Los Angeles, CA. (Top40 Charts/
Smashing Pumpkins Official Website) - THE SMASHING PUMPKINS have announced the completion of new material with American Gothic, a four-song acoustic EP to be released digitally via the iTunes Store on January 2. Featuring the songs "The Rose March," "Pox, "Again, Again, Again (The Crux)" and "Sunkissed," the EP will be available for individual purchase on iTunes or as part of a deluxe iTunes version of the band's critically hailed 2007 album Zeitgeist. In the U.S., iTunes is the exclusive retailer; elsewhere in the world, American Gothic will be available as a physical product at retail. Fans will also be able to download the EP artwork for free via www.smashingpumpkins.com on January 2.
American Gothic was produced by Billy Corgan and Jimmy Chamberlin, with one song co-produced by Roy Thomas Baker. The songs were recorded at the Pass Studio in Los Angeles, CA while the Pumpkins were on a break between their 2007 national tour and upcoming 2008 European tour.
"We have always regretted not recording more in between tours because albums have never caught the full story of the group...it's sort of Zeitgeist+," says BILLY of American Gothic, the title of which is "continued comment on the state of our country."
"I had written a bunch of material during the residencies in Asheville and San Francisco [earlier this year]," continues BILLY, "and fans kept asking us if we were gonna put any of that stuff out. iTunes came to us wanting to do something together, so it just felt right."
"I have performed 'The Rose March' occasionally solo on tour, and the response from the audience always seemed to indicate the song had the 'X' quality." The song had an early unveiling in November 2006 when BILLY performed it at the Hotel Café in Los Angeles as part of a series of shows assembled by Pete Townshend's girlfriend and songwriter partner Rachel Fuller. "Afterwards, Pete came up to me and asked me if we were putting that song on Zeitgeist. I told him we weren't, and he told me I was crazy. That stuck with me-Pete certainly knows more than I."
The Pumpkins' upcoming 2008 shows will mark the band's third round of overseas dates in connection with the Zeitgeist album (Martha's Music/Reprise), which entered the album charts in July in the Top Five in the U.S. (No 2), Canada (No 1), New Zealand (No 1), the U.K. (No 4), Italy (No 5) and Switzerland (No 5), with more Top Ten debuts in Germany (No 7), Holland (No 7) and Australia (No 8).
