Amazing and lengthy interview with Billy - a must read :)
http://stereogum.com/1157482/billy-corgan-on-the-state-of-the-alternative-community/top-stories/lead-story/
Corgan: First of all, what does the “T” in your name stand for?
Stereogum: Thurman
Corgan: Thurman or Thurmond?
Stereogum: Thurman.
Corgan: Oh, that’s not a bad name. I like old-fashioned names. Thurman is very judicial-sounding.
Stereogum: Well, thank you. I hated it when I was a kid, but now I like it. Thanks also for taking the time to chat with me again. The last time we spoke, Oceania had yet to be released. Now that the record is out and people are more familiar with the material, how does it feel to be out there playing these songs?
Corgan: It’s been good. We feel it’s sort of opened up the door — musically, to go to a different place, so we see where we want to go now, with more clarity, having opened that door. And then secondarily, it’s pleasurable to play music that people want to hear in the present, because that creates a sort of circular loop that feeds back into the confidence of the band. And of course I’ve been through that, and I understand the good and the bad in it, but my bandmates haven’t been through that. So to see them going through that and to see their confidence lifting, and their sense of accomplishment becoming part of who they are as people and musicians, that’s nice too.
Stereogum: I remember seeing you play — I’m not sure what year it was, but you were touring for Zeitgeist — and it seeming like a really frustrating time. You seemed really annoyed. How is that experience different from how it feels now touring on this record?…
