Billy Corgan to release music from The Germs on new label

Posted by bryne on Friday, January 8, 2010 at 5:30 PM (EST)

Billy Corgan of Smashing Pumpkins has launched an as-yet-unnamed label with Pumpkins producer Kerry "Studio Dog" Brown, and one of the artists tapped to release material through the label is legendary LA punks The Germs. According to Brown, the label will be releasing two songs that late frontman Darby Crash wrote with guitarist Pat Smear in 1980. Actor Shane West, who portrayed Crash in the Germs biopic What We Do is Secret, will be handling vocal duties for the songs.

More info is available here.

Bands in this story

The Germs

News (40 comments)

Please login or register to post comments.What are the benefits of having a Punknews.org account?

Share your opinion by posting comments on the stories that interest you
Rate music and bands and help shape the weekly top ten
Let Punknews.org use your ratings to help you find bands and albums you might like
Customize features on the site to get the news the way you want.

Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not respon sible for them in any way. Seriously.

A_Lan (January 8, 2010)

Billy Corgan really really? You have done enough, like really.

But as for the 2 songs that seems sorta interesting, i have yet to see What We Do is Secret, so I dont really know how good Shane West is at sounding like Darby, but hopefully the songs will be great.

MisFit4Me (January 8, 2010)

He's surprisingly good at it.

kraf999 (January 9, 2010)

hes good but the movie wasnt nething special

ZachLeg (January 9, 2010)

i hate how the movie made him out to be this intellectual, misunderstood artist when really he was a crazy insecure junkie who couldn't go on stage without drinking 10 beers and doing a bunch of coke

kram1234 (January 9, 2010)

anyoen can sound like darby.... its stupid to release new songs.

cbsrocksteady (January 8, 2010)

It really blows my mind that the guy from a walk to remember is the new Darby Crash

Dante3000 (rich) (January 8, 2010)

I'm going to be the "punk asshole": He played Darby, he will not be the "new" Darby. I know it's what you meant but that sentence made me die a little.

Rowan187 (January 8, 2010)

As much as I disapprove of bands like Germs and Sex Pistols re-forming (they had their moment to shine), it will be nice to hear some new Germs material. I own "What We Do Is Secret", and can say I do approve of Shane West as the new singer.. It's just a little awkward..

lookingforcorpses (January 8, 2010)

So you're cool with an actor, "acting" the part of the singer. You'd have been OK if the Pistols had gotten Johnny Depp to pretend to be Sid?

americanriot (January 8, 2010)

why not, atleast then the bass player would be upright and actually playing. though he'd have to shave that stupid facial hair...

veganboyjosh (January 8, 2010)

gary oldman ftw.

jeremythunder (January 9, 2010)

johnny depp knows how to play bass, so yes

mattramone (January 8, 2010)

Who? Overrated hack pimps out legacy of other hack.

LA needs to fall into the ocean immediately.

szechwan_platypus (January 8, 2010)

I would rather see it overrun by bus-sized irradiated mutant ants, but that's just me.

ryang (January 9, 2010)

Learn to swim.

americanriot (January 8, 2010)

LA cannot sink until I am done doing my biddings there...January 20th!

only 7 days until i see the Pee-wee Herman show! I am the luckiest boy alive!

RedElephant (January 9, 2010)

dont let him touch your naughty bits.

hobbzoid (January 8, 2010)

"Golden Boys" and ?

88fingerstonytherevenge (January 8, 2010)

travesty

it would be like getting ewan mcgregor to do a new Stooges album if Iggy died.

jesuswasacommunist (January 8, 2010)

Good analogy.

88fingerstonytherevenge (January 8, 2010)

my girlfriend made me watch velvet goldmine, i might as well use it somewhere.

JayTee (January 8, 2010)

About all the complaining; Darby gave up his vote when he offed himself!

mattbeall (January 8, 2010)

For some reason this pisses me off. I never even really liked The Germs, but, c'mon, just fucking leave it for christ's sake.

RobbyKills (January 8, 2010)

gross

AndyPonch (January 9, 2010)

I'll never forget when I interviewed Billy Corgan on the Gish tour YEARS ago, where he blatantly said he hated punk like The Effigies and Naked Raygun and instead was into Urge Overkill. I'm fine with all of that, but don't try to pretend you're into the Germs because I don't buy that for a second. There is nothing about the Smashing Pumpkins music that says punk rock, not even their early "I Am One" 7", it was grunge/post-psychedelic all the way.

darbystrummer77 (January 9, 2010)

this.

XHenkkaX (January 9, 2010)

So you've stuck with all your opinions your whole life? People change, you know. There's a bunch of people in this very site who weren't into punk rock YEARS ago.

AndyPonch (January 9, 2010)

I don't think Billy Corgan changed from being an arrogant "punk sucks" prick into someone who loves the Germs. I find that to be complete bullshit yes.

AndyPonch (January 9, 2010)

I could realistically see Eddie Vedder putting this out way before Billy Corgan.

ZachLeg (January 9, 2010)

Joan Jett should put it out

AndyPonch (January 10, 2010)

Absolutely, would make much more sense.

XHenkkaX (January 14, 2010)

Eddie wore a Descendents t-shirt on Into The Wild DVD extras, I was stoked.

raveneffect (January 9, 2010)

Fuck this.

hankmurphy (January 9, 2010)

im not against the remaining germs making music, but they are playing songs written by darby sung by a person pretending to be darby and darby is dead. that is pretty fucked up. next thing you know sublime will be reforming.... oh wait

nick_s (January 10, 2010)

After the sublime thing this doesn't seem that weird. Pretty sad really.

ZachLeg (January 10, 2010)

I think its really sad on the "actual" Germs part. Shane West is just another actor playing a role. Hes just doing his job. Pat Smear and the rest of them should have the decency to not go through with it.

joeg (January 9, 2010)

from the douchebag putting it out to the actor protraying Darby and playing/acting as Darby on stage and now recording Germs songs, this idea screams horrible in every single aspect. what a disgrace.

TheMike (January 9, 2010)

I can't wait for Joaquin Phoenix to record the new Johnny Cash album.

xmadcowx (January 10, 2010)

solid

ZachLeg (January 10, 2010)

I can't wait for Gary Busey to record the new Buddy Holly album.