Billy Corgan might now officially be the creepy old man at the Smashing Pumpkins show. The good news is, however, now that Corgan’s estranged himself from his former bandmates, irritated quite a few fans, and is the last man standing in the band, unknown drummers, bassists, and guitarists now have a shot to be famous rock stars. And 19-year-old drummer Mike Byrne is one of them.
“Mike is jamming with the Smashing Pumpkins for a week in May,” Byrne posted on his MySpace. “Holy crap.” Holy crap, indeed. Hipsters United reports that the teenage freshman at the Berklee School of Music has passed the first round of auditions to go on tour and record with the world’s most polarizing rock star of late.
He still has another round to go and he’s facing stiff competition from System Of A Down drummer John Dolmayan among others, but adding an unknown kid to the SP lineup would be a great marketing move for Corgan. That’s not the only reason to root for him, though. Check out his skills here or his band here. Too bad this isn’t an American Idol deal ‘cause I’d vote for him.