Billy Corgan: “I could write in the past tense”

Billy Corgan of the Smashing Pumpkins (born 1988) stated that he was able to write songs that sound like any era of the band: “in five minutes I could compose something that sounds like a song that would have been on ‘Siamese Dream'” (their most successful album published in 1993). The Chicago guitarist and author said it in an interview with Premier Guitar when talking about his creative process.

While it may be easier to cling to old hits, Corgan seems disinclined to write in the past tense, saying: “I think it’s more interesting to try to find something that seems to mean whatever is happening at the moment. It’s a truth.”

He continued: “I can throw in any era of the band or of my writing, because they’re all based on methodologies and certain emotional patterns. So, I’m trying to make it apply to today. What is the version of 2024 that makes me feel something, anything? If I pick up a guitar – he explained – I try to play something that surprises me, it’s whatever comes out. Or you find a new inversion or something you’ve never thought of before. You try to play a different scale than the one you’ve played 10,000 times, always on the same note. It’s just the search for something a little new.” And he concluded: “I find that often, in that quiet solitude where it’s just you and the guitar, this communication can happen that expresses something about you that is surprising – an emotional feeling or a way of approaching.”

Corgan will embark on a solo Australian tour next month. Supported by Delta Riggs, Corgan will visit the continent in winter, departing Adelaide on 1 December.