THIS WAS CONDUCTED IN 2009.
BACK WHEN THE THE SMASHING PUMPKINS WEBSITE
HAD A MUCH DIFFERENT LOOK AND VIBE.
I AM POSTING THIS FOR ARCHIVAL PURPOSE.
ENJOY!
..................................................
The article was be posted on the website,
I want to show the full uncut interview
since most will be edited considering the article
is about several other artists other than me as well
My questions were selected by Smashing Pumpkins
Media Militia Member Saeed1985
.
-WHEN DID YOU GET INTO SP?-
I got into smashing pumpkins when I was 11,
I remember my uncle giving me the cassette version of
MELLON COLLIE AND THE INFINITE SADNESS,
I was never really into any kind of music before that,
but after listening to it, it just opened my ears to Alternative rock,
Goth rock, Punk rock, Metal and Electronic Music,
it pretty much opened me up to everything that should matter
when it comes to music and art alike.
BULLET WITH BUTTERFLY WINGS was the first pumpkins song I heard,
I remember seeing the video when I was 11, the ZERO shirt,
the silver pants, the dirt, D’Arcy’s blue hair, James' glam look,
Jimmy's mad drumming, the atmosphere, it was a revelation to me.
-DID YOU START WRITING POEMS BECAUSE OF SP OR WERE YOU WRITING BEFORE YOU HEARD THEM?-
I started writing poetry when I was 13, I kind of made up my mind
with what I wanted to do with life, be an artist, poetry or art or photography
or video stuff, I just want to do as many things as possible when it comes to art,
ADORE is the album that got me thinking about poetry, it became my holy bible,
I remember reading the lyrics to APPLES + ORANJES,
it got me thinking about things I would've never thought about before,
if I didn't hear that song I probably wouldn't be into poetry
as much as I am into it now.
-HAVE YOU EVER BEEN INSPIRED BY THEM?-
I've been inspired by the pumpkins so many times,
I can't really sum it up right now, it'll give me a headache if
I dive into this for too long.
-IF SO WAS IT SOMETHING PARTICULAR ABOUT THEM?-
the song writing, the guitars, the ZERO shirt,
the vocals, the artwork, Billy's sarcasm,
the G.L.O.W. video (the editing is amazing)
and the list goes on.
-SONG?-
MA BELLE would be the obvious one for me,
after I heard it, it made almost everything obsolete,
it should've been on the original Zeitgeist album instead of
the silver best buy edition, the guitars really choke me up,
it reminds me of the person I love the most in life, it gives me
hope when I'm down, it has inspired so many poems and artwork,
it is without a doubt my all time favourite pumpkins song,
if I had to choose just one.
FOR GOD AND COUNTRY is another song I have to mention,
I don't get why so many fans dislike this song, but I am a political guy,
and I'm pretty paranoid at times, with the way the world is
and how people react to stupid things you can't help but be paranoid,
this song sums up everything to me, how I feel about the world,
and I don't think I even believe in God, but that shouldn't matter
anyways, everyone is killing for a faceless God with many names,
and the acoustic live version is haunting, it should've
been on the Tarantula single or one of the many Zeitgeist releases,
or American Gothic.
VANILLA is one more song that I need to mention,
I like to listen to this one when I go for walks,
it's just a beautiful song,
simply put, and it's emotional as fuck (pardon my language).
-ALBUM?-
MELLON COLLIE AND THE INFINITE SADNESS
is the most important to me since it was the first one I ever heard,
it's the reason why I'm an artist or why
I decided to live for art and art alone.
ADORE got me thinking about poetry, made me realise
what I wanted to do with my life, I owe so much to this album,
FOR MARTHA breaks my heart every time I hear it,
like I'm sure it does to most fans.
ZEITGEIST (red and silver) I can go on and on and
on why this album means so much to me, I fucking got it,
I understood it, I have 3 versions of it (red, silver and the book edition),
every song caught my attention, TARANTULA was a deadly single
with great guitars and a catchy chorus,
UNITED STATES is a juggernaut,
STELLAR is classic shoegaze, I should stop myself before
I geek out too much ha ha.
-VIDEO?-
THIRTY-THREE always blows my mind away whenever I watch it,
the things you can create with just simple photographs,
it really is one of the greatest videos that I've ever seen,
it's one of the greatest videos ever made, period.
G.L.O.W. rocks, I love how it was put together,
the editing was great! I look at videos for everything it has to offer,
and this video just rocked.
TRY, TRY, TRY is a work of supreme art, it's real,
it's uncensored and it's reality, you can't turn
away once you start watching it.
-MEMBER?-
Billy, for obvious reasons, he's brilliant, he's crazy,
he's got a sarcastic side that I just love
and
I have to mention Melissa, I saw the pumpkins live in 2000
and she was just fabulous, it would've great if they
recorded more songs with her instead of just recording ROCK ON
and she's Canadian like me so I have to mention her ha ha
-DIRTY DREAM?-
dirty dreams need soap!
-DO YOU DO THE POETRY JUST FOR FUN OR ARE YOU TRYING TO BE SERIOUS WITH IT
- i.e. HAVE A CAREER AS A POET?-
I'm serious to the core with my poetry, I put everything into it,
I'd love to get published but it's hard for poets
these days if your not over 60 and write about god and flowers
and nature shit, I write about what I've seen in life and
what captures my interest, I have a weird morbid imagination
and I put good use to it I think, I'd rather die than to stop writing
or drawing or taking photos, art is my life and times
-WHAT HAVE YOU LEARNED ABOUT YOUR POETRY FROM THROUGH THE PUMPKINS?-
BLINKING WITH FISTS is my favourite poetry book,
next to Mingus Tourette's NUNT, when I was 14 and there
was a poetry project at school, you had to bring a poem to class
and read it and I chose to read the APPLES + ORANJES lyrics,
and I remember the teacher liking my poem/song the most.
The Smashing pumpkins taught me so much about art,
I wouldn't be writing if it wasn't for the pumpkins,
Billy Corgan is just a man but he's inspired so much,
I thank him with humble admiration.
ADORE was my guiding light when I was younger,
it still shines bright every time I listen to it.
Same goes to every pumpkins album.
-Jon Powder-
.
That was a rather nice interview, thanks to my pal Saeed for the interview.
Peace.
cheers!
