Smashing Pumpkins drummer Jimmy Chamberlin discussed the opened up about being ‘family’ with Soundgarden at one point in a new interview with El More Magazine.
EM: What were the influences you guys shared as a group to create the style of the Smashing Pumpkins.
JC: At the beginning, not a lot. I came from a jazz background, my influences were Tony Williams, Jeff Beck, Return To Forever, Weather Report. Billy was very much into Joy Division, New Order, Bauhaus, those types of bands, but also was a closet Mahavishnu fan, and really liked that Yngwie Malmsteen stuff, progressive rock. James Iha was really into Johnny Marr, and D’arcy had her own trip as well.
Later on, I think we all got swept up in being attracted to our contemporary, there was a point where all the kinds of bands we were in a “family” with, were pushing the envelope of rhythmic and syncopative possibility, certainly Soundgarden and Jane’s Addiction, those types of bands, where we felt like we were coming up together. As time went on, our attractions began to congeal, but in the beginning it was our disparate components that was the fuel for the fire.
Billy was really into my interpretation of that type of music and really wrote to that playing. He purposely wrote songs that would allow me the freedom to do what I was capable of doing, and really encouraged me always, even today he’s always like “whaddaya got? I know you’re sitting on a bunch of crazy shit. Let’s hear it.”
That’s why the band was attracted to me, the Bauhaus, R.E.M. type stuff. That wasn’t gonna get it done for me. I wasn’t gonna stick around for a band that just played 2/4. Once we started to explore the kind of outer reaches of our abilities, that’s when it became interesting.
