Smashing Pumpkins Throw Out First Pitch at Chicago’s Wrigley Field, Billy Corgan Returns to ‘PAWS’ Cover
Smashing Pumpkins are making the promotional rounds while venturing out on the "Shiny and Oh So Bright" tour. On Sunday (Aug. 12), that meant a hometown appearance for the Chicago Cubs, throwing out the first pitch and later taking part in the 7th Inning stretch at Wrigley Field.
Four members of the Smashing Pumpkins' touring outfit -- Billy Corgan, Jimmy Chamberlin, James Iha and Jack Bates -- took their place on the mound before Sunday's nationally televised ESPN game against the Washington Nationals, with Chamberlin doing the honors of throwing the first pitch. All four band members were sporting their own personalized Cubs jerseys.
Later in the evening, Billy Corgan led the crowd in "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" during the 7th inning stretch. For years, led by the late broadcaster Harry Caray, the performance became a favorite at Cubs games, and when Harry's health turned for the worst, special guests started turning up to lead the seventh inning stretch song. Corgan joins a long list of name performers taking on the baseball classic at games. See photos and video posted below.
In other Smashing Pumpkins news, Billy Corgan has returned to the cover of Chicago's PAWS magazine for its 20th anniversary. In the new cover, Corgan, Chloe Mendel and son Augustus appear with two of Corgan's cats. "We are so thrilled and honored to celebrate @pawschicago 20th Anniversary with this cover shoot. We LOVE being a part of the PAWS family, and meet so many in Chicago who, like us, have chosen to adopt. Pictured here with Augustus, @chloemendel and I are Angelface and Diamondbaby, both rescues who came from the worst of circumstances, and because of PAWS' tireless efforts, are now treasured members of our family," said Corgan in the posting below.
Corgan made headlines for his first appearance on a PAWS cover back in 2014, with the singer being mocked by TV host Anderson Cooper in his "Ridiculist" segment. The singer later responded, "I think it said everything about the fact that people don’t read beyond headlines, this hipster-based thing of ‘look how far he’s fallen, he’s fallen to doing cat magazines.' The fact that no one on his staff even bothered to Google it — because there’s no way they would have ran that [segment] if they knew it was for charity."
He went on to add, "You are literally the piñata of the day, which is why the Anderson Coopers don’t stand for anything — they’re nothing more than ambulance chasers. And the great irony that in a four-day cycle, he interviewed the Foo Fighters, then tore into me for being on the cover of a cat magazine. Foo Fighters, value; Billy, piñata. But the more people who treat me like piñata, the more strength I have. My credibility becomes almost unassailable. Because I’ve made mistakes, and I admit them, you cannot fuck with me on my record. Or on my records. How do you explain someone like me? Your math formulas just don’t work."
To learn more about PAWS Chicago, click here.
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