Tim Rutili of Califone/Red Red Meat talks about Billy in the early days...

[houseofglass11]

Old article, but interesting part on Billy being...Billy

https://www.theawl.com/2013/09/an-in...i-of-califone/

"Did Smashing Pumpkins or Urge Overkill feel like real people or cartoon characters?

Ummmm…..

Did you interact with those people?

Oh, God, yeah. I did. Urge Overkill = cartoon characters. But I liked their band at one point a lot. I didn’t really know them very well. I just noticed that they would wear their costumes to the bar, and I thought that was weird. I tried to talk to them, and I couldn’t get on the same wavelength with them very much. They were too cool for me.

Smashing Pumpkins, we knew. I was friends with James [Iha] and D’Arcy [Wreztky] before they were a big band. With Billy [Corgan], we both worked at record stores, so he would come to my record store and give me shit, and I would go to his record store and give him shit. I worked at a record store called Empire. They had a store in Chicago on Cicero and Montrose and they had a store in Wilmette. For some reason, the Cicero and Montrose store carried a lot of Metal records. Billy would come into that store on a Sunday afternoon with a crew of weirdos when no one was around and give me shit.

The people he was with were Cheech and Chong types, possibly drug damaged, possibly mentally handicapped. All much older than we were, but clearly all taking orders from Billy. One guy was cross-eyed and never said words, he just laughed. One guy was really short and wore a black turtleneck and a large wooden cross on a chain even on hot summer days. One of the guys was pretty nice, but the others picked on him and he didn’t talk much. A few of those guys worked for the Pumpkins after they started touring. I thought it was cool that Billy hired them.

When they came in, they’d all give me shit about whatever record I was playing, unless I was playing Black Sabbath. They all really liked Sabbath. Billy would give me shit about how terrible my band was and tell me about how amazing his band was going to be. When my first record came out they came into the store just to tell me how much they hated it. Billy had some helpful criticisms, but still ripped it apart. I kind of liked that they didn’t like it.

It was pretty amazing to me that everything Billy would boast about, and everything he said was going to happen to his band happened. He was saying that shit years before it ever happened and I would say, “You’re out of your fucking mind.” But he had a clear vision. The people he played with were my friends. And I love those people. They’re good people. So I was happy when they became successful. As weird as Billy Corgan is, he was really supportive of Red Red Meat. They took us on tour with them and we played in front of a ton of people and I will always appreciate that."

[shadow47]

Yet another person capable of clear, direct communication to contrast against the wall-of-sound word vomit of BC.

[T&T]

So even before SP billy surrounded himself by 'yes-men'. Drug damaged & possibly mentally handicapped, but yesmen regardless.
I've always wondered how he attracted that original entourage, this would explain it. he went to the loonie bin and recruited friends...

[topleybird]

Originally Posted by houseofglass11

"One guy was cross-eyed and never said words, he just laughed."[/i]

Always wondered what became of the Joker's Bob the Goon

[Shadaloo]

"Only 13,000 people bought Monuments?

Bob, gun."

*BANG*

"Gonna need a moment or two alone, boys."

[wpc33]

"James...ayhyoooo...
Are my numbah one....
ssssssss
haGUYyyyyy...."


"Yes, sir."

[wpc33]

Originally Posted by houseofglass11

"One of the guys was pretty nice, but the others picked on him and he didn’t talk much. A few of those guys worked for the Pumpkins after they started touring. I thought it was cool that Billy hired them."[/i]

Gooch, right? Named after a perinium, always nicer than his cohort....could it be? Kerry Brown the crosseyed one?

[wHATcOLOR]

Originally Posted by houseofglass11

Billy would come into that store on a Sunday afternoon with a crew of weirdos when no one was around and give me shit.

...

When they came in, they’d all give me shit about whatever record I was playing, unless I was playing Black Sabbath. ... Billy would give me shit about how terrible my band was and tell me about how amazing his band was going to be. When my first record came out they came into the store just to tell me how much they hated it. Billy had some helpful criticisms, but still ripped it apart.

this makes me feel very similar to how i feel about donald trump... on the one hand, it's kind of surreal a person acts like this. what a callous dickhead. on the other hand, it's hard to be surprised anymore because you've seen so much of it from that person

amazing