Zwan

Zwan was an American alternative rock supergroup that was formed by members of The Smashing Pumpkins, Slint, Chavez, and A Perfect Circle. Zwan was started in late 2001 by Billy Corgan, lead singer and guitarist of The Smashing Pumpkins, after the Pumpkins disbanded in December 2000, and the band itself. Zwan released only one album, entitled Mary Star of the Sea. Zwan disbanded after their 2003 world tour.

Following the breakup of the Smashing Pumpkins, Corgan and drummer Jimmy Chamberlin joined forces with Matt Sweeney (formerly of the bands Chavez and Skunk) to start Zwan. Corgan had been friends with Sweeney since early in his career and was thanked in the liner notes to The Smashing Pumpkins album Siamese Dream. Sweeney recruited David Pajo (member of Slint, Papa M., Stereolab and many Drag City Records acts) as a bassist, and the band debuted as a four-piece in late 2001.

Paz Lenchantin completed Zwan in spring 2002, at which time Pajo switched to guitar duties. Zwan initially played low-key shows in California, while slowly touring in small clubs throughout 2001 and 2002. Their first large-scale performance was at WKQX's Jamboree Festival in May 2002, in the Chicago area. Most songs they played during this era did not make it onto their album, which came as a surprise to many fans.

Zwan had two different incarnations. The first, and more common, version, the True Poets of Zwan, used an intricate three-guitar attack to craft a sound often compared to that of the Smashing Pumpkins album Siamese Dream, albeit more melodic and shot through with an upbeat gentleness. Jimmy Chamberlin's frenetic drumming furthered the Siamese Dream comparison.

Paz Lenchantin's bass technique was considerably more elaborate than that employed by D'Arcy Wretzky in Smashing Pumpkins albums, particularly in the song "Settle Down," which Lenchantin co-wrote. This incarnation of the band also made extensive use of backup vocals, by Lenchantin and Matt Sweeney. Zwan's only album, Mary Star of the Sea, is attributed to the True Poets of Zwan in the liner notes.

Djali Zwan, an acoustic incarnation of Zwan, which also featured cellist Ana Lenchantin, was to film and record the making of a new album in the studio in the fall of 2003, with an album and DVD to be issued in early 2004. Corgan spoke with Rolling Stone about his plans: "We're going to do it Let It Be-style," Corgan said, referring to the documentary about the 1970 Beatles album. "The album would be recorded live, with the cameras rolling. When you get the DVD, you can watch the takes on the album being done." He described the songs he'd written for Djali Zwan as "more folk-driven, rooted in traditional music. I don't want to compromise veins of material to fit into an electric band, which I often did in the Pumpkins. With Djali Zwan, I can write an acoustic song and not worry how it's going to stand up against some rock epic."

Djali Zwan made their live debut as a quartet -- Corgan, Sweeney, Pajo and Chamberlin -- at the end of 2001; Paz Lenchantin joined the two Zwans in '02. But the roots of Djali Zwan go back to Corgan's last years with the Pumpkins, who broke up in December 2000. Corgan had been writing material adapted from old folk and gospel songbooks. From that came new originals such as "Friends and Lovers," "Love Lies in Ruins" and "Rivers We Can't Cross," all slated for the abandoned album.

"We're not trying to be country blues," Corgan said of Djali Zwan. "But Djali Zwan is its own thing, a totally separate band. It would be exciting if we could pull this off." The Djali Zwan album never came to be, but several studio Djali Zwan tracks did appear on True Poets of Zwan releases - specifically, the "Honestly" and "Lyric" singles. Some of their songs can be heard in the soundtrack of the movie Spun, directed by Jonas Akerlund.

After the initial press junket surrounding the release of Mary Star of the Sea, fractures became apparent within the band. In June 2003, Zwan cancelled most of its scheduled European tour. Not long after, Dave Pajo embarked on a solo tour as Papa M, and Paz Lenchantin formally left Zwan to join him.

Billy Corgan announced Zwan had broken up on Chicago's WGN, on September 15, 2003. "I really enjoyed my experience with Zwan, but at the end of the day, without that sense of deeper family loyalty, it just becomes like anything else," Corgan said. "Our attitude in the Pumpkins was, it was a do or die proposition, and that got us through all the hard times we went through, particularly with the Pumpkins where we had two members with serious drug problems."

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