Photo:Charbonneau/WireImage

Billy Corgan has scheduled six tour dates in Los Angeles spanning from August 26th to August 31st, but he won’t be performing under the Smashing Pumpkins moniker. Instead, the band’s official Website writes, Corgan will be accompanied by “special guests” Spirits in the Sky, a band that recently formed for a tribute concert dedicated to the Seeds’ Sky Saxon, who passed away in June at age 71. Corgan and the Spirits in the Sky first performed together last month at Los Angeles’ Echoplex, with Corgan debuting a new song called “Freak” as well as the Pumpkins’ new 19-year-old drummer Mike Byrne at the performance.

The Spirits in the Sky also feature the Electric Prunes’ bassist Mark Tulin, as well as the Strawberry Alarm Clock’s keyboardist Mark Weitz and Catherine drummer Kerry Brown, who at one point was married to former Pumpkins bassist D’Arcy Wretzky. Before Saxon’s death, Corgan had been collaborating with the Seeds’ frontman on a variety of projects, including an unreleased song called “Choose To Choose Love” that was posted on Kerry Brown’s Facebook page (via Smashing Pumpkins.com).

According to the SP website, “Cities and venues will be announced shortly” for the Corgan tour, but since all six shows will be in Los Angeles, we’re just waiting on the venues. As Rock Daily previously reported, Corgan is now the lone member of the original Smashing Pumpkins after drummer Jimmy Chamberlin quit earlier this year. Chamberlin has since been replaced by Byrne, previously of the Portland, Oregon band Moses Smell the Roses.

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Article Source: Rolling Stone : Rock and Roll Daily

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