[Ram27]

I never knew the full timeline of this. thought it deserved its own thread

Drummer Jimmy's drug habits seemed to diminish during the Mellon Collie recording sessions, regulating himself to his pack and a half of cigarettes a day. However, his drug use increased significantly during the tour and would later lead to his downfall.

The band continued to be under the false impression that Jimmy was using drugs sparingly. "We were being made to believe that we were being told the truth every step of the way. Which we later found out wasn't true at all." In the spring of the tour, the band actually offered to postpone dates so that Jimmy could seek treatment, but he insisted that he did not need it.

The first of three drug abuses of Jimmy and Jonathan occured on the 29th of February at the band's show in Bangkok, Thailand. "Jonathan was fine, but Jimmy was definitely out of it," said Billy. Billy also warned Jonathan that if there was a second offense, he was to be fired. A second offense (and a fatal third offense for Jonathan) did occur three months later in May.

Addicted to Noise reported that on the 19th of March, the Pumpkins had to postpone their New Zealand and Sydney shows because of the death of drummer Jimmy's father. The Australian and New Zealand dates are made up in May.

The second of the three drug abuse incidents occurred on the 2nd of May in Lisbon, Portugal. Jimmy and Jonathan were both found unconscious outside a hotel, and rushed to the hospital for emergency treatment. "Adrenaline shots to the heart, the whole 'Pulp Fiction' bit," as Billy put it. After the show, Billy told Jonathan, "You're fired, but I want you to finish the tour because you're gonna leave us in the lurch."

Touring keyboardist Jonathan Melvoin, 34, overdosed of a potent mixture of alcohol and heroin (specifically a substance known as Red Rum) in Manhattan's Regency Hotel with Jimmy. He called 911 late on the night of June 11th. The dispatchers advised Jimmy to put Melvoin's head in the shower and attempt to revive him. After paramedics arrived, Melvoin was pronounced dead at the scene of a heroin overdose with a self-administered syringe. Billy received a call from touring manager Tim "Gooch" Lougee at Manhattan's Four Seasons. Gooch said, "Jimmy's OD'd. Jonathan's dead. Cops are here." The other members of the band, D'Arcy, James, and Billy were all brought down to the 19th Precinct police station on East 67th Street for questioning, but later released that day on the 12th. Jimmy was also brought down and charged with criminal possession of a controlled substance. He was scheduled to appear for a hearing in court on August 13.

Jimmy appeared at the Manhattan Criminal Court on the 13th of August, for an arraignment stemming from his arrest following on drug possession charges of Pumpkins touring keyboardist Jonathan Melvoin. Jimmy pleaded innocent to the charges. Jimmy was arrested and charged on July 12. Jimmy, 32, was in a drug rehabilitation program since the arrest, and according to his attorney Richard Schaeffer, he was "doing quite well" and "trying to get healthy."

Jimmy pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct on the 8th of October when he appeared in court before Criminal Court Judge Donna Recant. If Jimmy successfully completes a rehabilitation program by December (and stays clean), his court records will be sealed. If he fails, he will serve fifteen days in jail.

Jimmy completed drug rehabilitation, and began to concentrate playing with his new band, The Last Hard Men.

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such a mess. and it's annoying reading.

first and most shallowly, it destroyed the pumpkins.

second, a man is dead, partially due to corgan's mismanagement of this whole thing. they need actual help, not corgan telling them they're fired for trying to handle an addiction. Maybe cancel some shows, force them into rehab. Maybe get some test kits so they can verify the purity of the heroin and not overdose. Maybe stay out of their business entirely and hope they're not stupid enough to kill themselves. Maybe get someone from the Frogs to fill in on keyboards after the Lisbon incident and actually properly fire Jonny so Jimmy doesn't have his heroin buddy on tour.

third, it's shitty jim had to go through all that legal bullshit. drug addiction is a health issue not a criminal issue. (and the rehab didn't even work cause he was still on drugs through the machina tour lol) i mean his friend is dead and the first thing the authorities do is haul him to jail and charge him with a crime for "traces of the drug [that] were found in a needle in the room". who fucking cares about milligrams of a thing in a needle jesus christ. sorry, try to ignore my political lunacy

damn