Smashing Pumpkins to headline Splendour In The Grass in July.

IT’S OFFICIAL.

Smashing Pumpkins are headed to Australia as one of the main acts for Splendour In The Grass, alongside Jack White, At The Drive-In, Bloc Party, The Shins, and more.

Whilst the Pumpkins are playing such a massive festival show, there’s still time to cross our collective fingers for a handful of sideshows. Unlike other headline acts such as At The Drive-In, listed with a ‘Only Australian Show’ disclaimer, Smashing Pumpkins may just be free to play a sideshow if they please…

You can read more about the Splendour announcement/check out ticketing options on the festival website, and discuss the news with fellow fans on the Ozphoria forum.

Smashing Pumpkins rumoured for Splendour In The Grass lineup

The rumour mill is hard at work with under 24 hours till the official first announcement of Byron Bay’s 3 day Splendour In The Grass festival in July.

According to music site Polaroids Of Androids, they’ve heard from their ‘Inside Source’ that the Pumpkins are CONFIRMED to play the festival, alongside recently reformed At The Drive-In.

Whether this rumour holds any truth will be seen tomorrow with the release of lineup information from the festival organisers.

‘Oceania’ is due for release on June 19th, which only adds more fodder to the rumour mill.

Stay tuned!

Crestfallen.com interview Billy Corgan

On Friday the 13th (April 2012), Crestfallen.com interviewed Billy Corgan over the phone to discuss the current status of the reissues, cover the new Lucky 13 project, the release of Oceania plus a few other topics - well worth the listen.

Click here to listen.

Quick interview with Billy on Crestfallen.com

Smashing Pumpkins fansite, Crestfallen.com, conducted a brief interview with Billy Corgan regarding Oceania and Pisces Iscariot. Very short interview, but better than nothing during the quiet times. 

Crestfallen.com: What surprises can fans expect inside the upcoming Oceania release?

Billy: None. Just music and art.

Crestfallen.com: When can we expect to see the reissue PI (Pisces Iscariot) ?

Billy: Very soon. Delayed by production issues and some legal snags. Strong package though.

Crestfallen.com: Why did you choose EMI for the release of Oceania?

Billy: Best partnership opportunity

Crestfallen.com: Will the Smashing Pumpkins be playing any warm-up shows before you go to Europe?

Billy: No comment

Release formats for Oceania appear on Amazon.com

As each week passes we are getting closer to getting our hands on physical and digital copies of Oceania. This week physical formats appeared on Amazon.com for pre-order.

The audio CD and vinyl release date is for June 19th 2012, which was announced by the Smashing Pumpkins a few weeks ago. Now the question is to order via Amazon or SmashingPumpkins.com?

The SPRC Twitter account reassured fans not to worry about ordering through the official Pumpkins store and that there will be no shipping delays like some fans experienced with the Gish and Siamese Dream reissues in November 2011. 

On an exciting note, only 74 days until June 19th.

Billy Corgan has announced his pick for The Smashing Pumpkins ‘Early Years’ Contest.

SP: THE EARLY YEARS CONTEST ANNOUNCES WINNERS AND WHAT’S NEXT:

After two months of promotions, SP fans coming together to breathe life into covers of their favorite SP tunes from the Pre-Gish era to Siamese Dream and Pisces Iscariot (1988-1994), and a month or so of voting, the SP: The Early Years Contest has drawn to close. The fans, the selection committee, and Billy Corgan have spoken. 30 covers were submitted for the contest but unfortunately their can only be 3 winners.

We would like to congratulate the following winners!: “Obscured” by Adrian Bunn (Best Cover Song as chosen by Selection Committee), “Quiet by Prophets for Zombies (Fan Favorite Cover as chosen by the fans), and “Jennifer Ever” by Michael Taylor Alexander (Best New Interpretation as chosen by none other than BILLY CORGAN).

The winners of the first two categories winners will receive copies of the Gish and Siamese Dream deluxe re-issues, copies of Ghost Children 1 and 2, as well as a copy of

and spot on Version 2.0 of theGhost Children/Machines of God digital EP. The winner of the ‘Best New Interpretation’ category will receive a copy of the yetto be released Pisces Iscariot deluxe re-issue, copy of Ghost Children 2, as well as a copy and spot on the Ghost Children/Machines of God EP.

Soon, you will be able to pick up your own copy of Version 2.0 of theGhost Children/Machines of God digital EP to get these great covers and more as a free incentive for purchasing a copy of Ghost Children 2. All profits from the sale of Make-A-Wish Foundation of Illinois.

And in case you’re wondering about the other 27 covers that did not win. We will be reaching out the artists, to let them have their say on what they want done with their covers. One possibility is giving them out for free with people being given the option to donate to Make-A-Wish if they so choose. Regardless, everyone will be considered for possible future releases (eg. Ghost Children 3).

Act IV (Steven and David) would like to give a special thanks to our main collaborator, Jay (Webmaster for ThePumpkins.net) and the rest of the selection committee/sponsors for all your help: Aaron(Blamo.org/Siva), Monte (Crestfallen.com), Simon and Bree (Ozphoria), Arthur (SPfreaks), Milan (Starla.org), Simon LeSieur (SP.com O-Boards Admin), Neil Main (Ghost Children creator), Ashley Fahey (former SP UK fan group webmaster), and Jyn Radakovits (Nameless Entity Media).

The organizers would also like to extend a very special thanks to Billy Corgan for helping us with this very special contest as a guest judge! We would also like to thank everyone who voted and everyone who submitted. We hope that you will submit and vote again for the next contest!

To listen to all the covers for that were submitted for the SP Early Years Cover Song Contest, you can go here on ThePumpkins.net

SP: The Early Years Cover Song Contest - Winners Announced!

The cover song contest held by Act IV and ThePumpkins.net has come to a close. After some amazing covers and a lot of fan interest, the votes have been tallied (voting irregularities aside), and the winners have emerged.

Winner of the Fan Favorite cover goes to Ben Baker (berbaker) with his take on ‘Quiet’, whilst Australian Adrian Bunn (plasmate74) has taken out the coveted selection committee’s choice of Best Cover Song with ‘Obscured’.

The winner of Best New Interpretation is yet to be decided and is currently being judged by none other than Billy Corgan himself. Watch this space for news on the winning track in that category when he does make his choice.

A massive thanks to Act IV and ThePumpkins.net  for running such a great contest and having us be part of it, the fans for their hard work on entries, and finally our fellow selection committee members from Blamo.org, Crestfallen.com, SPFreaks, Starla.org, Neil Main (Ghost Children creator), Ashley Fahey (former SP UK fan group webmaster), and Nameless Entity Media.

Australian band featured in the Smashing Pumpkins cover contest finals

The voting panel for the Pumpkins.net ‘Early SP cover song contest’ have spoken and there are 5 final songs that have been selected.

Crestfallen.com announced the top 5 finalists on a recent podcast. “We talk about the 5 tracks that have been nominated for ”Best New Interpretation of a Song” as well as play each of them in full. We also announce the prize for the winner of this category. These 5 songs are to be judge by Billy Corgan.”

Listen to the show here on Crestfallen.com

One finalist are The Dysfunctions, an Australian band that blend 90s grunge & alt rock w 2000s electro edge.

Hear the other submissions on ThePumpkins.net

More information on The Dysfunctions can be found here: www.thedysfunctions.com