Although we reported it months ago, 19 year-old Portland native Mike Byrne has been officially named as the Smashing Pumpkins’ new drummer in a press release on smashingpumpkins.com.

The press release goes on to describe Byrne’s initial jam session with Corgan and his reaction after first hearing the Pumpkins a mere six years ago.

“It was a really good time in my life to hear the Pumpkins music when I was 13. It just connected with me and it was sort of a window into something really different and eclectic. The band was a little bit more willing to take risks than a lot of the stuff I had been listening to. That was exciting and fresh to me. And then delving into a lot of it just definitely resonated on a creative level with me.” Byrne had the chance to see the Pumpkins two years ago when they performed on tour in the Portland area.

It’s a shame Byrne never got to see the real Pumpkins and had to settle for Corgan’s watered down Zeitgeist-era version of the alt-rock group.

But now that Byrne is in the fold, he will join Corgan on six solo club dates – all in California – where they’ll also be back by Spirits in the Sky, the Sky Saxon tribute band Billy performed with a few weeks ago.

Finally, the press release does offer this one interesting bit of new information: there will be an announcement next month regarding a new Smashing Pumpkins album. Hurray? I just don’t know anymore.