The Smashing Pumpkast

Zwan Zeason is finally going into hibernation and in this special Bonus Pumpkast episode, listeners chime in with what they love about ZWAN! Frank and Pat also give their final thoughts (for now) on the band, the moment and the surprisingly extensive body of work left behind by the jolly band of true poets. Thanks to listeners Dean Shaffer, Matthew Matenaer, Reggie Chamberlain-King, Hugo Rios, Auz...

Zwan Zeason is almost over, and today we're excited to present a very special episode covering some key, remaining "Oddz 'N' Endz" from Zwan's unofficial, unreleased catalogue. We had almost 50 songs to chose from! Needless to say, we were overwhelmed and turned to our Patreon members and social media followers to help us narrow it down (you're the best, Pumpkinheads!). We tallied the votes, crunc...

While we put the finishing touches on Zwan Zeason, we decided to catch back up with Katie Cole to talk about her new single " Dreams of Mine " (and how it speaks to being an artist), virtual shows, "The Uncomfortable Zone", manifesting more cats, being open to the future and staying true to the art you can be proud of. She also gives us a tiny peek behind the curtain (as much as she can) of her wo...

It's the Djali Zwan album (and official movie soundtrack) that could've been! Today on the 'kast we're talkin' the unreleased, technically unofficial soundtrack to the 2002 Jonas Åkerlund film, Spun , which consists primarily of an impressive collection of original and cover songs performed by the Djali Zwan.  Joining us to talk about these tracks and the film is Matt Billington ( Phantom Han...

We're kicking off 2022 with the penultimate, climactic installment of Zwan Zeason, our coverage of the one and ONLY official full-length Zwan album, MARY STAR OF THE SEA ! Joining us is a great old friend of ours (and unofficial Pumpkast producer), comedy writer, music journalist and Zwan enthuziast, Alex Scordelis ( The Cinnamon Boys , Paper Magazine , writer for Difficult People and Billy on the...

[The following audio is from a Zoom session. Audio may not be as clear as usual] Another year come and gone in Pumpkinland!  Joining Frank (since Pat is still Holiday travelin' on the East Coast) to talk about all the Corgan/Pumpkin highlights of 2021 are some wonderful Patreon members: Will Alexander , Pamela Fisher , Steve Foley , David Jepsen , Christian Perez , Faith Tyler and Justin Wils...

Zeason's Greetings! We're kicking off Zwan Zeason with a lil' introduction to the band and its history, and then cover their "first official, ticketed show," which took place at The Glass House in Pomona, CA on November 16th, 2001 (listen to it HERE ).  We of course get right into the impressive musical pedigrees of each individual band member, our personal connections to their various pre- a...

Just in time for your Thanksgiving travels (or to keep you company as you actively avoid the family) it's time to feast on Judas O ! Gather 'round the Pumpkast table as guest Matthew Legard  ( The Colourflies ) helps us tackle this delicious b-sides collection and spiritual sister to Pisces Iscariot . We speculate on questions like: What's the meaning behind the titles "Marquis In Spades" and...

To fulfill their contractual obligations, the Pumpkins' final (at the time) release was a compilation album entitled Rotten Apples: The Smashing Pumpkins Greatest Hits, with some copies being sold with an additional b-sides collection entitled Judas Ø (a spiritual sister to 1994's Pisces Iscariot) . In this episode, with help from our special guest Matthew Legard  ( The Colourflies ), we'll b...

[This episode is audio from our YouTube Zoom Roundtable video which you can watch in full HERE ] Frank and Pat are joined by guests Mandy Dayton , Melissa Moore and John LaMantia who share their experiences attending one (or five) of the recent "WPC Early Years: 1985-1990" shows at Pumpkinhead hub/friendly neighborhood teahouse, Madame ZuZu's in Highland Park, Illinois. The place where you were bo...

It was to be the FINAL performance of The Smashing Pumpkins. An emotional night and return back to where it all started, the Cabaret Metro. While Frank and Pat weren't fortunate enough to attend the show, through the miracle of technology and a VERY crowd-noise-heavy bootleg, they transport themselves back to December 2nd, 2000 (two days before Pat's 17th birthday -- the very EDGE of 17...) to dis...

[This episode is audio from our YouTube video which you can watch HERE .] Frank and Pat couldn’t make it to the long-awaited, triumphant return of The Smashing Pumpkins in concert (and live music in general, and moshing!?), but our guest field correspondent Pamela Fisher is here to share her experiences from both festivals. The good, the beard, the loud and the "QUIET!" Follow us on the socials! T...

It's another listener appreciation episode ! Today we (raindrops + sun)shower praise on Machina and Machina II ! Pumpkast listeners share with us what they love about these once underrated but now appreciated and beloved albums.  Thanks to Kim Rosas, Stephen Patrick Kelly, Justin Reeves, Faith Tyler, Will Alexander, Tony Bacigalupi, David G., Scott from South Australia, Evangelina S. and...

Well, we always get a little melancholy on the last day of summer... but the last day of MACHINA SUMMER never felt so cold! We conclude our discussion of the Machina II EPs with Alan Passman ( When The Pain Starts ), covering EP THREE (CR-03) aka "the alt/counter-versions EP." We talk about the epic bones of “If There Is A God,” the "1979" and Fountains of Wayne-like quirk of the alternate version...

Aaaand.... we're back! We continue our in-depth discussion of the Machina II EPs with Alan Passman ( When The Pain Starts ), covering EP TWO (CR-02) . This installment takes us into the spiritual connection of "Soul Power," "Lucky 13" gets us going about Jason Takes Manhattan and we ponder a "Speed Kills"/ Monuments To An Elegy connection. We also discuss the misguided criticism of the grandiosity...

Fall is right around the corner, but Machina Summer ain't over yet! Today we're covering the Machina II EPs , starting with EP One (CR-01) . Joining us to talk about all three EPs is musician, writer and longtime Pumpkinhead Alan Passman (author of When The Pain Starts ), who tells us about the "Stand Inside Your Love"-inspired poem and artwork from his new graphic novel and what the song and band...

Released for free on the Internet (ever heard of it?) in September of 2000, The Smashing Pumpkins' sixth and "final" studio album, MACHINA II/The Friends and Enemies of Modern Music was an unconventional release, born of resistance from the record label to the idea of a grand Machina double album and an instinct to lean into the new phenomenon of digital file sharing rather than fight it. Despite...

It's Part Two of our Machina/The Machines of God deep dive! In this episode we go deep into the maturation of the band's jangly, goth, pre-Gish sound into something thick and powerful, the 80's Pop Rock of "The Imploding Voice," and some seeds of CYR to come. We also discuss the Bowie Scary Monsters influence, the beautiful inspiration behind "With Every Light," and Frank's "Crying Tree of Mercury...

It was the end of The Smashing Pumpkins (for a while, of course). In 2000, the band announced their breakup and released what was to be their final album, Machina/The Machines of God . A loosely conceptual album that got buried in a time of TRL Teen Pop and Nü Metal, over the years Machina has gained the respect and admiration (we believe) it deserves. In Part 1 of our 2-part coverage of "Machina...

In this Bonus mini-episode, Pumpkast listeners who attended "The Arising! Tour" share their firsthand accounts. Thanks to Adam B., Julie R., David K., Zwee, Art A., Andrew R., Glenn G and Brian for sharing!  Follow us on the socials! Twitter @PumpkinsPodcast Instagram: @smashingpumpkast e-mail: thesmashingpumpkast@gmail.com Please rate and review us!

DJ and Filmmaker Peter Makebish tagged along with the Pumpkins on their 9-date Arising! Tour and filmed every show – as well as lots of candid behind-the-scenes footage never before seen by the Pumpkinhead public. As he watched through the tapes, he realized he had a potential documentary on his hands. 20-plus years later, the footage MIGHT finally see the light of day.  Peter takes us throug...

We're kicking off "Machina Summer" with a hot one! In 1999, The Smashing Pumpkins took a break from recording Machina: The Machines of God to embark on a nine-date US tour dubbed " The Arising!". It seemed like a triumphant moment in SP history, with Jimmy's return marking the first time all four original members had played together since 1996. The short, small-venue tour also gave the band a chan...

It's another installment of our listener chats, Pumpkinheads, and joining us this time is indie musician and artist Huron John ! We discuss how his work is influenced by the Pumpkins, keeping the DIY ethos alive, and what it's like being a "Gen Z" Pumpkins fan (and the ridiculousness of these generational labels). We also delve into the inner workings of Spotify and the new gatekeepers of today's...

It's our first trip into chatting with Pumpkast listeners! Today we have musician and illustrator Stephen Patrick Kelly ( The Heirs of the Supernova , Have Strat Will Travel , Shane Longshadow is Hungry ) on the show to discuss how he came to SP, the diverse makeup of their fanbase, Pumpkin tattoos and the similarities Billy shares with Superman in The Justice League comics. We also discuss respec...

Happy Gish-aversary, Pumpkinheads ! This past weekend Billy and Jimmy celebrated 30 years of Gish with a live listening party/Q&A at the rockin-est tea house in America, Madame ZuZu's. Though your hosts couldn't physically attend, we were all over the livestream and are here to share our thoughts on what we loved about this special event. Craving some first-hand reporting from someone who was...