Spirits in the Sky

Spirits in the Sky is a casual supergroup led by Billy Corgan, frontman of The Smashing Pumpkins. The band convened, initially, in July 2009 to perform at a memorial concert for the late Sky Saxon of The Seeds. The band played three songs - a cover of "Spirit in the Sky" by The Seeds, and a new Smashing Pumpkins song called "Freak". The lineup at that show was Corgan (guitar), Kerry Brown (drums/percussion), Mike Byrne (drums), Kevin Dippold (guitar/vocals), Mark Tulin (bass), and Mark Weitz (keyboards).

In August 2009, the band went on tour, this time adding violinist Ysanne Spevack, singer Linda Strawberry, and Jane's Addiction guitarist Dave Navarro. Dippold switched to primarily playing flute. The band played six shows in California, playing songs Corgan had written for the new Smashing Pumpkins album, Teargarden by Kaleidyscope, as well as covers of songs by The Seeds, Pink Floyd, The Velvet Underground, Jethro Tull, Quicksilver Messenger Service, and others.

In September 2009, work commenced on Teargarden by Kaleidyscope in Chicago, with Corgan joined by Brown, Byrne, Dippold, Spevack, Tulin, and perhaps others. Three of the four songs on the first EP of Teargarden by Kaleidyscope, "Widow Wake My Mind," "A Stitch in Time," and "Astral Planes" were debuted at Spirits in the Sky shows.

In October 2009, a one-off benefit show by a band called Backwards Clock Society, composed of Corgan, Brown, and Tulin, was announced. The performance took place at The Echoplex in Los Angeles on November 8, 2009.

Corgan has said there are demos of Spirits in the Sky songs, but not with the core lineup of musicians, and that rehearsal demos with the full band may exist.

Lineup

 * Kerry Brown – percussion, drums
 * Mike Byrne – drums
 * Billy Corgan – vocals, guitar
 * Kevin Dippold – vocals, flute, guitar
 * Dave Navarro – guitar
 * Ysanne Spevack – violin
 * Linda Strawberry – vocals
 * Mark Tulin – bass
 * Mark Weitz – keyboards