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Re:Jeff Interview part two (1 viewing) (1) Guest
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TOPIC: Re:Jeff Interview part two
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Jeff Interview part two 2 Months, 2 Weeks ago
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http://smashingpumpkins.com/news_5156
Welcome to Part 2 of our interview with Jeff Schroeder. Part 1 can be found here if you missed it.
This week we talk about playing live, celebrity and music. As a bonus, we've taken some fan questions, which Jeff has been nice enough to answer. We tried to go with questions that were getting asked more than once. We weren't able to get to all of your questions (sorry!) but hopefully you'll like what we did get answered.
And now on to Jeff!
-hack
SmashingPumpkins.com: You talk about playing over 70 songs with the Pumpkins (this is also something that Melissa auf der Maur talked about when she joined the band in 2000 - perhaps there should be some sort of "So you joined the Smashing Pumpkins" pamphlet...) how did you go about learning them?
Jeff Schroeder: There's no real easy way to go about it. It just takes a lot time, energy, and patience. That being said, once I got about 30 or 40 songs in, it for some reason became a lot easier to learn and retain songs. But it's hard to remember everything. I try to take as few notes as possible and just remember everything by memory. When I write things down it takes me three or four times as long to remember.
SmashingPumpkins.com recently announced that the Pumpkins are going to be headed out on a Gish era tour sometime in 2008. Have you started working on learning the songs from Gish yet? Are you excited the change in sound and material?
I haven't officially started learning the album, but I probably know at least 3/4's of it already. It's going to be great to play those songs live. I'm definitely looking forward to it.
Your Wikipedia page was first created in May of 2007 (following the announcement that you'd be playing with SP). It seems like Wikipedia is a good early warning sign of upcoming celebrity. Have you had any weird celebrity experiences since joining the Pumpkins?
Nothing too weird. I've had the chance to meet some very cool people over the last year or so. The Duran Duran guys are very nice, as are the Scorpions. I met Johnny Marr in Australia when we played some festivals with Modest Mouse. That was very cool too.
Prior to joining the Pumpkins you played in The Lassie Foundation. What's happening with Lassie right now?
We aren't a functioning band that plays shows or anything like that. But we do get together whenever possible to write and record. We just finished recording two new songs, "Three Wheels" and "Under the Moon," that will be coming out shortly. Very noisy and shoegaze.
Is there any new music out right now that gets you really excited? What are you currently listening to?
Out here in Los Angeles, I like two new bands, the Sky Parade and the Mezzanine Owls. Both bands have MySpace pages. I recommend checking them both out.
My friend, Steve Elkins, who drums for the Autumns, just turned me on to Fred Frith. Frith is a wonderful experimental guitar player who's played with an assortment of people over the years, mostly avant-garde circles. His 1974 solo album, Guitar Solos, is an early example of his deconstructed guitar style. His current stuff is even more out there. Before going solo, he was in a band called Henry Cow, which I like quite a lot too. They put out about 4 or 5 albums from the late 60's through the early 70's. There's a lot of cool Frith stuff on YouTube if he sounds interesting.
Hey, it's hack again. Here's the end of the formal interview and the start of the fan questions. Enjoy!
wHiTe_sPyDeR_gRl asks:
"Is Billy Corgan a dictator like the media made him out to seem, or is he easy to work with?"
From what I've experienced so far, I would say that both Billy and Jimmy are extremely dedicated and serious musicians who have set high standards for themselves. They surely don't hold me, Ginger, or Lisa (or anybody else working with them) to some set of expectations that they themselves don't uphold, and from what I've seen up to this point, we're all pretty similar in this respect. There's a certain ethos to the band that maybe some people looking in from the outside forget about from time to time. Some bands like to find their niche and stick with it for as long as it's viable, and this works both artistically and commercially. Anyone who has followed the Pumpkins over the years knows that "the band" (as a concept more than the actual people involved) is an idea that is continually being deconstruction. To me, this is what fundamentally makes the Pumpkins different than say the Ramones or AC/DC (both great bands in my opinion). So in terms of working in the band, you always have to be ready to rethink what you're doing. This could mean changing a guitar part, adding a different song to the set, playing something soft as opposed to heavy, etc, and this is not always easy. In fact, it can very difficult at times. But when you approach the question from this perspective, it goes a little beyond one or two people being easy or difficult to work with.
Wayne Arnold asks:
"I'd like to know what songs are your favorite to play with the band and which songs you hope to play that SP hasn't pulled out yet."
I really enjoy playing songs off of Adore and Machina, which is interesting because they were the two albums that took the longest to grow on me. I've always had a soft spot for Pennies off the Zero single, so that would be my choice for a song we haven't played yet.
Energy asks:
"What was it like transitioning into the role of guitarist in the band? How important is it to not only recreate the songs, but to add your own energy and feeling into them?"
It's definitely not an easy job to come into a situation that has as much history as the Smashing Pumpkins. In a certain way, it's an almost impossible task to try and recreate the songs as they were played by other people. No two people play alike. I think they key is to have respect for the material and the way it was played in the past while at the same time being open to exploring new possibilities as well. For example, we play a song like Today pretty much how it is on the record. It seems to have the most impact this way. But then on a song like Blue Skies Bring Tears, the approach we took to the song at the residencies was much different than what's on Machina. So on something like that I was able to write my own parts and put my own spin on things.
easternmind asks:
"What is the biggest challenge with being a part of the band?"
The hardest part is being away from home all the time.
primalBlaze asks:
"As a graduate student in Comparative Lit, have you an interest in seeing any writings of your own published?"
Yes. Hopefully some day soon I'll start publishing some essays and whatnot.
asked all over ;-)
"What are you rehearsing for the upcoming tour?"
Nice try. 
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Dance, Billy, dance.
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Re:Jeff Interview part two 2 Months, 2 Weeks ago
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"Pennies"? Come on...
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Re:Jeff Interview part two 2 Months, 2 Weeks ago
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superchrist wrote:
"Pennies"? Come on...
haha- i think i thought that too. good song, but.. there is better.
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Re:Jeff Interview part two 2 Months, 2 Weeks ago
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hahahaha. "Nice Try", GOD DAMMIT!!!!!!!! i bet he doesnt even know what hes playing yet.
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Re:Jeff Interview part two 2 Months, 2 Weeks ago
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lol...well once he get the list next week he will...probably something they have practiced before-not much Gish..so maybe Machina, Adore, Mellon Collie, Pisces new stuff, Zeitgeist..
Dammit I wonder what the hell are they gonna play?
Well surprises are always good
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Speak to me in a language I can hear
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Re:Jeff Interview part two 2 Months, 2 Weeks ago
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well thats basically every album isnt it.
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Re:Jeff Interview part two 2 Months, 2 Weeks ago
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I'm thinking as to what Jeff said..he doesn't know much Gish yet...and mentions Machina and Adore-so who knows
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Speak to me in a language I can hear
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Re:Jeff Interview part two 2 Months, 2 Weeks ago
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That was a nice article!
And, one of my questions was chosen! It's neat to think that I "talked" with Jeff, even while his answer wasn't too long!
=D
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Re:Jeff Interview part two 2 Months, 2 Weeks ago
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congrats!!
so did mine, kind of. hehe
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Re:Jeff Interview part two 2 Months, 2 Weeks ago
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was this interview done online??? or spoken over the phone?
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Re:Jeff Interview part two 2 Months, 2 Weeks ago
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I think it was done via email.
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Re:Jeff Interview part two 2 Months, 1 Week ago
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Hopefully we'll hear more MACHINA on the upcoming tour.
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Re:Jeff Interview part two 2 Months, 1 Week ago
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and more gish. (but i'm guessing they'll wait for that for the gish era shows)
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"The impossible is possible tonight!"
"Love is suicide!"
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Re:Jeff Interview part two 2 Months, 1 Week ago
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Glad that people liked it. My apologies to anyone who didn't get their question asked -- hopefully there'll be further opportunities in future.
-hack
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Re:Jeff Interview part two 2 Months, 1 Week ago
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Am I the only one who absolutely squealed in delight when he mentioned Pennies? It's such a great little pop song!
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Every passing moment is a chance to turn it all around.
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Re:Jeff Interview part two 2 Months, 1 Week ago
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EasternMind wrote:
That was a nice article!
And, one of my questions was chosen! It's neat to think that I "talked" with Jeff, even while his answer wasn't too long!
=D
i noticed that, i thought it was neat one of your questions got answered, and the one about what they were practicing.
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we're mean, we're gonna burn your eyeballs out after the show
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< oh, look- pretties. 
