| Mike Byrne | |
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Mike Byrne drumming for The Smashing Pumpkins in 2010 |
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| Background information | |
| Born | February 6, 1990 Portland, Oregon, U.S. |
| Genres | Alternative rock |
| Occupations | Musician |
| Instruments | Drums, vocals, keyboards |
| Years active | 2009–present |
| Labels | Independent |
| Associated acts | Smashing Pumpkins Spirits in the Sky |
Michael William Byrne (born February 6, 1990) is the drummer for The Smashing Pumpkins. When Pumpkins frontman Billy Corgan called for rehearsals to replace Jimmy Chamberlin, Byrne auditioned and was chosen out of thousands of applicants. He played drums in Sky Saxon tribute band Spirits in the Sky for 6 shows in August 2009, along with Corgan, Kerry Brown, Kevin Dippold, Mark Tulin, Linda Strawberry, Ysanne Spevack, Mark Weitz, and Dave Navarro, and also will perform drums on the new Pumpkins album, Teargarden by Kaleidyscope. On April 17, 2010, Byrne played his first show under the Smashing Pumpkins moniker in celebration of Record Store Day.[1]
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Byrne grew up in the Portland suburb of Beaverton, Oregon with his parents Eric and Chris Byrne and his sister, Elise Byrne.[2] He started playing the drums regularly at age 12[2] and later played in local bands The Mercury Tree, Bearcubbin'! and Moses, Smell the Roses. He also participated in marching band throughout high school.[3] During high school at Beaverton High School, where he graduated in 2008, he worked at McDonald's to save money for college.[2]
On August 17, 2009, he was officially named as the new drummer for The Smashing Pumpkins.[2][3] The Pumpkins were already one of his favorite bands, with Jimmy Chamberlin among his most influential drummers. His YouTube channel, which he created three years prior to joining that band, had been "MarquisinSpadez", a reference to the song "Marquis in Spades", from the Smashing Pumpkins' Zero EP.[4] In 2011, Mike won best "Up and Coming" drummer in Modern Drummer's Reader's Poll.[5]
Byrne cites some of his influences as The Smashing Pumpkins, The Cure, Maserati, Maps and Atlases, and Pelican and enjoys post-rock and math rock.[6]
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