Jimmy Chamberlin

James Joseph Chamberlin (born June 10, 1964) is an American drummer and record producer. He is best known as the drummer for the alternative rock band the Smashing Pumpkins. Following the 2000 breakup of the band, Chamberlin joined Pumpkins frontman Billy Corgan in the supergroup Zwan and also formed his own current group, the Jimmy Chamberlin Complex.

In late 2005, Chamberlin joined Corgan in reforming Smashing Pumpkins; he eventually left the group in August 2009, though he returned again in 2015 for a summer tour, and has officially performed with the band since then. Following guitarist Jeff Schroeder's departure in October 2023, Chamberlin is the band's second-longest serving member behind Corgan, having served the group across four separate stints. He also performed in the group Skysaw until 2012 and joined Chicago jazz saxophonist Frank Catalano for a string of 2013–15 performances in the Chicago area. An EP by Catalano and Chamberlin Love Supreme Collective was released in 2014.

Chamberlin originally trained as a jazz drummer and cites jazz musicians Benny Goodman, Duke Ellington, Gene Krupa, and Buddy Rich, as well as rock drummers Keith Moon, Ian Paice, and John Bonham as major influences on his technique. He primarily strives for emotionally communicative playing. In 2008, Gigwise named Chamberlin the 5th best drummer of all time. In 2016, Rolling Stone ranked Chamberlin 53rd on their list of "100 Greatest Drummers of All Time".

Early life and education Chamberlin was born in Joliet, Illinois, one of six children in a Catholic family of English and Hungarian ancestry. His father and his older brother Paul were both active in jazz bands, playing clarinet and drums respectively, and his brother Paul is still an active rock drummer, with a local cover band, Chasing Amy.

Chamberlin began drumming at age nine. His early instruction included Latin, Brazilian, and big band techniques, but focused on jazz, under the tutelage of Charlie Adams, known for working with Yanni.

Chamberlin dropped out of high school and left home at age 15 and joined a series of local bands, culminating in a five year stint in local show band JP and the Cats.

Chamberlin made "tons of cash" as a carpenter,

In the midst of the lengthy world tour supporting 1995's multi-platinum Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness, Chamberlin's father died, and his substance abuse hit a fever pitch. Of this period, Chamberlin later said, "I learned that escapism was better than emotion, and that's where I hid... It got to the point that I really didn't care. Life was scary for me." Corgan later told MTV News that Chamberlin had already overdosed on two different occasions during the Mellon Collie tour prior to the July 1996 event, but that the band had managed to keep those situations private.

1998-2000: Return to the Pumpkins In October 1998, Corgan convened a band meeting in which Chamberlin was reinstated as the group's drummer, and the band decided to break up after one more album and tour. The band yielded two albums in 2000, Machina/The Machines of God and the freely distributed Machina II/The Friends & Enemies of Modern Music, before performing a farewell show in Chicago on December 2, 2000.

2001-2006: Zwan and Jimmy Chamberlin Complex Chamberlin formed Zwan in 2001 with Corgan. The drummer predicted, "The band's going to be huge,"

Chamberlin formed Jimmy Chamberlin Complex, in 2004, and released its first studio album, Life Begins Again, in 2005. Chamberlin stated that, with the Jimmy Chamberlin Complex, "I just wanted to make music and not really be constrained to making a Zwan or a Pumpkins record.".

2006-2009: The Smashing Pumpkins Revival Billy Corgan announced at an April 2004 solo performance that he and Chamberlin intended to work together again in the future. After appearing on Life Begins Again, Corgan announced plans to "renew and revive" the Pumpkins through a full-page advertisement in his hometown's newspaper, the Chicago Tribune, on June 21, 2005. Chamberlin contacted Corgan to accept, and on February 2, 2006, MTV.com reported that he and Corgan had signed a new management deal with the Front Line Management, with a spokesperson confirming they had signed under the name "Smashing Pumpkins".

Chamberlin and Corgan, without the other original members, decided to record an album alone. They played their first show in Paris on May 22, 2007, with three new band members. On July 10, the new album, Zeitgeist, was released to strong sales and mixed reviews. Over the next year and a half, the band released more recordings and a documentary and toured extensively.

On March 20, 2009 the Pumpkins' website announced that Chamberlin was leaving the band. Chamberlin released a blog stating that he left as he felt that the band would not further his commitment to music.

2009-2015: Other Projects While giving drum clinics in late 2009, Chamberlin announced his next project, a band called This. Describing the music as 'progressive, symphonic pop' he reported that the band, also including multi-instrumentalists Mike Reina and guitarist Anthony Pirog, would record with Roy Thomas Baker in Washington, D.C. in early 2010. LiveOne Inc. has since partnered with Yahoo, YouTube, Live Nation, AEG, Vans, Phish, C3, Budweiser's Made In America Festival, Umphrey's McGee, among others.

In November 2014 Chamberlin attended Web Summit, Ireland's top tech conference. While there, he spoke of his time with the Smashing Pumpkins as well as on the future of digital music at the Web Summit Centre Stage with Adrian Grenier, Chris Kaskie, and Brian Morrissey. He pointed to digital as the medium for artists to truly express themselves and create art that connects with their fans: "Artists are looking for a destination ... [and] digital gives them the opportunity to realize some of those destinations and package them in a way that allows them to be creative". The follow-up album, released April 7, 2015 called "God's Gonna Cut You Down" debuted at No. 2 on the iTunes Jazz sales chart and was the #1 charting Instrumental album upon its release in April 2015. It reached number 4 on the Billboard Jazz charts. On May 27, 2016, a 3rd collaboration between Catalano and Chamberlin was released called "Bye Bye Blackbird". This record features David Sanborn.

On April 29, 2016, the Jimmy Chamberlin Complex released a new song "Paranoia" via Jimmy Chamberlin's Official Twitter account

2015-Present: Return to Prominence Chamberlin again joined the Smashing Pumpkins as a touring member for the 2015 End Times Tour. Chamberlin remained in the touring line-up for the subsequent "In Plainsong" Tour in 2016

Chamberlin and former guitarist James Iha rejoined on a permanent basis in February 2018, and the band embarked on their reunion tour, the Shiny And Oh So Bright Tour and released an album at the end of 2018, Shiny and Oh So Bright, Vol. 1 / LP: No Past. No Future. No Sun.. Chamberlin further contributed to the albums Cyr (2020), Atum: A Rock Opera in Three Acts (2023), and Aghori Mhori Mei (2024). The band has remained active on the touring circuit since 2018.

Personal life Chamberlin married his wife Lori in 2002. Together they have two children, Audrey (born 2002) and Lucas (born 2007), a competitive gymnast who was diagnosed as an infant with juvenile dermatomyositis (JDM). Chamberlin and his wife have been involved with JDM charities.

Chamberlin's past substance use issues have been well-documented; he drank heavily throughout the early 1990s and a brief period using heroin resulted in the well-publicized 1996 overdose that resulted in Chamberlin's expulsion from the Smashing Pumpkins. He has been "California sober" since 2004. Chamberlin is currently vegan. Chamberlin is also a motorcycle enthusiast and owns a Triumph Bonneville T120. as influences.

Other drummers that influenced Chamberlin around the recording of Zeitgeist included Bobby Caldwell of Captain Beyond, Lalo Schifrin's Dirty Harry soundtrack, Weather Report, and Return to Forever's Lenny White.

Through 2007, Chamberlin rarely used Pro Tools or click tracks, though has embraced both in more recent years. He uses the slide technique for double strokes on the bass drum.

Bandmate Billy Corgan has said of Chamberlin, "he's up there with Bonham, you know, that level of drummer, who has been able to play a variety of music and have his style impact the way people play drums. That's the hallmark of a great drummer. And, right now, I think, pound for pound, he's the best drummer in the world."

Equipment

In 2017 Chamberlin switched from Zildjian cymbals to Istanbul Agop cymbals. In 2018, Chamberlin returned to Yamaha Drums.

As stated by himself in a Modern Drummer interview about his 2022 tour drumkit, Jimmy currently uses Vic Firth Modern Jazz MJC4 Drumsticks.

Discography

The Smashing Pumpkins

1991: Gish 1993: Siamese Dream 1995: Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness 2000: Machina/The Machines of God 2000: Machina II/The Friends & Enemies of Modern Music 2007: Zeitgeist 2018: Shiny and Oh So Bright, Vol. 1 / LP: No Past. No Future. No Sun. 2020: Cyr 2022–2023: Atum: A Rock Opera in Three Acts 2024: Aghori Mhori Mei (2024)

With Frank Catalano 2014: Love Supreme Collective - EP 2015: God's Gonna Cut You Down 2016: Bye Bye Blackbird (with David Sanborn)

Side projects 1998: The Last Hard Men (The Last Hard Men) (limited release 1998, reissue 2001) 2003: Mary Star of the Sea (Zwan) 2005: Life Begins Again (Jimmy Chamberlin Complex) 2011: Great Civilizations (Skysaw) 2011: Prana & Pinda (Shaman Durek) 2017: The Parable (Jimmy Chamberlin Complex) 2020: Honor (Jimmy Chamberlin Complex)

Guest appearances 1994: She Knows Everything (remix) (Medicine) 1997: Starjob (The Frogs) 1997: Boom! Boom! Boom! (The Kelley Deal 6000) 2005: TheFutureEmbrace (Billy Corgan) (appears on "DIA") 2006: Gone (Bill Madden) 2006: Help Yourself Charlie Paxson (appears on "C.Y.T") 2010: Not From Here (Gannin Arnold) (appears on "Not From Here" and "Get On with It") 2010: Metro: The Official Bootleg Series, Volume 1 (appears on "Freedom") 2014: "Tomorrow In Progress" (Tyson Meade)