The Smashing Pumpkins will celebrate the 30th anniversary since the release of their groundbreaking, platinum-selling, critically acclaimed debut studio album Gish. Produced by Butch Vig and Billy Corgan at Vig’s Smart studios in Wisconsin from December 1990 til March 1991, this genre-defining break-out debut was received with glowing praise from the critics who hailed it as “awe-inspiring” with “meticulously calculated chaos” [Rolling Stone], complimented for its “pummeling hard rock“, “gentle interludes“, and “psychedelic crescendos” [The New York Times], Gish placed The Smashing Pumpkins well and truly on the global map and became the highest-selling independently released album of all time upon release. The album featured tracks such as Siva, Rhinoceros and I Am One.
Listen to the legendary full-length HERE.
On Saturday, May 29, at 7PM CT, Billy Corgan and Jimmy Chamberlin will be taking part in a 2 hour-long livestream featuring a Q&A, Gish vinyl listening party, plus a very special world exclusive preview of unreleased music, hosted by Madame ZuZu’s in Highland Park, IL. Tickets cost $19.91 and are available starting Friday May 28th at 9AM PT/12PM ET HERE, select proceeds will be donated to the PAWS no-kill animal shelter in Chicago. The livestream will be available to view for 24-hours.
Other “GISH-AVERSARY” weekend long celebrations taking place at Billy and Chloe Mendel’s plant based tea shop, Madame ZuZu’s in Highland Park, IL, include limited edition Gish merchandise, art prints, posters, and more available for purchase, a private collection of Gish era memorabilia on display, and a Gish psychedelic cake baked by Pie Pie my Darling, recently named USA best vegan bakery, will also be available to indulge in. Also available to pre-order now, and pick up May 29-30, is a limited edition HOP BUTCHER beer; named SOUL HEAD after Billy Corgan’s Gish amp, also available at Madame ZuZus and at various retailers in the Chicago area. This is the first Smashing Pumpkins beer collaboration and will only be available in Chicago this week, celebrating the roots of where it all began. If you live in the Chicago area, you can pre-order 8-packs of SOUL HEAD at Madamezuzus.com starting May 22 and pick up in store May 29-30. Go to https://madamezuzus.com for more information.
The band is also encouraging fans to share their Gish memories HERE, as well as launching a digital scavenger hunt across the band’s social platforms, where they will be posting Gish related trivia questions and clues online; one winner will be announced on May 28 and will receive the ultimate Gish merch collection. The youngest fans are also encouraged to download a coloring sheet HERE and submit their artwork online for the “Gish Coloring Contest” for a chance to win a merch store gift card.
Limited edition Gish Anniversary merch collection will be released in the bands webstore on Friday, May 28: https://store.smashingpumpkins.com
In November, 2020, The Smashing Pumpkins released their eleventh studio album, CYR (via Sumerian Records). A 20-track double album, produced by Billy Corgan in Chicago, featuring fellow founding members Jimmy Chamberlin, James Iha and guitarist Jeff Schroeder. Listen to ‘CYR’ HERE.
Formed in Chicago, IL in 1988, The Smashing Pumpkins released their heralded debut album Gish in 1991 and found mainstream success with 1993’s 4x multi-platinum Siamese Dream and 1995’s 10x multi-platinum Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness. The band has released seven additional studio albums; Adore, Machina/The Machines of God, Machina II/The Friends and Enemies of Modern Music, Zeitgeist, Oceania, Monuments to an Elegy and their last full-length, Shiny and Oh So Bright, Vol 1 / LP: No Past, No Future, No Sun. With over 30 million physical albums sold, the multiple GRAMMY®, MTV VMA, and American Music Award winning band remains an undeniable force in alternative rock.
