William Patrick Corgan
(formerly known as Billy Corgan)
Former Smashing Pumpkins member Billy Corgan has re-branded himself as William Patrick Corgan and shares some thoughts on sage advice from Neil Young.
From Cover Story: William Patrick Corgan | Illinois Entertainer by Brassneck:
When the Jedi Master speaks, the humble light saber student must sit quietly at his feet and listen.See full interview at Cover Story: William Patrick Corgan | Illinois Entertainer.
And Smashing Pumpkins anchor Billy Corgan – who has recently re-dubbed himself with the more mature moniker of William Patrick Corgan, under which he just released the skeletal, Rick Rubin-produced solo set Oglilala, one of his best albums in ages – still remembers like it was yesterday his own Yoda-revealing summit meeting that occurred 14 years ago at a bustling Japanese train station.
Standing casually, waiting for the next express, the singer was stunned to look across the platform and see one of his musical heroes, Neil Young, waiting there, too. And – looking for common commiseration ground – he found himself complaining to the CSNY legend about certain record labels with which they’d both had experiences.
“I don’t know what the fuck I was thinking, and it was probably a very boring conversation for him,” Corgan sighs in slightly embarrassed retrospect. Young listened patiently, thoughtfully, though. “And then he just cut to the chase, as only Neil Young can,” Corgan recalls. When one encounters opposition or difficulties in show business, the man said, one should merely put one’s head down and keep walking, oblivious to such distractions. “And I knew exactly what he meant, and he told me what I really needed to hear,” he adds.
“That it doesn’t matter what some guy in an office thinks of you – what matters is what you do. And he’s a sage – let’s face it. So I took that advice to heart. And there have been some really tough days where that’s the only advice I could rely on. I didn’t get advice from my father. So I took it from surrogate fathers like Neil Young and Johnny Cash. And – as an artist in kind of a wacky world – you need to find your surrogate fathers to help you get through this because I haven’t gotten a lot of pats on the back from this culture.” He chortles, with palpable defiance. ”And yet I’m still here.”
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"Because when Neil Young tells you to do something, you listen. So I’ve got one lane now. And it’s my own.”
Also, see Billy Corgan Covers Neil Young’s “After the Gold Rush”: CBC Radio q.
Also, see Neil Young Sings Truth to Power.
Also, see Influence of Neil Young on other Musicians.
Bob Dylan, Neil Young & Eric Clapton,
Madison Square Garden, New York City - 1992
William isn’t the only artist who looked to Neil for help when befuddled by the music industry suits. Here’s what Lucinda Williams did after a record exec criticized her song writing, “
ReplyDeleteHere I had this demo tape and it was pretty good; there were some good musicians on it and everything. It started getting passed around, and I continued to play in little bars. I had one meeting with this guy from Elektra Records, and he said, “I think you need to go back to the drawing board and work on your songs some more.” And I said, “Well, why’s that?” And he said, “Your songs are just not formulaic enough. None of your songs have bridges.” What he was talking about was the formula way of writing a song, which is verse, verse, chorus, bridge, verse, verse, chorus, or something like that, and he said, “None of your songs have bridges.” Well, a lot of my songs didn’t have choruses, for that matter!
Of course, I was somewhat devastated and pissed off. But I was just pissed off enough not to listen to him. He left, and I went, and right away I pulled out a Neil Young album and listened to it. I looked at it and studied some of the songs that he’d written. Bob Dylan also. And I looked at it and said, “Screw that guy! Look at these songs! This Neil Young song only has two verses, there’s no bridge.” I went back and reconfirmed what I already knew, and I just stayed with that. Because I knew these guys just weren’t hip enough.”
So F*ck the Doubters.
Great Lucinda story. Thanks for sharing HtH!
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of Lucinda, we just saw her Sweet Old World anniversary tour. 25 years. Man, how time fades away. At the Lincoln Theater on U St., next to Ben's Chili Bowl.
tomorrow, DECLASSIFIED: Stravinsky's The Rite of Spring with the National Symphony Orchestra / Leonard Slatkin, conductor - The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.
So yeah, f the doubters.
Praise the Doubters. its not like they didnt know each other. Corgan had already played 2 BSBs
ReplyDeleteIve got no idea who those 2 people are on the front page but they sure are pretty