The Smashing Pumpkins’ call for new guitarist gets “over 10000” applicants

US alt-rock band The Smashing Pumpkins have revealed that they have been massively inundated with applications after announcing earlier this month that they were looking for a new guitarist following the departure of longtime guitarist Jeff Schroeder.

“The band has received over 10,000 submissions for the position of additional guitarist“, Smashing Pumpkins revealed in a social media post on Tuesday. “Currently, there are 8 people working full-time to review each and every one.“

Last October, Schroeder announced his departure from the American band. The 49-year-old musician, who had been with the Billy Corgan-fronted outfit for 16 years, released a statement via the band’s social media, in which he said:

“It’s easy to say now that when I joined The Smashing Pumpkins in 2007 I had no idea what I was getting into. The opportunity seemed to have come out of nowhere. I was at UCLA working on my doctorate in comparative literature when a close friend messaged me and said The Smashing Pumpkins were looking for a guitar player.

Being a huge fan of the band, the audition was something I threw myself into. 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 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.“