So Who Were The Lucky Thirteen

[Cool As Ice Cream]

23/03/2009

THE SMASHING PUMPKINS
ARCHIVE NEWSLETTER #2

Hello again,

Welcome to the second Archive Newsletter. I am now entering the third week on the job, and I just want to say that I’m really excited about the project. I want to get into the more technical details about the archive. One of the biggest problems with storing media that is over 20 years old is tape deterioration. One example of this is the Ignoffo Demos. Mark Ignoffo was a studio engineer that worked with the band in 1988-89. The band would record demos at Reel Time Studios and then sell them at shows. The Moon Demo was a demo tape that was sold at shows in 1989 for $5. The songs from this period would ******* Stars Fall In, Daughter, and Bye June. These songs have been widely bootlegged out, but the quality has been questionable because many of these were sourced from old cassette tapes. The band has the original reels from those recording sessions in the archive. Throughout the years, these tapes have started to deteriorate and flake. Recently, the band has started to rescue these recordings. A technique to rescue tapes that are starting to flake is through baking. The tapes would be placed in an oven, and baked for a specific period of time. This restores the tape so that it can be transferred. In these cases, we often have one chance to transfer the tape before the tape is lost for good. The Ignoffo Demos were baked for 72 hours! Then they ran them through Pro Tools at 24-bit/96kHz, and the outcome was amazing. They sound so much better than the bootlegged versions that fans have. This would definitely be an upgrade if you already have these songs.

The next step is to rescue other tapes and reels that have started to deteriorate. All of the material in the archive is stored in a climate controlled environment in order to preserve them, and slow down the effects of time. Tapes and reels aren’t the only material that we have to carefully monitor. Paper is another concern for us. I’m currently going through and cataloging the band’s posters. I have found some early posters from the Gish era, and there are a few that have started to show their age. A way to combat this is to store them in acid-free polyester Mylar sleeves. The Library of Congress also uses the same types of sleeves for archival storage. I’m creating a system that will catalog and preserve all of the posters and artwork from the band. Eventually this system will ******* all of the promotional material that I’ve talked about in my recent blog post. I hope this sheds some light on what we’ve been doing. I’ll talk to you all next week!

Frank

[Cool As Ice Cream]

30/03/2009

THE SMASHING PUMPKINS
ARCHIVE NEWSLETTER #3

Hello SP World,

Hello again from the archives! I hope everybody had a good weekend. I would like to dive into the subscription service idea a bit more. It looks like there are a couple major artists that are also jumping on the subscription service idea for releasing music. I touched on Neil Young and Prince in my recent blog post. I would like to go into further details about the pros and cons of what they're doing and how it will relate to what we're going to do. Neil Young's Archives set isn't marketed as a subscription service, but they do offer additional download content if you buy the $300 Blu-ray edition. The good thing that they're doing is using Blu-ray technology, because of the high-definition picture and sound quality. It is the best quality consumer technology that is available right now. The way they are going to deliver additional content is through a technology called BD Live. That is where you hook up your Blu-ray player to your Internet connection, and the player will download additional content and features and place them in an interactive timeline on your Blu-ray player. This is a very innovative idea, but I had a few questions when I first read about it. The first thing is that they don't list what additional content is available and they don't list a schedule of delivery. They leave that topic open by stating that future shows, songs, and pictures will be delivered through this technology. The next concern I had was with the BD Live solution that they are using. Many people listen to music on their computers, portable music players, and old fashioned CD players. There are also many people who listen to music in their cars. It seems with the Neil Young set, you can only hear that additional content on your Blu-ray player.

Prince also announced a subscription site for the release of his three latest albums: Lotusflow3r, Mplsound, and Elixer. He put up a cryptic website where you had to solve a riddle in order to sign up. The service costs $77 a year and includes a digital download of the three new albums, a t-shirt, information about concert tickets, and various extras on the website. He also sold all three albums exclusively at Target for a price of $11.99 for the bundle. Many fans are crying foul because most of the extras that are on the website were already available through other channels.

When Neil Young announced his Archives box set, they were very detailed about what was included in the set, but they were vague about the extras that will come down the pipeline at a later time. Prince's service on the other hand doesn't go into much detail in what you get for the yearly subscription besides the digital downloads of his newest albums. What we want to do for the SP Archives is look at all of these concerns and create a service that will offer content that is accessible to many different people. If you listen to your music in your car or on your digital portable player, you should be given that option. Also, if you are going to spend the money on our subscription service, you should have a heads up on what to expect. Of course there could be surprises along the way, but you will have an idea on what to expect when you sign up. I just want to reiterate that we are looking at all angles, options, and concerns as we look at a subscription service. As always, I do encourage all of you to voice your thoughts in the SP Archive Project Forum on SP.com and through e-mail at [email protected].

Have a good week!

Frank

[Cool As Ice Cream]

07/04/2009

THE SMASHING PUMPKINS
ARCHIVE NEWSLETTER #4

Hello SP World!

I hope all of you are doing well. I want to give all of you your weekly dose from the archives. Quite a few of you have asked me what exactly is in the archives. There are thousands upon thousands of tapes in the archive! Every era of the band has a wealth of material in the archive. If you’re a fan of the early days, there are songs like Death of a Mind (Sun) and Not Worth Asking from live shows in ’89. If you’re a fan of the Mellon Collie era, practically everything was recorded. The same goes with Adore all the way up to Zeitgeist. There is definitely something for everyone. The task of going through and picking individual items to release is a tall order. This is why we’ve been talking to all of you about different avenues on how we are going to release this material.

Say for instance we just put up a batch of 5 shows for sale online. We would have to go through the archives, and pick 5 shows that would be worthy of putting up for sale. That’s not an easy task when you’re looking at 20+ years of shows. Also ******* the mountain of studio and demo material. Then you look at what happens if a show we put up didn’t do so well. That time, money, and effort would have been wasted. You have to remember that a lot of these live shows are unmixed multi-tracks. They would have to be mixed down in the studio in order for us to release it. It would be difficult to break even if one of the shows didn’t sell well. This is where the idea of a subscription service comes in. We wouldn’t have to cherry pick the top 5 shows to put out on an individual basis. We can take things from all different eras, and deliver them all to the subscription members. There could be something like a rehearsal from the Arising tour that would be passed through the subscription service that might not do well as its own individual release. Then we can pick out a few of the favorites that we delivered to the subscription members, and offer those as individual releases to everybody else. By having an upfront subscription service, it would make sure that we have enough capital to cover all of the expenses in mixing and transferring material and the digital and/or physical methods of getting it into your hands.

That’s where we stand right now. We’re still in the brainstorming stage, but we’re leaning towards the subscription service idea more than individually putting up material for sale. If you agree or disagree, or have a better idea, please tell us. I frequent the Archives board on the Trading forum on sp.com and I check my e-mail account at [email protected]. This is all for you. You are all in on the ground floor on helping us design the best way to open up the archives.

Frank

[Cool As Ice Cream]

15/04/2009

THE SMASHING PUMPKINS
ARCHIVE NEWSLETTER #5

Hello SP World!

I hope everybody is doing well. I’ve been keeping busy combing through the archives, and setting up figures for the subscription service idea. Now it’s time to take all of our ideas and try to make them work in the real world. I have received a lot of responses about which formats people prefer. I’m looking at both lossless files and regular MP3 files. Lossless files (like FLAC) are audio files that retain all of the original fidelity of the recording. MP3 is where the audio file is compressed, and you lose some of the fidelity in the recording. If you have an iPod or MP3 player, it is probably filled with either MP3 or M4A (Apple’s MP3 standard) files. There are many audiophiles within the niche community that this project is geared to, and I know they prefer lossless files for this material. There is a concern about piracy. We live in a world where people rip and upload material without any regard to what they’re doing. It is so common these days that it has turned the whole music business upside down. If we set up a subscription service, people share it with all of their friends, and it ends up on torrent sites, it would be hard to get additional people to sign up for it. We would need a certain number of subscribers to make this into a long-term project. When we start, it might be the case of the more subscribers we get, the more material we put out. I’m also looking at including an extremely limited tangible item that would make it worthwhile to subscribe if you were a collector.

I mentioned in my latest blog about finding a show from ’89 with "I Am One, Part II" opening the show. There are many shows that are in the archive that are unknown to the fan community. I know sites like SPFC.org do a great job at researching and gathering the tour history of the band. They’re not always correct though. Many of the early dates are missing set lists or venue names. Most of this information comes from bootlegs or show listings in old newspapers. I found another early show from ’89 that we posted the set list for in the Tour section of SP.com. The archives don’t just have a wealth of recordings; it contains a wealth of information too. I bet most of you didn’t know that the band played "Stars Fall In" live in the early days. As we get more into pulling recordings for release, we might find songs that the band worked on for tours that were never played. If you’re interested in this kind of stuff, then the subscription-model would be right up your alley.

If you have any ideas on what would make this worthwhile to you, I would definitely be interested in what you think. If we ******* a tangible item, what would you want it to be? I’m hoping that we can create a nice tight community for the archives, where there would be communication on both sides. It might be something where I’ll use your feedback on what to put out next in the subscription service. That’s the road I hope we’re heading to, but we need your help along the way.

Frank
[email protected]

[Cool As Ice Cream]

20/04/2009

THE SMASHING PUMPKINS
ARCHIVE NEWSLETTER #6

Hello SP World,

This is the 6th newsletter for the Archives mailing list. I've been here for over 6 weeks, reading and talking to fans about how we should put out the archives. During these past few weeks, we've put out the idea of a subscription service where we would charge $300 a year for 200 releases. We received a lot of feedback, and there are three issues that keep coming back. The first one (a major one) is cost. The majority of fans who have contacted me through e-mail and on the message board have flat out said that they can't afford it. The second issue is that there is a line drawn in the sand between people who want only studio outtakes and demos, and the people who want live shows. I on the other hand am the type of fan who wants everything. Back when I collected everything I could get my hands on with U2, I didn't care what it was. I wanted everything. I even have CD's of drum takes from the Achtung Baby sessions. I just thought there was a lot more people who shared the same sentiment. The third issue is that people wanted CD's. They didn't want to spend the money on digital downloads. People want artwork, liner notes, and something they can hold.

We're going to make some changes to the business model. The first thing we're going to do is throw the $300 subscription service model out the window. The next thing we're going to do is set up a fan club for the band. There will be details about this very soon on SP.com. We're going to look at including a limited edition CD of rare tracks as a special gift if you're a fan club member. Next we're going to sell hard copy releases from the archives. This will be CD's (possibly vinyl) with liner notes, and a special package. These releases will be limited to not much higher than the total number of fan club members. If you're a member of the fan club, you will have GUARANTEED access to purchase these releases. If you're not a fan club member, we will sell whatever is left over once the fan club members have purchased their copies. There might be cases where we might not have any left to sell once fan club members purchase theirs. If you want access to this, you'll want to be a fan club member. The reasoning for tying in the archival releases to the fan club is to get a good perspective on how many copies to print, and what material we'll make available. We know that there are going to be people out there that won't care about the fan club and will rip and torrent this material. I can say that only fan club members will be the ones that will work with us to figure out what to release next, and will be an integral part of documenting the band through picture and sound. If you want to be part of the small community that will have a special relationship with the band, the fan club is the way to go.

I have another piece of good news. We're going to start putting releases out as soon as possible! We're going to start with the early days of the band. Billy talked about the lawsuit with EMI a couple weeks ago. Nothing has changed with the lawsuit; we're still working that out. We're not going to wait on that to start releasing material. That is why we're starting with the early days of the band. This will ******* rare shows that nobody knows about, demos, and rehearsals. We even have Billy's demos from 1985, after he graduated high school. By doing this under the fan club system, you can buy whatever you want. If we put out a show an '88 show from Iowa, it might sound pretty raw and it might not appeal to everybody. The people that are interested in it can buy it if they want, and it would be an extremely limited edition release. We'll rate shows and put up information on the quality, so you can be sure that you aren't going to buy something you'll be unhappy with. I can assure you that whatever we put out will be the best quality that exists, and will be the definitive version. If we put out a show that already exists in bootleg form, ours will be better quality. If you already have a bootleg copy of a show or demo that we release, think of our version as an upgrade. I can't say an exact date on when we'll start to release stuff, but we're looking at the first releases to come out in fall of this year.

Frank
[email protected]

[Cool As Ice Cream]

29/04/2009

THE SMASHING PUMPKINS
ARCHIVE NEWSLETTER #7

Hello SP World!

It's almost summertime here in Chicago! I want to give you your weekly update from the archives. I'm very glad to see that there is a lot of excitement in the air since I announced that we are going to a fan club model instead of a $300 subscription service. We're looking at all the different aspects at what the 'fan club' will entail. We don't just want it to be like every other band's fan clubs. This is going to be very special and unique. We also want the fan club and archive releases to be a great value too. Value is important these days. I just saw that Prince announced a new box set. The box set contains a purple iPod Touch loaded with a 40-minute movie and 15 audio tracks from his 21 Nights concerts. The price is $2,100. They're offering a limited edition iPod as the main draw of the package. We're going to focus on content. We are looking to try to give you the best value possible, versus what else is out there. This is a journey that we are going on with all of you. This isn't about the music business; this is about the band having a relationship with the hardcore fans.

I've been getting a lot of comments from fans that are interested in digital releases for the archives. We are going to put out releases in limited edition physical forms, but we are also exploring digital options too. If we release a show in MP3 form, we may only put up the best tracks from that show. In that scenario, if you want the complete show, you can buy the physical release. The sales trends on digital MP3 releases show that people pick and choose the tracks they want to listen to. There are a lot more people who buy individual tracks of an album or a show, than the people who buy the complete MP3 version of a release. Another reason why we might do this is that it would give the fans who buy the physical releases a bonus by having the complete show. We are also exploring the option to have a compilation of these tracks available to other music stores like iTunes. This would also give you the ultimate choice on what you want to buy. Let's say we put out a show from '89, and you were only interested in hearing an early version of Rhinoceros. That track could be available in MP3 format, and you can purchase that track instead of buying the whole show. This would also save the shipping costs for international fans who only want certain tracks. What are your thoughts on this?

We are in the process of compiling band photos for these archival releases. When we put up an announcement last year asking for photos and materials from the Gish era, we didn't get too many responses. We are still interested in what you have from the Gish era, 1988-1992. If you have photos of the band, please contact me. We are interested in any negatives that you may have. We will even pay you $500 if we use it! My e-mail is at the bottom of the page. There is a lot of work going into the fan club and the archival releases. You're going to see unreleased pictures and footage from the very beginning of the band.

I want to touch on the eBay idea that I mentioned in the blog last week. We are in the process of clearing out some of the old materials from the band. There is going to be a wide variety of material available for sale. The idea is to provide fans a chance to get authentic SP memorabilia. Taking a quick glance on eBay, there are quite a few fake autographs, passes, and other merchandise. There will be very unique items too, like furniture from the old Pumpkinland. I'll keep you all updated in our progress on that. Keep your comments rolling in, and I'm especially interested in working out a nice balance regarding the topic of digital releases.

Frank
[email protected]

[Cool As Ice Cream]

06/05/2009

THE SMASHING PUMPKINS
ARCHIVE NEWSLETTER #8

Hello SP World!

I want to give you all the weekly scoop on everything archives. We're rolling up our sleeves and digging in the archives in order to prepare for the first release to come out this fall. I'm assembling photos from the band from the Gish era (send me your pics if you have any! - see my last newsletter/blog). The idea is to use those pictures in the artwork and packaging for the physical releases. We also made a short list of shows to listen to so we can decide which one to put out first. Mind you, these shows don't even have dates on SPFC! While this is going on, we're putting together ideas for the fan club, and looking at CD pressing manufacturers. Once we pick which recording to release, we'll have it mastered in the studio, put together the packaging and the artwork, and have it pressed up. Then once the fan club is set up, it'll be available for all of you to check out. We're essentially building all of this from the ground up. I'll let you all know what kind of material we're looking at once we get closer to having it all ready for you.

We're still talking about the idea of providing digital releases along with the hard copy releases for the fan club. It basically all comes down to cost, and if it will be viable to provide both to the members of the fan club. We're not trying to limit access to anybody. Like I said in the blog, we're looking at three different cycles of releases. Free releases that are accessible to everybody, obscure releases that are available in limited editions to the fan club, and releases that would appeal to everybody that are going to be available to the general public. Using those formats, we hope to get everything out from the archives in a way that will be accessible to everybody around the world.

Yesterday, I was digging through a few things and I found some of the original artwork screens used to make the cover for the Limited Potential I Am One 7" Single. I was surprised that it still existed, and it was in excellent condition. Also, in the same case, I found some of the original artwork for the Siamese Dream CD booklet. I'm unearthing different relics from the band on an almost daily basis. I even found the letter from the city of Chicago, denying the band's request for a free show in Grant Park during the Adore tour. Those are some of the things that will be part of the exclusive digital content in the fan club. This week, I'm interested in what features you want to be part of the fan club. That will help us determine what direction to take it in. I've been a member of a few different fan clubs throughout the years. I've been a member of some of the biggest ones, Dave Matthews Band Warehouse, Pearl Jam Ten Club, R.E.M.'s fan club, and U2's fan club. I see what each one is good at, and I also see what each one is lacking. I think by combining the archives with the fan club, we can produce a unique experience that other bands are not providing. One common trend with some of the above fan clubs is a lack of information. Sometimes months would go by without a piece of new information. When you pay a yearly membership fee, you should receive updates and news on a regular basis. I can tell you that with the SP fan club, we are going to be in touch on a regular basis. If we find a good balance between what you all are interested in and what we can provide, I think we can make this into a successful project that will last for many years to come.

Frank
[email protected]

[Cool As Ice Cream]

14/05/2009

THE SMASHING PUMPKINS
ARCHIVE NEWSLETTER #9

Hello SP World,

I hope everyone had a good weekend. I've been working nonstop in the archive. I've had a few meetings with people that we might work with for the fan club. We're getting there! Before anybody sends me any disgruntled e-mails, we are going to be putting out both studio and live material! I want to talk about the live side of the archives in this e-mail. I've been listening to some material that we might be putting out, and I do have to say that it's going to rock your socks off! Listening to them play these complex songs with the energy that they have really shows you that there is something special. I was really surprised that they played with the level that they did while only being in their second year as a band. Even if you aren't really into live material, I think you'll find this stuff appealing. If you approach it with an open mind, I think it will be very enjoyable. Just try to imagine being in the audience and seeing this band perform early v

I hope you all liked the picture that I posted in my blog last week. I know the thing that caught a lot of people's eye was the setlist. That was from the 12/2/00 Metro show. The board and tiles were used to plan out the setlist for that show. You'll notice the letter to the left of the setlist. If any of you were at the Tinley Park, IL show during the Adore Tour, you might remember the City of Chicago declaring 7/7/98 "Smashing Pumpkins Day". That letter is from Mayor Daley, and it was presented on stage to the band during that concert. I literally find a new gem or artifact every single day. I even found some of the materials that they used to make the Machina 2 vinyl releases. I talked about posters a month or two ago, and we just uncovered a lot more! My job is to catalog everything and preserve all of it. Don't worry; I'm working on a way so that all of you can see some of these artifacts. It will be tied into the fan club or archival releases in some way. We have to see everything that we have first.

I'm also working on a more detailed version of the tour history. SP.com has a tour history database set up, but you'll notice that only 2007-2008 are complete (as well as an '89 tour date). I'm going to be plugging in the gaps as I go through the archive so we can have the most complete tour history. SPFC does a great job at keeping up with the tour history, but I found a few inaccuracies between what they have and what is in the archive. The reason why I'm doing this is because there is an audience that seeks out that information. The hardcore fans that would want to buy old demos and obscure shows are most likely the ones who would like to read about the different venues and setlists that the band played throughout the years.

If any of you have any questions about what I'm doing and the fan club/archival project, please send them in and I'll try to answer a few of them in upcoming newsletters.

Frank
[email protected]

[Cool As Ice Cream]

24/05/2009

THE SMASHING PUMPKINS
ARCHIVE NEWSLETTER #10

Hello SP World,

How is everybody doing? I hope you're having fun this Memorial Day weekend. PMM writer Sven posted a very insightful article about the band's posters over the years. I've been making very high-resolution scans of everything that I've come across since I started. I'm building a massive digital catalog of all of these handbills, ticket stubs, posters, etc. I talked a little bit in my blog about putting together a concise history of the band. The story that I told in the blog about the band That Petrol Emotion kicking the Pumpkins off of the bill is one of many stories from the early days. I have even found a contract from the 8/26/89 show at Edge of the Lookingglass. I've been looking at how other bands have released archival print material, and I think we can do something cool. You can look at the Beatles Anthology or U2 by U2 and see different examples of how other bands did it. What I think will set the Pumpkins apart from projects that other bands have done is that we're going to ******* some sort of interactivity with the fans. We're already doing that now by having blogs, newsletters, and being responsive to feedback from you all. I'm still exploring different options about how to deliver that alongside the archive releases. For those of you who are interested in seeing this material and reading different stories from the beginning of the band, please tell me how you would like to receive it.

I know that everybody can't wait for something to get released. I receive many comments and e-mails from people that are very excited. We're still listening to material, and we're trying to work out the behind the scenes details of the fan club. It takes a while to set that up. I've had meetings with providers that do other band's fan clubs, and we're still in that planning stage. This is the first time that the band has ever done anything like this. I want to make sure that we do it right, and I want to make sure that you all get an enjoyable experience from it. I think the worst thing that can happen is that you pay your money and we're not ready. I don't want that to happen. We're in phase 2 of the archive project. Phase 1 was trying to figure out what we're going to do. You all have been part of that by giving us your feedback. We really appreciate that. I know that there have been a few of you who have been VERY vocal about what they want, and I appreciate that too! I want more feedback. If you have any ideas or suggestions, please e-mail me! Also, ask me any questions you have and I'll ******* them in a future newsletter.

Have a safe holiday weekend!

Frank
[email protected]

[Cool As Ice Cream]

28/05/2009

Message from Billy - May 28, 2009

Hey Every-One!

An update then for the curiouser of you on what's going on with the art film/album making and the ol' SP archives...

Presently I am working a whole lot on new songs. At this point I have over 25+ ideas in the air and am just now reviewing everything to try to whittle the pile back down. Part of the challenge of doing such a sweeping concept record is to find some core consistency in the work, feed the bigger story line with some tangential narratives, and have some sense of where it all goes in the end. Having done Machina and Mellon Collie, 2 albums that were in the 50+ song range, I at least have the experience of when that material goes right and how it easily gets lost in the shuffle. I think the current approach of only recording a song at a time will at least address some of those past pitfalls. I personally am quite happy with the work and I feel I've found some of what I was looking for when I came back to SP. There is a real vitality to the new work that feels futuristic, and that always excites me. Still am shooting for the end of summer (Aug-Sept) to start recording, so hopefully the first song(s) will be dropping from the sky in October!

As far as the daily album updates go, for the moment that project continues to be on hold...the logistics of putting everyone together to make it happen with the short turnaround to this point is just too much for me to take on on top of writing the material. What was supposed to be 'fun' and 'groundbreaking' quickly turned into the SOS (translation: same old stuff!). I've learned not to let concepts come at the expense of the quality of the writing and so far this has been the case. Currently shooting for a short term window of work (4-6 weeks), which is obviously far down from the 12 weeks initially proposed. I'm crossing my fingers, because I still think that it can inform the work and add a layer to it that it doesn't currently have. But honestly it also exposes heartfelt work to a vibration that I'm not sure belongs along side it. Jury is still out. See 'If All Goes Wrong' for insight into how much the world cares about new music ha ha! Seriously though, thinking up new ideas and implementing them are 2 different worlds as far as creativity goes. I am currently 'alone' in all this, and I must be honest with myself to try to achieve the most positive attitude moving forward.

Ok, so some current thoughts on archives...

I have started marching down the path on a 'one release at a time strategy' but I am starting to believe this will not work. If I look at what is succesful in other parts of the musick-biz (and it does make me sick), the best examples right now are ones that derive max impact for least amount of effort. A single release at a time, no matter how worthy or illuminating will require us (which is currently only Frank and I) to get your attention each and every time. Let's be realistic, that's just not going to happen, nor are there enough of y-o-u to assume that each and every release will be worth the intrinsic effort. If you asked me today which way I am leaning, I'm starting to think that a boxset-type model is the best scenario to keep everything simple and easy. It is still at the end of the day too big a leap to take without being sure. For those that continue to demand music right now, I ask you to have some compassion and quite possibly some common sense. I know my getting involved in the archives makes no common sense to me. Too much hassle. So why am I getting involved? Because it's my life's work and I want this stuff available. It's that simple.

With Lots of Love, WPC

[Cool As Ice Cream]

03/06/2009

THE SMASHING PUMPKINS
ARCHIVE NEWSLETTER #11

Hello SP World,

I just want to update all of you on what's going on with the archives. We've been keeping very busy lately on getting everything in order. We're still developing the fan club concept. I've also been tracking down recordings that we don't have for possible future inclusion into the project. I've gotten a lot of positive feedback about the box set concept that Billy announced last week. I've also seen some comments from people that have gotten discouraged because the details of the project have changed throughout the past few months. When projects are developed, they often make many changes between conception and the final result. This can happen with basically anything. There are even examples with SP albums where they take a life of their own along the way. The only difference with the Archives project is that we're keeping you up to date on what that direction is. We started in March with a subscription service concept, then that transformed into offering individual releases. We thought that was a great idea. Once I started coming up with a plan, we realized that we would eventually run into a wall. Promoting every individual release would be a logistical nightmare, especially with keeping in mind that this project has to be self-sufficient. This is why a box set-type of approach makes a lot more sense. This will give us more options to make something very special that you all will really be into. We will even provide a lower cost digital download option that will feature a compilation of material from the box set.

I would like to answer a couple questions that you guys have sent in.

Brian Muelhaus asks: How much video stuff exists from the early days?
I've been tracking down video footage from the early days. There is not a whole lot that exists. When the band was starting out, video equipment was pretty scarce. When it was available, it was very basic compared to what we have today. There are a few pieces of video material in the archives from the early days, but we're still looking for more material.

Alexandra Schaepe asks: Do you intend to release audio/video interviews?
That is a very good question. The band has done numerous interviews throughout the years. If we happen to find something good in the archive that isn't out there, we might ******* that in one of the releases or as part of some digital content for the fan club.

Keep those questions coming in!

Frank
[email protected]

[Cool As Ice Cream]

10/06/2009

THE SMASHING PUMPKINS
ARCHIVE NEWSLETTER #12

Hello SP World,

I hope everyone is doing fine. We've been burning the midnight oil with the SP Archives. We've been able to track down a few things from the early days that will excite you all. The project is coming together very nicely. The biggest thing that will keep this project alive is your support. You are the audience. You are the ones reading this. You are the ones who are interested in the archives. One of the ideas we've been kicking around is to offer a pre-order for the box set. Other artists do pre-orders when they have new releases like Prince and Pearl Jam. We would need to sell a certain number of pre-orders in order for it to be a success. If we don't have enough pre-orders in a designated period of time, then the project would probably be shelved. I know that there are going to be some people out there that might wait until the set gets released to decide if they should buy it or not. We would reward those who pre-order by offering an extra disc in their set. This way there is an incentive for you to jump on the pre-sale and show us that you support the archives project.

In the past few months, I've mentioned some of the interesting things that I've found in the archives. I would like to talk about the Machina concept. There is a PMM article that was put up yesterday about the Machina mystery and some of the alchemy ideas. I went through a lot of reference material that the band used to make the artwork for the Machina album. I've come across numerous sketches by Vasily Kafanov. I even found an original painting that is found in the Machina album booklet. The reference material that I came across is really interesting. There are many works of art by Marc Chagall, and other works of art from the 15th and 16th century. If you're interested in looking at some of the art that influenced the Machina artwork, you should check out the book 'Alchemy: The Secret Art' by Stanislas Klossowski De Rola. Part working on the archives is seeing the original ideas and the thought process that went into the band's music and art. It's one chapter that is part of the big picture of the Smashing Pumpkins.

Here are some more of your questions:



Chris Morin asks: Does SP record (video and/or audio) for EVERY show they do? If so, when did they start?

The band has recorded a lot of shows. Billy even recorded the very first show at Chicago 21. There is quite a bit of material from the early days of the band. The band really started getting aggressive about recording shows and rehearsals around the time of Mellon Collie. Pretty much every single show after that has been recorded and there are also quite a few shows that were videotaped. There is video footage from many shows from the Adore tour in the archive from the Adore Documentary project.

Tom Woo asks: Are there many demos, instrumentals, or Billy solo recordings from Gish, Siamese Dream, Mellon Collie, and Adore that aren't circulating?

There is a ton! The amount of demos that are in the hands of the fan community is a very small fraction compared to what is in the archive. Just browsing through, I've seen different acoustic and alternate versions of songs that nobody knows about!

Dylan Hill asks: Is there or isn't there a live recording of Tales of a Scorched Earth?

That's a question that has been floating around the fan community for many years, but to the best of my knowledge they haven't played that one live. I've looked through the archive for a live recording, and I have yet to find one.

Thanks for your questions and comments. Please keep them rolling in, and I'll feature some of them here.

Frank
[email protected]

[Cool As Ice Cream]

Smashing Pumpkins email newsletter - March 16, 2009

SMASHING PUMPKINS ARCHIVE UPDATES

As you may be aware, Smashingpumpkins.com has been posting news about upcoming archive material from the SP Vault. The band's new archivist, Quinto, will be updating interested fans via blogs on the site and an exclusive newsletter. The email newsletter will contain information that is available ONLY through the weekly updates. Expect a blog and a newsletter documenting the progress of this project every week.

The first blog regarding the archive can be view here on SP.com.

If you want to be updated via email newsletter, please sign-up by clicking here. The links takes you to a sign-up page where you must enter your email and age to get the updates. THIS IS A SEPARATE LIST FROM THE MAIN SITE NEWSLETTER. Basically, if you are reading this and want updates, you still must sign up for the additional newsletter. They are not the same database of addresses.

Material sent through the newsletter may ******* exclusive images, audio tracks, or even more. The first update will be sent later today.

Everyone at SmashingPumpkins.com is looking forward to the future of this project and the site in general. Please join us in the excitement by signing up.

[Cool As Ice Cream]

Smashing Pumpkins email newsletter - April 20, 2009

NEW SMASHING PUMPKINS SUBSCRIPTION SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT

Today SmashingPumpkins.com announced that an online 12-week subscription service will be made available in the near future, that is, if demand is ample for the project.

What does that mean? It means that if you are interested in this experimental way to acquire and listen to new music as it's being created, you need to make it known that you want it! You can do this by signing up for a recently created SP Newsletter centered around this project. All that is required is your age and password.
SIGN UP BY CLICKING HERE

All of the details on this project are not concrete yet, but some information has all ready been provided.

$40 for 12 weeks. A minimum of 5 updates from the studio per week, so that's 60 updates for $40.
Updates would be posted in a less-than-24-hour consistency. For instance, if something happened on Monday, it would be posted no later than Tuesday
Each update would be a minimum of 5 minutes in length. That would mean subscribers would receive at least 25 minutes of unique audio/video material per week, and at least 5 hours over the course of the 12 weeks.
There is a possibility of live streaming video content in addition to what has been presented above.

The possibilities for a rare look into the creation of a Smashing Pumpkins album are quite exciting. The project will really take on a life of its own, and you can have your own front-row seat to watch everything that is happening. If you are interested, above all, please sign up for the special newsletter. If there is perceived to be a lack of interest, the project may be delayed for until a later time.

For more information, please visit SmashingPumpkins.com.

[Cool As Ice Cream]

22/04/2009

Smashing Pumpkins subscription newsletter - Message from Billy Corgan

MESSAGE FROM BILLY REGARDING
THE SUBSCRIPTION MODEL

On Monday, SmashingPumpkins.com announced that an online 12-week subscription service will be made available in the near future, that is, if demand is ample for the project. Today Billy has sent a message to those than have shown interest by signing up for updates via an email newsletter.

From Billy:

Hello, thank you for signing up for these updates. Because of the nature of today's post, and how the different ideas interact, I will be touching on both proposed business models; the archive fan-club and the new 'window' into the album songwriting sessions. Around 6,000 of you have shown interest in these updates, so because I am assuming you are on the dedicated side already, I will try to get to the center of the issues without a whole lot of contextual explanation.

Our first concept that we threw out for the archives (300$ for 200 songs) was met by a whole lot of complaining. Because we desire a harmonious relationship with those who would most want a completest approach to the bands history, we have revised this to a 40$ (proposed) fan-club sign up and this has been met much more positively. I think this demonstrates a willingness to work together to find a balance that will sustain over the next decade plus. The average mainstream fan doesn't give two hoots about that gig in Iowa in 1989, so we aren't even going to bother them with this kind of stuff, hence creating the relationships with you. We have enough on our hands to get them (the mainstream) to listen to newly recorded work. As you can see, everyone in the record biz these days is having the same problem, so it not particular to SP.

With that in mind, I have additionally proposed something quite unique as far as a 'window' into my songwriting processes with the idea of 12 weeks of mini-TV (about 25+ minutes a week broken into 5 updates OR 5+ hours of content). This would dwarf the kind of access that was given for example in the 'if all goes wrong' dvd, where one could see me briefly working out some idea. Having seen some of the raw footage from what Kristin shot at that time, there were moments that played out over 5 or 7 minutes that were quite interesting on their own but were definitely too long for a movie that had to hold a plot narrative. One of my favourite moments not shown in the film was the morning I wrote the riff for 'Sunkissed'. You see me playing some bs blues and I stop, take a deep breath, and then the idea comes out fully intact in one crystalline moment. Even I was surprised, and for the next few minutes you see the song just pour out of me. I realize for most this is not interesting at all, but this is interesting for some and that is the point of a project this is an optional, pay-if-you-want to see it deal. You would get to participate in moments essentially as they unfold. Here however is where it indeed does all go wrong...

'Take a walk with me
Tell me what you see
Take a walk with me tonight"
-lyric from an unreleased song I wrote last year

Last night I made the mistake of reading some of the feedback to this proposed idea. To say I was dismayed at some of the comments would be an understatement. The reaction was 50/50 mixed and very negative on the one side. I was so upset that I wrote a very long post in reaction, mocking the arguments made and canceling it altogether. Reading how something as open-hearted as inviting you into my inner-world of creativity turns into a sick, capitalistic manipulation is really disappointing to me personally. I speak not as the head of a multi-million dollar corporation, but as someone who lives and breathes being a musician. (I unfortunately made the vain mistake of asking for 3 dollars and 50 cents a week). The 40$ figure as a 'all in' was arrived at because I wanted to insure that those that were interested were going to take the whole ride for the all 12 weeks. I had expressed that this was not a profit driven business model, but many questioned the truth in that and went on to turn into personal attacks seeing it as yet another example of me taking advantage of them. Judging by this kind of feedback I would say this idea is dead on arrival. Which leaves me with 2 choices; cancel or revise.

My heart says to cancel, because the whole thing isn't worth the hassle for the few thousand that would show up and faithfully engage in something new and exciting and trust me on the expenses involved to deliver such a project to them. The willful part of me says I know this is a really cool idea because it will force a new kind of dialogue between artist and listener at a much earlier stage in the process.

In my last extensive post, I promised love and light moving forward. But I also promised reality as we struggle to find what is going to work business-wise in the years ahead. The Smashing Pumpkins 'business' is alive and well (thank you), or I wouldn't have just completed 165 date tour a few months back. Its laughable for people to think that this is some kind of way to stuff my pockets. One 90 minute concert alone and the profits from that completely blow such stupidity out of the water.

I have found thru the years that when I must become a salesman that this in turn reflects poorly on me as an artist. If I was a good salesman, there would be more than 6,000 people reading this newsletter, and I would be doing everything in my power to tell you why this a good idea and not a bad one.

Right now it's a bad idea because this proposal has some (not all) accusing me of all sorts of lame things that have little to do with the spirit of the music or the business that surrounds it. I don't need your money, for I am going to film these sessions anyway. The difference here was if we had an audience and a budget to work with, well then we could make it a whole lot of fun for everyone who wants to 'be there' and wants to see-here how the magic gets made. Great attempts would also be made to provide additional content to justify your participation. It would come with the responsibility on us to get the technical end right on a daily basis, hence the extra budget necessities to be able to turn footage around quickly.

Pandering to people for $ has never been my trip. I just don't care that much. So here's what I'm gonna do. I'm gonna lay it all out there to you as a community. You decide what you want to do, because I already know what I'm going to do. Its your call. I figure to do this right its about 2,000$ a day, or 10,000$ a week which adds up to 120,000$. Boring isn't it?

3000 subscribers at 40$=120,000$
6000 subscribers at 20$=120,000$
12,000 subscriber at 10$=120,000$

So you see, it is not a profit driven model. It is a content creation model.

If you as a community can self organize and 6000 people want to do this, then its 20$ (for the whole 12 weeks). I'd much rather stuff 20$ in my pockets from 6000 people than 3000! (That's a joke by the way for those of you who lack the irony gene)

It ain't gonna happen for 40$ obviously because the negative vibe in the air just makes it all so icky. And I don't do icky anymore. If 20$ is TOO much for 12 weeks of unique, daily content and the trust isn't there for me to deliver it, then I might as well just focus on the mainstream fan who I know already doesn't give care for 'the art' and get back to the *yawn* grunge...

So that's it. We need 6,000 people who are adventurous enough to take this journey at 20$ or I'll just put it all in a can somewhere and move on. Your feedback is helpful and I thank you.
BC

[Cool As Ice Cream]

15/05/2009

Smashing Pumpkins subscription newsletter - Free service for newsletter subscribers!

FREE ACCESS TO ALBUM WRITING SUBSCRIPTION SERVICE FOR NEWSLETTER SUBSCRIBERS

Greetings subscribers to the Online Subscription Model Newsletter.

First off, SmashingPumpkins.com would like to thank you for signing up for this informational newsletter. By just signing up, you have given us helpful information that we can use to help us launch future projects, such as the currently developing New Album Writing Subscription Service. As a reward for joining us in the construction of this project, Billy Corgan has decided to give free access to the material for all those currently signed up for this newsletter.

If you received this message in your email inbox AND have an account registered with this email address on SmashingPumpkins.com, you will have free access granted to the material that will be made available for the paid subscription service.

If you have received this email by signing up for the newsletter only without previously having a SmashingPumpkins.com account, it would advised to make a corresponding account on SmashingPumpkins.com immediately.

Accounts created after the launch of the subscription service will not be guaranteed free access.

New sign-ups for this newsletter past this date will also not be guaranteed free access.

The project is still currently pending. There is a chance that it may not go forward but in the case that it does become a reality, the current newsletter subscribers will indeed receive free access using their SP.com accounts. There is currently no hard launch date for the project.

Continued updates are expected so stay tuned to SmashingPumpkins.com. We appreciate your continued support and patience.

[jimmy drevpile]

[slunken]

time to get started on that book!

[Trotskilicious]

you know reading those now i feel like they were trying to con people into giving bill money

[Trotskilicious]

hey guys bill has a garage it has his stuff in it, if you give bill $20 he'll let you look at some of it but only if he stands to make 10,000 from the venture.

[Shallowed]

That's basically Kickstarter, isn't it?

[Trotskilicious]

ABSOLUTELY GROUNDBREAKING

[Zerospaced]

Any minute now

[stumpycat]

Hell, I was just thinking that Billy should have perhaps considered using something as logical and fitting as Kickstarter to prefund getting all those damned archive tracks out since that seems to have been his hang up in the first place.

[Adult Head]

i was one of the authors of the original port huron statement

[Adult Head]

did you ever hear of the seattle seven? that was me and six other guys

[Rider]

damn fans not willing to blindly hand Billy $300.

Guys this stuff is so hard, you have to pick a random tape, transfer it to a computer, then set a price on iTunes.

You have no clue how hard this is, it takes a whole 2 hours to do.

[Esty]

The lucky 13 were a bunch of assholes who couldn't get along with montes gay hating ass and so it failed. Who really gives a fuck beyond that.

[Rider]

Originally Posted by Esty

The lucky 13 were a bunch of assholes who couldn't get along with montes gay hating ass and so it failed. Who really gives a fuck beyond that.

Juliana, they crushed her little fragile universe.

[slunken]

Originally Posted by Rider

Guys this stuff is so hard, you have to pick a random tape, transfer it to a computer, then set a price on iTunes.

.

to be fair they were talking about taking the soundboards (for example) and properly mixing them. but yes i agree this is not nor does it need to be rocket science.