This years headliner and all around amazing rock band, The Smashing Pumpkins, joined us backstage before taking the stage later tonight at this years Almost Acoustic Christmas!
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MusicTranscript
00:00Ladies and gentlemen, we are joined by the Smashing Pumpkins.
00:12I gotta ask, it's been so long, you still, when you hear that kind of, mind you, we're
00:16in a small room, but when you get the love thrown back at you, does it still feel the
00:20way it's always felt?
00:21Or more so, I would say, after so long.
00:25Very nice.
00:26It's better.
00:27Very nice.
00:28It's better why?
00:29Because we believe it a little more than we used to.
00:32Okay, that's fair.
00:33The last time I spoke to, well, I've never had the privilege of speaking to the both
00:37of you, but Billy and I, this is my third time speaking to Billy, and it was on the
00:40eve, or the week before, Agoramori May.
00:43Oh, that's right.
00:44Yeah, we were Zooming, and we had talked about how, what I loved about Agoramori May is that
00:50you were, and correct me if I'm wrong, revisiting the blueprints of the first record, but as
00:56the people and the musicians that you are now.
00:59And I want to know how the journey with Agoramori May has been, and what you've learned from
01:02that record.
01:05You know, it's curious, because we kind of abandoned the way we worked, sort of mid-90s,
01:11so to try to go back to the old way we worked was a curious thought.
01:17But I think it worked out pretty well.
01:18It feels good, and I don't know.
01:22You got any?
01:23It seems, for me, I think it's really, just at least from an internal ideology standpoint,
01:29it's reignited kind of the rock focus of the band.
01:33So I think when we play now, we're kind of more on the balls of our feet, like rocking,
01:40as opposed to tentative, kind of calculus, now we're just trying to rock again.
01:46Yeah, we're definitely back to the rock.
01:48Rock feels good, yes.
01:49What do you think about the state of rock these days, because people love to say that
01:52rock is dead, and I mean, if you look at, let's say, streams and things like that, it's
01:55definitely not what's driving people to the bigger festivals or whatever, but what do
01:59you think of the state of rock these days, because I honestly don't think it could ever
02:02die.
02:04I think rock is about to have an explosive comeback.
02:09First of all, we've erased the gatekeepers that told everybody, you know, the hipster
02:15stuff in the basement was where music was going.
02:18Well, if you look at who goes to see rock, who goes to see concerts in large numbers,
02:24you know, look at the tour we just did with Green Day, the tour sold over 800,000 tickets.
02:30People want to hear music played by bands, young or old, and rock is always at the foundational
02:37spirit of that.
02:38And of course, there's rock in every other genre, but rock is very specific to a specific
02:43audience for a specific set of reasons, and we've had it here for 20, 25 years, a bunch
02:48of hipsters tell everyone that what rock was is not as meaningful as what somebody is doing
02:54in their basement.
02:55I'm sorry.
02:56And so now we're back to the point where the business has finally woken up and realized
02:59that the sleeping giant they've been looking for is at K-Rock and is with the great, great
03:04rock bands.
03:05Amen.
03:06I want to take a minute to highlight that tour that you did.
03:08The Pumpkins went on tour with Green Day, Rancid, and the Linda Lindas who played earlier.
03:13They're amazing, by the way.
03:14I just want to recognize those girls.
03:15Amazing young band.
03:16Really amazing young band.
03:17But that's a powerhouse tour, and a lot of times egos get in the way and whatnot, but
03:22you all did it so graciously, and you all went and you owned your time.
03:27What was the highlight of that tour for all of you?
03:30I mean, I think everybody had fun and it was just very positive and there was no drama
03:37and it was just like Ray playing like huge baseball stadiums and a lot of different kinds
03:44of people saw.
03:45So it was great.
03:46It was really good.
03:47It was probably the nicest, funnest tour we've ever been on.
03:52And thanks to Green Day, the three boys in Green Day, they treated everybody like gold.
03:57Their world was fantastic and it was an honor to share the stage with them.
04:01How do you all keep your mental health grounded these days as the world turns in chaos sometimes?
04:06What do you do to make sure that your head's on straight?
04:08Well, I write depressing records, so let's get that out of the way.
04:12How about you?
04:14I've started following different kinds of sports.
04:17Sports?
04:18I've been following the NBA now more lately.
04:21Okay.
04:22Was that not like you?
04:24NHL.
04:25Well, I like baseball a lot, but now I'm just getting into all sports.
04:29I'm just going to stop looking at the news.
04:31It's a good idea.
04:32It's a great idea, Jimmy.
04:36Jump on my Ducati.
04:37Dude.
04:38Done and done.
04:39You're a motorcycle guy.
04:40I like the plug.
04:41That was a good plug.
04:42Before I let you go, if you could go back and tell the younger versions of yourself
04:45when you first started, just one piece of advice, what would it be?
04:52Just keep doing what you're doing.
04:54Yeah.
04:55Just keep going.
04:56Keep going.
04:57Just a little less of it, though.
04:58Just a little more of it.
04:59I keep on trucking.
05:00Because one day, you'll end up playing K-Rock's 33rd annual Almost Acoustic Christmas, and
05:04thank you so much for it.
05:05Thank you, ladies and gentlemen.
05:06Thank you, K-Rock.
05:07The Smashing Pumpkins!
05:08Thank you, K-Rock fans.
05:09Thank you, everybody.