Mike Byrne

From SPCodex, The Smashing Pumpkins wiki
Mike Byrne
Mike Byrne—a Caucasian male 21 years old drummer in a black and white photo
Mike Byrne drumming for The Smashing Pumpkins in 2011
Background information
Birth nameMichael William Byrne
Born (1990-02-06) February 6, 1990 (age 33)
Portland, Oregon, United States
ArtistsThe Smashing Pumpkins, Spirits in the Sky
RoleDrums
Years active2009–2014
Other associated actsBearcubbin'![1]
WikipediaMike Byrne (musician)
Instagram@mikebyrnedrums
Twitter@mikebyrnedrums

Michael William Byrne (born February 6, 1990) is a former drummer for The Smashing Pumpkins. When Pumpkins frontman Billy Corgan called for rehearsals to replace Jimmy Chamberlin, Byrne auditioned and was chosen out of thousands of applicants. He played drums in Sky Saxon tribute band Spirits in the Sky for six shows in August 2009, along with Corgan, Kerry Brown, Kevin Dippold, Mark Tulin, Linda Strawberry, Ysanne Spevack, Mark Weitz, and Dave Navarro, and also performs drums on the Pumpkins project, Teargarden by Kaleidyscope. As a part of Teargarden, Mike contributed drumming duties on Oceania, the Pumpkins' eighth full-length album. On April 17, 2010, Byrne played his first show under the Smashing Pumpkins moniker in celebration of Record Store Day.[2]

On June 13, 2014, Billy Corgan reported that Byrne had left the band.[3]

The Smashing Pumpkins[edit | edit source]

Byrne drumming with the Smashing Pumpkins in 2010

On August 17, 2009, he was officially named as the new drummer for the Smashing Pumpkins.[4][5] The Pumpkins were already one of his favorite bands, with Jimmy Chamberlin among his most influential drummers. Byrne's YouTube channel, which he created three years prior to joining the band, had been "MarquisinSpadez", a reference to the song "Marquis in Spades", from the Smashing Pumpkins' Zero EP.[6]

In 2011, Byrne won best "Up and Coming" drummer in Modern Drummer's Reader's Poll.[7]

In June 2014, Billy Corgan reported that Byrne had left the band.[8]

Musical influences[edit | edit source]

Byrne cites some of his influences as The Cure, Maserati, Maps and Atlases, and Pelican. He enjoys post-rock and math rock.[9]

Discography[edit | edit source]

With the Smashing Pumpkins

Touring stats

References[edit | edit source]

  1. "Get Your Heavies Out | Bearcubbin'!". Bearcubbin.bandcamp.com. August 6, 2011. Retrieved 2012-06-15.
  2. "Watch: Smashing Pumpkins v3.5 on Record Store Day".
  3. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on July 15, 2014. Retrieved 2014-06-13.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  4. White, Ryan (September 17, 2009). "Beaverton 19-year-old goes from McDonald's employee to Smashing Pumpkins drummer". The Oregonian. Retrieved 2009-09-18.
  5. Kreps, Daniel (August 18, 2009). "Rock & Roll Daily: Smashing Pumpkins' Drummer Announced, Corgan Hints At Album". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on August 21, 2009.
  6. Mike Byrne's YouTube account.
  7. "2011 Modern Drummer Readers Poll". Vater Percussion. Archived from the original on July 27, 2011. Retrieved June 8, 2011.
  8. Camp, Joe (June 15, 2014). "Smashing Pumpkins Drummer Mike Byrne Leaves Band". Pitchfork. Retrieved June 16, 2014.
  9. "Musicfest NW: Q&A with Beaverton local Mike Byrne, Smashing Pumpkins drummer".

See also[edit | edit source]

External links[edit | edit source]