Teargarden by Kaleidyscope is a music project by alternative rock band The Smashing Pumpkins that was started in late 2009 by frontman Billy Corgan following the second departure of original drummer Jimmy Chamberlin. The project initially was conceived as a 44-song concept album loosely inspired by the Tarot, with each song being released individually as a free download. By August 2018, after 34 tracks had been released, Corgan announced via Instagram that the project had been abandoned.
In 2009 and 2010, Corgan and new drummer Mike Byrne recorded and released two EPs, Volume 1: Songs for a Sailor and Volume 2: The Solstice Bare. Following the addition of bassist Nicole Fiorentino to the band, the band recorded two additional songs as a quartet with guitarist Jeff Schroeder, after which the free download approach was abandoned in favor of more conventional album releases. In 2012, Oceania was released as an "album-within-an-album" and was met with generally positive reviews.
In 2014, Byrne and Fiorentino exited the band, and Corgan and Schroeder began work on the final two Teargarden releases. Monuments to an Elegy, which features Tommy Lee of Mötley Crüe on drums, was released in December 2014 while its more experimental companion album Day for Night was shelved and remains unreleased. By 2018, the entire project had been scrapped.
Project history
Announcement and "A Song for a Son" (2008–2009) The Smashing Pumpkins reformed in 2006, after a six-year hiatus, releasing the studio album Zeitgeist in 2007. Although Zeitgeist went gold, which Billy Corgan considered an achievement given the state of the music industry, Corgan and drummer Jimmy Chamberlin decided in 2008 that they would not make another traditional studio album, citing changing listener habits.Kot, Greg. "Billy Corgan dishes on the Smashing Pumpkins: The past is dead to me". Chicago Tribune Blog. December 9, 2008.
In March 2009, Chamberlin left the band. Corgan held tryouts to find a replacement, eventually deciding on 19-year-old Mike Byrne."Smashing Pumpkins Replace Drummer". Billboard.com. August 19, 2009. In April, Corgan laid out his vision for the new album: [I] don't think I'm going to make albums in the old-fashioned way, meaning 12–15 songs, etc. in one small package. My desire at this point would be to release one song at a time, over a period of 2–3 years, with it all adding up to a box set/album of sorts that would also include an art movie of the album... My thinking is that if I focus on one song at a time I would approach them as beautiful, distinct paintings that would each require the attention they deserve. This would also mean I would choose what I am recording quite carefully as there would be tremendous internal pressure to get it just right, and that is the kind of pressure I like, which is to make the most beautiful thing possible.
Corgan spent much of summer 2009 in ex-Catherine member and "Superchrist" producer Kerry Brown's home studio, where Zeitgeist was recorded, recording demos for about fifty songs."Billy Corgan/Dave Navarro: Spirits In The Sky ". ShockHound.com. September 4, 2009. In July, Corgan formed the band Spirits in the Sky to play a tribute concert to the late Sky Saxon of The Seeds. He then toured with the band, comprising Brown, Electric Prunes bassist Mark Tulin, Strawberry Alarm Clock keyboardist Mark Weitz, frequent Corgan collaborator Linda Strawberry, flautist Kevin Dippold, "Superchrist" violinist Ysanne Spevack, new Pumpkins drummer Mike Byrne, and Jane's Addiction guitarist Dave Navarro, playing covers and some of the new Pumpkins songs at several clubs in California.
This is the second Smashing Pumpkins album released for free over the Internet, the first being 2000's Machina II/The Friends & Enemies of Modern Music. Teargarden saw such a release due to Corgan's reported hope that people hear the album before dismissing it, on top of his interest in "subverting a system that works against holistic thinking when it comes to how art is made and delivered to those who might want to hear it.""Billy Corgan Talks New, Free 44-Song Set, Teargarden by Kaleidyscope". Paste Magazine.com. September 17, 2009. All of the songs were planned to be released for free as 192-kbps, DRM-free MP3 files, available from direct links on the band's website. Finally, a complete box set release is planned that will contain all of the tracks accompanied by an art film and a making-of documentary.Brown, Kerry. Twitter Update. October 8, 2009. Corgan said he was also considering a single-CD compilation of the best of the forty-four tracks.
"A Song for a Son", the first song from the project, was released December 8, 2009 to positive reviews. Rolling Stone wrote: "Nothing in Corgan's prolific recording history could have prepared us for the over five minutes of classic rock that is "A Song for a Son," which starts off with a "Stairway to Heaven"-esque riff before exploding into the rest of ZoSos touchstones."
Vol. 1: Songs for a Sailor and Vol. 2: The Solstice Bare (2010) On the first two EPs, Billy Corgan handled the bulk of the guitar and keyboards, with Mike Byrne on drums and Mark Tulin handling much of the bass playing.Interview with Billy Corgan. Local 101 with Chris Payne. WKQX. February 14, 2010. Kerry Brown played congas on "Astral Planes", and Ysanne Spevack, Linda Strawberry, and Lisa Harriton have all mentioned contributing."Lisa Harriton in the studio with The Smashing Pumpkins ". SmashingPumpkins.com. October 8, 2009. In these sessions, Corgan consciously focused on finding the rhythmic "groove" in the music, as opposed to focusing more heavily on elaborate production or songwriting.Borges, Christine. "Q&A: Billy Corgan on Smashing Pumpkins' Early Years, Free Music, and the Rotating Lineup". New Times Broward-Palm Beach. July 6, 2010.
The first physical EP, Teargarden by Kaleidyscope Vol. 1: Songs for a Sailor, consisting of a wooden box with the 4-song CD, a 7" vinyl record with one additional song, and a hand-carved stone obelisk, was released May 25 by Rocket Science Music. To promote Record Store Day in 2010, the band performed live at Amoeba Records, offered free blacklight posters to those who pre-ordered the first EP from their local record stores, and released two limited edition 7" singles containing the album's first four songs. "Widow Wake My Mind" was promoted as a radio single, with Corgan appearing on WKQX in Chicago and several major-market stations adding it to rotation. On April 20, 2010, the band performed the song live with an Up with People choir on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.
Initial Teargarden by Kaleidyscope tracks received generally favorable reviews. Spin'''s review of "Widow Wake My Mind" was positive, naming the song "a very pleasant surprise". Rolling Stone included it in their "hot list", calling it "[Corgan's] sweetest pop melody since Kennedy left MTV."Rolling Stone Magazine. Issue #1099. March 4, 2010. Nokia's Inside Music review lauded the free download scheme that Billy Corgan has implemented: "I'm completely stunned that tunes of this quality are up for grabs free for the anticipated 5 year duration of this project." The review continued, praising the maturing drumming of Mike Byrne: "It's worth pointing out that 19–20 year old drummer Mike Byrne is beginning to show signs that he may well be capable of filling the horrific void of Jimmy Chamberlin's departure".
After completing work on the then-unreleased second EP, the band recruited new bassist Nicole Fiorentino. While "Widow Wake My Mind" failed to chart, the follow-up single, "Freak" was released on July 20, 2010, and reached #27 on the Billboard Alternative chart and #34 on the Rock Songs chart. Also in July, the band launched an American tour, and went on to tour several continents throughout 2010, playing songs from the new album and promoting the free downloads. On October 12, 2010, "The Fellowship" was released on the television soundtrack for The Vampire Diaries.
The second EP, Teargarden by Kaleidyscope, Vol. 2: The Solstice Bare, which was named after a lyric in their song "Tom Tom", was released on November 23, 2010 in the form of a cardboard box with the 4-song CD in a letterpressed sleeve and a 12" vinyl picture disc with all four EP tracks and a b-side. Jon Stone of American Songwriter reacted positively to the second EP, The Solstice Bare, stating that "The songs are not mind blowing, but for once, Billy doesn't seem like he is trying to prove his relevance to both old and new fans on every track. Respect is given to the song, rather than just the hook—quite an accomplishment from one of the most prolific and talented of hook writers."
Stand-alone songs and Oceania (2011–2012)
"The Fellowship", from the second EP, was released for free January 12, 2011 via the band's website. The band, including Jeff Schroeder on guitar, recorded two further songs as a group, "Lightning Strikes" and "Owata". On March 17, 2011, "Lightning Strikes" was made available for free streaming on Rolling Stones website. The song was made available for download the following day on March 18, 2011, on the band's website. On May 3, 2011 the band released "Owata" for streaming on LA Weekly.com. A music video for the single was directed by Robby Starbuck, and will be first released as a 12-minute film on Yahoo! Music, June 29, 2011 at 9:00 PM Pacific. It is the first video to use a Red Epic-M camera.
Before the third volume could be completed, the band decided to rework the project."Smashing Pumpkins on UStream". UStream.tv Live streaming interview. July 19, 2010."Recording Begins Again ". HipstersUnited.com October 29, 2010. In April, Corgan announced that the entire lineup would now record a full-length "album-within-an-album" as part of the Teargarden project, to be titled Oceania. Released in spring 2012, the album's arrival meant that just over half of the planned project had been released. The switch back to the album format had to do with both artistic interests and promotional intentions. Oceania, while part of Teargarden by Kaleidyscope, was largely reviewed as a separate entity. It received generally positive reviews.
Despite the release and success of Oceania, Corgan said he remained dedicated to finishing Teargarden as a whole. But when asked in June 2012 whether he would return to the original release format, Corgan stated that he was "kind of mulling that around":
Monuments to an Elegy, Day for Night, abandonment (2014–2018)
The Smashing Pumpkins' album Monuments to an Elegy (2014) and the planned Day for Night conclude the Teargarden by Kaleidyscope project. The original plan was for Monuments to an Elegy to be a pop/rock album and then be followed by an experimental "weird, arty" album, Day for Night. Corgan was unsure when Teargarden by Kaleidyscope would be packaged as a box set, as originally planned. In 2014, Corgan said he was uncertain for the future of the band after the completion of the Teargarden project.
In 2015, Corgan said, "Originally it was going to be forty-four songs, but now it's going to be more like sixty, eighty. There's a lot of demos that are release-worthy, but I don't want to be Don Quixote, rushing forward with my box set to an audience of no one. Maybe I'll let it marinate. See how it feels in ten years' time."Pattison, Louis: "Q&A", Uncut, January 2015, p67