Billy Corgan shares his Aussie connections ahead of special tribute at festival shows
Smashing Pumpkins frontman Billy Corgan leaves his band at home to perform with local rockers Delta Riggs at world-first shows in Australia.
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Smashing Pumpkins frontman Billy Corgan has planned an emotional tribute to his late friend Michael Hutchence for his imminent Australian shows.
In a world first, Corgan has enlisted Australian rockers Delta Riggs as his backing band for the Good Things festival sets and his sideshows.
The revered musician, cafe owner and professional wrestling promoter said he and Hutchence had bonded in the 90s after Corgan shared how influential INXS was on him as a teenager.
The American alternative rock god, riding high in the charts at the time with the Pumpkins’ breakthrough records Gish and Siamese Dream, had told Hutchence how he had seen INXS perform at the Aragon Ballroom in his hometown of Chicago when he was 16.
The Aussie band were touring America relentlessly off the back of their album The Swing and Corgan shared his favourite track, which he plans to perform as a surprise at his upcoming shows.
“I got to know Michael Hutchence decently well and I was very fond of him, and I got to tell him that I had seen them play when I was about 16 and he was very surprised,” Corgan said.
“There was an insecurity in Michael about how they stood with all the alternative community and he looked at me like ‘Really? You’re a fan?’
“And I told him my favourite song of theirs and how they had played it that night I saw them.
“It was so sweet because he had an innocence about him that was so endearing and I just wanted to say ‘Michael, you’re this big rock star, it’s okay. I came to see you play because you really good.’
“So both in tribute to Michael but also because I just so loved this song, I’m gonna play it on the tour but I don’t want to give it away until I at least play the first show.”
Corgan said it is unlikely his other favourite Australian artists will be surprise guests on the tour. He dated Jessica Origliasso of the Veronicas for a couple of years in the early 2010s and maintains a close friendship with her.
The sisters, who were wildly popular at the Good Things shows in 2019, have been working on songs for their next album in Nashville.
The American musician credits his friendship with the Veronicas for opening his eyes to the unique character of Australian rock fans.
He said the key to understanding Australian audiences was how they value authenticity over trends.
“Australian culture really is distinctive and it wasn’t until I dated somebody from there and spend a lot of time there that I started to really appreciate it’s a culture completely unto its own self,” he said.
“In England, the bands are about this moustache and this T-shirt for this year and then that’s out for the next year.
“With the Australian bands, there’s this consistent ring of authenticity. You look at a band like Amyl and the Sniffers and it’s ‘We’re here, we are who we are, we’re going to play our music and if you like it, great, and if you don’t, well f … off.’ It’s a very particular quality to Australian culture.”
The Good Things line-up is an eclectic mix of rock acts including international faves Korn, Sum 41, Violent Femmes, L7, Mastodon and The Gaslight Anthem alongside Aussie acts The Living End, Jet, Killing Heidi and retro heroes Dragon.
Before heading to Australia, Corgan and the Smashing Pumpkins had finished their run opening for Green Day on their huge Saviors tour, alongside rock acts Rancid and the Linda Lindas.
Corgan said the phenomenal success of those shows, which played to audience of 50,000 people and upwards, shone a harsh spotlight on the music industry’s disconnect from rock music.
He argues rock should secede from the industry and establish its own metrics, including charts, as the mainstream gatekeepers in their executive offices are out of touch with the genre’s popularity at a grassroots level.
Corgan’s perspective also applies to Australia where Pearl Jam just sold out five massive stadium shows, Cold Chisel have moved more than 180,000 tickets on their 50th anniversary victory lap, and the Good Things shows in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane only have limited tickets left.
“Take a bunch of bands, in this case Green Day, Pumpkins, Rancid and Linda Lindas and you can sell out a stadium – that’s a pretty big statement – and yet you look at American culture and you don’t see a reflection of that strength. There’s no rock on the pop charts,” he said.
“If you looked at the Green Day audience, it was a very young audience for a band whose members are in their 50s, so whatever our message is – past, present of future – it’s obviously connecting to a lot of young people.
“And maybe it is the antidotal thing to the fact that people are so sick of the processed pop plastic never-ending parade of perfect people.
“I’m suspicious to think that rock could have another breakthrough moment because I don’t think mainstream culture wants rock to have a breakthrough moment.
“I don’t think they think there’s any money there anymore; they’ll sell the concert tickets and the t-shirts but the rest of them are more interested in who somebody’s boyfriend is.”
Limited tickets are available to Good Things at Flemington Racecourse, Melbourne on December 6, Sydney’s Centennial Park on December 7 and Brisbane Showgrounds on December 8 available via https://goodthingsfestival.com.au/
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