Corgan Tweets:Pre-order the début record from Jimmy Chamberlin, Mike Reina and Anthony Pirog (produced by Roy Thomas Baker) on MP3, CD and Vinyl - right here: http://store.dangerbirdrecords.com/products/great-civilizations
JC's new band Skysaw http://soundcloud.com/skysawmusic/sets/great-civilizations/s-ScmpM
"I want to be 'Jimmy Chamberlin, the drummer, the musician who's done many things,'" the 46-year-old rocker tells SPIN.com, "not just 'that guy from the Smashing Pumpkins.'"
"After I left the Pumpkins, I went home and just sat around," Chamberlin explains. "I have a studio in my basement and I found myself writing all these songs, just taking advantage of the relaxed situation. I wrote about 30 songs in about 30 days."
His partnership with Reina was a total fluke: "I was talking to a friend, saying, 'I wish I could find somebody who looks like a cross between Chris Cornell and Jim Morrison, has a great voice, is independently wealthy, has their own studio, and doesn't do anything but make music.' [Laughs]. Then my friend says, 'I know [Reina]!'
The two started trading songs via email, and then Chamberlin invited Reina to Chicago, where the duo "rented a proper studio for a couple of days," says Chamberlin. "We went in and wrote a song specifically for the exercise of getting to know each other. It sounded great and from then we worked together."
The collaborative experience was refreshing for Chamberlin, who had taken a backseat to Billy Corgan in the Pumpkins. "I always wanted to be in this role, as a songwriter," he says. "In the Pumpkins it was always impossible because Corgan would wake up and write five songs. He was so prolific there wasn't a lot of room for anyone else."
With Great Civilizations Chamberlin is exploring a new, more experimental direction from his Pumpkins days, while still respecting the moody elements of his past. The LP is a collection of prog-leaning, psychedelic jams with flourishes of acoustic guitars, keyboards, piano, and more. Think a proggier, more expansive Sparklehorse. "It's symphonic at points and gets really dark, too," says Chamberlin. There's a full string section on "Am I Second," while songs like "Capsized Jackknife Crisis" and "Tightrope Situation," Chamberlin's personal favorite, recalls experimental bands Yes and King Crimson.
Outside of Skysaw -- originally called "This," a name that "wasn't resonating with me," says Chamberlin, "it's a prohibitive name to Google" -- the drummer is a "closet suburbanite," living outside Chicago where he spends a lot of time with his two children...
He's psyched, however, to return to music and move forward with Skysaw, and put his past with the Pumpkins behind him. "It's important for Billy [Corgan] to carry on as the Pumpkins -- that's a lot of his ownership and a big part of his personality," says Chamberlin, who explains that he and Corgan are friends "from a distance." "He's an extremely talented musician, fantastic songwriter, and a great guy at getting what he needs. But as time went on it became less and less about my journey and more about facilitating someone else's."
"I've learned that you can call it a band, but unless everyone is contributing it's not really," says Chamberlin. "It's pretending that it's a band. I wasn't interested in creating another experience like that. Skysaw is predicated on a three-way split."
He adds, "That situation [with the Pumpkins] placed constraints and a parameter on my career that wasn't always easy to deal with. That can stagnate your growth as a musician. Not anymore."
They played the first 5 songs off the EP, plus 3 other tracks.This support slot alongside the aforementioned Constellations, for at least one of the dates, has as been confirmed by Steve Hall, of Steve Hall productions on facebook;
Jimmy was playing a silver DW kit with a 10/12/13 (rack) 16/18 (floor) tom setup (my best guess, anyway). No 14" left mounted tom. Could have been a rental. Also, holy shit does Anthony Pirog use a lot of pedal...
I talked to Jimmy really briefly afterward, gave him props and then asked about tour plans and the upcoming record release. He said they're touring with Minus the Bear this summer and the record will have the This songs remixed, plus others not on the This record.
Lastly 'theeagleishere' has posted a couple of snippets over on his YouTube;
Skysaw, featuring acclaimed drummer Jimmy Chamberlin, DC-based singer Mike Reina and guitarist Anthony Pirog, will release their debut album, Great Civilizations, on June 21, 2011 on Dangerbird Records.
As a special gesture to fans anticipating the release, the band will stream the full album, with one free download track, “No One Can Tell” exclusively on http://www.recordstoreday.com, one week prior to, and one week after Record Store Day 2011, which falls this year on Saturday, April 16th, and stands as a now-annual event in support of independent music retailers, worldwide. In addition, Skysaw will issue an exclusive 7” single package “No One Can Tell” b/w “Serrated.”
Also, expect the band to make its on stage debut at The Echo in Los Angeles on Monday, March 28th. Chamberlin, Reina and Pirog will be joined by touring members Paul Wood and Boris Skalsky of notable NYC indie rock group, Dead Heart Bloom for this show.
"The Track "No One Can Tell" appears on the upcoming Skysaw 7" featuring the songs "No One Can Tell" and "Serrated". Available on Record Store Day, April 16, 2011."They tagged it Chamberlain though... whups
"Skysaw (project of Mr. Jimmy Chamberlin of The Smashing Pumpkins) added March 28th!"So right after Jimmy gets back from Japan, looks like we'll be seeing the live début of SKYSAW... Well, according to this (the only source I have seen) - It's not listed on the venue's site yet anyway...
