Jeff Schroeder announces his departure from The Smashing Pumpkins
Jeff Schroeder, guitarist of The Smashing Pumpkins who has played with the band for over 15 years, has announced that he is leaving to pursue a "slightly different path".
Schroeder initially joined the band in 2005 when they reunited, following their split in 2000 after the release of their sixth studio album, Machina II/The Friends & Enemies of Modern Music. The Smashing Pumpkins played a farewell show at The Metro, the same Chicago club where their career had started twelve years earlier.
They came back strong with the 2007 album, Zeitgeist, and although Schroeder wasn't part of the recording process, he did embark on the tour, as a replacement for founding guitarist James Iha, who went on to rejoin the band and play alongside Schroeder.
— The Smashing Pumpkins (@SmashingPumpkin) October 24, 2023
Taking to the band's socials, they shared the news of Schroeder's departure yesterday evening (24 October). "It’s easy to say now that when I joined The Smashing Pumpkins in 2007 I had no idea what I was getting into," Schroeder's statement began. He goes on to say that he was a "huge fan of the band", and therefore threw himself into the audition process.
"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 [Bates] 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," he added.
The band added: "We thank Jeff for his ceaseless dedication to the band and our great fans. Words can not express our gratitude and appreciation for the friend he is".
Jeff Schroeder featured on all of The Smashing Pumpkins albums from 2012's Oceania, to Atum, which was released earlier this year.
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