I was a top Noughties rocker but I traded fame to go back to uni and study
THE Smashing Pumpkins musician now has his head in the books.
The iconic noughties rock group first emerged out of Chicago in 1988 and went on to snag two Grammy Awards, two MTV VMAs, and an American Music Award.
With varying line-ups over the years, the band is currently made up of Billy Corgan, Jimmy Chamberlin, and James Iha.
But the band’s former guitarist (joining in 2007) Jeff Schroeder, has pursued quite a different line of work.
Back in 2014, Schroeder was finishing up his PhD in comparative literature at the University of California in Los Angeles, when he was asked to join the band.
The former rocker specialised in Asian American literature, Francophone literature, and critical theory.
Back in October, the music lover announced he would be leaving the band and hinted at returning to his roots.
Writing to the bands official Facebook page, he explained: “It’s easy to say now that when I joined The Smashing Pumpkins in 2007 I had no idea what I was getting into.
“The opportunity seemed to have come out of nowhere. I was at UCLA working on my doctorate in comparative literature when a close friend messaged me and said The Smashing Pumpkins were looking for a guitar player.”
He went on to say: “It was one of the best decisions I’ve made in my life. The amount of incredible memories created over the last 16 years with the band are almost too numerous to quantify.
“Although it was a very difficult decision to make, I’ve decided to leave the band to make some space to explore a slightly different path. I want to thank Billy, Jimmy, James, and Jack for being both wonderful bandmates and even better friends. I will absolutely miss sharing the stage with you. I wish the band all the success in the future. I will be watching and listening.”
In October, the band also announced that they would be embarking on a co-headline tour with Weezer, across the UK and Ireland.
The two legendary bands will be hitting the road together in summer 2024, kicking things off at Birmingham’s Utilita Arena, and wrapping up their tour at Cardiff Castle.