Jesse Andersen

From SPCodex, The Smashing Pumpkins wiki
Jesse Andersen
InstrumentsTambourine, vocals
Associated actsThe Smashing Pumpkins, Billy Corgan

Jesse Andersen is Billy Corgan's autistic half-brother and the subject of the song "Spaceboy".[1] He has joined The Smashing Pumpkins on stage a number of times over the years, typically playing tambourine or providing vocals. Corgan told Feelnumb.com of him:

Personal life[edit | edit source]

Andersen suffers from cerebral palsy and Tourette syndrome.[3] When he was born, there was belief he wouldn't be able to walk or talk. Corgan, who essentially took a lead role in raising his brother, blasted the doctors at the time who called him a "vegetable." Through a lot of work, Corgan and his family were able to provide a loving home and provide a normal life for him. Corgan would be very protective of Andersen at school. In an interview with the HuffPost, Corgan explained how he would treat him just like his other brother at home, but acknowledged he grew differently than others, influencing him to write "Spaceboy" as Andersen is "kind of kid who comes from some other planet and he's had to figure it out for himself as he's gotten to be a man."[4]

Since the late 90s, he's worked at the Hyatt Corporation, requiring him to take Chicago public transit.

Mugging incident[edit | edit source]

On June 9, 2011, a gang of thieves mugged and attacked Andersen while riding the Chicago subway system. He was listening to Nelly Furtado when a woman stole his iPad, and after he pursued her, he was struck in the face by three other men. Corgan wrote on Twitter of the incident: "My little brother Jesse was attacked and robbed by three men. The bad guys picked the wrong kid to fuck with. He’s OK, but if you want to send him some love."[3] Andersen was interviewed by several local news networks regarding the robbery.

A year later, in retrospect, Corgan told the HuffPost he was not pleased with the "negative" attention he got by the press, but was proud of the show of support from Corgan's fans. "He wants to be in the world. You know, he doesn't want to live on the edges of our society, he wants to be squarely in the middle and have a very real experience and I've seen a transformation in him in the past year," Corgan told the news outlet in an interview.[4]

Wrestling[edit | edit source]

In 2012, Corgan included Andersen in a script for a Resistance Pro Wrestling (Corgan's older wrestling company endeavor before). Corgan said that Andersen, who had watched wrestling with Corgan since childhood, had really wanted to be a "bad guy" on the show. Andersen reportedly thoroughly enjoyed his involvement, with Corgan stating "He hit every note that he had to hit and even improvised a bit."[4]

Interview with Johngy's Beat about Resistance Pro Wrestling

Touring stats

References[edit | edit source]

  1. Miller, Andrew. "He's My Brother". starla.org. Retrieved September 2, 2012.
  2. http://www-.feelnumb.com/2010/01/27/jesse-corgan-billy-corgan-brother-and-inspiration-for-the-song-spaceboy/
  3. 3.0 3.1 "Smashing Pumpkins' Billy Corgan slams thieves over brother's mugging". NME. Retrieved February 10, 2022.
  4. 4.0 4.1 4.2 Drell, Lauren. "Smashing Pumpkins Frontman Billy Corgan Talks His Brother, Wrestling and a New Reality TV Show in the Works". HuffPost. Retrieved February 10, 2022.