Members of Kill Hannah posted on Facebook and Twitter this morning that their van – along with their trailer, gear, and merch – was stolen overnight from their Philadelphia hotel parking lot.   (Update: Official press release for Kill Hannah’s stolen gear, including descriptions.)  While a traumatic experience regardless, this comes little over a year after a bus fire claimed all of the band’s personal possessions while on tour in Europe.  At that time, their trailer was spared.

Philadelphia has hardly shown brotherly love to visiting musicians of late.  Band Mae were also recently victims of a similar crime – likely by the same responsible party, as the thefts occurred at the same hotel.

It seems lately that every month the blogosphere passes around the story of a band whose fifteen-passenger van and white trailer made them a sitting duck for someone trying to make a quick profit: Anberlin,  Poison The Well, A Static Lullaby, Men Women And Children, as well as many lesser-known acts.

Aside from pricey equipment and auto parts, however, these thieves are stealing livelihoods.  Many touring musicians carry literally everything they own with them on tour.  (Surely people who own more than 3 outfits would wear them – right?)  They may not even have a permanent residence, using their parents’ house or crashing with friends in between tours.  It gives one something to think about when debating whether or not to drop $10 on a band’s CD, or if that T-shirt is really worth it.

Bands give up a lot to tour and entertain.  A certain amount of hardship comes with the choice of an artist’s life, but it seems especially unfair when circumstances happen to make things that much more difficult.

Fans are usually the first to leap to action to help their beloved bands.  As they did last October, Kill Hannah fans are collecting donations to help the band replace their gear.  Mae also set up a donation link to help offset costs to replace their van and trailer.

Kill Hannah are still going forward with plans for their annual New Heart For Xmas show as well.

I admire the bands who have pressed on through these calamities, playing on borrowed gear and trusting the generosity of friends, family, and fans to replace the material things.   It’s much harder to replace the security and trust that is broken when something like this happens.

Having eschewed the idea of releasing albums in favor of new, alternative methods of music distribution, the Smashing Pumpkins have released their latest song as the soundtrack to a commercial for the Hyundai Genesis.  The commercial premiered before the kickoff to the Super Bowl on Sunday.

Years into the digital music era, artists are still struggling to figure out how to make a living off their creations.  They have experimented with everything from stringent digital copyright protection to giving away music for free.  The Pumpkins have moved to what some may consider the bleeding edge of the music distribution model: releasing songs via new media (or mass media).

Some say the model is nothing new, and it has a name:  selling out.

Who wants honey / as long as there’s some money?

Corgan has already been attacked for the band’s direction as far as music releases go, with their decision to release their single “G.L.O.W.” as part of the new “Guitar Hero: World Tour.”  A lot of observers seem to have a difficult time resolving the Pumpkins’ desire to push forward in new directions while still capitalizing on the cachet they retain from their past successes.

At times, Corgan seems to struggle with resolving the two himself, alternating between cursing fans for failing to respect the band and its direction and earnestly pleading the band’s case for its choices.  He uses the monumental success of their mid-90s work as evidence that they know what they’re doing, then at other times is dismissive of it, saying in one interview that “We spun a roulette wheel and we got it right.”

Come align for the big fight / to rock for you

Having grown weary of battling record labels, bandmates, and anyone else who has complicated his creative life, Corgan and his new compatriots seem determined to blaze a new path through uncharted territory, even if it means going to war with Pumpkins fans themselves.

Corgan recently told the Chicago Tribune:

Our primary function now is to be a singles band, that drives Pumpkins Inc. through singles. We’ll still be creative, but in a different form. We won’t do shows like this anymore, where we try to draw a good crowd and balance the past with the present. We’ll go small and do exactly what we want to do and stop playing catalogue. We’ll be like a new band that can’t rely on old gimmicks. [. . .]  We don’t want a pat on the back: Good to have you back. We want a reaction, even if it’s a negative reaction.

Those fans are more than ready for what Corgan wants to offer:  music delivered in ways that are meaningful to them.  Fans will pay for what they perceive to be value (which generally means more than “just” music–they want a full “experience”), but as they’ve shown, they will quite vocally walk away when they feel they aren’t getting their money’s worth.

“Our intention is to work within popular [media] to bring counterculture, radical ideas into the mainstream,” Corgan said.  The mainstream is obviously receptive; the only question that remains is whether Corgan’s message is the one they’re waiting to hear.

The best things in life…

The Pumpkins got a payday, but it doesn’t have to come from your pocket.  For the price of an email address, you can download  F.O.L., courtesy of the Hyundai Genesis.

And if you missed it, check out the commercial here.

And one more thing.

I owe a special thanks to miss Julie M. T. for guiding me into and through all things Smashing Pumpkins.  Check out her poetry, cultural insights, and saga-in-many-parts about meeting Mr. Corgan himself at Gossip and the Devil.