Bob English

[cork_soaker]

bob english

[New Art Rioter]

Whoa, where's that from? Wonder if him and Ol' Bill are still in touch.

[MplsTaper]

At the age of nineteen, singer and guitarist Billy Corgan left his native city of Chicago and moved to St. Petersburg, Florida with his gothic rock band The Marked. The band had limited success and quickly broke up. Corgan returned to Chicago, taking a job in a record store. While working there, he met guitarist James Iha. Adorning themselves with paisley and other psychedelic trappings, the two began writing songs together (with the aid of a drum machine) that were heavily influenced by The Cure and New Order. Corgan met bassist D'arcy Wretzky in 1988 after a show by the Dan Reed Network where they argued the merits of the band. After finding out Wretzky played bass, Corgan stated his band's need for a bassist and gave Wretzky his telephone number. Wretzky soon joined the band, and she and Iha later had a short-lived romance. Iha and Wretzky later acknowledged that Corgan's friend Bob English had coined the name "Smashing Pumpkins."

The first performance of The Smashing Pumpkins was on July 9, 1988, at the Polish bar Chicago 21. This performance included only Corgan and Iha with a drum machine. On August 10, 1988, the band played for the first time as a trio at the Avalon Nightclub. After this show, Cabaret Metro owner Joe Shanahan agreed to book the band on the condition that they replace the drum machine with a live drummer. Jazz drummer Jimmy Chamberlin was recruited for the band after a recommendation from a friend of Corgan's. Chamberlin was at first an unlikely match, as he knew nothing of alternative rock at the time. As Corgan recalled of the period, "We were completely into the sad-rock, Cure kind of thing. It took about two or three practices before I realized that the power in his playing was something that enabled us to rock harder than we could ever have imagined." On October 5, 1988, the complete band took the stage for the first time at the Cabaret Metro.

[themadcaplaughs]

Originally Posted by New Art Rioter

Whoa, where's that from? Wonder if him and Ol' Bill are still in touch.

I do not think so. He did an interview for some guitar site a few years ago that spoke very harshly of Billy. He talked about how even though D'arcy, James, and Jimmy all acknowledged that Bob came up with the band name, Corgan took complete credit for it in interviews. English claimed he never wanted any money or anything like that, but just wanted Corgan to acknowledge it in interviews. He said the most frustrating part was that Corgan had convinced himself he really did create the name. He said Billy became more and more demanding as Bob's time in the band continued, and Billy hired another guitar tech in 1994 without telling Bob.

I would consider most of it true, but the interview also came across as self-serving. IIRC, Bob said he turned down an opportunity to be a guitar tech on the Plant/Page tour in 1994 because he thought his gig with Smashing Pumpkins was secure and he wanted to be loyal.

[Ram27]

is that where 25 on 32 came from?

[Funbags]

Originally Posted by MplsTaper

the band played for the first time as a trio at the Avalon Nightclub.

...tears of Avalon?

SINE!

[Shallowed]

Let's here it for Bob

[Grox]

I remember that interview with the guitar site. he came to Billy asking for a raise and he said no and "you should be happy and just enjoy the ride with us."

[Oklahoma Sexual]

typical billy. another stepping stone used and discarded like trash.

[themadcaplaughs]

https://ia801408.us.archive.org/24/i...-Interview.mp3

4:27

Also, it looks like the "interview" was actually a biography from a now defunct web page for his business (my bad). All I could find was this text from an old thread here...

The Pumpkin Years
That same year (1986) I met Billy Corgan, and in a short time we became best friends. I helped him in every aspect of putting the band Smashing Pumpkins together including coming up with the name (he still takes credit for that), and I had much more to do with it than Billy will ever admit to, or ever has.

I worked for the first one and a half years on a promise to finally get paid if they get rich, and stuck with them through thick and thin, as manager, tour manager and guitar/bass technician. After a grueling six Years of service, I was still only making $350 per week, and standard scale wage for a guitar technician, servicing one player (not three), was $1200 in 1991, and almost always included a substantial benefits package. I had no benefits especially much needed health insurance, and my health was worse than ever before. When on tour, I averaged 5 hours of sleep a night, and in between tours, I only got payed for time in the studio, and had to find odd jobs in order to get by.

It was mid 1994 after another sold out tour, the band was just ready to record their 3rd. album, where I demanded he treated me like the best friend he still called me, and payed me a fair wage, and possibly health insurance. Beside the huge bank account the band had as a corporation, he had over $48 million in his personal account at the time. His only response was: "Your my friend, You should work for free, and be happy to go along for the ride." I gave him a speech about what friendship means, what employment means and then some, and that I would not do one more thing for him unless he make amends, and I went home. I had no reason to expect what happened next.

The following week I went to the practice space to pick up my check, expecting for him to have realized that I did deserve better, and that he could easily afford me at scale wage, because I was well worth it. Boy, was I in for a surprise:

Not only did he not make amends nor apologize, he turned it around on me and said, "We decided to move on without you", handed me my last check, and went on about something else as if nothing had just happened. I opened the envelope and there it was $350, no severance pay, back wages, no thank You for Your loyal service, nothing. Needless to say, I had never felt that kind of sense of betrayal and devastation in my life. When I headed for the door, he said: "Keep in touch, OK." I said "Yeah right" and was gone.

I could wright a large book on this subject, and some guy did, in a way that makes it sound like he was close to the band, he was not. I had never met the author nor even heard of him until someone showed me his book, he is in fact a total fraud.

After this wretched experience, I was back to square one, without job, no money, being evicted, depressed and having to get a life once again. I did get a few phone calls from Jimmy Pages people, but from what I had heard, he used his techs as scapegoats, and when asked they started beating around the bush, so I turned them down. At that point I had enough abuse, and was not looking for more of the same, at any price. Despite all of this, the sudden release from physical stress allowed my system to recover somewhat and my health showed some improvement.

I remember Billy spoke fondly of him in the Confessions, but made fun of him a few times in 2007/2008.

[Butt Pope]

Lol. No way Billy was worth 48 million in 94

[Grox]

Originally Posted by Butt Pope

Lol. No way Billy was worth 48 million in 94

he had over a million in the bank in 1992, mostly from an advance from his publisher. by 1994 siamese dream was multi-platinum & he got $10 million alone from lollapalooza. 48 doesn't seem far off to me.

and yeah I couldn't believe it when I first noticed in that interview that james hilariously lets it slip that hippy bob came up with the name.

[houseofglass11]

buttcannon, repost that bob english piece bruh. that's some good shit right there.

"We decided to move on without you"

"OK great on not needing surgery"

"We understand your enthusiasm"

[Butt Pope]

Originally Posted by Grox

he had over a million in the bank in 1992, mostly from an advance from his publisher. by 1994 siamese dream was multi-platinum & he got $10 million alone from lollapalooza. 48 doesn't seem far off to me.

and yeah I couldn't believe it when I first noticed in that interview that james hilariously lets it slip that hippy bob came up with the name.

To have 48 million in our he bank he would have had to have made about 85-90 before taxes.

And bands made shit off albums then. All the money was in touring. Also, what’s the he source in the 10 million? The entire tour only grossed 26 million.

https://www.deseretnews.com/article/...-CONCERTS.html

[Butt Pope]

Clearly his name is Bob English and not Bob Math for a reason

[wHATcOLOR]

Bob Rock

[SlingeroGuitaro]

Bob Ross

[SlingeroGuitaro]

Billy Ross

[Oklahoma Sexual]

[FoolofaTook]

[panda show]

Originally Posted by themadcaplaughs

He said Billy became more and more demanding as Bob's time in the band continued, and Billy hired another guitar tech in 1994 without telling Bob.

random off topic question:
billy howerdel was the guy who replaced him right? I think he was the pumpkins' guitar tech in 1994

[themadcaplaughs]

Originally Posted by panda show

random off topic question:
billy howerdel was the guy who replaced him right? I think he was the pumpkins' guitar tech in 1994

I think that's correct. I believe he worked with the band from 1994 through 1997, when he started working with Guns N' Roses in the studio.

[topleybird]

This guy's name always makes me think of variations like Robbie Jamaican or Dudley Turkish

[FoolofaTook]

why does every thread on this board have to have a gunsnroeses reference?

[themadcaplaughs]

Because every action Billy has taken in the last two years seems to be based off what Guns N' Roses are doing.

[MplsTaper]

There's also Bob Murderer from The Murderers.

[Shallowed]

Billy Bob

[houseofglass11]

ok

[HereIsNoWhy4U]

50/50 that Billy is a sociopath? We already know the guy manipulates everything and everyone. And also that he's a Class-A narcissist.

[panda show]

Originally Posted by themadcaplaughs

I think that's correct. I believe he worked with the band from 1994 through 1997, when he started working with Guns N' Roses in the studio.

he worked with tool in the studio in 1995/96 already