You may recall that Billy spoke with Terri Hermmert about a 25th anniversary show back in April. We just got an email from a very reliable tipster that the band is considering doing “25th anniversary shows” around October.

The Metro in Chicago seems like an obvious choice for one of the shows. We’ll keep you updated on any more information we may get.

Amazon is reporting that the Smashing Pumpkins will be releasing “Aeroplane Flies High” on July 9th. The price is currently just under $150. No track listing is available at this time.

We imagine a press release should be coming soon.

UPDATE: The Smashing Pumpkins Facebook page just asked fans what their favorite track from the box set is: perhaps a hint of things to come?

Anyways, the list of links has gotten pretty long, with close to 500 links since its creation 1 year ago. With that many links, we have, on occasion, had some issues with Blank Page actually going blank. So we are making some changes.

Starting today, Blank Page will only contain links for the past 2 calendar months and will be followed with links that lead to pages of each previous month. Most likely, you’ll never click through these archives like you would on a picture or tour history archive, but nonetheless, it is there for you.

So woo hoo! 1 year down, plenty more to go.

In a quick Q&A in the Columbus Dispatch, Billy is asked about how he goes about composing a song today, 25 years into the Smashing Pumpkins.

“For me, writing an album is about trying to capture a bigger picture. I rarely write from an insular point of view. Usually, it has some relationship to what’s going on in the culture.

The most personal record I’ve ever made I haven’t released. It’s been sitting in the can since 2004-05. It’s just acoustic, almost all finger-picking, country-style guitar — very folk-driven.

It was sort of a weird time. I was not in a very good label situation. Why am I going to put that out in the machine? It seemed kind of pointless.”

Asked what it’s like working with new bandmates:

“You really have to build your personal relationships. That’s a difficult balance. It’s not as organic as it was, say, in the beginning. You’re not trudging around in a van figuring it out together.

You can only really jell by playing a lot — stressing what’s important about the musical components and being trustworthy with one another.

People couldn’t get over the fact it wasn’t the original lineup. We said, “Yes, we know; come or don’t come.” In their willingness to not shy away, we have been able to build our own credibility — another life under this name.”

Billy feels conflicted that his best known songs are those from the 90′s.

“I think the fact that fans are still interested in that period of music says a lot. It’s great to sit around with your friends and reminisce about a relationship you once had with a girl, but it’s much cooler to reminisce about the relationships you still have.

(Drummer) Mike Byrne joined the band at age 19. I didn’t ask him to play like (past Pumpkins drummer) Jimmy Chamberlin. He has to figure out how to play like himself.

The old songs don’t feel like old warhorses. It’s about playing with contemporary passion.”

When asked: For many, the Pumpkins’ catalog defined their adolescence. How do you process the weight?

“There’s a point where that encouragement really motivates you. You’re trying to tap into that fidelity of emotion. Certainly, songs like Today and Tonight, Tonight have reached some sort of weird other realm. When you play those songs, it’s like you didn’t write them because they take on a life of their own.”

The question then turns to Resistance Pro and how he got involved in that and if he really is “all warm and cuddly now” as he told Columbus Alive last year.

“I’ve probably matured into how I relate with the world. The business has changed a lot. I don’t think anybody really knows what they’re doing.

Success is measured many ways. I have two dogs and two cats. That’s probably one of the greatest joys in my life. I have great friends, people I really count on.

Honestly, it’s not very sage to say, but it’s the little things that matter.”

Before The Aeroplane Flies High box set, there was the Siamese Singles box set.

The Pumpkins’ second album, Siamese Dream (1993) is epic in every way—even in its B-sides. The four singles released in support of Siamese Dream  were packaged in a quadruple 7″ box set titled Siamese Singles in July of 1994. “Cherub Rock” was backed with “Purr Snickety,” “Today” with “Apathy’s Last Kiss,” “Disarm” with “Siamese Dream,” and “Rocket” with “Never Let Me Down.”

The verbiage in the description (as translated by Google) reads:

The resurrection of a giant

One of the most important bands of the 90s is back to make you relive all your successes and also present their latest issues. With this, the group led by vocalist Billy Corgan returns to the musical elite.

In addition the description tells us the concert is 88 minutes long.

Along time promised trailer has been in the works but has yet to materialized for the public. According to Rock Fuel press release the show is set to hit stores June 25th.

“I had an uncle who played drums. He had a fairly progressive record collection in the back of my grandparents’ house. He didn’t want me touching the stereo, but for some reason, my grandmother let me. He had a stack of albums. The first album on was Master of Reality. I was eight-years-old, and I put it on side A. I remember putting the needle down and hearing Tony Iommi coughing. It was “Sweet Leaf”. It was one of those rare moments in my life where time stopped and the sound of those guitars and his voice was the greatest thing I’d ever heard. I started listening to Black Sabbath religiously at the tender age of eight. It has a lot to do with the way I hear music. I still think they’re one of the great all-time bands just for being unique and having such a great sound. They never age. It’s unbelievable. You can put on Sabbath today and they still sound incredibly contemporary. They’re so futuristic. They were so underrated in the ’70s and the ’80s. Only in the ’90s did they really start getting their due.”

Now, Billy is speaking out against California Pizza Kitchen saying, “I have viewed the photos and watched PETA’s investigative video of these procedures, and I was appalled to see young calves who struggled and writhed in pain as searing hot irons burned their heads. The industry has noted that the burns are so severe that they may damage the underlying bone. Other practices, which include using caustic chemicals to eat away at the horn-bud flesh via a chemical burn, are no better. … I strongly urge you to take immediate action to stop this unspeakable barbarism by requiring your suppliers to phase out dehorning.”

During the Atlanta VIP Q&A Billy was asked what he thought the future shows would be like.

Billy explained that the majority of the audience is the mainstream fan. He even pointed out that at a 500 person club the audience still wants greatest hits. Billy said he would like to play shows with fewer “hits”, but that maybe only 10-20% of the fans would want to come to that kind of show.

“But you kinda have to reward that end of the fan base that wants to hear other songs. Not always the same set, in essence. We’d like to do that too. So, we’re talking about doing acoustic touring, non greatest hits type touring, more specialty touring. I was thinking… play 4 songs off every album. So you’re guaranteed to get some deeper cuts.”

Another fan asked if there were any songs that didn’t make an album that he wished had made it.

Billy spoke specifically about Ugly, saying the way they are now playing the song was actually the original intended version. The band ended up not playing that version because Billy thought it sounded too grunge to him and similar to how everyone else was playing at the time.

Watch the full performance from Atlanta here. Thanks to Brian for filming it and sharing it on YouTube

A couple of years ago, Billy worked with Fender to make the “Billy Corgan Strat”. Billy has now announced that he will be working with Gibson USA to make a new Billy Corgan guitar.

No release date is known at this time.