Zwan

From SPCodex, The Smashing Pumpkins wiki
Zwan
Background information
Also known asThe True Poets of Zwan, Djali Zwan (acoustic)
OriginChicago, Illinois and Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Genres
  • Alternative rock
  • pop rock
  • power pop
Years active2001–2003
LabelsReprise
Associated acts
Past membersBilly Corgan
Matt Sweeney
Jimmy Chamberlin
David Pajo
Paz Lenchantin

Zwan was an alternative rock supergroup that was formed by Billy Corgan and Jimmy Chamberlin, lead singer and guitarist, and the drummer of The Smashing Pumpkins respectively, after they disbanded in December 2000. Other members included bassist Paz Lenchantin, of A Perfect Circle, and guitarists David Pajo and Matt Sweeney of various prior bands and projects. The band released only one album, Mary Star of the Sea, in 2003, before breaking up acrimoniously that same year during their world tour to promote the album. Following the disbanding, Corgan released a solo album, TheFutureEmbrace before reforming the Smashing Pumpkins in 2005, with Chamberlin in 2006. Despite allusions to multiple album's worth of material written by band members, no further material has surfaced beyond their only studio album, and none of the material has ever been revisited in performances by any of the members outside of a brief 2017 tour by Corgan. In his solo shows in the summer of 2019, Corgan played "Honestly" and "Endless Summer" on his European summer tour at some dates.

The band is also known as The True Poets of Zwan and an acoustic incarnation is known as Djali Zwan.

History[edit | edit source]

Formation and Mary Star of the Sea (2001-2003)[edit | edit source]

Following the breakup of the Smashing Pumpkins, Corgan and drummer Jimmy Chamberlin joined forces with Matt Sweeney (formerly of the bands Chavez and Skunk) to start Zwan. Corgan had been friends with Sweeney since early in his career and Sweeney was thanked in the liner notes to The Smashing Pumpkins album Siamese Dream. Juan Alderete was one of the musicians who auditioned for the bassist position[1], before Sweeney recruited David Pajo (member of Slint, Papa M, Stereolab and many Drag City acts).[2] The band debuted as a four-piece in late 2001. Later, former A Perfect Circle's bassist Paz Lenchantin joined the band in 2002, and Pajo was moved as their third guitarist.

Zwan had two different incarnations. The first, and more common version, the True Poets of Zwan (or simply "Zwan"), used three guitars, bass guitar and drums. Zwan's only album, Mary Star of the Sea, is attributed to the True Poets of Zwan in the liner notes.[3] Zwan is credited with being a bridge between the success of the Smashing Pumpkins in the 1990s and the further career developments and experimentations undertaken by Corgan in the 2000s, as well as his shift from his sombre, dark themes towards more hopeful lyrics in line with his spiritual development at the time.[4]

Djali Zwan, an acoustic incarnation of Zwan, which also featured cellist Ana Lenchantin, Paz's sister, was to film and record the making of a new album in the studio in the fall of 2003, with an album and DVD to be issued in early 2004. Corgan spoke with Rolling Stone about his plans: "We're going to do it Let It Be-style," Corgan said, referring to the documentary about the 1970 Beatles album. "The album would be recorded live, with the cameras rolling. When you get the DVD, you can watch the takes on the album being done." He described the songs he'd written for Djali Zwan as "more folk-driven, rooted in traditional music. I don't want to compromise veins of material to fit into an electric band, which I often did in the Pumpkins. With Djali Zwan, I can write an acoustic song and not worry how it's going to stand up against some rock epic."[5]

Billy Corgan, Linda Strawberry, and Matt Sweeney came together to create the Spun soundtrack for the movie Spun, directed by Jonas Åkerlund, and were credited as The Djali Zwan.

Break-up (2003)[edit | edit source]

Billy Corgan announced the band had broken up on Chicago's WGN, on September 15, 2003. "I really enjoyed my experience with Zwan, but at the end of the day, without that sense of deeper family loyalty, it just becomes like anything else," Corgan said.[6]

On April 24, 2005 in the Chicago Tribune, Corgan commented briefly on the breakup of the band: "The music wasn't the big problem, it was more their attitude... Sex acts between band members in public. People carrying drugs across borders. Pajo sleeping with the producer's girlfriend while we were making the record."[7]

In the May 27, 2005 edition of Entertainment Weekly, Corgan elaborated on his version of what went wrong:

Pajo denied Corgan's accusations in the same article. "Pretty much everything that he said has been exaggerated and blown out of proportion," he said. "The drug stuff in particular. I know there was sex but no heroin." Adds Lenchantin, "I believe that we were a really good team. I am moving on and onward. I hope that our paths will meet again in peace."

In the same Entertainment Weekly article, Corgan disclosed that things went wrong at some of the very first recording sessions. "...it was like, 'What do you mean the guitar's out of tune? What do you mean I have to be there at 11? What do you mean I can't order $100 of lobster every day?' I mean, like, bad. But it was too late. It was already public. The album was going out. So I did what I always did: try to make the best of a situation and start covering up. Put on a good face. And honestly, I'm glad the thing didn't sell, because if it had sold well it would have been really tough. I would look like I was going to walk away from something that I'd just built."

A decade after Zwan's demise, Corgan's stance would soften regarding performance of its material. He included Zwan songs in a set of mostly Smashing Pumpkins material during a solo show in August 2014[8], and the following year announced a Smashing Pumpkins acoustic tour that would also incorporate Zwan material in its sets.[9] Zwan songs were also featured in Corgan's tour to support his 2017 solo album, Ogilala.[10]

Matt Sweeney, who initiated the band with Corgan, said in 2017, "We had a friendship from before he was famous. One on one, we had a pretty great thing going. We had a great year where we made like a hundred songs. Nobody’s ever heard that stuff. But once it went public, everything was different. I was confused, it started to feel like fulfilling a commitment where the game had changed. It was interesting, I’m still sort of unpacking that experience. We all had to sign confidentiality agreements, so I can’t really talk about it."[11] Pajo was also still negative about the band in 2017.[12]

Musical style[edit | edit source]

Zwan's debut and only album was described as "an efficient exercise in the kind of American alternative rock with big choruses that makes the boys at the front jump up and down."[13] The band's style is mostly pop-oriented and closer to mainstream pop rock, evoking "the candied pop that characterized much of the Pumpkins later work."[14] Nevertheless, the songs also contrast with late Pumpkins material, being described as "bright blast of tuneful guitar rock, as effervescent as the late Pumpkins material was gloomy."[15] In addition to being considered as power pop,[16] the band's work also features guitarist David Pajo's post-rock textures.[17]

Band members[edit | edit source]

Discography[edit | edit source]

Studio albums[edit | edit source]

List of studio albums, with selected chart positions
Title Album details Peak chart positions
US
[18] 		AUS
[19] 		CAN
[20] 		GER
[21] 		IRL
[22] 		ITA
[23] 		NLD
[24] 		NZ
[25] 		SWE
[26] 		UK
[27]
Mary Star of the Sea
  • Released: January 28, 2003 (US)[28]
  • Label: Reprise Records
  • Formats: CD, LP, Mini-Cassette, digital download
 3 6 4 17 10 14 30 10 17 33

Live albums[edit | edit source]

Title Album details
The Hideout: Compilation One
  • Released: 2002
  • Label: Self-released
  • Formats: CD, digital download
The Hideout: Compilation Two
  • Released: 2002
  • Label: Self-released
  • Formats: Digital download

Soundtracks[edit | edit source]

Title Album details
Spun
  • Released: 2003
  • Label: Newmarket Capital Group
  • Formats: DVD

Singles[edit | edit source]

List of singles, with selected chart positions, showing year released and album name
Title Year Peak chart positions Album
US
Bub.
[29] 		US
Alt.
[30] 		AUS
[19] 		CAN
[31] 		GER
[32] 		IRL
[22] 		ITA
[33] 		NLD
[24] 		SWE
[26] 		UK
[34]
"Honestly" 2002 3 7 26 17 86 42 18 92 35 28 Mary Star of the Sea
"Lyric" 2003 — — — — — — — — — 44
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.

Tour history[edit | edit source]

Main article: Zwan tour history

History[edit | edit source]

Year First date Last date No. shows
2001 2001-11-14 2001-12-14 9
2002 2002-03-23 2002-12-19 30
2003 2003-01-19 2003-06-13 69

Tours[edit | edit source]

Tour First date Last date No. shows
The True Poets of Zwan 2001-11-14 2001-11-21 5
Djali Zwan 2001-12-13 2001-12-14 4
Jack Sweeney's Open Mic residency 2002-09-09 2002-11-04 9
Five Nights at the Metro residency 2003-01-19 2003-01-25 5
Mary Star of the Sea 2003-02-01 2003-05-06 43

References[edit | edit source]

  1. ↑ Alderete, Juan (May 12, 2016). "Throwback Thursday: My Audition With Billy Corgan's Zwan". Pedals and Effects. Retrieved November 9, 2017.
  2. ↑ Gawron, Nolan (December 9, 2003). "Papa M." The Weekly Dig. Archived from the original on December 23, 2003.
  3. ↑ Interview with Matt Sweeney. For Your Love DVD, Mary Star of the Sea
  4. ↑ "Dusting 'Em Off : Mary Star of the Sea". Consequenceofsound.net. April 18, 2009. Retrieved August 10, 2018.
  5. ↑ Fricke, David. "Corgan Unplugs Zwan". Rolling Stone, May 23, 2003. Retrieved on September 10, 2007.
  6. ↑ "Corgan Pulls Plug On Zwan". Billboard. September 15, 2003. Retrieved November 9, 2017.
  7. ↑ Kot, Greg (April 24, 2005). "Billy Corgan comes clean, starts over". Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on November 21, 2008. Retrieved September 10, 2007.
  8. ↑ Hyman, Dan (August 31, 2014). "Billy Corgan Continues His Rise at a Rare Acoustic Show". Rolling Stone. Retrieved November 9, 2017.
  9. ↑ Blistein, Jon (April 21, 2015). "Smashing Pumpkins Announce First Acoustic Tour". Rolling Stone. Retrieved November 9, 2017.
  10. ↑ Harris, Gerrod (October 20, 2017). "Spill Live Review: William Patrick Corgan @ The Queen Elizabeth Theatre, Toronto". Spill Magazine. Retrieved November 9, 2017.
  11. ↑ "Matt Sweeney has played guitar for everyone from Iggy Pop to Adele". RNZ. April 21, 2017. Retrieved November 9, 2017.
  12. ↑ Swartz, Tracy. "Billy Corgan's former bandmate compares him to Donald Trump". Chicagotribune.com. Retrieved August 10, 2018.
  13. ↑ "Zwan". The Guardian. February 14, 2003. Retrieved July 27, 2015.
  14. ↑ Garrett, Jon (February 3, 2003). "Zwan - Mary Star of Sea". PopMatters. Archived from the original on February 12, 2008. Retrieved July 27, 2015.
  15. ↑ Dowd, A.A. (April 6, 2015). "The best rock bands of the '00s, from Arcade Fire to Zwan". The A.V. Club. Retrieved July 27, 2015.
  16. ↑ Guarino, Mark (December 8, 2014). "Review: Smashing Pumpkins 'Monuments' Album a Pop Triumph". Chicago Sun-Times. Archived from the original on September 15, 2015. Retrieved July 27, 2015.
  17. ↑ Lewis, Simon (September 12, 2005). "Zwan : London Shepherd's Bush Empire". NME. Retrieved July 27, 2015.
  18. ↑ "Zwan – Chart History: Billboard 200". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved August 1, 2013.
  19. ↑ 19.0 19.1 "Discography Zwan". australian-charts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved August 1, 2013.
  20. ↑ "Zwan – Chart History: Canadian Albums". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved August 1, 2013.
  21. ↑ "Chartverfolgung / Zwan / Longplay". musicline.de (in German). Media Control Charts. Retrieved August 1, 2013.CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link)
  22. ↑ 22.0 22.1 "Discography Zwan". irish-charts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved August 1, 2013.
  23. ↑ "Search for: Zwan". italiancharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved August 1, 2013.
  24. ↑ 24.0 24.1 "Discografie Zwan". dutchcharts.nl. Hung Medien. Retrieved August 1, 2013.
  25. ↑ "Discography Zwan". charts.nz. Hung Medien. Retrieved August 1, 2013.
  26. ↑ 26.0 26.1 "Discography Zwan". swedishcharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved August 1, 2013.
  27. ↑ "Zwan" (select "Albums" tab). Official Charts Company. Retrieved August 1, 2013.
  28. ↑ "Mary Star of the Sea by Zwan". iTunes Store. Apple. Retrieved August 1, 2013.
  29. ↑ "Zwan – Chart History: Bubbling Under Hot 100". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved August 1, 2013.
  30. ↑ "Zwan – Chart History: Alternative Songs". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved August 1, 2013.
  31. ↑ "Zwan - Awards". AllMusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved August 1, 2013.
  32. ↑ "Chartverfolgung / Zwan / Single". musicline.de (in German). Media Control Charts. Retrieved August 1, 2013.CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link)
  33. ↑ "Search for: Zwan". italiancharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved August 1, 2013.
  34. ↑ "Zwan". Official Charts Company. Retrieved August 1, 2013.

External links[edit | edit source]

Retrieved from "https://spcodex.wiki/index.php?title=Zwan&oldid=21853"