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Here are the first two sentences of Rolling Stone’s first Billy Corgan feature in a decade:
Unless you count what he’s done to his career, Billy Corgan has never attempted suicide. Until recently, there were plenty of mornings when he’d wake up to a stark choice: “Go eat breakfast, or go kill yourself.”
When Rolling Stone’s Brian Hiatt met with Corgan in Los Angeles in early February, the Smashing Pumpkins founder had a lot to say about a very rough 10 years. “There’s a lot of days where you feel forgotten,” Corgan says at one point. In a soul-baring, wide-ranging interview, Corgan discusses the idiosyncratic spiritual beliefs that saved him from suicidal depression (including his association with a vintage hippie cult called Source Family); opens up for the first time about his 2009 split with drummer Jimmy Chamberlin (Corgan says he fired him); reveals his father’s heroin addiction (his dad was arrested two years ago with a needle still in his arm); says that he “loves” Jessica Simpson; and much more. For the full feature, see our new issue, on sale now — in the meantime, here are a few highlights:
Corgan on His Critics:
“Do I belong in the conversation about the best artists in the world? My answer is yes, I do,” he says. “I’ve been too productive for too long, and despite what anybody wants to strip away from me, I am influential. I am. So all the Pitchforks in the world can try to strip me of every ounce of dignity, but I belong.”
On the Pumpkins’ Breakup:
“Rather than break up the band, what I should have done is chuck James [Iha] out,” Corgan says. “I should have just said to Jimmy [Chamberlin], ‘You go to rehab, and we’ll continue, and James, get the fuck out of here...
Article Source: Rolling Stone : Rock and Roll Daily