Interview: Mike Garson, Part 2

Pianist Mike Garson performed over one thousand concerts with David Bowie, more than any other person. He joined Bowie’s band for the Ziggy Stardust tour, and played on the Aladdin Sane, Diamond Dogs, and Young Americans albums. He re-entered Bowie’s orbit in the 1990’s, and played on Bowie albums including Outside, Earthling, and Reality. You can hear Garson’s diverse piano skills on Bowie songs ranging from “Aladdin Sane” featuring his avant-garde solo, to “Young Americans” and its Philly soul splendor, to the frenetic “Battle For Britain (The Letter)”

Garson has also recorded and toured with a number of other notable artists, including Nine Inch Nails and The Smashing Pumpkins, and has released a number of solo albums. He has composed over 5,000 pieces of music in virtually every imaginable style.

This interview with Mike Garson was for a preview article for noozhawk.com for the concert “Cancer: The Urgency of Now ” at the Lobero Theatre on 11/2/18. It was done by phone on 10/19/18. It complements a previous interview with Mike Garson, available here.

Concert Review: Smashing Pumpkins

Review of Smashing Pumpkins concert at Lobero Theatre, Santa Barbara, 9/4/10.

Photos: Smashing Pumpkins

Photos from Smashing Pumpkins concert at Lobero Theatre, Santa Barbara, 9/4/10. (L. Paul Mann photos)

Click here for concert review.

Photos: Sunset Strip Music Festival

Photos by L. Paul Mann from Sunset Strip Music Festival, Los Angeles, 8/28/10, featuring Slash, Fergie, Smashing Pumpkins, and more.

Chat: Billy Corgan

Billy Corgan is the lead guitarist and singer for Smashing Pumpkins, one of the best known alternative rock bands which broke through in the 1990’s. Their 1993 album Siamese Dream is widely recognized as one of the best and most influential albums of the decade.

After the phenomenal concert by Billy Corgan and the Spirits in the Sky at Muddy Waters in Santa Barbara on 8/28/09, Corgan was casually chatting with fans outside. Amidst various random questions and people asking him to sign things, some of us in the crowd managed to have a conversation about the music business. Here is a transcript of how it went down: