatles' Don't Let Me Down. It nicely served
Corgan's new vista on songwriting and his personal life, which he
wears proudly on his sleeve.
All you need is love, right?
Source: The Miami Herald |
| March
12, 2003: Zwan Lyric Video Shoot |
Zwan wants YOU to be
in their new video!
RIGHT NOW, there are 500 tickets waiting to be had at all Tower
Records locations in the Chicagoland area (limit 2 tickets per
person).
Each ticket gets one person into Zwan's video shoot this Saturday
(3/15) at a secret Chicago location. (The location will be printed
on each ticket)
The video shoot will take place from 8am-8pm. No one will be
admitted without a ticket.
If you don't get a ticket from Tower, don't worry. Q101 will be
giving away 4-packs of tickets all this week!
Source:Q101 Chicago |
| March
10, 2003: Waltz wields a wealth of talent in its final bow |
"The
Waltz," the annual benefit extravaganza patterned after The
Band's "The Last Waltz," took its final bow Saturday at
Metro.
"This is our last ‘Waltz' for a while," emcee and
organizer Nicholas Tremulis announced.
Tremulis kicked off the annual concert five years ago to raise
money for Neon Street, a Chicago organization that helps homeless
and abused teenagers. The idea was to emulate "The Last
Waltz," the infamous final concert by The Band in 1976 that
included cameos by Bob Dylan and Van Morrison.
The Chicago version followed suit, with Tremulis' seven-member
band backing up a wide spectrum of musicians, including rock
superstars, distinguished veterans, local musicians and the
occasional eccentric. Although at times an overabundance of
ambition resulted in grandstanding on past bills, the shows were
remarkable for providing collaborations between divergent artists
that would never have happened. These moments were magic.
This year's ‘Waltz' was the best yet. Although conventional
shows tend to be capped by a peak, this one reached many
blockbuster highs during its three-plus hours.
Chicago soul icon Mavis Staples, the only performer to appear in
the "The Last Waltz" film, ruled
Diminutive but mighty, the 63-year-old harmonized a cappella with
Chicago country soul singers Kelly Hogan and Nora O'Connor and
later tore the house down with the Staples' signature song,
"I'll Take You There." "This is my first time
coming to the Metro," she said. "But I guarantee it will
not be my last."
David Johansen, who is in the history books as rock's model
chameleon, appeared several times in different incarnations. He
channeled the spirit of Chicago blues shouter Howlin' Wolf,
accompanied by the Wolf's original lead guitarist Hubert Sumlin.
Johansen later led a glam rock revival, singing "Looking for
a Kiss," by his former group the New York Dolls.
Chicagoans heavily figured into the set list. Scott Lucas of Local
H upped the ante early in the first set with his cover of The
Rolling Stones classic "Bitch." Mekon/Waco Brother Jon
Langford paid tribute to late Clash founder Joe Strummer by
covering "I Fought the Law," the beat provided by Zwan
drummer Jimmy Chamberlin. Zwan leader Billy Corgan performed solo,
playing two songs designed for Chicago -- the first a brooding
blues tribute to the Riverview theme park and the second inspired
by the Chicago fire. Too bad he was drowned out by the corporate
VIPs chatting on the second-floor balcony.
The most unconventional collaboration was between Chamberlin,
Corgan and Chicago jazz vocalist Kurt Elling. Their version of
Jimi Hendrix's "Freedom" was the most electrifying
moment.
Ian Hunter, formerly of the revered '70s glitter rock group Mott
the Hoople, closed the show.
He ended the evening with his signature song, "All the Young
Dudes." It prompted a house sing-along that was about harmony
in a night that was nothing but.
Source:Daily Herald |
| February
12, 2003: Star of the Sea drops 58% in sales |
Last week's top
debut, Zwan's "Mary Star of the Sea" (Martha's
Music/Reprise), suffered a 58% drop-off in its second week to
sales of 38,000 copies. The decline sends the album from former
Smashing Pumpkins leader Billy Corgan's new outfit tumbling 3-27.
Source:Billboard |
| January
27, 2003: 'Sea'
Change |
With the Smashing Pumpkins having
receded into the annals of modern rock history, Billy Corgan
resurfaces this week as the leader of Zwan, which also features
former Pumpkins drummer Jimmy Chamberlin, former Chavez guitarist
Matt Sweeney, ex-Slint guitarist David Pajo, and bassist Paz
Lenchantin, previously a member of A Perfect Circle. The group's
Reprise debut album, "Mary Star of the Sea," is led by
first single "Honestly," which is No. 7 on Billboard's
Modern Rock Tracks chart.
While hardly a radical step away from the loud, melodious rock
favored by the Pumpkins, Zwan seems like more of a positive-minded
endeavor. "Yeah!" and "Endless Summer" take
maximum advantage of the three-guitar attack, while Corgan tones
things down vocally for ballads such as "Desire" and
"Declarations of Faith." The band also stretches out on
the 14-minute "Jesus, I/Mary Star of the Sea," already a
staple of its live performances.
The group begins a brief European tour Feb. 12 in London.
Source: Calgary Sun |
| January
24, 2003: Billy
Corgan In Search Of Personal "Jesus" On Zwan Debut |
The
Smashing Pumpkins' last official studio album, Machina: The
Machines of God, opened with the line, "You know I'm not
dead."
What a difference two years make.
The first verse former Pumpkins' leader Billy Corgan sings on the
debut from his new band, Zwan, Mary Star of the Sea
(January 28), immediately sets a more positive tone.
"Lyric" blasts off with the line, "Here comes my
faith to carry me on," as Corgan's voice is shadowed by bass
player Paz Lenchantin's while former Pumpkin Jimmy Chamberlin
drives the rhythm with jazzy torrents of drumming. The song ends
with, "A lyric, a time, a crusade, a line/ One minute, a
friend, a road without end."
The sunnier tone is just one of the significant changes made by
Corgan, as well known for his ferocious guitar-playing and singing
as for his singular musical vision. Less than a year after the
Pumpkins' swan song, Corgan had already assembled the initial
lineup of Zwan, which reunites him with powerful drummer
Chamberlin, and adds former Chavez guitarist Matt Sweeney and
former Tortoise bassist/guitarist Dave Pajo into the mix. In April
they were joined by classically-trained cellist and bassist
Lenchantin, a onetime member of A Perfect Circle.
The formidable three-guitar lineup of the band is one of two
significant changes from the Pumpkins. The other is Sweeney and
Lenchantin's strong backing vocals, which give the group a richer
sound than the Pumpkins, whose vocal attack was nearly all
Corgan's. The results are clear on the band's first single,
"Honestly."
The straightforward rock song features a syncopated drum rhythm
from Chamberlin and some airy, chiming psychedelic guitar lines,
as well as seamless vocal interplay between Corgan and Lenchantin.
The simple lyric about love, "I believe you mean the best
that life can bring/ I believe in it all, honestly/ You can try,
your heart is just as long as mine/ Is it ours to let go?" is
more hopeful than much of the darker material from the Pumpkins'
later albums. The video for the song was partially filmed at the
Integration, a mystical "rejuvenation and time machine"
building erected in Joshua Tree, California, in the mid-50's by
George Van Tassel, a former test pilot for Howard Hughes and host
of annual UFO conventions.
The "Honestly" single will feature two bonus cuts, a
cover of the Iron Maiden classic "Number of the Beast"
and the non-album track, "Freedom Ain't What It Used to
Be."
While Corgan's lyrics for the Smashing Pumpkins were often
concerned with the search for transcendence, spirituality and love
in dark hours, his Zwan lyrics are even more focused on messianic
visions of love, but with a more uplifting vibe. Corgan is billed
as "Billy Burke" in the album's liner notes, a possible
reference to a golden-haired Florida preacher of the same name,
which gives the songs an evangelical feel.
But more than a preacher, Corgan acts as a spiritual cheerleader
on tracks such as the swirling, psychedelic power pop song
"Declarations of Faith," in which he sings, "I
declare myself/ Declare myself of faith."
Whether or not the inside joke billing is religious in nature,
Corgan clearly has salvation and tribute-paying on his mind. He
gives a nod to his lifelong heroes, New Order, on the bouncy, new
wave-y "Settle Down" and "El Sol." Again
driven by the combination of Chamberlin's aggressive drumming and
Lenchantin's throbbing bass line, "Settle Down" is
another ode to devotion, sprinkled with the kind of wailing,
fuzzed-out guitar lines familiar to fans of the Pumpkins' 1993
breakthrough, Siamese Dream.
The hard-driving, mythological "Ride a Black Swan" and
Zeppelin-esque "Endless Summer" verge on classic arena
rock, with their combination of distorted guitars and aggressive
drumming. "Baby Let's Rock!" lets Corgan exorcise his
Queen jones, with a funky backbeat, squiggly guitars and soaring,
multi-tracked, angelic choruses.
The dreamy ballads "Of a Broken Heart" and
"Heartsong" are classic Corgan tales of romantic woe,
the former flavored with weepy slide guitar and cello, while in
the latter Corgan slyly admits, "I use the same words to say
the same things."
Corgan keeps his more grandiose side in check until near the end
of the album, at which point he unleashes the 14-minute religious
epic, "Jesus, I/ Mary Star of the Sea." The song begins
with just Corgan's nasally vocals ("Jesus, I've taken my
cross/ All to leave and follow thee") over a repeating guitar
line, then explodes into a kaleidoscopic barrage of guitar solos.
The solemn middle section leads into a majestic coda for an
archetypal Corgan rock song of redemption, in which salvation is
found in the character of a female savior.
Zwan are in the midst of celebrating the album's release with a
sold-out, five-night stand at Corgan's favorite hometown haunt,
the 1,100-capacity Metro in Chicago. Zwan took to the stage of the
club on Sunday and Monday nights and will continue their residency
with shows on Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday, according to the
venue's owner.
The group played a three-night stand at the Metro's cross-town
sister club, the Double Door, in April of last year. This week's
shows mark the first time Corgan has returned to rock the Metro
stage since he laid the Pumpkins to rest there with a cathartic,
three-hour show in December 2000 (see "Pumpkins
Circus Folds Up With Epic Show"). (He was part of a
multi-artist benefit show last year during which he performed
solo).
Following the Chicago shows, Zwan will jet over to Japan for four
early February dates and then finish out the month in Europe with
shows in Paris, London, Hamburg, Berlin, Milan, Lisbon and Madrid.
—Gil Kaufman
Source: MTV |
| January
24, 2003: 2003
Sundance Festival - Musical direction |
PARK CITY, Utah --
Jonas Akerlund wanted an opinion and landed a composer.
Akerlund, one of the most sought after and visually distinctive
music video helmers of the past decade, was considering making
Spun his feature-film debut, though he passed the script onto
friend and former Smashing Pumpkins frontman Billy Corgan.
"We had worked together before many times, so I gave him the
script because I wanted to see what he thought about it. And he
came back and said, 'I'll do the music.' So I said, 'OK.'
"But he had one condition. He wanted a role in the movie, so
he's got a brief scene where he's this doctor under this
wig."
Corgan ethereal sonic landscape has been winning praise as a
haunting juxtaposition to the graphic drug-induced horrors
depicted on screen.
"His music really added to the overall impression. The
weaknesses I have in the film, he helped with his music."
Akerlund says he hasn't quit shooting videos, although he says
breaking new ground with them has become virtually impossible.
"It's harder than ever to be different and get your video on
MTV. MTV was supposed to be like, this new media, showing new
bands breaking through, but now advertising is running it."
Source: Calgary Sun |
| January
21, 2003: Zwan's
debut showcases Corgan's style, ambition |
Clark Street feels
like the epicenter of the rock world this week, with Billy
Corgan's latest band, Zwan, on stage with something to prove at a
sold-out Metro for five shows.
Corgan's never been accused of making small plans, and Sunday his
ambitions were evident, greeted with full-throated enthusiasm by
an audience that sounded like it had been waiting for this moment
since the singer's old band, the Smashing Pumpkins, fell silent in
December 2000. He's got the artillery in place for another,
Pumpkins-like push: a record label, Reprise, with a new president
hungry to make amends after the previous regime let one of its
best bands, Wilco, get away; a high-profile manager in Elliot
Roberts, who has overseen Neil Young's career for three decades;
and a new band of accomplices, plus one crucial holdover in
drummer Jimmy Chamberlin, that is versatile and muscular enough to
go toe-to-toe with any of today's rock giants.
Zwan fit a stadium-size sound into the 1,100-capacity club, and
for anyone who appreciates the roar of guitar-bass-drums rock it
was a night to celebrate.
The band's debut release, "Mary Star of the Sea," is
still a week away, but Corgan and Zwan were already in some ways
looking beyond it
Source: Chicago Tribune |
| December
24, 2002: ZWAN
- Zwan - Mary Star Of The Sea |
Track Listing
1. Lyric
2. Settle Down
3. Declarations Of Faith
4. Honestly
5. El Sol
6. Of A Broken Heart
7. Ride A Black Swan
8. Heartsong
9. Endless Summer
10. Baby Let’sRock!
11. Yeah!
12. Desire
13. Jesus, I/Mary Star Of The Sea
14. Come With Me
Disc 2: Bonus DVD featuring 35 minutes of behind-the-scenes
footage including recording the album and an interview with each
band member.
Source: HMV.COM |
| December
24, 2002: ZWAN.COM
will premiere a clip of the "Honestly" video |
ZWAN.COM will premiere a clip of
the "Honestly" video leading up to the on air debut.
To see a special location where some of the video was shot, visit http://www.integratron.com/
Source: Zwan.com - SPFC |
| December
19, 2002: ZWAN
- Kelly Stokes Osbourne Vs. Corgan Feud, Audioslave Rocks Claus
Fest |
Kelly Osbourne stoked hostilities
between the Osbourne family and former Smashing Pumpkins frontman
Billy Corgan at the New York City area radio show, Claus Fest, in
Uniondale, New York on Thursday night (December 12).
Corgan and Sharon Osbourne had a tiff several years ago, after she
quit as the Pumpkins manager. The feud came alive again at the
Almost Acoustic Christmas in Los Angeles on December 7. At that
show, Kelly's boyfriend, Bert McCracken of the Used, allegedly
tried to trip Corgan, who performed with his new band Zwan. Corgan
allegedly struck back by kicking McCracken in the stomach,
according to sources at the Los Angeles radio station.
Osbourne took verbal revenge in New York, telling the crowd from
the stage that Corgan performed oral favors on the program
director of the New York radio station to secure a spot on the
bill.
Sharon Osbourne's relationship with Corgan went sour when she
dropped the Pumpkins as a client. The band filed suit against her
in early 2000. At the time of the split, Sharon said in a
statement: "It was with great pride and enthusiasm that I
took on management of the Pumpkins back in October [1999], but
unfortunately I must resign due to medical reasons...Billy Corgan
was making me sick!!!"
As far as the music at the 'Claus Fest, Audioslave made its
triumphant return to New York after its recent live set for The
Late Show With David Letterman. The festival also featured the New
York debut of Corgan's Zwan, Queens Of The Stone Age, Boxcar
Racer, Coldplay, Stone Sour, Kelly Osbourne, the Vines, and
others.
Audioslave, fronted by Chris Cornell sporting blue jeans and a
black wifebeater-style shirt, ripped out six songs: "Light My
Way," "Set It Off," "Gasoline,"
"Stone," "Cochise," and "Shadow Of The
Sun."
Some in the crowd were disappointed with the
radio-station-sponsored show due to the fact that Ozzy Osbourne
was on the show's bill, but only came out to introduce daughter
Kelly, saying they were led to believe Ozzy was performing. There
were a noticeable round of boos that greeted Ozzy's daughter, who
left after three songs.
-- Darren Davis, New York
Source: Siva |
| December
19, 2002: ZWAN
- KROQ's Acoustic Christmas / Dec. 7-8 / Universal City, Calif. |
There was a moment
near the end of KROQ's Acoustic Christmas that should give hope to
serious rock fans. The two-night, sold-out affair came to a close
Sunday night (Dec. 8) with a headlining set by Southern rock
juggernaut Creed. Midway through the opening song, Scott Stapp's
microphone went silent. The singer stormed offstage, and the crowd
erupted in round of boos, but then something even more unexpected
happened: the Universal Amphitheater audience began to chant for
Coldplay, who had just wrapped an impressive 40-minute set.
Creed was ready to go after a five-minute break, but when it was
apparent Coldplay would not be returning, the crowd of about 6,000
departed, leaving Creed to play to a practically empty
amphitheater. Radio programmers take heed: rock fans have a voice.
If the massive L.A. crowd is any indication, it isn't saying
Creed, Disturbed, or P.O.D. The latter two acts had the misfortune
of closing out Saturday night's show, with P.O.D.'s guitarist
Marcus Curiel pleading to the rapidly thinning crowd that
"traffic isn't that bad."
Yet the fact that fans at a major, corporate concert displayed
disinterest at some of today's most popular acts is only one
reason to be encouraged. The KROQ shows featured a bounty of
respectable artists, including Beck, the Flaming Lips, Coldplay,
Dashboard Confessional, Jurassic 5, Audioslave, Queens Of The
Stone Age, and Zwan. Compare that to KROQ's winter concerts last
year, when System Of A Down, Bad Religion, and Coldplay were the
only critically acclaimed artists on the bill. Change, perhaps, is
afoot.
Of course, work still needs to be done, and this year's Acoustic
Christmas (the show is "acoustic" in name only) featured
its share of bland corporate punk (New Found Glory, Good
Charlotte) and a number of acts better left for the second-stage
of Ozzfest, such as Taproot and the Used. Additionally, there's no
excuse for giving the throwaway novelty songs of comedian Jimmy
Fallon a prime-time set when plenty of worthy of artists could
fill the slot.
Saturday night's return of Billy Corgan should give fans of
mainstream rock more than enough reasons to rejoice. His
five-piece Zwan, with the Pumpkins' Jimmy Chamberlin on drums, A
Perfect Circle's Paz Lenchantin on bass, and Slint's David Pajo
and Chavez's Matt Sweeney on guitar, performed a moderately
mid-tempo set of fuzzed-up rock songs filled with Chamberlin's
jazzy diversions and Pajo's otherworldly soundscapes. While Corgan
allowed his bandmates plenty of room to experiment, he never
forgot to include a tune, and slower songs such as the
violin-driven "Of a Broken Heart" rank as some of his
most ambitious material since the Pumpkins' "Adore"
(Virgin).
Saturday night also included a solid -- if not particularly
memorable -- set from Sum 41, a passable punk band that studiously
mines early Green Day riffs and tosses in some metal. Stoner rock
kings Queens Of The Stone Age's "Feel Good Hit of the
Summer" was by far the fastest and tightest performance of
the two nights, and "No One Knows" out-punked any of the
punk acts on the bill.
Supergroup Audioslave, comprised of former members of Rage Against
The Machine, performed its first major concert, and the Chris
Cornell-led band clearly came with something to prove. Yet while
Cornell has his classic-rock wail down pat, what makes Audioslave
work is the impressiveness of the group behind him. Just as it was
in Rage Against The Machine, it's hard to shift one's attention
away from guitar wizard Tom Morello, who bounded around the stage
as he sliced at Cornell's vocals on songs such as "Light My
Way" and "Set It Off." His chord manipulations
achieved nearly indescribable sounds -- his guitar can easily
mimic emergency vehicles or helicopters -- and Morello is always
more interested in dressing a song rather than pounding it into
the audience's head.
Hopefully Saturday night headliners Disturbed and P.O.D. were
watching. Disturbed's lead singer David Draiman looked and moved
ridiculously liked a Chippendales reject, and spent much of the
set defending Disturbed's "place in metal" (Sorry, Dave,
the band doesn't have one). Unlike Disturbed's generic industrial
grind, P.O.D. at least has the ability to shift tempo and vary a
rhythm, but the limited range of vocalist Sonny Sandoval quickly
deadened the set.
On Sunday, the median crowd age jumped from about 16 to 26, as the
night belonged to more "easy-listening" fare. Artists
such as Beck, Coldplay, and Jack Johnson received by far the most
positive crowd reaction of the two nights. Johnson, joined by Ben
Harper on slide guitar, was pleasantly innocuous with his acoustic
numbers. His songs were elevated by his rhythm section, which was
comfortable giving the tunes either an R&B or a reggae flair.
The acoustic punk of Dashboard Confessional provided an emotional
wallop with Chris Carrabba's illustrative tales of high school
agony, while Jurassic 5 was the sole hip-hop representation on the
bill. The local group, comprised of four MCs and two DJs, provided
earthy, soul-inflected grooves that recalled the spirit of
Arrested Development.
Australia's the Vines proved once again to be all hype. The
"new-garage" band may have an energetic single in
"Get Free," but frontman Craig Nicholls acts as if he
just graduated from a Rock Star 101 class, mimicking Kurt Cobain,
Thom Yorke, and Iggy Pop rather than actually showing any real
personality. The band should also take note that destroying its
instruments on a revolving stage at a corporate show doesn't
really have much of an impact.
Coldplay, however, was just the opposite, performing a set that
more than lived up to the lavish praise given the band. On record,
the Jeff Buckley-influenced songs can grow weary, but live,
Coldplay completely transforms into a spirited and passionate
band. With its golden, minor-chord leads, songs such as
"Politik," "Yellow," and "In My
Place" stretched for a U2-like grandeur, but as evidenced by
the lovely ballad "Trouble," Coldplay is aiming for more
traditional pop arrangements, and the group largely succeeds.
Additionally, vocalist Chris Martin showed a welcome sense of
humor, mixing in some Shania Twain with the diva-worthy
"Trouble."
Yet when it comes to partying, no band throws a better bash than
the Flaming Lips. Performing with Beck, who sadly played it safe
by cluttering his short set with popular fare like
"Loser," "Where It's At," and "Devil's
Haircut" rather than his more ambitious newer material, the
Lips were unjustly relegated to a backing band. Collaborations
between artists of this caliber don't happen often, and Beck and
the Flaming Lips blew it by failing to rearrange or dress Beck's
material any differently than it is on record.
Yet when the Lips took control of the set for Bob Geldof's
"Do They Know It's Christmas?" the show briefly
transcended into something quite spectacular. Joined by Carrabba,
Coldplay's Martin, Jack Johnson, actress Juliette Lewis, and about
two dozen people in furry animal costumes, the Lips showered the
crowd with confetti and united them in pure excessive silliness.
The group had to ride Beck's coattails to get on this bill, but in
a three-minute Christmas tune, Wayne Coyne's band outshone
anything corporate radio could offer.
Source: Billboard |
| November
27, 2002: ZWAN
- COMING JANUARY 28TH |
Zwan, the new band featuring Billy
Corgan Jimmy Chamberlain, Paz Lanchantin, David Pajo and Matt
Sweeney, will release its debut album on January 28th. Check out zwan.com
to learn more about the band, join the message board, hear the
first single "Honestly"
and check out live footage
of the band.
Source: Reprise Records |
| November
21, 2002: Live
shows, debut album ahead for Billy Corgan's Zwan |
Zwan, the new band
fronted by ex-Smashing Pumpkin Billy Corgan, has signed with
Reprise Records and has announced several live performances.
Though the label hasn't announced an official release date for the
as-yet-untitled album, it reportedly is expected to reach stores
in January or February.
Zwan debuted a year ago with a short series of club dates. The
band features Corgan on guitar and vocals, ex-Pumpkin Jimmy
Chamberlin on drums, Matt Sweeney (formerly of Chavez) and David
Pajo (Slint) on guitar, and Paz Lenchantin (A Perfect Circle) on
bass.
The group is set to headline a Dec. 5 show in Las Vegas at the
Hard Rock Hotel club the Joint, and will follow with a series of
appearances at holiday radio festivals.
Festivals on the schedule include KROQ's Almost Acoustic Christmas
(Los Angeles), WBCN's XMAS Rave (Boston), K-Rock's Claus Fest (New
York), HFSmas Nutcracker (Washington, D.C.), Y100's Feastival
(Philadelphia), and The Night 89X Stole Christmas (Detroit).
Source: SoundSpike |
| November
21, 2002: New
tour dates!! |
2002/12/11 - Las Vegas (The Joint)
2002/12/11 - LA (KROQ Almost Acustic Christmas)
2002/12/11 - Orpheum Theater; Boston, MA, US (WBCN Xmas Rave)
2002/12/12 - Nassau Coliseum; Uniondale, NY, US (KROCK's Claus
Fest)
2002/12/13 - MCI Center; Washington, DC, US
2002/12/15 - First Union Center; Philadelphia, PA, US (Y100
Festival 2002)
2002/12/17 - Cobo Arena; Detroit, MI, US (The Night 89X Stole
Christmas 5)
Source: zwan.com |
| November
21, 2002:
Zwan's first single will be aired on Chicago's Q101! |
11/21/02 at 5 pm
central time Zwan's first single will be aired on Chicago's Q101!
Source: Siva |
| November
15, 2002: Billy
Corgan's Zwan To Release Debut Single, Album |
Just over two years
after Billy Corgan sang the Smashing Pumpkins to sleep, his new
band, Zwan, will release its debut album on Reprise Records. The
still-untitled LP is slated for release in late January/early
February, with its first single, "Honestly," set to hit
radio in late November, according to a label spokesperson.
Following the Pumpkins' final show in December of 2000, Corgan
hardly took the long, lazy vacation he promised to give himself at
the time. "I can sleep in for the first time in my
life," he said the night before his 22 million-selling band
folded up its tent at the Metro, the hometown Chicago club where
it all began.
Instead, Corgan began writing new songs, quickly amassing a fresh
batch of nearly 50 tunes. Featuring guitarist Matt Sweeney
(Chavez), bassist David Pajo (Tortoise) and former Pumpkins
drummer Jimmy Chamberlin, the new band made its debut less than a
year later, performing at the Glass House in Pomona, California,
on November 16, 2001 (see "Billy Corgan Ready To Debut His
New Band, Zwan"). Zwan recently recruited Paz Lenchantin (A
Perfect Circle), who replaced Pajo on bass. Pajo switched to
guitar, giving the band a formidable three-guitar lineup.
Zwan's live sound bears a distinct resemblance to the dynamic of
the Pumpkins, down to Chamberlin's muscular, jazzy drumming and
Corgan's unmistakable buzzsaw whine vocal, but often without the
flowing, psychedelic sweep of the Pumpkins' more experimental
tracks. Generous amounts of live material available on more than
half a dozen Zwan fan sites, in addition to officially-released
audio and video on the Zwan site, offers a glimpse of a band that
mixes the fluid power of the Pumpkins with a sometimes more
straightforward rock sound.
Among the songs the group has performed live, according to set
lists from the Zwan Web site are "Jesus, I," "God's
Gonna Set This World on Fire," "Glorious," "A
New Poetry," "The World Goes Round," "Love
Lies in Ruin," "Baby Let's Rock," "Signal This
Strong," "Girl With the Cruel Face," "And So I
Died of a Broken Heart," "Freedom Ain't What It Used to
Be," "Candy Came Calling," "El-A-Noy,"
"Chicks Just Get in the Way," "Solace and
Serenity," "Careless Love," "Roma Girl,"
"Silly Sally," "Chrysanthemum," "The
Shining Path" and "What Have They Done to Me?"
The hushed acoustic ballad "Jesus, I" can be heard in
the trailer for "Spun," the upcoming feature from
transgressive music video director Jonas Akerlund (Prodigy,
Smashing Pumpkins) (see "Members Of Korn, Pumpkins, Wilco
Scoring With Movie Music"), starring Jason Schwartzman,
Brittany Murphy, John Leguizamo, Mena Suvari and "Almost
Famous" star Patrick Fugit.
Zwan are hitting a number of holiday radio shows including KROQ's
Almost Acoustic Christmas (Los Angeles, December 8), WBCN's X-Mas
Rave (Boston, December 11), WXRK's Claus-Fest (New York, December
12) WHFS' HFSmas Nutcracker (Washington, D.C., December 13),
WPLY's FEASTival (Philadelphia, December 15) and CIMX's The Night
89X Stole Christmas (Detroit, December 17), with more dates to be
announced soon.
The band's spokesperson said it was not yet known which songs will
make it onto the album, but just moments after the Pumpkins' final
show (see "Pumpkins Circus Folds Up With Epic Show"),
Corgan promised he would not tread the same ground again. "It
won't be a variation of the Pumpkins theme," Corgan said of
his next project. "It will be a completely different deal and
a completely different part of my person."
—Gil Kaufman
Source: MTV |
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