Kerry Brown

From SPCodex, The Smashing Pumpkins wiki
Kerry Brown
Kerry Brown, music producer and musician
Background information
Birth nameKerry Paul Brown
Born (1963-12-05) December 5, 1963 (age 60)
Pasadena, California
ArtistsThe Smashing Pumpkins, Spirits in the Sky, Starchildren, Catherine, Backwards Clock Society
RoleProducer, drums
Years active1985-present
Websitestarryrecords.net
WikipediaKerry Brown (musician)
Instagram@studiodog
Twitter@studiodog

Kerry Paul Brown (born 1963) is a record producer, movie soundtrack producer, music editor, composer, artist manager, and a musician. He was the drummer in Chicago alternative rock band Catherine in the 1990s. He was married to D'Arcy Wretzky of The Smashing Pumpkins at that time,[1] who served as a second singer for Catherine's final album, Hot Saki & Bedtime Stories. He played drums for The Smashing Pumpkins on the song "Blew Away" and he produced "Starla" & "Plume" for the album Pisces Iscariot, as well as "Believe", "...Said Sadly" and "The Boy" with James Iha.

As a musician[edit | edit source]

Brown wrote for, played drums for, recorded, and produced, his band Catherine from 1985 to 1998. They performed a one-off two song reunion set at a Smashing Pumpkins concert at the Riveria Theatre in Chicago on October 14, 2011, featuring Billy Corgan on guitar. He also performed drums on The Smashing Pumpkins track "Blew Away" among his many various producer/engineer stints for the band. He played hand drums in Spirits in the Sky, a short lived live band that featured Corgan, Dave Navarro, Mark Tulin, Ysanne Spevack, and Mike Byrne. Brown was the drummer in a one-off group called Backwards Clock Society, which featured Tulin on bass and Corgan on vocals and guitar. The one and only Backwards Clock Society show was held on November 8, 2009, at The Echoplex in Los Angeles, CA. The show was a benefit for Laura Ann Masura. Future bass player of The Smashing Pumpkins Nicole Fiorentino was performing with Light FM at this show, and was pointed out to Corgan by Brown at this show.

Touring stats

As a producer[edit | edit source]

The Smashing Pumpkins' 2007 album Zeitgeist was recorded in Brown's home studio. At least 300 Smashing Pumpkins songs have been recorded in his studio during the 2000s in demo format, including original versions of many songs that later appeared on the eighth Smashing Pumpkins album, Teargarden by Kaleidyscope.

In 2009, he joined Billy Corgan and others in the band Spirits in the Sky. During breaks from touring, in September 2009 he went with Corgan to Chicago to begin work producing The Smashing Pumpkins album, Teargarden by Kaleidyscope.

Brown has also worked with Miley Cyrus, Jessica Simpson, Courtney Love, Ysanne Spevack, Kelley Deal, Nina Gordon, and Cheap Trick – all acts The Smashing Pumpkins or its individual members have also worked with. Brown also founded Rolling Live Studios, which on January 9, 2021 hosted the A Bowie Celebration livestream event, featuring Corgan and Mike Garson performing David Bowie's "Space Oddity".

Year Album
1994 Pisces Iscariot
1996 The Aeroplane Flies High
2001 Judas O
2010 Teargarden by Kaleidyscope - Vol. 1: Songs for a Sailor
2010 Teargarden by Kaleidyscope - Vol. 2: The Solstice Bare
2014 Teargarden by Kaleidyscope

Studio sessions[edit | edit source]

Session Artist Album(s)
Spring 1992 – Soundworks The Smashing Pumpkins Pisces Iscariot
Spring 1993 – Soundworks The Smashing Pumpkins
August 1995 – Bugg Studios The Smashing Pumpkins The Aeroplane Flies High
June 1996 – Bugg Studios The Smashing Pumpkins The Aeroplane Flies High
September-December 2009 – Pumpkinland II The Smashing Pumpkins Teargarden by Kaleidyscope - Vol. 1: Songs for a Sailor
January-June 2010 – Pumpkinland II The Smashing Pumpkins Teargarden by Kaleidyscope - Vol. 2: The Solstice Bare
December 2010-February 2011 – Pumpkinland II The Smashing Pumpkins

Startone Records[edit | edit source]

In January 2010, Brown announced that he is starting a record label with Corgan. This record label was to be called Startone Records and the roster includes Starchildren, The Electric Prunes, The Strawberry Alarm Clock and YaHoWha 13. However, the status of their collaboration for the label is unclear as it was announced that Brown and Corgan will no longer be working together as of December 2011.[2]

Relevant credits[edit | edit source]

The Smashing Pumpkins

Spirits in the Sky

  • Band member (drums, percussion)

Backwards Clock Society

  • Drummer

Starchildren

  • Played a few shows at the Cabaret Metro, presumably on percussion

Catherine

Awards[edit | edit source]

References[edit | edit source]

  1. Bekkala, Steve. "Biography: Catherine". AllMusic. Retrieved 22 May 2010.
  2. "Billy Corgan, Smashing Pumpkins break with producer Kerry Brown". Hipsters United. December 9, 2011. Archived from the original on May 5, 2012.