It’s been basically set in stone for the past couple months that 19-year-old Mike Byrne has beat out over 1,000 aspiring Jimmy Chamberlin replacements for the role as the new drummer of the Smashing Pumpkins, but Billy Corgan never bothered making it official (publically) until today.
“We just kind of jammed for about 15 minutes and then talked about Fugazi for the other 15 or so minutes,” Byrne said of his first audition with Corgan, followed by the inevitable praise of his new bandmate. You can check out his quotes here, but I think Byrne put it best with simply, “Dream come true, man.”
A much more interesting bit of news popped up at the end of the announcement: Official dates/venues for Corgan’s Spirits in the Sky tour of southern California. Hipsters United originally got the scoop on these via Ticketweb. Check out the tiny venues where Corgan and his new drummer are jamming next week:
· Wed 8/26 Visalia, CA Tazzaria
· Thu 8/27 Santa Barbara, CA Muddy Waters
· Fri 8/28 Long Beach, CA Open
· Sat 8/29 Pioneertown, CA Pappy & Harriet’s Palace
· Sun 8/30 San Diego, CA Che Cafe
· Mon 8/31 Los Angeles, CA Hotel Cafe
Pioneertown? I totally went there when I was a little kid and got a cap gun at the gift shop. Hotel Cafe? Maybe Zach Braff will put them on a soundtrack!